Naughty girls and desperate measures....

It is so hot here I feel like everyday I am waking up in hell. Its not to unbearable in my house but the AC is going non stop these days and it still wont go below 80 in here. It reached over 110 degrees today and up to 120 with the heat index. This is INSANE! Can you say global warming a few times people??? Anyways, my attitude has been so crappy the last few weeks and I find myself not knowing how to deal with my Miss G. She is such a sweet girl but this heat has her absolutely miserable too and its making her into a little demon. She screams at me when I ask her simple questions, is not so very nice to her little brother, runs into me full force when she gets bad and tries to bulldoze over me, does every SINGLE thing I tell her not to do just to spite me and basically is just pure spite.

So everyday I threaten her with spankings I never give because I am such a softy and now she actually laughs at me when I tell her I am going to spank her because she knows it ain't going to happen. But really guys no other punishment is working. We went from the naughty chair and time out to the old nose in the corner routine and OMG have I turned into my mother???? So, I think if she does one more thing the spanking thing IS going to happen and she will not be the one with the last laugh. But then I have to make sure I don't spank her in anger right? So that means I need to have a cooling off period after she smashes her brothers head in the toy fridge before I smack her butt? I am clearly doing something wrong and I know I am sending her mixed messages when I tell her I am going to spank her and I don't. My whole motherhood I have been one of those anti-spanking peoples and read all the research and stuff and now I am finding all the crap I read was obviously written by people who never had kids anyways and they don't seem to know what the hell they are talking about. I think I am going to have to add spanking to my growing list of things I said I would NEVER do as a parent. You know the list the one that started before she was even born ...my child will never wear disposable diapers, she will eat only homemade baby food, never use formula, TV is pure Satan, she will be potty trained by the time she is two, will never play video games, will never be spanked, never ever will consume Mc Donalds, no spanking, on and on, etc. So far we have broken every single things on that list except for two formula and spanking. I think that we might eventually be down to only living up to one thing on that list if I have to resort to spanking her butt one of these days or whenever I actually get up the courage. I guess thats the one thing I learned when I had my second child is that all those lists of will not's go right out the window.

So for your enjoyment...just kidding. Here are some of our punishment pictures I took the other day. Really, how can you not feel sorry for that face. Yeah? Its pretty easy when you have another one bleeding nearby who is way smaller and why more pathetic when he cries and its all her fault. No details.

The Corner:

The nose on the wall...note the tear streaming her face and down the wall! Dang kid leaving tear trails on my walls.

When I am telling her why she was in the corner..

Her response of course.

AND

My Kid playing (GASP!) video games and her brother so desperately wanting to join in!

And of course...motherhood is still the best job in the world. Hardest but the absolutely most rewarding. I mean just look at this. How lucky am I?

But, I still would really really love a day out to myself. I mean look at those roots, right? Geez. One day soon.

Comments

[Kelly]

How old is she? I have a 2 1/2 yr old.

[Missy K]

We are an occasional spanking family. We found that it is what works for us. For the most part, my daughter is extremely well behaved, but occasionally she does get a light spank on her bottom, usually for not listening, especially when it comes to her safety or her baby brother's safety. And it definitely is a light spank - which is all she needs - I don't think that it really even hurts her. You are right about not doing it in anger though. I usually make myself take a deep breath, tell her what I am going to do, and give her a light tap. She cries for a minute, I make her apologize, we give hugs, and everything is fine again. Like I said, it works for us, and despite all the controversy, it might be worth a try. Just my opinion. :)

[Missy K]

Oh, and the pictures of her in time-out are too precious!

[Ellegirl]

I dread the discipline phase of motherhood. I have been told with boys, they can be more hard headed than girls, and spanking is pretty much the only way to discipline them and keep their respect for you as the parent. We'll see. I got spanked as a kid and so did DH. I'm a softy too when it comes to hard punishments. Even now I hate hearing Hunter cry...

[Jessica]

I was spanked as a child (but not much as I was a good girl) :)...and I am sure I will occasionally spank my children. I do not think anything is wrong with that and seems to me to be the best discipline. Of course I will resort to time-outs, etc first...but if need be...a spanking will come!

[Bridget]

I hope I can type this and not sound crazy! I have always been the no spanking mom as well, however; we went through a bad phase a few years ago. I tried everything too and I learned that you really do need to spank their butts! You were probably spanked, we all were and we are fine! Moms have been spanking bottoms for years and years. I have also realized that if you really swat them good then they will take you more seriously when you tell them you are going to do it! So you won't have to do it as much as you think... if you go ahead and do it.

[Lindsey]

I was spanked as a kid and that's the reason I was pretty good...because it didn't feel good and I hated it. I'm not a mom yet, but when I am, I think I'll spank if it's necessary. Nothing wrong with a swat on the butt when needed! That last pic of the three of you is just precious!

[Melany aka Supermom]

Your poor little girl. I KNOW she deserved it but just look at that face! It's difficult to find a balance in discipline that works for YOU. LOVE that last photo of the three of you.

[Jennifer]

But it looks like the corner thing worked? Do you mean that she immediately goes back to "bad" behavior after the corner? Here's another "never". Preschool. I'm a SAHM, why would my kid need preschool? I'll tell you why! To keep me from losing my mind. Seriously, have you looked into a Tues/Thurs 9-11:30ish program? Sounds like your girlie needs to be worn out/kept busy and you still have a little guy to contend with. Maybe you could look into something like that? It save my sanity BIG TIME! And I do spank on occasion BTW. I think it's a necessary evil.

[The Princess]

I knew better than to say never to spanking. We do occasionally when the same offense is not responding to time-outs and stern warnings.

But that face? Gosh, it's pure torture! I always think that it's Camille's adorable and sometime pathetic looks that keep her out of time out!!