The Naughty Step

Will on the naughty step--clearly phased by this act of discipline.

When Will was nearing the age of two, it was becoming quite apparent that it was time to start disciplining. Josh and I, parenting novices that we are, weren't quite sure how to approach it. Then, one night as we were watching the Super Nanny show on TV (which is rare), we saw her discipline a two-year-old with the "naughty step". Liking the concept but not neccessarily the name, Josh and I decided to put it into action. Josh wanted to call it the "penalty box" whereas I wanted to refer to it just as "the step". However, the first day we implemented the step, both Josh and I called it "the naughty step". And there was no turning back, for that is what Will insisted on calling it. And though the naughty step has mostly helped in curing some unwanted habits (I say mostly--there are still a few we need to work on), it has also brought on some humorous moments, such as these:

• The other day I found Will with his cat on the naughty step, discipling the "tat" with a pointed finger and the following lecture: "No frow cars, tat, only frow balls. Sit naughty step two minutes." This lecture was then followed with Will making the "beep, beep" noise (indicating the timer had gone off) and then Will telling the tat: "Okay. All done naughty step."
• Will helps load the dishwasher after meals (mostly the silverware and plastic ware). He has to open the dishwasher, pull out the bottom drawer and then load his few pieces. We were having a terrible time of him opening the dishwasher and bouncing, bouncing, bouncing it. After a few trips to the naughty step, he has, mostly, stopped this bouncing. He'll open the dishwasher and remind us, "No bou-ing." The other day, as I was opening the dishwasher to load it, the dishwasher just bounced all on its own. Will saw this and then told me, "No bou-ing dishwasher, Mama. Go sit on naughty step. Two minutes." Of course, I complied.
• Will is obsessed with gum--eating it, not chewing it. He found a piece in my purse the other day and I didn't want him to have it. I told him if he ate that piece of gum, he would have to sit on the naughty step. He looked at me, looked at the gum, looked at the step, then opened up the gum, popped it into his mouth and quickly ran to sit on the naughty step. I'm pretty certain he felt that piece of gum was worth the two minutes on the step. I'm also pretty certain that the naughty step now holds no fear for him. I guess we'll have to watch Super Nanny for some new ideas. Let us know if you have any good disciplining tips.

Weekend Warriors

Not to toot our own horns or anything, but Josh and I are pretty much awesome. Typically, I really don't like to brag (har, har), but I really need to document our accomplishments so that in the future I can recall that it is possible for us to actually be productive. This was our Saturday:

1. 6:00: Josh went on a 17 mile bike ride.
2. 7:00: I went on a 5 mile run (and I ran those 5 miles in 42 minutes, people. That's some kind of record, for me anyway. It helped that it was finally cool and un-humid).
3. 8:00: Ate a homemade breakfast of crepes made by Josh, the best breakfast-maker ever.
4. 9:00-10:00: Weeded the flower beds that had been neglected all summer long.
5. 10:00-10:30: Purchased mulch, flowers and new bushes at our local garden center.
6. 11:00-12:00: Planted flowers, bushes and spread mulch in those long-neglected flower beds.
7. 1:00: Fed Will and put down for a nap.
8. 1:00-2:00: Cleaned, organized and swept basement (Jessy).
9. 1:00-2:00: Swept and cleaned garage (Josh).
10. 2:00-2:45: Bathed, finally. That was some serious grime and filth I washed off myself--after a run, working in dirt and mulch and then ridding the basement of all cobwebs, I was in desperate need of a shower. Josh too (though it was his second shower of the day. His record for showers in one day: 5. The man likes to be clean).
11. 2:45-3:00: Vacuumed and mopped all floors on the main level. They were rather messy from traipsing in all forms of dirt, grass and mud.
12. 3:00: Woke Will up and went to "Woody-Bud" show (how Will refers to Toy Story) at our favorite local theater.
13. 3:30-5:00: Consumed ridiculous amounts of popcorn and M&Ms (which totally negated earlier run/ride), thoroughly enjoyed new "Woody-Bud" show, even crying shamelessly (it really is a must-see: I laughed; I cried; I cuddled with Will on my lap as he scarfed popcorn non-stop).
14. 5:00-6:00: Played at the park and even watched a local v-ball tourney they happened to be hosting there.
15. 6:00-6:30: Josh vacuumed his truck (I think it had been probably at least six years since that had last occurred) while I made dinner and Will rode his bike--in the flower beds, mind you. Josh also cleaned out all the vacuums. Impressive and dirty work.
16. 7:30-8:00: Gave Will a bath, a story and bed.
17. 8:30-10:00: Folded laundry and then cuddled, watching our latest favorite show on DVD: "White Collar" (a good show--you should check it out).
18. 10:30-morning: Went to bed, woke up, destroyed house in the whirlwind that is trying to get to 9:00 church on time. Came home, took a two hour nap, had FHE, made dinner and am now staring in wonder at the hurricane that apparently exploded in my home that was, 24 hours prior, spotlessly clean.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. Lots of work, lots of play. My favorite kind of day. Feel free to now offer your praises and express how incredibly impressed you are with all our hard work (not to mention how impressed you are with my beauty, talents, wit, and, of course, humility). Stay tuned for an update on next weekend which will most likely consist of sleeping in, watching television and eating bon-bons all day.