An End to the Dictatorship

The last few weeks have been pretty rough here. Our little tyrant dictator ruled with an iron fist. No laughing or playing. Anna could hardly breath without her brother telling her she was doing it wrong. We had hours of timeouts, days spent in the baby bed (my last resort punishment. He goes up to the crib with the door shut lights off and curtain shut. He is cut off from everything. It works.) and more yelling than ever. I hate yelling. And I felt like mommy the yell bag. Mark yelled back. It was bad.
And then we had a wonderful day on Monday. No yelling, minimal time outs and no time in the baby bed. Then yesterday was the same. He was compliant. He did what he was told. He was nice to his sister. He played with her and gave her toys. He didn't snatch things away just to make her cry. It was a dream. After they went to bed I actually missed them and wished they were still up to play with. Shocking, I know. We all had such fun together.
I think we are finally getting through. Late last week we decided we were going to crack down on his nasty behavior. No more yelling from anyone. Just consequences. A couple of missed mornings at the park (huge treat) and much time spent in time out and we are seeing results. I think I see light at the end of the tunnel. He is getting it. Be nice get rewarded; be mean get nothing.
Let me tell you, yesterday was so fun. We spent the whole days doing things together. I have missed that.
Today will be the true test. Jason is on his way to work. So it is just Mom and the kids. I will let you know how it goes.