Discipline Messed Up My Day

Has discipline ever ruined your day?

My what a day... a day that I had hoped to get lots done and unfortunately ended up trying to teach my kids a lesson. One thing that sucks (excuse my french) about being a mom is that if you tell your kids you are going to do something, you better mean what you say! How else are they going to learn that if you say something, you mean it. It drives me nuts when you see a child misbehaving and the parent gives a warning that goes like this... "If you do that one more time, we are leaving!" Child does the undesired behavior again and they don't grab the child by the neck (Ok a good mom may grab the hand -- I think I may have grabbed by the neck today. Oppss!) and leave. It gets worse, the child does the undesirable behavior again and the parents restates the statement... "If you do that one more time, we are leaving!" STOP... do you think they believe you and how often do you say things and not follow through? If you really don't want to leave, then you should have never said that statement in the first place and if you made a mistake (like I did today) and said it, you still need to follow through...

Here's why my day was messed-up due to me trying to be a good mom... Day started with a run on the trail. All was well, kids were good and well behaved! Next stop a quick jaunt through TJMAX to pick a birthday present and then on to my children's favorite place (the grocery store playarea/daycare). Finally we had planned to meet friends at a pool... Unfortunately, we made it to TJMAX and then our day stopped! Why? Because as we are walking through the store my son is pulling on my daughter and my daughter is using her "nasty voice" to yell at him and get him going. Everyone is looking at us. Behavior gets worse as we go through the store... Things get knocked over... Both are being terrible and then I say, "If I have to talk to you both one more time, we are going home and we will not go to the playarea or the pool later." Opppsss... maybe, I should have just said the pool because I really needed grocery's. Too late, it happened my son and daughter are screaming and pushing each other and being terrible. I leave my cart and drag them out of the store. People are staring... I start thinking that they all must be thinking I am a terrible mom and I begin to pray I do not run into someone I know. At this point, both kids are crying and begging to go to the playarea... My daughter is screaming at the top o her lungs. I am sure people could have thought I was abducting her. I almost go back on my word and take them to the grocery store playarea so that I can get my shopping done... but as much as I need milk, I want them to learn a lesson more. Hopefully our next trip out will go smoothly. It just really is no fun using discipline. Sometimes it would be easier to just ignore the poor behavior and go on with what needs to be done or what I want to do... but then would my kids really have horns?

Today is the first day I counted how many days till back to school day!!!!

YOU can live through a LONG car trip!!!

I thought it would be a great idea to revisit traveling with kids, since I am getting ready to spend about 30 hours in the car... Don't worry, I am an old pro! Thought I would take a moment to share some great links. I have big plans to share my traveling with kids tips this summer. I am working on a post that shares some great tips. Until then, these links should help a bit. Keep checking for my tips and happy traveling...

One of my favorite gal pals (Ms. Amy) shared Geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment. Looks like a great idea! Go check it out.

Along the same lines... be sure to stop by your local Triple A before a trip and pick up a trip-tick. A trip-tic is a map book that outlines your route. We rely on our GPS now, but this keeps my son super busy and he can tell us where to turn before the GPS does!!!

I shared this site last year around this time... but it is a must see, so I am sharing again!!

http://www.momsminivan.com/
The web host has done a great job compiling travel games by age. Babies can definitely travel by car. They are too young to say, “He’s touching me!” If your kids are older and less tolerant many more ideas are here too. There are lots of printables to for those times when you are in the car. We personally have used the tinfoil modeling idea. It is great!

My Son will be on a hunt this trip... armed with a clipboard, highlighter, and this map. Let's see how many license plates he will find!

A few hot items you may not have thought of as being car toys!



Safe Trips to all and I will be back with more travel tips real soon!

Love It - IPOD for your Kiddos

Thought I would share something I love:
If you allow your younger kiddos (ages 2 - 10) to use your IPOD, this is the case you need to keep it safe! We got one recently because we allow our five year old son to watch downloaded shows on it when we are flying or if we are out to eat. Also, our two year old uses it too for the same reasons. Basically one of our take-along babysitters we use in those Mommy and Daddy need a break times!!! The material of the TADPOLE is sturdy and our video IPOD fits right in. The handles on the side are the perfect fit for little hands. It is easy for them to hold and watch a show without accidentally dropping the IPOD. The earphones worked well with our 2 year old, but our five year old prefers the earpods. The IPOD has been a wonderful helper when we are out to eat with the kids and want to stay a little longer than they do. Placing the IPOD in the TADPOLE has made it even better. It's great to know the IPOD is safe from kiddo accidents. Great buy + Amazon has it at a lower price than most other sites!

For Tips on Using Your IPOD in education, try:
http://www.teachingheart.net/ipod.htm

Summer Sand Recipe

Summer Fun Recipe:

2 (20 oz.) pkgs. GOLDEN Oreo cookies1/2 stick butter1 (8 oz.) cream cheese1 c. powdered sugar3 1/2 c. milk2 sm. French vanilla instant pudding boxes1 (12 oz.) Cool Whip

Cream the butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Mix pudding together with the milk, add the Cool Whip to pudding mixture. Then blend in with the cream cheese mixture.
Crumble the Oreo's in a blender, leave the cream in the Oreo's. Use a sand pail to fill with your yummy treat. Alternating cookie crumbs and filling, ending with the cookie crumbs on top. Top with a sand shovel for serving.