This week has actually been quite hectic.... we had a death in the family last weekend, so my Mom had to jet out and so I stepped up (as all good eldest (and the only one available :-)) daughters should do) and held down the fort at her house and then eventually ended up back at mine. My niece, Taylor, couldn't miss much school, so I went down there, only to find out they had state testing (akin to WASL), and it wasn't really that important she be there, so I got permission to head home on Tuesday night....... Adding one extra kid, although she is a few years older than Lauren, does kind of disturb the flow---Mostly Lauren, who wants to be all mature, but doesn't really know how, and it instead comes off as some snotty attitude---which is NOT tolerated well by her parental units, so it was kinda rough, however, then the kids all kind of fell into place, and the last few days were great. We baked, we watched movies, we ate pizza, visited a local reptile zoo, had the kids dig a hole for our up and coming garden (I didn't think they would actually do it, I just thought they would do a few shovels and then whine and cry---they actually did it, I was impressed!), they played outside, the kids stayed up late, slept on the couch, ALL the fun stuff you can do when you are little.... I think they had a good time! But, today, Taylor got to go home---I bet she is glad she doesn't have to hear me yell anymore!
Also, in reference to my upcoming garden (from my summer bucket list).... I was able to get some raised cedar planting garden-boxes which are 4ft by 4ft, and I got 2. I am hoping this can get me started on my little gardening adventure---although I admittedly kill all plants, so we will see. I am hoping (cross fingers) to get it done tomorrow because it is suppose to rain the rest of the week, but I just don't know if that is going to happen. I have so many projects this week to do, I don't know if that is going to take precedence or not.
We have also stared the kids on morning chores. They have slowly been introduced to chores for the past year or two, but I think they (Lauren and Joshua) are old enough to partake in morning chores, be accountable for doing them without being asked, and being rewarded for being contributing members of the household---aka allowance. I have counseled both of them (mostly Lauren), that if the chores are not done "to my standards", don't do it to their best abilities, or whine/talk back/complain about doing it, each chore they do any of those; they will be losing $0.25 off their allowance to be subtracted at the end of the week. This may sound harsh, and when I say "my standards" I don't expect perfection---they are only (nearly) 5 and 7---but I expect that they do their best, put things where they belong (books on shelf vs stuffed under bed). I understand they won't do it perfectly, however they need to learn to always put their best foot forward, not do 1/2 ass jobs, all the while learning that they get rewarded for hard work, and penalized for lazy work. Their daily chores will be:
----Pick up rooms
----Take dirty clothes downstairs
----Put away dishes
----Take out garbage/recycle
----"Extra"--- something I have chosen each day
And, ultra bad attitudes will result in 1 warning (along with monetary penalty), and if attitude not fixed, then they will get a "punishment chore" which is something you won't wanna do...... scrub bathtub, rinse out garbage can outside, wash down cabinets, etc....... I hope all of this doesn't sound too harsh, I want them learn lessons and also I would LOVE some help! :-)
*****What I secretly want is for the washer/dryer to break, so I can get front loading one, and they can do the laundry---but until then, I will do it. *sigh
I have also been busy planning parties--- We have an upcoming party for Lauren in celebration to the theater production she is participating in. She used to be SO shy, and still is really hesitant to try new things, and she has worked so hard and dedicated so much of her energy in this production, we wanted her to know how proud we are of her branching out and not giving up! We are having family over for a little celebration party, and then I purchased tickets to enable us to treat all of our guests to the show! It should be really fun and I am probably going to bawl my eyes out to see my baby girl do her thing. I am so proud of her, I really am, does it show????
The 2nd party is for my little man, who turns 5 in a few weeks. He has requested a "Hot Wheels" birthday party, and the invites have been made/ordered, and now I am assimilating the party goodies. Chris and I have made the past few of our kids birthday cakes---using fondant and special icing, and homemade-from scratch-cake and icing mixes. Lauren's last birthday was Littlest Pet Shop theme (which I think we actually did really well at for non-cake decorating people)....
Well, I can't think of any more babblings--although I am sure I forgot something imperative. Oh yeah---Miss Mischief (Julia) decided to do some funny stuff today, like carry an "almost" empty can of chocolate syrup upside down around the house (as in I am GLAD we have super dark carpets you can't detect stains in) AND squirt toothpaste on the floor in the bathroom and then use other people's toothbrushes to scrape it up and eat it..... Oh yeah, and climbing on the dining room table and jumping up and down. All this in a matter of 45 minutes---- I am exhausted! HA
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