Discipline drama*
Shopping at the market
Dinner at Guest House
Toy Story2 and Cars
Brielle got up first today. We heard her in her room, so Michael went in to get her. We got out some books to look at together. Then we heard Wyatt and TJ get up, so they came in to join us. After a few minutes TJ left the room and we heard banging on the floor in the other room. He was banging his new light-up shoes on the floor to light them up. Then he put them back on – with his PJs.
We went down to breakfast and introduced them to hot chocolate. We had brought some instant hot chocolate packets from home, and it was a huge hit – maybe too much of a hit! We didn’t get showers until after breakfast because there was no hot water again, and one cold shower this week was enough. We stayed around the Guest House for the morning, had what I am sure is the first of many “Who’s the boss?” meeting with TJ, and the kids played outside for a while, and then walked to Zebra Grill for lunch. (This makes 3 out of our last 4 meals at Zebra. Think we'll wait a while before going again.)
The “Who’s the boss?” meeting was about TJ not wanting to come to us when he is called. We call his name and he just keeps on doing whatever it was he was doing before – completely ignoring us. Michael had just gone outside with the other kids so TJ and I were left inside for a few minutes before going out to join them. He refused to come when called so I put him in time-out. He HATES time-out! He screamed, cried, and rolled on the floor. He even made himself throw up – twice – but it still didn’t get him out of time-out. It was obvious that he was trying to make himself throw up so I made him clean it up himself. I sat on the bed about 3 feet away from him the entire 15 minutes or so that this episode lasted and after he calmed down I told him that he could come give me a hug and then go outside. He stubbornly refused so he had to sit there about 5 more minutes until he finally smiled and gave me a hug. About 20 minutes later we had a round 2 (without the throw up), and about 20 minutes after that we had round 3. His daddy was present for round 3, so TJ had to up the drama level to see if he could get his way from his dad. He did try to throw up again, but apparently there was no more “ammo” after round 1. When his time-out time was up and he was calm, I called him over to the bed to give me a hug, but he refused again. I got up and walked out of the room. He screamed, cried, and pitched another fit. I let him calm down and then went back in and sat on the corner of the bed again. I called him over to me. He refused and sulked. I left again. This happened about 5 or 6 more times before he got the idea that Mom was not going to give in. We hugged, laughed, and giggled, and all was forgotten. The rest of the day was great with no issues at all. He’s a super-sweet and super-smart kid who is just testing us to see where the boundaries are. If only he knew how many times we been tested by kids before – and passed. God has prepared us so well for this kid. It’s so obvious that TJ and Brielle have been planned for our family from the beginning of time, and God has been so faithful in the process of bringing them to us. God is so good!
We went shopping at the post office area market after lunch. I bought a table cloth, a few gift birds, a knife, some wooden zebras, and some small baskets to use when we have an Ethiopian dinner. Then we stopped at Kaldi’s for some coffee and ice cream. The kids loved it, and TJ drank Michael’s caramel macchiato instead of his own soft drink. Then back to the Guest House for the evening.
 |
| TJ and "his" caramel macchiato |
 |
| All enjoying Kaldi's ice cream |
After baths for kids and dinner at the Guest House, I put in Toy Story for the kids to watch. They were excited at first, but then for some reason they not happy with it. I remembered reading on someone’s blog that their son loved Woody and Jessie, so I took out T.S. #1 and put in T.S. #2. THAT was what they wanted. Then they watched “Cars” which was a super big hit with TJ since he loves any kind of “machinas” – even CG ones.
At one point in the evening TJ told Brielle, with lip-zipping motions and all, “Zip your mouth!” They do know some English!
*I am sharing some of our discipline stories not to embarrass our children, but to let others know that we all go through some of the same things. Adopted kids are the same as any other kids – they’ve all got to test where the limits are and see how far they will be allowed to go. But with firm, loving, and consistent discipline, we've seen things get better already. It’s all just a part of being a parent, whether the kids are bio or adopted. So, I hope you enjoy reading some of our adventures. And if you’ve been a parent for longer than 5 minutes, you’ve probably been through some of the same things!
**************************************
Facebook post from today:
"Just had a "who's the boss?" meeting with my newest son. He got put in time-out, cried so hard he threw up - twice - and finally we came to an agreement that Mommy is the boss, not TJ. One meeting down, only 999,999 to go! (Good to know he's just a "regular" kid!) :)"
No comments:
Post a Comment