Time-Outs and Crescent Moons

Our little Jake has the most easy going personality ever.  Not much at all gets to him and he's able to roll with the punches so easily it's astounding really.  That being said ... the little guy has a temper and there is really no stopping the blow once the smoke is coming from his ears.  So every once in a while, much more often now that Sam is gone, it all becomes too much and he needs a time-out.  I can't even recall the circumstances now, or what got him to time-out, but I do remember he was yelling and screaming anything and everything he could to show us all who was boss and that he wasn't going to take it anymore.

  

So picture in your minds eye a calm and peaceful morning.  Suddenly a calm and mellow child lashes out at one of his siblings and starts screaming and yelling at the top of his lungs.  He gets even louder when he is sent to time-out.  He's there for quite a while, you see in our house you sit until you are calm.  It has been our experience that a  __ minute time-out equals instant repeat of the behavior once off time-out.  So it is known that time-out will be as long as it needs to be to time you out and calm the behavior.  So he's there for quite a while and still screaming and yelling things like, "It's your fault I did it and you are the stupidest mom ever." "Mom is weird and you should all do mean things to her while I am on time-out."  "Don't you guys think Mom is weird?"  "You can't put me on time-out, I didn't do anything."  "You are a lier and I am going to tell Daddy when he calls that you are a lying, stupid, weird mom that can't put her kids on time-out and you will get in big trouble."  "I have been here for 10 hours and you are not allowed to keep me here."  "I am getting off and you can't stop me."  And various other things all while life goes on around him and not a single bit of attention is paid to him.  It's comical really as long as I can keep my emotions out of it.  I call it my robot mode.  

 

Anyhow, all this is constant.  I am not really sure he even breathed between threats, accusations, and abusive remarks.  He's alive, so he must have, but it sure didn't seem like it. All of the sudden and I mean all of the sudden, it's quiet.  He had just gotten done screaming, "Get me off of here, you HAVE to get me off of here you stupid!!!!"  and then it's quiet. Completely silent.  For about 1 second no sound could be heard anywhere, we were all bracing ourselves for a second blow, and then, in the most cheerful, content, calm, and un-volcanoish voice, "Mom, look!  I'm a crescent moon!"  I laughed, we all laughed and I grabbed the camera. That's about how it goes with Jake.  We sure love him :)