Or a beer...hee, hee! Hey, at least I can joke.

I feel absolutely defeated by my kids. I feel like I have no control and that they run all over me. For the love of God, they are only 2 1/2! I know everyone goes through this. I just need to know that I will survive and that one day...I know it may not be for a long long time, but one day, things will be a bit easier.

It is the constant screaming of "NO", the constant disobeying & doing it right in front of my freakin face after I tell them no. It is the constant toy stealing from Jasper or pesterting from each of them. It is me not knowing how in the hell to handle situations. I'm so wishy-washy on discipline because I have no idea what to do. If I spank them, I feel bad. Plus, it doesn't seem to work. I've been putting them on the couch & making them sit by me. I tell them what they have done is not nice. They get up & the same thing happens again & again & again. I'm sick of the non-eating. I feel like they look so skinny.

I left the room today when I thought I was gonna go ballastic. I came in to the kitchen & said the "F" word probably 10 times. I never used to cuss...much...but now I'm like a sailor. I don't want to be. I honestly sit here & think..."Oh my Gosh..my kids are going to be the ones in school that are horrible." Did you all feel this way at one time? I don't want to be the mama with bad kids. I don't want my kids to disobey & scream & throw tantrums & push kids & take toys. I don't want that.

So what can I do? Just sit here & pray constantly that the day will come when things are settled down? Find a discipline tatic (even though I have no clue) & stick with it?

I need some love, mama's

Check us out at:
http://thewrighttrips.blogspot.com/

Isabel, Jasper & Jonah were born on July 1, 2006

And my twin angels in heaven ~
Olivia Layne - 2/13/05
Elijah Cain - 2/13/05

Ahh Damn girlie! I know what you mean!!!! I was that mom that could do mostly what I wanted gym, playdates, park, classes... I thought the ppl that trapped themselves in the house were nuts BUT now I hate taking my kids in my own yard! In regards to food I USED to be the mom who fed her kids organic and EVERYTHING was fresh( NO BOXED FOOD) they ate veggies.....now we eat Mac n chz and cereal. It is what it is!

Jack is a bully and will push and hit so I try not to spank them because I feel it reinforces his bad behavior, we do ALOT of TO, seriously all I have to do at this point is point to the corner and off they go.

I know it will get better and wont up serial killers but they are driving me up the wall. More so than ever I need time away, I have been working and that has been a huge bonus, I miss my kiddos and feel drawn to them more so than ever! DH and I figured out a discipline plan that we both felt comfortable with and now we are on the same page with everything, things got a bit crazy last month, I was gone so much and DH had no idea what he was supposed to punish and what was allowed, it has made life much easier!

BTW, I curse like a drunken harlet, always have, its a terrible thing and super WT! I am working on it. It will get better for us all, I have faith!

BBG 6/21/06

I just want you to know i feel your pain!! Mine are going to be 4 in march and somewhere along the way i feel that who is in control seemed to switch. Theres some times when i CANNOT control them.. i mean can not.They feed off each other and think its funny. And they just egg each other on..
I have 1 out of the 3 that eats well always has.. the other 2 UGH! Sometimes i cant get a peice of food in them until afternoon.

Ive finally managed to rid Deegan of his Soother (AMEN) so thats one thing. We have STILL been fighting with the potty training thing. Its going fairly well at home with only some accidents but i dont dare go out in public without pullups on.. and from what i understand i have to get ready to enroll them in school like soon! WHAT! They cant go 12 hours without a pullup and you want them in school?!?!

Im so tired of the fighting and pushing and scratching.. oh and the tantrums..im so tired of me yelling all the time! and i just realised that i am rambling on about everything and nothing all at the same time so im going to stoip now lol

Just letting you know you arent alone =)



Nikki
mommy to
Deegan 2lbs 10oz
Seth 2lbs 2oz
Xander 2lbs 6oz
My little miracles born on Easter Sunday, March 27th, 2005 at 29 weeks 2 days

[

It has to be the age. Many days I feel like I am going to have a nervous breakdown. The not listening, fighting and stealing really gets on my nerves.

The not eating is really annoying. There are days when they won't eat a thing at a meal. They look at what I served and either eat nothing or 2 bites and ask for "something new." I want to ban that phrase from my house. Then they whine and cry when I don't magically produce another food. I don't even want to think about how little fruits and veggies they eat these days. I serve them but eating is hit or miss. Heck, eating everything is hit or miss. Something that is their favorite food one day they won't eat the next time I serve it.

The not sleeping when they are supposed to is what is really driving me over the edge. When I put them in bed they need to GO TO SLEEP because I need a break really bad. They party in their room, end up crying and have to get up again. CIO does not work anymore for the most part.

Whoever named the terrible 2's sure knew what they were talking about. I keep hearing that 3 is just as bad or worse but I plan on living in denial for the next 6 months.

