Let me count the ways...

Disciplining children is the worst. I'm a firm believer that all children need boundaries and for each family it's different. And since children are all different sometimes techniques need to be tweaked. I've done everything from time-outs, spankings, threats and taking away toys and/or privileges depending on what the bad behavior was. To be perfectly honest what works best for my kids right now are threats (which I will follow through on if I have to) and taking away toys/privileges. I will use time-outs, which is a corner for Jackie and for Remy it's usually sending him to his room. Spankings are my last resort and it's mostly two to four swats on the bottom, I don't do this very often and like I said it's the very last thing I try.

Anyway, I think I can count on one hand how many times my mom spanked me growing up. I mostly remember getting "the look," and being sent to my room. I'm not saying my mom didn't do other things, but I don't remember if she did. She had a very gentle way about her when it came to us kids. I'm working on having "the look," but I still have a long way to go because sometimes I still find myself hiding a smile. Which leaves me mostly with threats, I must say that I think I've become a pro at finding out what my kids want/like the most and using that to my advantage.

 Example:
When it's bed time, it's bed time. Both of my kids like to sleep with the light on and Jackie also likes her door open. If she makes a big fuss and cries about going to bed then I threaten to turn off the light and/or close her door. I give her roughly three times before I actually do one or both. It goes something like this: "Do you want your door open?" "Yes." "Well then no more crying or mommy will close the door." It may take a few tries but for the most part this works wonders. I did the same thing when Remy was little.

There is always something that I can use on my kids. I've packed up legos, toy trains, tvs  and anything else that was a favorite at the time. Taken away trips to museums, parks and movies. And trust me this works, it can be an inconvenience, but it does work.

Here is a list of some of the threats that Bryan and I have used (I'll let you guess who used what):

• Pick up the toys or no more Barney.
• If I have to pick up your toys then I'm gonna throw them away.
• If you don't let me wash you up I'm gonna turn off the water (during a shower)
• If you want me to read you a story then you better stop crying.
• Alright no Christmas because you're being bad.
• Do you want bubbles in your bath? 
• Do you wanna go to bed?

The power of a good theme song

When I was a kid there was nothing better than cartoons and the best part for me was always the theme song. Even as an adult I can think back and recall almost every word to some of my favorites- Jem, Thundercats, Captain Planet and of course there are some that I would rather not admit to watching- even today I'm a sucker for a good opening song.

Like most children my kids love cartoons and they each have their favorites. Some of Remy's current favorites are Phineas and Ferb, Spongebob and Luney Toons he usually doesn't sing or dance along but he does bop his head and get upset of Bryan fast forwards the intro. And then there is Jackie... Have you ever had a favorite song that you listened to over and over and over and it still never got old? Well, that's how Jackie is when she finds a new favorite show and the thing that always drags her in is the theme song.

This past year has been interesting watching Jackie develop her likes and dislikes and she is persistent in making it known. We ended last summer with her addicted to Barney the Dinosaur, which thanks to netflix we could set her up on the computer to watch. That obsession lasted until December and I must say was one of the worst. Next is Little Einsteins, which I personally don't mind and she's so cute singing and dancing along. Then Bubble Guppies which I can also tolerate. But the latest and probably the most annoying on is Team Umizumi. It's not the show itself that is annoying, but Jackie's obsession with it. She could be hanging out with me and the babies in their room and hear that song and her face lights up and she runs away shouting "zumi, zumi." Which that's ok and kind of cute, but what isn't is being woken up at 5am with her turning on the light in my room and hoovering over me waving the remote control saying "zumi, zumi." What is also not funny is being interrupted feeding the babies by bloody murder type screaming because Remy has changed the channel to something other than Umizumi. Last on my list of why I can't stand her obsession with this show is if I say you can watch your show later after I watch something I don't need you reminding me on every commercial break that you're ready to watch Umizumi.

