The hard stuff

Hands down, the hardest part of being a mom so far is the punishment stuff.  Ely is typically a really, really good kid.  He has friends, he loves his brother and sister, he is funny, loves to play with this cousins (of all ages) and is pretty much just fun to be around.

Then there are days like today.  I have been battling being a "strong" mom and not letting him rule the roost around the house during the day.  Today I had enough of my 4 year old wanting to call the shots and not obeying.  Finally (and now I can't remember what straw broke the camels back) I told him that he was done disobeying me and he was going to loose electronics on Thursday (deja vu to last Friday).  Well, he cried a bit but we moved on to VBS (it is at night at our church this year).

When I picked him up from the preschool area tonight I saw that he was sad and in time out - you know it has to be bad for preschool church volunteers to put a kid in time out.  Well, come to find out - he had pushed/hit a girl (the story is a little vague).  So, the big punishment now has to come.  Al is at a dinner meeting tonight so it is all on me to layout the punishment.  I now know it is worse for me than it is for him.  I can talk all about it but actually having to make my 4 year old cry just is the worst way to end the day.  He is now tucked in (without books or Bible Stores) and we will tackle tomorrow, tomorrow.

I tip toe into Molly and Luke's room just to give kisses to precious babies and a single little thought comes creeping into my soul while I soak up their innocence.... sooner than I want I am going to have to have TWO 4 year olds to deal with (or 2 year olds, or 3 year olds, you get my drift).

I am going to bed before I think about this any more :)