Raising a 4 year old in a household of much older brothers is a very different experience for me. When my older boys were this small, it was a very different household. I was a different mother. I was still forcing kids to finish their vegetables, go to bed at 8, and there was not a video game in the house. I worked full-time then, so their lives were full of structure. They went to pre-school all day, then we did dinner, baths, read & had a little play time, then off to bed. They had time-outs, and even the occasional spanking. I am so busy multi-tasking these days that if I do put Nick in time-out, I often forget he is there, and he just starts playing again-- totally ineffective I know. He plays DS, PlayStation 3, and XBox. He plays roller hockey, and can ride a skateboard. His vocabulary (while his speech is still a little difficult to understand), is like that of a 10 year old. He changes the channel on the TV, and says, "oh no, Mommy, we'd better change it, that isn't appropriate for me". He is definitely having a different toddler experience than his brothers did. In good ways too. We do everything together, like peas and carrots.
I enter this new week a little tired, but smiling. Why? No drama this weekend. We had sunshine, and sports, and cuddle time--- less the drama. Most families don't experience the intense level of emotions that the Rhodes clan does. Sure, they have the hectic life of families, perhaps some fighting, the normal mess--- perhaps a little teen hormone induced drama....but we have drama of a different kind in our house. The kind of drama caused by a brain that is shooting off crazy chemicals induced by years of trauma. When our son Victor is home, the whole world is a great big land mine. Saying the wrong thing, calling him out on behavior, or even suggesting that he not eat a 4th serving of ice cream can cause the the peace to recede, and for chaos to ensue. He is now in a boarding school for kids with emotional issues. As sad as it is that our family isn't all together--- I must admit that the peace in our household is a welcome blessing. We are learning more and more
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