I was so mortified when this happened on the weekend..

I knew this day would come. I just never thought that it would happen so soon. 

One of my children was 'that' child at a party. 

So, here we are at a friends house, celebrating a birthday with a relaxed Sunday evening Aussie barbecue. There is another family with four kids there that we had never met before as well, all the parents are having a chat on the back porch and the mobile kids are running around having a ball. 

Next minute, Mr X has punched a child twice his height and age in the face. 

Yep, not ideal.. But we made him apologise and hoped it was just excitement and being overwhelmed so we could move on.

 A few minutes later, he hits another child. 

By this stage I was praying that the ground would open up and swallow me to save me from my embarrassment and shame. The other parents are being nice, smiling and shrugging it off as 'kids being kids' to try and comfort me. 

At this point I should add, that all the other children are playing beautifully together without incident.

After a stint in time out and an apology, Mr X was warned that another incident would get him a ticket out of the party and straight into bed. 

A mere ten minutes later a little girl could be seen crying and running away from a stick-wielding Mr X who had just hit her in the face. 

My wingman swooped in and took our little boxing boy home to bed. 

I was absolutely mortified and spent the rest of the party choking back tears and apologising over and over.

Note - Mr X is going through a stage where he expresses his frustration through violence. 

We have been talking to him about it and been very strict with our discipline so he knows very well that this is not an OK way to deal with your emotions. This is the first time he has been violent towards someone outside of the family and I trust that with our consistent and calm discipline, he will grow out of it soon. 

Gay? So What?

Today my gorgeous sister-in-law and her lovely girlfriend were over for a couple of hours helping me to get in front of the housework and giving me a chance to visit the bathroom solo (WIN!).

Their relationship is relatively new and has never been announced or explained to Mr X. He has just come to understand that they are together on his own.
I've never had to have a conversation with him about the fact that his Aunt is with a woman and not a man.
He has never asked.
He just sees two people that are happy and in love and accepts that.

I love how simple things are in the eyes of my three year old.
Love is love.

Mr X shocked me today when he took defiance to whole a new level..

Today my beautiful grandmother came over to help me with the children.
The kids already have a strong association with their Mimi and sweet treats. She always has an abundance of home-baked deliciousness when we visit. Today was no different, she came bearing biscuits, cupcakes and dinner - bless her!

Mr X had already indulged in quite a few cupcakes and biscuits when he came to me and asked for yet another cupcake. I explained that he had already had too many and didn't need any more sugar.
Up until now, this would have resulted in a rather dramatic sigh, head drop and pout combo followed by an "Oh.. Ok.." And that would have been the end of it.

Today, a few minutes after refusing him, I noticed Mr X emerging from under the desk with pink icing all over his face and an empty cupcake wrapper.
The little rascal had snuck a cupcake off the bench and hidden under the desk to eat it!!
This is certainly a new level of defiance in our house.
I think I will have to be much more vigilant with any sweets in the house from now on!

My first week as a mum of four I never expected this to happen..

My first week of being a mum of four has been amazing, crazy, exhausting, exciting and so full of joy.
There are so many things to share about this week, but one thing I certainly didn't expect to happen was to have my twins play their very first prank on us..
Our discipline strategy is time out. The girls have only recently started to be disciplined this way and they seem to be responding well.. Until yesterday...
Miss I was in time out.
Josh and I were busy going about our business of the day with the other kids..
When Josh went to get Miss I out of time out, he was faced with a rather cheeky faced Miss C happily sitting in her sister's place! Looking around for Miss I (all the while seriously struggling to maintain a straight face and stern tone) we find her happily settled in front of the TV.
I can not believe that our ONE YEAR OLD twins have started to prank us by switching places already.. I think we have many years of laughs to come with these cheeky little rascals.