Getting Back into the Swing of Things...

EDIT: I added a post from May. Find it below or here

It's hard to be a SAHM. I couldn't even manage it for one week without practically going crazy. Now, don't get me wrong, I adore my son and I would give anything to be able to spend more time with him during the school year. But he wears me the heck out. I feel kind of sorry for my parents, who watched him almost non-stop this past semester, when he wasn't in preschool. He must have driven them crazy. And naturally, having to deal with Mommy's discipline methods after having spent all this time basking in the relative leniency of adoring grandparents was a bit difficult for both of us. Especially since that difficulty translated itself into whining and hissy fits....(ok, ok, for both E and me. Shut up.)

So I initiated the "star chart." Basically, for every day that E manages to not piss me off doesn't whine or throw a hissy fit, he gets a star sticker. And then after so many stars, he gets a small present. Since he's four, the goal for stars starts at 4, then goes to 5, 6, 7, you get the point. It's actually worked quite well, and before he left for his dad's house, he had gotten 4 stars in 5 days, and a Transformer was the reward. (Yeah, yeah, it's not exactly small, but he was leaving for 2 weeks, go easy on me...)

It took FOREVER to explain it to him. It kind of went like this:

Evan: How many stars do I need to get a present?
Mom: Well, first, you need 4 stars. After you get 4, you'll get a small present.
Evan: I have a star right now, let me put it on the chart.
Mom: No way, Jose, you get stars for being good. Not just because.
Evan: But I AM good!
Mom: I mean, when you don't whine or cry. Or scream.
Evan: Oh. Well, then what happens?
Mom: For every day that you don't whine or cry (or scream), you'll get one star to put on your chart.
Evan: ....And then what?
Mom: Then, after you get 4 stars, you can have a present!
Evan: What kind of present?
Mom: A small one.
Evan: When?
Mom: Oh, for God's sake, when you get 4 stars!!
Evan: Well, I have a star right here...