10 ways to get your husband to do what you want around the house

I had to smile at this title, and it made me read the list.

I am one of the lucky women whose husband does his fair share.
So far so, that he sometimes complains he is working his ass off in this house...

I don't have to ask my husband to help me. He just does! (Thank you!)

I wonder if these tips would really help in getting the man helping with all the mundane chores?
It seems to be a bit patronising?


But here it is for a good giggle on this Friday afternoon. The article was suggested from Housekeeping, and it can be read here:

10 ways to get your husband to do what you want around the house


1. Incentive 

2. Tit for Tat 

3. Logic 

4. Hysterical Tears 

5. Bribery 

6. Guilt Trip 

7. Work Together 

8. Ask the Right Way 

9. Make a List 

10. Go on Strike 

45 Months

WHAT??

We are just trying to keep up with her!

Not everything she does is our parenting at fault. "Girls playing with girls" is her perception of life at the moment, and we can only help her to to see that not everything is as "pink" and "blue" as she believes it is!

She is becoming her own person more and more.

Humour helps us to negotiate the toddler tantrums. It really works!

Talking and reasoning is becoming much easier, and we haven't seen another Mommy taxi-meltdown after we said enough is enough!

At this very moment I am sitting and drinking an extra coffee before I go to pick her up from after-care. I asked her if she wants to be fetched early, or if she wants to play with her friends.

Guess what? She wants to play with her friends!

And that is all good!

That is how it is supposed to be!

Posted with Blogsy

Humour saves us from a full-blown toddler tantrum

Toddlers and tantrums are synonymous! (Heck, yes!)

And by now we have seen all the types and forms and manifestations of the worst of the worst of tantrums!

It is not a pleasant sight!
It does not help the harmonious atmosphere in any home!
And it is extremely embarrassing when out of the family home!

I don't know of how many times I have put on my straight face walking with a screaming toddler when it doesn't help to talk to her or try to calm her down. She gets even more upset! It only helps to pick her up and walk out of a situation at that point in time!

We as parents know when it is starting to build up to one:
- It starts with a whine...
- It starts with a "NO!"
- It starts with a mouth hanging upside down on the ground...
- It starts with a heap of toddler on the floor...
- It starts with a toddler, and no reason whatsoever (or one that we can fathom!)

We know all the signs of a threatening tantrum!

I have found one thing that works almost all of the times!
Making a toddler joke!

For example: When the Toddler is in the car and we are driving and she starts asking for something:
"I want a sweet from the shop!"
"Yes, we will buy a sweet the next time we are at the shops!"
"I want a sweet... (Repeat 50 times with increase in volume and whine!)
"Yes, we will buy next time!" (Repeat 50 times!)
When the pitch starts to change to tantrum mode, I usually ask her if I must stop on the pavement and get a sweet from the pavement / or from the man walking / or from the trees / or from the sky...
She answers with a laugh: "No, it is not there! We must get it in the shops!"
The joke averts the imminent tantrum, and she starts to focus on something else!
(Repeat)

It has helped me to not become too serious, and it also lightens the mood!

Now I only have to come up with funny creative retorts!
Any ideas?

Reasons why I consider Honest Toddler to be mandatory reading

If you have not heard of Honest Toddler by know, you should do yourself a favour and go and check out the Twitter feed as well as the blog.

I see it as as mandatory to follow him on his daily perspectives and utterances on life as a toddler.

It is mandatory as a survival technique for parents of toddlers.

If not recognising most of the Honest Toddler's take on life in your own child, it is also a sneak peak in the life of the parents of Honest Toddler.

They have their quirks and "addictions" while trying to parent a whimsical psychopath personality trying to get into the "big bed". Which is usually the big score! Or "cake"! Whichever comes first!


Some funnies:

- The blog post about fruit and how it should be presented to a toddler. Apparently not all fruit are equal, and fruit with any discolourings or bad spots are regarded with disapproval.
I love the bananas part! Yes, we should not expect them to eat the whole thing when it has been peeled. And, most importantly, always ask first before doing anything with a fruit!

