Tornado Shane

I always remember my mom coming into my room growing up and saying "It looks like a tornado went through here!". Well, I guess it is payback because my whole house looks like a tornado went through it, spitting out stuffed dogs, diapers, toys and all of mommy and daddy's shoes. Shane also decided to test mommy's patience with the dog food and water bowls today! He has been copying a lot of what Vinnie, our Boston Terrier, does lately. I knew it would happen eventually, but I didn't expect it this soon. I know he knows better, but he goes and sticks a handful of dog food in his mouth and splashes in the water bowl. I swear I feed the kid! I guess he prefers a little crunchy snack of Science Diet every now and then. I repeatedly told him NO and walked him away. A few times I could hear the wrestling of the dog food and would look over and he would look at me...smile(loosing a few in the process) and start to sprint away! I try not to laugh and I scold him. Today he even had his first time out in his crib. I had had it. It is amazing the look he gets in his eyes when he knows that I caught him and he starts to book it. Boys are tough. I allow dad to step in because he is a lot more scary looking than mommy. Just a raising of his eyebrows is enough to get Shane to leave the crime scene and not return for at least another 30 minutes. So needless to say it was a physically and emotionally draining day. Trying to figure out the best way to punish an almost 14 month old is hard. It is not like they understand reasoning...close but not quite yet. Time out can only be effective in the crib..but you don't want them to associate the crib with punishment. I am all for spankings but are they too little to truly understand their effectiveness? Oh boy, maybe Dr. Dobson has a chapter on this in his book on raising boys I am reading. I have learned so many great insights to understanding boys. As a matter of fact, I am beginning to even understand my husband better...amazing:).

With all the never ending clutter of toys and all things Tornado Shane I find myself trying to keep it all together. I don't mind that the baseboard are dusty or my windows need cleaning, but I really want to use my time effectively. I want to fit in exercise, family time, Reading to Shane and myself, hobbies, church ministries...etc. I think sometimes it is impossible to keep a clean home. Now I do work full time so I totally can see if I were a stay at home mom that I could find a lot more time, but I know it is still very hectic. I came across this Facebook post that I absolutely love... it read "To live everyday like it's your last is not always about doing something new, different, exciting and noteworthy. I think it is, in large part, about doing the ordinary with excellence". So that is what I am going to focus on this week. Doing ordinary things with excellence. If I don't get to go somewhere amazing or get to the project, that is ok. I will clean those baseboards like no other! Oh I almost forgot. Today Shane tested my patience, but he did the sweetest thing ever...he took out the trash. Yes, his first chore. I think it was his way of apologizing:). Daddy was pretty excited too!