A and K were fighting this morning. I made them sit down and play the "I love you game". They have sit on the floor, facing each other and take turns telling each other "I love you" while giving something (ie. fish crackers or m&m's) to the other person until the food is gone or they are no longer mad. They usually end up laughing and it really turns into alot of fun. This morning I didn't have any treat to share so I told them to give a kiss on the cheek each time they said "I love you". Seems easy enough. This is how it went.
Me: A you go first.
A: I'm not kissing her.
K: You better kiss me or I'm going to kick you in the face!
Me: O.K. Let's look one more time for a treat. I'm sure we can find something.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Report Card: Parenting 101=F!
Lesson on how to build self esteem
OR
The right way to correct bad behavior:
Conversation with Z when he got home from school yesterday:
Z: Hey mom, my neck hurts!
Me: Why?
Z: I was head banging with my friends on the bus.
Me: Huh?
Z: I was the best! I did it three times. They said that I did it the best of anyone so they wanted me to do it one more time. My neck popped that last time and now it really hurts. I think my head might fall off.
Me: Hey Z, why don't you go over there and hit your head against the brick wall. I bet you'll do it the best.
Z: Mom, do you know what head banging is? It's not hitting heads against something. It's, like, listening to really loud music and shaking you head really hard.
Me: Yea, I know what it is. Druggies do it!(thinking to myself: Are you retarded?)
Z: Mom, I'm not retarded! and my friends aren't on drugs!
Me: Did I say that out loud?
Z: Mom, be serious here. My neck really hurts. What should I do?
Me: The next time they tell you to do something that may hurt your body, say "No thanks, I'd rather not."
Z: I'd get beat up if I talked like that. Seriously, I need you to act like the mom and tell me what I should really do.
Me: Well, I don't care how you say it, just don't do it again. Go take some Tylenol and lay down for a while.
This morning before school:
Z: Mom, I'm not going to head bang anymore.
Me: Good!
Z: Do you care if I still pop balloons?
Me: What are you talking about?
Z: Watch. I need some of your ziploc baggies though.
(Z blows up a baggie with air and them attempts to pop it.)
K: Z, stop being a dork!
Z: I'm not a dork! Why am I a dork?
K: Cuz you're doing dorky things lately!
Z: Like what?
K: Head banging and popping plastic bags!
Z: That doesn't make me a dork!
Me: The bus is here! BEHAVE!
Z: FINE!!
Me to K: (sarcastically) I think we handled that pretty well!
Poor kid! I hope the rest of his day goes better! I'm sorry that he has to be our first child. I hope he survives his parents immaturity.
OR
The right way to correct bad behavior:
Conversation with Z when he got home from school yesterday:
Z: Hey mom, my neck hurts!
Me: Why?
Z: I was head banging with my friends on the bus.
Me: Huh?
Z: I was the best! I did it three times. They said that I did it the best of anyone so they wanted me to do it one more time. My neck popped that last time and now it really hurts. I think my head might fall off.
Me: Hey Z, why don't you go over there and hit your head against the brick wall. I bet you'll do it the best.
Z: Mom, do you know what head banging is? It's not hitting heads against something. It's, like, listening to really loud music and shaking you head really hard.
Me: Yea, I know what it is. Druggies do it!(thinking to myself: Are you retarded?)
Z: Mom, I'm not retarded! and my friends aren't on drugs!
Me: Did I say that out loud?
Z: Mom, be serious here. My neck really hurts. What should I do?
Me: The next time they tell you to do something that may hurt your body, say "No thanks, I'd rather not."
Z: I'd get beat up if I talked like that. Seriously, I need you to act like the mom and tell me what I should really do.
Me: Well, I don't care how you say it, just don't do it again. Go take some Tylenol and lay down for a while.
This morning before school:
Z: Mom, I'm not going to head bang anymore.
Me: Good!
Z: Do you care if I still pop balloons?
Me: What are you talking about?
Z: Watch. I need some of your ziploc baggies though.
(Z blows up a baggie with air and them attempts to pop it.)
K: Z, stop being a dork!
Z: I'm not a dork! Why am I a dork?
K: Cuz you're doing dorky things lately!
Z: Like what?
K: Head banging and popping plastic bags!
Z: That doesn't make me a dork!
Me: The bus is here! BEHAVE!
Z: FINE!!
Me to K: (sarcastically) I think we handled that pretty well!
Poor kid! I hope the rest of his day goes better! I'm sorry that he has to be our first child. I hope he survives his parents immaturity.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The longest day of the year!
What do you get when you combine Daylight Savings Time and Fast Sunday?
In my before-kids-life: An extra hour for me to sleep or play out late with my friends.
In my dream-mommy-world: An extra hour to clean or study or bake or do something wonderful for my family or myself.
In my this-is-the-real-world-life: Just a REALLY LONG DAY!!!
