I'm always trying to find new ways to get my kids to help clean the house. My favorite so far (and theirs too) is, for every chore they complete they get a big hug and kiss from mom. They eat it up! But, hugs and kisses only go so far.
My newest tactic; time! Kids LOVE beating the clock, so I play on that. While I fold laundry, or do dishes, or even clean up with them I count either up to five or from five down to one. In that time they need to have picked something up. After they have an item in hand they have ten seconds to put it away. It works like a charm, and they love it!
This is how good they did today. I love my kids! I also love how at the end Emma gets all model-ish on me and stoically gazes into the camera.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
New Technology
Lately we've run into phone trouble. First, our home phone started dieing without notice, and when a cordless phone dies without notice I can't find it when I push the page button. So we had to start relying on my prepaid cell phone. Which we got for emergencies. But honestly, it adds up fast when the only think you use is a prepaid cell that runs out of minutes way too fast. So then we get another cordless it worked beautifully for the first 2 days, then one of the kids either dunked it in water or pored water all over it. Needless to say, that one is out of commission.
We started thinking and we have found that for the same price as our home phone, internet and one cell we can get unlimited messeging, unlimited data, e-mail and 550 minutes with 2 cell phones. We don't talk on the phone much anyways, most of the time I prefer to text. So we will be dissconecting our home phone, our internet and storing my piece of junk prepaid phone and will be using a cell phone for all of that. Maybe the cell phone will go to Emma once she's old enough for it. Then again, we could add another line use parent controls, and now-a-days they have 'family locate' where they can track the phone by GPS and even give you turn my turn directions. That sounds good to me. We'll have to see where that goes though.
So all in all, I honestly hope that going with cell phones works out. I hope we're satisfied with the service and that we don't regret signing a two year contract.
We started thinking and we have found that for the same price as our home phone, internet and one cell we can get unlimited messeging, unlimited data, e-mail and 550 minutes with 2 cell phones. We don't talk on the phone much anyways, most of the time I prefer to text. So we will be dissconecting our home phone, our internet and storing my piece of junk prepaid phone and will be using a cell phone for all of that. Maybe the cell phone will go to Emma once she's old enough for it. Then again, we could add another line use parent controls, and now-a-days they have 'family locate' where they can track the phone by GPS and even give you turn my turn directions. That sounds good to me. We'll have to see where that goes though.
So all in all, I honestly hope that going with cell phones works out. I hope we're satisfied with the service and that we don't regret signing a two year contract.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Best Present this Christmas
This year was full of so many gifts and so much love that it was seriously awesome. I love the Christmas season and the love and generosity that comes with it. My favorite gift (not that all the gifts weren't wonderful) was the one my sister Kristie made for all of her brothers and sisters.
A little history, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March of 2003 and in September of the same year he passed away. It's been one of the hardest things to live with. I hate that my kids don't know him, I hate that I didn't have him ther to give me away at my wedding, or to give me advice on things now. I miss him horribly, as I'm sure the rest of my family does. Thats probably why Kristie made these gifts.
Thank you Kristie! I love it!
Gifts like these are the best!
A little history, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March of 2003 and in September of the same year he passed away. It's been one of the hardest things to live with. I hate that my kids don't know him, I hate that I didn't have him ther to give me away at my wedding, or to give me advice on things now. I miss him horribly, as I'm sure the rest of my family does. Thats probably why Kristie made these gifts.
Thank you Kristie! I love it!
The writting is my dad's he sent Kristie a letter while she was living up here and us in AZ back in '02, so she used it in each of the photos. She was also able to find a picture of each of us with our dad, except Rachel (but I'm looking in my archive of pictures to see if I can find one).
Gifts like these are the best!
FUNDAMENTAL TO RASING YOUR BABY!!!!!
A friend of mine on Facebook posted this yesterday and I love it! My mom never let her kids cry it out, and she never got too tired of us. She loves spending time with them and hearing them talk. We could always go to my mom for anything. She believed it was best for kids to have their cries answered and she did amazingly well (even with five kids!)
Mom, this is for you and for following that 'mother's intuition', cause it turns out it was right!!
WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!!!
Mom, this is for you and for following that 'mother's intuition', cause it turns out it was right!!
WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!!!
Happy Feeling Day
I woke up today and felt happy. I love that. And I think it's because I made a super awesome Jell-o mold the night before. I got the idea from my friend Kimber, she inspired me. Plus it looked so stinkin fun and I had to make it! The girls had such a fun time helping! I love rainbows, I've always thought they were gorgeous. I kinda don't like that gay people use it for a gay symbol, not that I don't like gays, I just don't like people thinking I'm gay cause I like rainbows.
ANYWAYS, here is my jello!
It's beautiful!
And, the best part, I get to take it to family dinner tomorrow! And I know everyone will be giving me rave reviews about it, if they don't then I'll give myself enough rave reviews to make up for it.
