Snails & puppy dog tails

The boys have a book that has a bunch of nursery rhymes, and one of them is the nursery rhyme that says, " girls are made of sugar and spice and boys are made from snails and puppy dog tails." I don't know what the rhyme is called and I don't know the rest of it, but Nathan thinks that line is neat. I'm beginning to think that he/she knew what they were talking about. Although it should have said that boys were made up of piss and vinegar! My two have just been rotten lately. Between not eating dinner, to throwing chairs, to not listening, to thinking bedtimes don't apply to them, makes me debate the wisdom of adding a third boy to the mix.

Darren seems to be hungry ALL the time, so as soon as he gets home from daycare he gets a snack. Well, he is like a goldfish in that he will eat until he stuffs himself silly. We have been trying to limit his snacks, but it is hard. If he asks for chips, we give him a handful and tell him that is it until dinner. Once the chips are gone he will scream and buck until we either give him more or until dinner time. The other day we gave him a handful of chips and said no more snacks until dinner. He bucked for a good ten minutes until he was distracted. I put dinner on the table and neither him or Nathan want any. Our rule is that you at least have to try it, and if you still don't like it you can have a hot dog or something. Both boys said they weren't hungry, so after Bruce and I were done eating we cleaned up the dishes but put the boys food in the microwave for when they got hungry later. An hour later, they were both starving. After begging for chips, popsicles, ice cream, apples and whatever else, Nathan got the hint and sat down to pick at his dinner. Darren refused to even look at his. Off to bed he went without anything to eat. Of course it backfires on us because he wakes up at about 1:00 in the morning because of his allergies and wants to eat since he is wide awake (remember he has Bruce's sleeping habits). I let him have a cereal bar since I am completely exhausted and just want to crawl back into bed. Bruce reminds me when I crawl into bed about two hours later that technically Darren wins since I gave in.

Nathan threw a chair again at daycare on Wednesday. He knew what he did was wrong, because he accepted his punishment from us without complaint. He only got water to drink, the only thing he was allowed to eat was dinner and he also had to kneel in the corner for five minutes. It was only after bath time that he started acting like a brat again. He wanted something to eat, then he just refused to listen. He was sent to his room since he couldn't listen and he kept screaming like a crazy person. He was a bear to live with that night. Last night I was home by myself with the boys for an hour or two, and I was ready to sell Nathan to the highest bidder. He wanted the tricycle out of the shed and when I refused to get it out for him he threw a big fit. I finally get him in the house because it is bath time and he said he wants some cookies. Of course that means that Darren wants cookies also. There were only five Oreo's left, and since Nathan ate all the applesauce at dinner time without sharing with Darren, Darren got three cookies and Nathan got two. Nathan started whining about how it wasn't far and I explained to him my reasoning and I even told him what they tell them at daycare. "What you get is what you get so don't throw a fit." Nathan then decides that he wants his cookies "smashed" and I told him to eat them like they are. He is still whining around and asking for Dad, and I told him to be quiet and eat his cookies because by this time Darren is done with his and is eyeing Nathan's. He repeats again that he wants them smashed. I told him he had to the count of three to eat them the way they are or Darren is getting them. Guess who ate the cookies? Darren. Nathan continued to cry and get louder in asking for Dad and I told him to stop crying and to act like a little man. I warned him again that if he wasn't quiet I was going to stuff a sock in his mouth. He kept crying, so I got one of Bruce's clean socks and stuck it in his mouth. Darren and I thought it was funny so we were laughing. Of course he spit it out and kept on crying. Since it was a longer sock, I laid it over his mouth and then tied it in the back of his head. (I should point out this is the same thing we do when we play "robbers" so it is not cruel and unusual punishment. Nor am I abusing him.) He is to big for me to man-handle into the corner being seven months pregnant, and he obviously wasn't going to get up and walk himself into the corner. He was crying/whining so loud, and the back windows were open, that I was sure that the cops were going to show up. After ten minutes of this where I am straightening up the kitchen, I get tired of it and take Darren to the bathroom to start his bath. I close our bedroom door and the bathroom door so that Nathan is muted. I think that he finally got the hint because after a few minutes he walks in and asks if he can get in the tub with Darren. I ask him what he has to say for himself. He said he was sorry, and I asked why he was sorry. He said he was sorry for not listening. After that, the rest of the night went fine.