H was up all night. I kept looking at the clock thinking, okay it's almost time to get up. He gets up every morning at 6:30 because that's when he hears the kids getting ready for school. So, on Sunday morning he was up at 6:30 ready to play, only it was 5:30. We don't have church until 12:00 so no one wanted to be up that early! The rest of the day just seemed to drag. We were ready for church, really early. I teach in the Primary and we are practicing for our program so for 2 hours the kids just sang the same songs over and over. It was a lot of work because they don't really know them. I thought it would never end. I kept asking if we could do another wiggle song. I felt like a tortured little kid. Then we had to sit through Sacrement meeting. The little ones were hungry because the time change messed up their lunch time, the big ones were hungry because they were fasting. Everyone was really tired! I thought that the meeting would never end. I kept watching the clock. The hands never moved! That night, I was so excited to put the kids to bed. I had the BIGGEST headache! I called everyone in for family prayer. K said, "It's only 6:30. You can't send them to bed this early." Oh yeah? So we read out of the Friend magazine for a little while and then I sent them all to bed at 7:00. I have no idea what time every one fell asleep. I do know that H was up again at 5:30 ready to play on Monday and again today! Some of our clocks have been changed, some of them have not. We have no idea what time it is around here.
A 25 hour day sounds wonderful....or does it?
Be careful what you wish for. It may not go quite the way you had planned.
I really wish that President Bush would plan the time changes on the same weekends at General Conference! That would really help me out alot. Maybe if Mitt Romney becomes president, someone could suggest it to him. Wait! He has kids. His wife has probably already thought of it!
P.S. I do have something new to be happy about. We finally got the bus to pick the kids up and drop them off in front of our house! Now I don't have to drive them to the bus stop in the morning and they don't have to walk home after school. It was a 1/2 mile away. Not too bad of a walk but when the bus pulled up right in front of our house this morning and I was bare foot and still in my pajamas with my car still in the garage and I didn't have to worry about leaving the 3 little ones home alone for 15-30 minutes, I was really thankful!
In my before-kids-life: An extra hour for me to sleep or play out late with my friends.
In my dream-mommy-world: An extra hour to clean or study or bake or do something wonderful for my family or myself.
In my this-is-the-real-world-life: Just a REALLY LONG DAY!!!
H was up all night. I kept looking at the clock thinking, okay it's almost time to get up. He gets up every morning at 6:30 because that's when he hears the kids getting ready for school. So, on Sunday morning he was up at 6:30 ready to play, only it was 5:30. We don't have church until 12:00 so no one wanted to be up that early! The rest of the day just seemed to drag. We were ready for church, really early. I teach in the Primary and we are practicing for our program so for 2 hours the kids just sang the same songs over and over. It was a lot of work because they don't really know them. I thought it would never end. I kept asking if we could do another wiggle song. I felt like a tortured little kid. Then we had to sit through Sacrement meeting. The little ones were hungry because the time change messed up their lunch time, the big ones were hungry because they were fasting. Everyone was really tired! I thought that the meeting would never end. I kept watching the clock. The hands never moved! That night, I was so excited to put the kids to bed. I had the BIGGEST headache! I called everyone in for family prayer. K said, "It's only 6:30. You can't send them to bed this early." Oh yeah? So we read out of the Friend magazine for a little while and then I sent them all to bed at 7:00. I have no idea what time every one fell asleep. I do know that H was up again at 5:30 ready to play on Monday and again today! Some of our clocks have been changed, some of them have not. We have no idea what time it is around here.
A 25 hour day sounds wonderful....or does it?
Be careful what you wish for. It may not go quite the way you had planned.
I really wish that President Bush would plan the time changes on the same weekends at General Conference! That would really help me out alot. Maybe if Mitt Romney becomes president, someone could suggest it to him. Wait! He has kids. His wife has probably already thought of it!
P.S. I do have something new to be happy about. We finally got the bus to pick the kids up and drop them off in front of our house! Now I don't have to drive them to the bus stop in the morning and they don't have to walk home after school. It was a 1/2 mile away. Not too bad of a walk but when the bus pulled up right in front of our house this morning and I was bare foot and still in my pajamas with my car still in the garage and I didn't have to worry about leaving the 3 little ones home alone for 15-30 minutes, I was really thankful!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
What would you do if you found some treasure?
Here is a paragraph that J had to write for class today.
J 10/31/07
If I found some treasure, I would save some and donate the rest to animal rescue shelters, children’s hospitals and orphanages. I think this showing respect for others and self-discipline. I have been taught to help others who have less than I do. It makes me sad to see animals and children who need help and a home. I hope that someday I can really donate some money and time to others who are in need and make them happy.
My children always continue to amaze me. I feel very lucky to be able to enjoy them as their mother. I am very blessed.
J 10/31/07
If I found some treasure, I would save some and donate the rest to animal rescue shelters, children’s hospitals and orphanages. I think this showing respect for others and self-discipline. I have been taught to help others who have less than I do. It makes me sad to see animals and children who need help and a home. I hope that someday I can really donate some money and time to others who are in need and make them happy.
My children always continue to amaze me. I feel very lucky to be able to enjoy them as their mother. I am very blessed.
Happy Halloween!!!
K took the kids out Trick or Treating around the neighborhood. It was REALLY cold so they had to come home a couple of times to warm up. Even Z dressed up and went along for the free candy. They had a really great time and all went to bed coughing, but smiling!
H dressed up as a sick baby so he and I stayed home and passed out candy. After I sent the kids to bed, I went through their bags and took out all the gum and small hard candy that they could choke on and set it in a bowl outside on the front steps for any "late" Trick or Treaters. This morning, most of the "unwanted" candy and gum was gone. Yes!!!