Also, as I was laying in bed at 6:00am after getting Ryan's lunch and sending him out the door for work I told myself it was going to be a good day. I made the choice to have a good day and it's been an amazing day! There's still the kids fighting and the house that's a mess but I'm more able to handle it today, I'm not freaking out and yelling and I'm making the girls talk through their disagreements. Yay for good parenting!
Another reason I'm happy, it's so pretty outside today! It snowed like crazy and it's the awesome snow that sticks to the branches on the trees and makes everything look white and gray, I like white and grays. I passed a house on the Annis Highway on my way to my moms today and it had one of those trees that has the little red berries that taste horrible, but, with the snow and the red it was so pretty! I wished I had my camera, today is such a good day for pictures!
On a sad note, something that was really hard, about a week and a half ago we were adopted by a cat. He just came up to our back door put his front paws up on the glass and meowed. I love animals and can't turn one down so I put some tuna fish out for it and he stayed by our door all night (which I hated, it was cold and I didn't want him outside freezing) and in the morning he left. When night came again he was back! So I fed him some more, made sure he had a towel to curl up on and let him in for a little while, we then found out that Kaylyn as well as Ryan is allergic to cats. Fun. So this pattern continued and I had even posted an add on craigslist, trying to find him an indoor home (he was de-clawed).
Then one day as I was getting lunch ready Emma came running to me saying she saw the cat being chased my a black dog. I stuck my head out but didn't see him or the dog and decided I would wait it out. That night he showed up but he was limping. So, sure enough, the dog got him, his back leg at least. About three days passed and he wasn't making any improvement, and we didn't have the money to take him to the vet so we made the decision to take him to animal control in IF. As we're there the lady tells me that if he's injured bad enough the best thing to do would be just to euthanize him. I cried when we left and for about the rest of the evening.
The next day I called the animal shelter and asked what happen to him, the lady told me that the vet had examined him, and his leg was broken and also very badly infected. So it was either amputate the leg or euthanize him. So they euthanized him, I cried like crazy. He was such a sweet cat, he was even good with the kids, he didn't mind them crowding or snuggling him. I was so very sad. I had really hoped they would be able to fix him, and adopt him out to a good home. I know they did what was best though, I don't think for a minute they put him down cause it was the easiest thing, it was the best option they had. They're in the business of saving animals and they do an amazing job at it.
To the cat who adopted me.
ANYWAYS, here is my jello!
It's beautiful!Also, as I was laying in bed at 6:00am after getting Ryan's lunch and sending him out the door for work I told myself it was going to be a good day. I made the choice to have a good day and it's been an amazing day! There's still the kids fighting and the house that's a mess but I'm more able to handle it today, I'm not freaking out and yelling and I'm making the girls talk through their disagreements. Yay for good parenting!
Another reason I'm happy, it's so pretty outside today! It snowed like crazy and it's the awesome snow that sticks to the branches on the trees and makes everything look white and gray, I like white and grays. I passed a house on the Annis Highway on my way to my moms today and it had one of those trees that has the little red berries that taste horrible, but, with the snow and the red it was so pretty! I wished I had my camera, today is such a good day for pictures!
On a sad note, something that was really hard, about a week and a half ago we were adopted by a cat. He just came up to our back door put his front paws up on the glass and meowed. I love animals and can't turn one down so I put some tuna fish out for it and he stayed by our door all night (which I hated, it was cold and I didn't want him outside freezing) and in the morning he left. When night came again he was back! So I fed him some more, made sure he had a towel to curl up on and let him in for a little while, we then found out that Kaylyn as well as Ryan is allergic to cats. Fun. So this pattern continued and I had even posted an add on craigslist, trying to find him an indoor home (he was de-clawed).
Then one day as I was getting lunch ready Emma came running to me saying she saw the cat being chased my a black dog. I stuck my head out but didn't see him or the dog and decided I would wait it out. That night he showed up but he was limping. So, sure enough, the dog got him, his back leg at least. About three days passed and he wasn't making any improvement, and we didn't have the money to take him to the vet so we made the decision to take him to animal control in IF. As we're there the lady tells me that if he's injured bad enough the best thing to do would be just to euthanize him. I cried when we left and for about the rest of the evening.
The next day I called the animal shelter and asked what happen to him, the lady told me that the vet had examined him, and his leg was broken and also very badly infected. So it was either amputate the leg or euthanize him. So they euthanized him, I cried like crazy. He was such a sweet cat, he was even good with the kids, he didn't mind them crowding or snuggling him. I was so very sad. I had really hoped they would be able to fix him, and adopt him out to a good home. I know they did what was best though, I don't think for a minute they put him down cause it was the easiest thing, it was the best option they had. They're in the business of saving animals and they do an amazing job at it.
To the cat who adopted me.
Today is still a super happy day, I'm generally a happy person, fast to smile and all that jazz but days like these are super happy, like my hormones glued a smile on my face. It's great! So, go have a happy day!! Decide to have a happy day, it makes a difference. And do the best by your kids, everything you do should be for their benefit. I know that in no way ties to this post but it's true.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
