Fight Fight Fight

Must be paid actors...

There are days -- who am I kidding? -- almost every day feels like a fight with the boys to do the most mundane of tasks: eat food, brush teeth, take off pyjamas, put on clothes, stay seated at the kitchen table while eating...you get the picture. And even when they comply, the task at hand takes ten times as long as it should. 

Despite getting a fairly decent six or seven hours of sleep, I am exhausted, and I realized it's these constant struggles that drain me of energy, and most of all, patience. 

This is more like it.

This morning I went to Michael's thinking it would be a neat idea to make a craft (something I rarely do since I end up doing the whole thing and they generally make a big mess out of the materials). Joshua was fussy so I took him out of the stroller and hip-held him. Meanwhile, Bo and William found these bouncy balls that light up the more you bounce them. Yeah, you can put two and two together. 

There was really nothing I could do short of embarrassing myself so I merely "managed" their behaviour in the store while I tried to find these craft materials. Threatening to take the balls away seemed to only embolden their "engergetic" behaviour and they just laughed when I said the word "timeout". They knew I was essentially powerless to do much without tossing out my plans and wrestling them into the mini-van.

I am at a loss here. I do not have anything left in my bag of tricks so if there's anything you'd like to share -- some funny stories, modes of "behaviour modification" that have worked for you, please share!!! 

For now, a shot of Bailey's it is. Just to take the edge off.