There is two things I blame for this one, the theme song. From the moment she heard that song she was hooked. And second, I blame Bryan. He was the one that introduced her to the show and now he's created a monster. If only I could get her interested in My Little Ponies (*sigh*).

"Why?"

Jackie has hit the "why?" stage and it's so very annoying yet oh so cute. So far it's not as bad as when Remy went through because her whys are easy to explain.
Examples:
-Jackie take your finger out of your nose.
-Why?
- Because it's nasty.

-Jackie it's time for bed.
-Why?
-Because everybody has to go to bed at some point.

-Jackie get down.
-Why?
-Because you can fall and hurt yourself.

Remy's why stage didn't hit until he was three, now granted he really didn't start talking until he was about two and a half so maybe he was making up for lost time. But he used to ask me about stuff I knew nothing about and was never satisfied with the answer I gave.
Examples:
-Why is it snowing?
-Because the clouds are too full.
-Why?
-I don't know. They just are.
-But why?
-Don't know. (And in my head I'm thinking do I look like a damn meteorologist?)
 
-Why is that dog barking?
-Maybe it likes to bark.
-Why?
-Maybe it thinks it's fun.
-Why?
-I don't know Remy, I don't speak dog.

He used to drive me absolutely crazy with his why questions that I would want to say can you just stop talking, but I never did because I didn't want to be mean. But I thought it a lot. With Jackie I just find myself laughing because she's so cute about it and she never just keeps going on and on like Remy used to.

One of the wonderful things about having more than one child is that you get to figure out what each child is good at and watch them develop those talents.

When Remy was 9 months we started swim lessons and when he was about 18 months we started him in a soccer tots group and we continued both activities on and off over the years. When he became old enough to do both sports without a parent we were excited to see how he would do. He didn't pass swimming level 1 because he didn't want to put his face in the water. He cried during scrimmage at soccer because he would get knocked down and we had to constantly remind him that soccer is a contact sport. We ended up taking a break from sports not wanting to push him to do something he didn't want to do. It's been almost a year of nothing even though he has begged to play soccer since seeing my friend Ella Masar play over the summer. We decided that we would retry swimming first. Bryan assures me that he is doing well, since I stay home with the little kids while he goes, I don't get to see for myself what he needs to work on. What parent wouldn't want their child to be a natural athlete? However, that is not always the case. Both Bryan and I would love for Remy to excel at sports but if I had to pick one thing that Remy is extremely good at right now it would not be sports, but his ability to figure out electronics. Though a lot of people thought we were crazy for getting him an ipod touch for his 6th birthday (he did have a choice, ipod or birthday party) it was a perfect gift for him and now I don't have to fight with him for my phone.

Then there is Jackie. Where do I begin? Three things that describe Jackie: fearless, determined and stubborn (my sister's child through and through). One of the things that can be frustrating about having a younger child is they want to do everything that older child does. For example if Remy jumps off the couch you better believe that Jackie will think she can do it too. The thing with Jackie is it doesn't end with that, she jumps off of everything, climbs on everything and often falls off everything! Remy has a healthy dose of fear and common since it doesn't take a lot for Remy to learn that maybe he shouldn't do something. However, Jackie lacks both, and it doesn't matter how many times she gets hurt she will always get up and do it all over again. Add to that the fact that she doesn't always pay attention to what she's doing it's enough to keep me in a constant state of unease.  Anyway back to the topic of sports. Let me just say that when it comes to swimming I'm taking all my eggs out of Remy's basket and putting them in hers. Last summer while we were visiting my in-laws in Long Island Jackie fell in the pool. Let me just say it was a scary experience. When she was pulled out of the water she didn't cry, cough, or even appear scared. So, anyway we have finally gotten around to signing her up for swim lessons and so far she has been amazing in the water! I'm looking forward to trying out other sports and seeing what else she's good at.

I'm curious to see what Zane and Zander will be good at as they get older. I'm also a little scared of what they will try following behind Jackie, but looking forward to it all the same.