- The toilet playing adventures on Twitter are a rich source of fun for the toddler, and I love the parents' reaction: "Mama is supervising with her special juice"

- The big bed as the ultimate goal each night. "Woke up in the big bed. Dreams can come true."

- The blog post about the animals. Not as funny, because it seems that the poor fish had died under mysterious circumstances and that the cat had jumped out of the window.

- At the office: "Did a quiet pee. Shhhhhh"
                          "Changed into emergency pants in the hallway. Stranger saw my bum bum LOL"

- And of course the potty training adventures... It's hilarious. The Twitter bio says it all: "Not potty trained. Not trying."

Honest Toddler on Twitter: @honesttoddler
Honest Toddler blog: Honest Toddler


Thanks, Honest Toddler! You help me understand my own toddler much better!

Noticing the shadows

41 months of the little person in our lives.

We have been smiling all along...
Sometimes we have to hide a laugh, because we do not want her to know that we are laughing at her.
But her perspective makes us look at things totally differently.

The shadows
She noticed the "brown" (her word) spot in the bath last night. We explained that it is her shadow, and I proceeded to show her my hands making shadows on the bath.
She has seen it before, but last night she became terrified and wanted to jump out of the bath immediately.
Luckily when she went to sleep, she asked again about the shadows. I could tell her that it is dark and that they are not there any more...

Growing legs
We have been joking about the socks growing legs and going on holiday. We have always only one sock coming back from the wash!
One of the toddler's wash cloths also got lost, and we said that it got legs as well.
I found it later in the cupboard.
The Toddler was at first not impressed and did not want anything to do with that particular wash cloth: "It's got legs!"

Prayers
Prayers always make for a lot of hidden smiles on our side. The most recent prayer that her father retold:
"Thanks for my dad's hair (he hasn't got that many), and thanks for my mother's course legs" (we presume it's the stubble...)

Nothing that keeps you more grounded!

Slippers
The Toddler loves her new Hello Kitty slippers. She went to sleep for two nights in a row with the slippers still on her feet.
She threw a tantrum yesterday morning when she saw I had substituted the slippers for boots for the day... So she went to school with her slippers!
It was very dirty last night and we had to put it in the washing bin, or else I am sure she would have insisted on wearing it again...


Thanks for all the cuteness!

How to survive the Terrible Tantrum

There’s a reason they call it the Terrible Two’s. I thought we’ve seen the worst, and we were handling it well. Not so! Missy Toddler turned Two, and with it came THE TANTRUM!

The ritual of THE TANTRUM:

1. The stomping feet, which increases the more she gets upset!
2. The unhappy forced wail!
3. The high high piercing pitching shriek which follows the wail!
4. She throws her body on the floor and/or crawls around on all fours!  (It is impossible to pick her up, because she just slithers through your arms.)
5. It lasts for a couple of more minutes.

NOTES TO SELF ON HOW TO SURVIVE IT:

• Ignore, and walk away. (There is nothing that douses a full-blown tantrum quicker than when there is nobody to appreciate it.)

• When you can’t walk away, drag her (if possibly), to a safe place to continue there with the tantrum. (It has the same effect as the previous point)

• Make a mental note of how funny it looks (although you don’t always see the funny at that moment), and think of how you are going to tell them about it when they are bigger! (Evil smile)(That video is also going to make a huge manipulation tool...)

• Try the distraction technique. Do not spend as much time on this technique. It does not work as well like when she was younger...

• Make yourself a cup of coffee/tea/WINE!

• Say to yourself: “This too will pass!”

• Chant to yourself, repeatedly “This too will pass!”

• When in a public place: 

            Put on your best calmest smile!
            Zone out!             Look people in the eye (Give them the “It’s her, not me!”-look)
            Act genuinely surprised at the people frowning at you!

How do you handle the Terrible T?


Related posts:
The shriek!
The T-dance - the toddler and tantrums