Life...this is only a test

I remember when Ryan and I were awaiting the arrival of Logan. Each week seemed like a year. It felt like waiting for Christmas as a kid again..."it" was never going to get here.


BLINK!


Now he's 4 1/2. Carter's almost 3. What happened? Logan's third birthday came and flipped a switch in our little bundle of joy and suddenly the topic of discipline is an every day conversation. Now that Carter is almost 3, he has also turned the page. I remember my cousin Mike telling me "Two is nothing...three and four are worse." I believe him! Although Carter's birthday is a month away, he is definitely THREE!

While some parents count down the days until their kids are old enough to be out of the house, I almost have anxiety at times that I only have a few years left when my little guys still think I'm very cool (and smart) and I have a strong influence on the choices they make. And so I go to bed every night and feel guilty over something that I didn't do right throughout the day, I peek in on them in bed and wonder why I forget how precious they are at times and swear to do better tomorrow. Tomorrow comes, the fighting over toys and whining over what color cup their milk is poured into begins and my short little fuse blows...Here we go again. And thus, we begin the cycle all over.

And so I am once again reading different books on discipline. As one author put it "We educate ourselves in high school and our careers, we take a test to drive a car...but when it comes to raising our children, we just wing it." Seems a bit backwards in the ol' priorioty list to me. So, I'm always looking for more information. I have probably read 5-6 books on discipline and I'm part way through another. I've read from both extremes, from "the fluffy" to "the dictator" techniques..and I seem to take away something from all of them.

Here's a list of "My highly recommendeds":

1. Bringing up Boys by Dr. James Dobson (I hear he's writing a "Bringing up Girls" right now)
2. Dare to Discipline by Dr. James Dobson
3. Kid Cooperation by Elizabeth Pantley
4. Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman
5. How to Raise Respectful Kids in a Disrespectful World by Jill Rigby (haven't finished yet)

I haven't agreed with everything any one of these authors have written, but I have gotten something out of all of them that we've started using at home. And, if something doesn't work, it's always nice to get a fresh idea. It's also a bit humbling when I have a particular "issue" with one of the boys and a book begins to describe a kid just like mine...and then the author goes on to describe a behavior pattern of one of the parents that makes a kid act a certain way (and it's usually ME they're describing)...it's amazing how I can be overly aware of some of my faults...and completely blind to others. Funny thing is, I usually do a "trial run" of changing my behavior and my kiddos seem to change also. Hmmm...maybe I DON'T know it all!

My prayer is that my children don't stray too far as they go on with their little lives, that their mistakes aren't too painful and that they know they have parents and a God who love them unconditionally...and when I stand before God and he looks at how I raised my children...I really hope he grades me on a curve!