Brett took the kids to a friends house this afternoon to play, and gave me the option of coming or not. So, I chose not. Ah! An afternoon to myself. The options, the possibilities...oh, what will I do, what will I do?
Well, what would you do when you're nearing the end of a pregnancy (and this is so telling that I am indeed getting there and it's not just my imagination).
I slept! Yep, that's right folks. The house to myself, and I spent my time sleeping. Pathetic for sure. I've been feeling very strong feelings of wanting to be by myself (a little like how a cat hides under a bed to have her litter of kittens). I know I'm not *that* close to having this baby, but motherly instinct (not the kind that helps you "feel" if you're having a boy and a girl and always fails you) has kicked it. "Retreat", it tells me. That and "get every last square inch of your house cleaned now!". I like the first message better so that's the one I choose.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Bathroom project
Brett's been doing a little painting this weekend. The goal of painting the complete interior of our house was definitely a little out there, but when Brett brought up the idea of getting the upstairs bathroom painted I jumped at the opportunity. For those of you who haven't been to our house, the blue in the "before" pictures is not blue painter's tape...it's truly what the previous owners purposely chose to paint the bathroom. I'm extremely happy with the way the bathroom turned out. Much better!
Chore Routine
We've implemented a new chore routine in our house and I think it's just what we needed to make our days go smoother. Please keep in mind that I don't have to have my house spotless. It has taken a long time for me to be okay with the fact that our house is "lived in" and looks like it. I don't mind a few things out here and there as long as they are currently serving some purpose. On the flip side of that, our family functions much better when things have a home and most of the things are in their home instead of just cluttering up the house.
Our kids have always had chores. I try not to complain about the kids not pulling their fair share of the load around here because all that means is that I haven't done a good enough job helping them to do so. The two oldest are perfectly capable of having chores and being really helpful around the house. Gigi has a handful of things that she can do independently too. But, they are still 7, 5 and almost 3 and need a lot of guidance which equals time. Sometimes is just easier to do it all myself...no longer!
All three kids have laminated chore cards where their daily chores are listed. Aidan and Emma help Gianna read hers and cross hers off, or I do it if I'm helping her with a particular chore. These chores are nothing out of the ordinary: make bed, put pajamas away in drawer, straighten up room before school and before dinner, etc... There is a laminated chore card in the kitchen with "extra" chores listed on it: wipe down table, clear entryways of coats/boots/etc, vacuum, take out bathroom garbage, etc... I keep track of who did what throughout the day.
Here comes the fun part. We've been on the fence about allowances. I think we've come up with our own solution to the problem. Chore dollars! Our kids earn up to two chores a day for their regular chores and one chore dollar a piece for each extra chore they do. They get to cash in their chore dollars at our "chore dollar store". For example: 3 chore dollars= 5 cow races on the Wii, 5 chore dollars=30 minutes of Wii or computer time, 15 chore dollars= help mommy make dinner, 30 chore dollars=slumber party in the living room.
The other side of this is discipline. For bad behavior they lose chore dollars. One child in particular has learned that it isn't as easy to save up for things when one forgets to watch how one treats others.
We've only done this for a day or so. Emma got sick and our routine flew out the window. I can't take complete credit for the choredollar idea. I first saw it several years ago in a homeschooling catalog (it was a book that had all the work done for you), and then a friend mentioned something about the system on her facebook page. We've adjusted the system to meet our needs and I'm hopeful that it will work.
So, that's that! Our new chore routine. Hopefully we'll have a few weeks to really get into the swing of things before the baby comes that way it won't be a total lost cause trying to keep things somewhat orderly.
Our kids have always had chores. I try not to complain about the kids not pulling their fair share of the load around here because all that means is that I haven't done a good enough job helping them to do so. The two oldest are perfectly capable of having chores and being really helpful around the house. Gigi has a handful of things that she can do independently too. But, they are still 7, 5 and almost 3 and need a lot of guidance which equals time. Sometimes is just easier to do it all myself...no longer!
All three kids have laminated chore cards where their daily chores are listed. Aidan and Emma help Gianna read hers and cross hers off, or I do it if I'm helping her with a particular chore. These chores are nothing out of the ordinary: make bed, put pajamas away in drawer, straighten up room before school and before dinner, etc... There is a laminated chore card in the kitchen with "extra" chores listed on it: wipe down table, clear entryways of coats/boots/etc, vacuum, take out bathroom garbage, etc... I keep track of who did what throughout the day.
