NOT LISTENING

As my two sons start getting older i find it more difficult to get them to actually listen to me. They do listen to my husband when he is home from work but when i am by myself i am always repeating myself. I think it is because they know that they can get away with more around me and there dad won’t let them act up. My four year old is starting to talk back which i don’t like, if i tell him something he always comes back with a smart remark. My two year old just ends up crying or whining when i get after him. I don’t want to be the parent they walk all over and don’t take what i say serious. I want them to respect both me and my husband not just him. If they fight and i tell them to go sit down away from each other they will go and then a minute later they just get up like nothing and forget everything i told them. I know that i am not good at following through either though. Every time i think about it i am like my mom she would tell us that we were in trouble and then would forget about it. I gues it is true that you turn out like your parents. I am going to try and figure a different way of disciplining them, so that they will listen to me and not think that i don’t mean it when i tell them something.