On Punishment

My sister Jasmyn and I took a trip down to sunny California...it was heaven. Except for the part where Tyler decided he was on a vacation from obeying. In only TWO DAYS down there I:
*had to pull over the car on the way down to spank him and have a long talk because he was screaming....'because I mwanted to'
*the last twenty minutes down there he bit, pinched, & hit Trenton in the car: he couldn't play like the other kids, but had to help me unload and unpack...mostly I had to make sure he was leaving the others alone!!!
*bit Trent randomly again...perhaps he needed more sleep? Had him sit on the couch 10 minutes, but he wouldn't stay sitting. I took him into the garage for 10 minutes while I made sure he knew Trent was outside playing with Grandma...grrrr
*pooped TWICE in his pants...this wasn't because the trip 'threw' him. He decided he was done with that nonsense a few days before at home. First time I made him stand still, stripped down, while I did laundry and then showered him. Was dramatic because he hates showers. The second time I showered him again, but made the water more tepid and then grounded him from the beloved trampoline.
*One night he just wanted to 'talk very softly' while Trent and Paige tried to sleep in the same room...yeah, not so cool when they both wake up. When standing in the corner didn't work, we had another round of hanging out in the garage.

All that warm weather down there made those experiences more than fine. But I felt like banging my head against a brick wall. However, I'm happy to report that Tyler has never bit any other kid besides Trent (and I'm tempted to make Trent bite him back next time); Tyler has decided that he truly HATES showers and hasn't had an accident since (he's been potty-trained for months); and we now have a new system of 'good choices/bad choices' that is working WONDERFULLY!! It's hard to do all the punishing yourself...but worth the completely, relaxing trip!!