I am not having a pity party, I am just saying that it's hard being a single parent. I am not a single parent of my own choice, and I did everything I could possibly do, and then some, to try to avoid this situation. However, ultimately I had to decide between my children's future and welfare and something else that was not good for my kids. I know I made the right choice and I don't regret that, but man, who knew it would be so trying at times??

The girls have really been so well behaved up until now that I was blindsided by the "terrible two" behavior that has begun in the past week. Defiant. Challenging. Temper tantrums galore. I understand how so many kids end up being spoiled brats who get anything they want. It is so much easier to be a bad parent than it is to be a good one. It would be alot easier to let them do what they want and give in to their demands. No, I am not going to do that no matter how hard they try to break me down!! We're talking tag team tantrums here people.

I was speaking to my previous Pastor on the phone the other night and he has had 2 strong willed children. "This is the period where they either train you or you train them," he told me. I was explaining to him that they do not respond to any form of discipline at all when they get in a certain mood. He gave me some advice that I have decided to try and see how it works.

I have stripped their room down to nothing but their beds and the dresser. I moved the changing table out because they have been climbing it and standing up and they could get seriously hurt if they fell off. Now, if they won't respond to counting to 3, reasoning, time out, or a tap on the heiny, they will have to go to their room and have the tantrum there. Maybe this sounds horrible to you but believe me, these kids are loved to the max. That is why I do not want them to turn into spoiled brats. I am not saying that this is going on all day every day either. The majority of the time they play together wonderfully, and are loving and happy baby monkeys. But then they don't get their way, or I won't give them something they want but aren't supposed to have, and that's the whine turning to tantrum trigger. Another may be if I ask them to stop doing something they know they're not allowed to do and they continue. Alot of the time they'll even look at you and laugh like "You can't tell me what to do. Here I go again. What are you gonna do about it?"

So this is the method I'm trying for a while. So far it seems to be working. After I have tried all the stuff above, I say "You can either calm down/stop climbing on the table/get down off the back of the sofa or you are going to go sit in your room." This has worked a couple of times. If not and they go to their room, they normally finish the tantrum there, then when they're done, I reiterate to her/them the reason she was in her room and that I love her but she has to follow Mommy's rules. Then hugs and kisses.

Lord, help me get through this without having a nervous breakdown or consuming massive quantities of chocolate. Amen.