Tempers are Rising!!

Boy!! I never thought my sweet little babies would have a switch that would make them screaming, crying, pounding my hands & feet on the floor until you watch me KIDS. But they have.

I suppose it was going to happen no matter how much time I spend with them and how many times I talk patiently with them about the ways of life; Sharing, waiting patiently and taking turns.

Alexandra, the strongest of the two personalities, was the first to display this behavior. Alex loves to put on lotion (she's very girlie in that sense) and one day I told her no more lotion (she was slathered like a GREASED PIG ALREADY!!). Oh that was the straw that broke the camels back.

She looked at me... and screamed as loud as she could. She was MAD and you could tell. Her face got red and she clinched her little hands so tightly that her knuckles turned purple. She continued with her quick bursts of screaming to try to get my attention... but I do NOT give attention to bad behavior.

When she was done...she came to me and acted like nothing was wrong. That's when her and I had a talk. I told her that screaming at mommy the way she did was not going to get her anywhere. That the way she had just acted was not okay nor nice. Surprisingly, I think she understood... she keep saying "not nice". I gave her hug and we read a book. She did NOT get anymore lotion.

Grayson is the most laid back of the two. Normally, he goes with the flow and doesn't over react when something doesn't go his way.

Well, this was the case up until a couple of weeks ago.

Gray is a HUGE car/ truck fan and often puts them in order smallest to largest, facing the right way, etc. He likes his toys a specific way. Well, Alex decided she wanted to play with THEIR jeep and took it out of Gray's line up. This caused a HUGE commotion. Grayson ran to me and pointed at Alex and the jeep... saying "mine, mine, mine". I then said firmly and quietly, "We share. Alex can play with the jeep. You have other trucks to play with," I guess he didn't like my response and started stomping his feet, making his pterodactyl sound (real high pitched scream) and chasing Alex trying to get the jeep.

At that point, I intervened and he had to sit in time out. If he hadn't chased Alex, I would have let him play out his actions like Alex did above... After time out, him and I had similar talk as the one Alex and I had.

I really need to get a designated time out spot. They won't sit in a chair by themselves and I don't want to put them in their highchairs so we are currently doing the timeout spot on my lap facing away from me. I have a feeling, as they get older they will adjust to a chair timeout but at 21 months they are just not ready to sit still long enough.

If you have an idea, that has worked for you... PLEASE share.