Discipline

So yesterday morning I was getting the day rolling. We had dentist appointments at 11am. Which meant we needed to leave by 10:30am. Which meant the kids needed to be in the van by 10:15am. At around 9am, after breakfast, and after the baby was fed, I started gearing the kids up for leaving. Alison and Julie had done their school for the day the night before, knowing that we would not have time for it the next morning, (rare but brilliant planning on their part). That left Emmy and Laci's reading lessons and chores. Not too much to be done in an hour and a half. I sat down to begin the lessons. Laci was on my left, and Emmy on my right. Everything was going great, until I said it was time to get shoes and coats on. Ali and Julie went right to task, one grabbing Jack, the 2 year old, and the other delivering the soiled baby to me, just in time to change him quickly and then power feed him. In the mean time, Emmy and Laci should have been fully capable of getting ready themselves. In enters Ali. "Mom, Laci is on the steps and won't come and get her shoes on." Then I, still nursing Jesse, say, "Tell her to come and see me." A few minutes later, Ali, "She is slowly scooting down the stairs and won't come." I, with a forced smile on my face and through clenched teeth, "don't worry about it, I will deal with her in a few minutes." From the door, Julie, "Mooooo-ooooom, Emmy won't get in the van." Now, having lost my cool, and not being the mommy of the year, yell, "I will deal with it in a minute!" This may sound nice and innocent on the screen, but in my head it was not nice at all. I had to regain my composure before dealing with Laci, or we would both regret it. I calmly, yet firmly call out to Laci, telling her to go to the bathroom. Crying, followed by some fake sobbing. I begin buckling Jesse, and looking at the clock, now reading 10:17am, I am starting to lose it even more. Now we are going to be late, I was ahead of schedule, and now we're behind. Still trying to keep my cool, I enter the bathroom, where Laci awaits, only to find her laying in the bottom of the still damp tub, trying to hide. WHOOOAAAHHH, did I have to reign in the beast of a mom then. Again, I smiled through clenched teeth. Deep breaths, she's only 4. I held her little cheeks in mine, after pulling her out of the tub, and waiting for her sobs to settle down a little. This is where Debbie Pearl, author of "To Train Up a Child", comes into my head and reminds me that it isn't Laci's fault. I have trained her. I have been the inconsistent one. I am the one who needs to change. As I hand out her consequences, I know that I have a lot of work ahead of me. The next week will be spent training, and drilling her on how she needs to listen to her older siblings, and walking her through the process of getting her coat and shoes on, and getting in the van. When I will find the time to do this? Who knows!!!???!!! In fact, I am holding on dearly to the fact that I get to re-energize. I am going to Florida to visit my mentor. She is the reason I homeschool. She is the reason I parent the way I do, and she has given me this gift of taking a break as well. She calls it a jubilee. I met her in Grand Haven, MI. She now conveniently lives in Tampa, FL. I will have much to share next week, and it should sound like it is coming from a sane person!! I am off to bed. Sweet Dreams.