Here comes the fun part. We've been on the fence about allowances. I think we've come up with our own solution to the problem. Chore dollars! Our kids earn up to two chores a day for their regular chores and one chore dollar a piece for each extra chore they do. They get to cash in their chore dollars at our "chore dollar store". For example: 3 chore dollars= 5 cow races on the Wii, 5 chore dollars=30 minutes of Wii or computer time, 15 chore dollars= help mommy make dinner, 30 chore dollars=slumber party in the living room.
The other side of this is discipline. For bad behavior they lose chore dollars. One child in particular has learned that it isn't as easy to save up for things when one forgets to watch how one treats others.
We've only done this for a day or so. Emma got sick and our routine flew out the window. I can't take complete credit for the choredollar idea. I first saw it several years ago in a homeschooling catalog (it was a book that had all the work done for you), and then a friend mentioned something about the system on her facebook page. We've adjusted the system to meet our needs and I'm hopeful that it will work.
So, that's that! Our new chore routine. Hopefully we'll have a few weeks to really get into the swing of things before the baby comes that way it won't be a total lost cause trying to keep things somewhat orderly.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Beadwork
Before Christmas break started the kids decided they wanted to study a couple of things while Brett was home. One was Native American Art and the other was the hibernation patterns of the Northwoods animals. Brett was in charge of the first topic and I think I'm supposed to be doing the second...good thing we have another week of Christmas break before Brett goes back.
When Brett was younger he was really into beadwork and making things out of leather. He taught the kids all about the hows/whys of both and Aidan and Emma have each made a leather pouch/purse. They've been working on their bead patterns most recently. Here's a picture of Emma wearing a leather poncho thing (that's the technical name I'm sure) while working on her beads.
I'll post more pictures with the kids and their finished projects when I get a chance.
When Brett was younger he was really into beadwork and making things out of leather. He taught the kids all about the hows/whys of both and Aidan and Emma have each made a leather pouch/purse. They've been working on their bead patterns most recently. Here's a picture of Emma wearing a leather poncho thing (that's the technical name I'm sure) while working on her beads.
I'll post more pictures with the kids and their finished projects when I get a chance.
Random things
A "Growdult" is Gigi's version of grownup/adult.
Brett sang me a song to the tune of "I'll be home for Christmas"...he said that in a couple of weeks it was going to be his theme song...I wasn't amused...it goes like this: "I'll be home for dinner." That's as far as he got. We have had such a great, restful time with him off of work and quite frankly none of us are ready for him to go back.
My song to the tune of "What Child is This?" goes like this: "What child is this who kicks my ribs and likes to play on my bladder...."
Brett sang me a song to the tune of "I'll be home for Christmas"...he said that in a couple of weeks it was going to be his theme song...I wasn't amused...it goes like this: "I'll be home for dinner." That's as far as he got. We have had such a great, restful time with him off of work and quite frankly none of us are ready for him to go back.
My song to the tune of "What Child is This?" goes like this: "What child is this who kicks my ribs and likes to play on my bladder...."
Friday, January 2, 2009
We will beat this!
If you're wondering why I haven't posted in awhile (okay maybe it hasn't been that long) it's because my children have been neglected by the resident picture-taker and even though every one has said at least one witty thing in the last few days I forget them by the time I have time to post on my blog. Or, I'm taking a nap. Or, I'm staying up late every night for the past 4 nights conquering episode after episode of "Lego Star Wars" wii. Seriously, I'm not even a video game person really, but Brett and I pull our chairs up and play until the wee hours of the morning. Pathetic...really, and truly pathetic!
Good thing we're staring school back up for the kids on Monday and Brett will be going in to work for 1/2 days so he's ready for the beginning of the spring semester. We will once again become contributing members of society and our conversations around the table will not consist only of how we passed Episode III Chapter 5.
Good thing we're staring school back up for the kids on Monday and Brett will be going in to work for 1/2 days so he's ready for the beginning of the spring semester. We will once again become contributing members of society and our conversations around the table will not consist only of how we passed Episode III Chapter 5.
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