Lori

http://yesidohavemyhandsfull.blogspot.com/

Mind you that this is the blind leading the blind, and I have very little idea what I'm talking about, but maybe they are bored?

I just went through a stage like that. We happened to start doing a whole bunch of new stuff lately - sledding, board games, movies in their room, one-on-one time - and they snapped out of it! They are SOOOOO much more tolerable.

Good luck, Shannon!

Loren
GGG Jan.2005 @ 28wks

Sweetened Taters - http://sweetenedtaters.blogspot.com

I agree with Loren on them being bored. Mine always got in more trouble when they were bored. My plan for survival at that age was going somewhere every morning. I think we've hit every park in this city. I also enrolled them in classes then and I started homeschooling with the Learning Box, so we'd have a structured activity in the day.

Also, with toy stealing, I just put the toy in time-out. There was no discussion about who started it and who was the "victim", if you faught it was GONE. That was the end of it.

If I could change one thing from back then, I would have separated them every chance I got. They fight because they are sick of each other. That's the bottom line.

Forget about the eating. You have to try and let that one go. Just make the food, put it on the plate and then try your hardest to just let it go. They WILL eat if they are hungry. If not, then they'll eat the next time. I know it's frustrating to cook and not have anyone eat it, so I just started making stuff "I" wanted and if they ate, well that was a bonus.

It really does get better. You've got 1.5 years though. You can make it!

Michele
Sarah, Gregory, Amanda
born 1/22/04 at 35w1d

Our surprise baby Austin born 06/15/2005

www.fourtimesthefun.blogspot.com

I feel your pain. It has been difficult over here as well. I have noticed the kids act how I act though. If I am stressed, they are brats. If I am happy relaxed mom, they listen better and have better problem solving skills (sharing and nice to each other).

Over here things got knocked put of the norm with Wyatt getting his tonsils out. The other two got a bit big in their britches from having a bit more freedom and so I have been dealing with that lately. I had to get my L&L book back and reread most of it and I feel like just in the past couple days, my kids are doing MUCH better with the consistency that book reminds me to use.

When mine started saying "NO", we would correct them by saying, "no, thank you". They still said no thank you ALOT, but the thank you takes the sting out of it. It lost it's power and appeal for them since we weren't reacting to the nos, we were correcting for the thank you. Does that make sense?

It is freaking hard. I know we all had the answers before kids came along and now that we had THREE, we don't get the opportunity to try all the great solutions we had and are stuck not knowing which way is up sometimes. And that makes us feel bad and guilty. We all have those days, don't be hard on yourself.

I hope it gets better for you soon.

Laura & Don
BBB 5/05
www.ourbighappy.blogspot.com

"

Thanks, loves! It's 7:38 am & I am dreading the day but am putting on my happy face & hoping to feel good & make them feel good.

I definitely think they get bored here. I live in a small town with absolutely nothing to do. We do have a pretty decent park, but it is 18 degrees outside with snow. We have a nice library. I may see if my mom would help me out & go with me to it. Then the whole time I am worried about tantrums & meltdowns. Oh well...gotta suck it up.

Thanks for the encouragement & advice. I appreciate it.

Check us out at:
http://thewrighttrips.blogspot.com/

Isabel, Jasper & Jonah were born on July 1, 2006

And my twin angels in heaven ~
Olivia Layne - 2/13/05
Elijah Cain - 2/13/05

Yes we all do go through this from time to time, but trust me you are going to wake up one day and they are going to be four and you are going to wonder where the time went, how they and you got from 2 to four, this is a hard time, try not to internalize everything and know that they are just starting to realize they can do things, they are going to test you, but you are going to survive it. Believe it or not I miss the 2 year old age. I have no idea where it went or what I was doing but I seem to have missed it. I got so caught up in the tantrums, screaming etc that I forgot to look around and appreciate their age. I regret it.

BBG Triplets Born March 31, 2004
31 weeks three days
Douglas
Kalie and
John Michael

Can you look into one of those bounce houses for inside? We have a little tikes one, but while they were smaller, we used the $40 one from Walmart. All three fit in it and played with the balls all day. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3168464


Maybe it can burn some of that energy off for you.


ETA: Do you have a gym you can go to? We joined ours about that age and they will watch the kids while you work out up to 2 hours a day. It was great for the kids to be in a different environment, as well as the free brain time it gave me.

Laura & Don
BBB 5/05
www.ourbighappy.blogspot.com

"

It's the whining and crying that drive me crazy. They are so emotional!! In the last month I've started getting gray hair from all the stress. UGH!

I agree about the bounce house. I could not survive without it. We have it in the basement and they love it.

I cannot even imagine that 3 years old is even worse. I'll never survive!!

Karen
Mom to BGG 10-10-06
www.tiptotip.etsy.com
"Specializing in custom stroller seat covers and sun canopies"