I'm Doing Something Right, Part Two

I woke up this morning (on a Monday!) determined to look for the positive in my day.

I think Audrey woke up this morning determined to not allow anything positive into my day.

We had a rough morning, with Audrey being blatantly disobedient and disrespectful and with me losing my temper and yelling at her.  It was very discouraging since I was so excited about my new perspective and attitude about parenting.  In the past, after a rough morning like today, I would have just given up on the day.  I would beat myself up for losing my temper and feel crabby for the rest of the day.

But since I was on a mission to look for things I was doing right, I found myself much more motivated to keep trying to do right things!  It really did make a difference in our day, and by evening, things were much much better than the way we started the day.

So here are some things I did right today:

• After losing my temper with Audrey this morning, we both apologized and asked for forgiveness.  I gave her a hug, kiss and I love you before school, and we both agreed to re-start the day after school.
• When Audrey continued to be disobedient after school, I kept my cool and stayed calm and did not yell.
• I took Isla shopping while Audrey was in school, and she was a super helper and carried my new shoes through the store and all the way to the car.  I gave her lots of compliments for being such a big girl, and she beamed.
• I let Audrey help me mop the kitchen floor when it would have been much easier and quicker to do it myself.  She was so proud of her work!
• I gave both girls lots of hugs and kisses and "I love yous" throughout the day.  (I've never noticed this until I started looking for it, but this is something I do a lot and don't even realize it.  I think it's a good thing!)
•  I talked and laughed and played with the girls after dinner.
•  I let the girls watch multiple video covers of the song "Let It Go" with me before bed tonight and promised we could make our own video cover of the song tomorrow.
• I read stories and sang songs to Isla before bed.  (It was Daniel's turn for Audrey)
• Tonight, Audrey came to me and willingly confessed doing something wrong.  This is something we talk about a lot, because she hates to do it.  I was so proud of her for being honest, and I told her that.

Okay, considering that this was a somewhat "bad" day for us, I think that list is pretty good.  I don't know if I will keep sharing all of my "rights" on here, but I do think I will continue to make the list.  At this point in my life, it is very encouraging to end the day thinking about the positive rather than the negative!