Exhausted

So...the "1-2-3-Magic" IS working, it was just hard to see the progress this weekend. Miss Maura Lyn was on TOP of her naughty game Saturday and Sunday. The days would start out fine, but naptime would cause a complete Jekyll-Hyde transformation. The only requirement was that she lay down and rest with her eyes closed. She never even got to the laying down step on Saturday. Instead, she tore apart her room. She threw clothes, shoes, toys, pretty much anything she thought would get a reaction out of us. The only reaction she got was getting to stay in her room (remember, she hadn't rested yet) and having all of the things that she was destroying or throwing taken away. She was allowed out for dinner and to get ready for bed, but that was it. Sunday started out pretty much the same way. However, it was a little better AND a little worse all at the same time. A little better in that she did actually lay down for a nap (and even fell asleep). A little worse because she found a stray red crayon and some lips (chapstick) in her room. We came in to a lovely mural on the wall. (On a side note, Maura's getting very good at drawing pictures...I just would like them better if they were on paper!) Luckily, the crayon must have been a washable one, because it came off with a wet sponge. That was what Maura worked on during her time outs that evening - cleaning her walls. She didn't have a whole lot else to do in there since she now has nothing in her room except a blanket, pillow, sheet, and bath towel. After she relaxed enough to almost be asleep Sunday night, I scooped her up into my arms and held her. We had a long talk about how much more fun it is to make good choices. When you make good choices, you get your stuff back. It's no fun to have nothing in your bedroom. If we get a good report from school today she'll get her mattress back. It seemed like it may have sunk in, but only time will tell.

I didn't think to get a picture of the mural, but here's the after-effects:



Her toy storage is now on the landing:


From looking at her, you would never believe that this sweet girl could possibly ever think about whipping toys at her parents. Look at those cute half-piggies!


We're looking into some outlets for her...she's definitely joining soccer next spring, and we're thinking about something a little more disciplined to start with. Jason is asking his friend about his daughter's Tae Kwon Do facility. We'll keep you posted.

Hopefully Teagan will stay as mellow as she is now. I don't know if Jason and I would survive another Maura.

Have a great week!