Ups and Downs

I WIN one... I LOSE one

Sometimes with parenting it is so hard to figure out the perfect... right thing to do....

LOSE... still having the issue of Ainsley loudly hollering about everything that she doesn't agree with... am trying to figure out how to best stop this habit... Is it unreasonable to expect her to be patient?

WIN... on the other hand... both girls have now stopped giving me grief about picking up toys (they've been refusing lately and it had grown into a daily battle) Ainsley will now pick up almost before I've even asked her too.. and she no longer needs direction.. she just goes and does it. Aidan follows along and tries to out-do her sister... sibling rivalry can be quite helpful sometimes.

LOSE... this week Ainsley started tantrums... fling body back, jelly legs, prostrate on the floor, screaming... tantrums

WIN....But.... she's only had three major ones so far and I believe I handled them in just the right way so as not to encourage them... I think

LOSE...Aidan had started pushing and yelling at Ainsley and "being mean." She had picked it up from watching other kids.

WIN...I've given her consequences each time (after one warning) and she now... in the last few days... has started speaking to her nicely, politely, and I haven't seen her hit her in a few days.
(I did notice though that she ramped that behavior up when the in-laws were here. She learned to get a reaction out of them and they never gave her a consequence.... and they wonder why I don't let them keep the girls for a long period of time.

LOSE... I'm getting a lot of back talk from Aidan...she tells me "No" for everything and argues with everything I say... I haven't figured this one out yet. Has anyone with a two year old figured this one out yet?

WIN... I, for the moment, have won the battle of the vegetables... Aidan will now eat them.. maybe not happily... but she no longer refuses them outright.

LOSE... Much to my annoyance... and I mean serious annoyance.. Aidan has started speaking in this high-pitch tone... it is horrid and hurts my ears. I try not to show my reaction but sometimes I cannot help but to tell her to SPEAK NORMALLY!! I'm sure that isn't helping though... if I let her know I don't like it.. she'll continue it.

When people say parenting is the hardest job... it's true... It is my job to mold these kids into awesome, well-adjusted adults. Unfortunately, no matter how much experience you have and how knowledgeable on the subject you are... you can never know what the RIGHT thing to do is all the time. It IS the hardest job.. Everyday you go into work...your job description changes as do the rules for doing the job.