The Shoemaker.....

Have you ever heard "The shoemaker's children have no shoes"? Well, the cabinetmaker has no descent cabinets. What is up with that? My husband, (sweet man that he is) is one of the finest cabinet makers in the world. He builds furniture and kitchens in multi-million dollar homes, yet he comes home to a house where the cabinets are falling apart and I have one room with no furniture in it at all.

One of Tim's chests that he designs.

I can't blame him for being tired and not having the time or energy (not to mention the money) to fix our cabinets. I recently discovered that the same applies for the Child Psychologist. I am aware of so many methods of raising children, I have a million theories and I have worked with tons of kids. Some parents call me a miracle worker because of what I have done for their kids. Why can't I figure out what to do with my own kids? Actually, just one in particular... Rigel. For the most part, I have fairly well behaved children. They have their moments (we all do) when they fight and generally just drive me crazy, but for the most part, they are good kids. Rigel, on the other hand, is the most unusual kid I have ever met.

He can't let us take pictures of what is going on, they have to be of him.

This morning, he woke up seemingly in a good mood. As we went about our day, he decided to be clingy, which happens occasionally. So, being the mom that I am I played a game of Monoploy Jr with him, (in which he won..AGAIN!) and we talked and had a happy time. He decided he wanted to earn gems, (a reward system where he trades gems in for money at the end of the month) so he does his jobs and looks for other things to do.

It was a wonderful day... until Uncle Christian came over. For some odd reason Rigel thinks he needs to be the center of attention when his Uncle comes over. The way he does this is by bugging everyone else in the world until someone punishes him. Punishment usually involves his gems being taken away. When that doesn't work, he gets his hands on the wall, when that isn't working, he goes to his room. I am now, pulling my hair out!! He has been in his room three times and he doesn't show signs of stopping.

Every other child in the world responds to consistent consequences except for my boy! The Psychologist's kid. I have everyone else's children figured out except for my own! It has been this way since birth. Everything I have done for all of my other kids has NEVER worked for Rigel. Sleep training, potty training, time outs, positive reinforcement, unpleasant deterrents.... nothing works! He has done everything the way he wants to, at his pace, when he decides that is what he wants to do. If you have children like this, it can be a very frustrating thing, just know that you are not alone. Someday my kitchen will be amazingly beautiful, and someday, Rigel is going to be grown up and dealing with kids of his own. In the meantime, I just have to keep believing that what I am doing is working. In the end, the journey won't be as frustrating as we thought it was at the time. After all, hind sight is 20/20.