Keeping Your Sanity
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Burnin Down The House
"Father asked us what was God's noblest work. Anna said men, but I said babies. Men are often bad; babies never are." - Louisa May Alcott

There is always going to be a day (or two or three) where you are going to lose your cool, and exhaust your last bit of patience. Here are some easy steps that you can take to keep a level head when your children are testing boundaries:

1. Remove yourself from the situation ( if possible) even if it is only for a few minutes (I usually go in the bathroom and lock the door-sit on the floor and take deep breaths, but hey, thats just me). This brief moment of time can give you the chance to collect your thoughts and reestablish your self control.

2. Pick your battles. Yes you just picked up the 64 crayons that were on the floor and put them back in color coded order in thier box, and junior comes around the corner and says, "Mommy I want to color!" What you want to say is "I just picked up the !@#$%^%$#@ crayons! But really, is it that big a deal? And maybe you could color together. LEave the dishes in the sink, they're not going anywhere, and have some mommy-kiddie time. Maybe you could teach him how to put the crayons back, or to only take one out at a time.

3. Turn on the music! Children absolutely love music. I find that if things are getting stressful in my house and I turn on the radio, what was just a temper tantrum is now a hopping, twirling dance-machine; laughing and singing. Just like that you can turn a really bad crabby moment into an incredibly fun time with your child. Plus you're both getting a little exercise as well. Can't beat that!

4. Take a walk, by yourself if you can (which is quite a rare moment for me),but if not, load up the little red wagon and hit the road. The fresh air and excercise will be good for both of you and can give you some time to reflect and refocus.

5. Delegate. Sometimes children are just bored. All childern need structure throughout their day. Make a list of thigs that you can do during the time that youare with your child. Each activity can be between 15-20 minutes, then switch to the next activity. I always find that if I let my children know what we are going to do and when we are going to do it, they day runs a bit more smoothly. For example I would say, "Ok we are going to go to the park, and then we will come home and have lunch." THen, while we are eating our lunch I say, "After our lunch, we are going to take a nap and when we wake up, we will play Candyland!" By doing this you are giving them an incentive to taking the nap. Tell them, "we have to take a nap first, and then we can play Candyland." Let them know that if there is no nap, there is no Candyland. Keeping your child informed of daily activities and especially any change in routine, will make yours and your child's day a lot less hectic.