Yes, I still need to get my dishes done. Don't judge.
I was reading a friend's blog which had a link to another blog, and then I was reading another friend's blog which had another link to a blog... The connective thread among all of these was chores, specifically cleaning. I kept finding more information about how much your children should be helping out at home. Due in part to these blogs, and I promise NOT my laziness, I've come to the realization that I haven't been encouraging my kids to help out enough around the house.
I usually save up a lot of the cleaning to do while the kids nap (it's nearly impossible to get the dishwasher loaded/unloaded while Elliot grabs stuff out of it or tries to climb in!) or after they go to bed for the night. Big surprise! Mommy doesn't get much sleep or quiet time in that way, and is exhausted all the time.
So, starting tomorrow, I'll print off one of the chore charts I found online (well, talk to Phil about it first to see how he feels, and then proceed accordingly) and the boys can start helping out around the house doing things they should probably be doing anyways and possibly earning a teeny bit of allowance while they're at it.
I in no way consider myself a clean freak or maybe not even a neat person, but when I do clean, I like things done in a particular way, so it will also be an exercise for me to let go, and just let things get done.
What are your thoughts on chores and the division of labour?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Senior Year Deja-Vu.
Here's the thing: I'm feeling like I'm behind in my parenting. It's very much like Senior year of high school, in my experience. If anyone was like me, that was the time of my life where it seemed all of my friends knew exactly when to have senior pictures done by, send in college applications, fill out financial aid forms, submit essays to get scholarships, and I was always five steps behind. It's not that I didn't care about doing any of those things, I just could never seem to know about things before deadlines and opportunities passed me by.
Fast forward six years or so, (really, it's been almost six years since graduation? That seems crazy!) and I'm in the same boat, but this time, my children are suffering.
There needs to be a class or something, maybe around the time your oldest child is two, that tells you when you need to start looking at pre-schools and regular schools and all that stuff. When to start teaching reading, writing, or even the basics like colours, shapes, numbers and the alphabet.
My children are by no means stupid, I'm not trying to imply that at all. And they do pretty well on the basics despite the fact I probably didn't start as early as I should have teaching them those things. But it only recently occurred to me (Oliver's fourth birthday) that I've done nothing to really plan ahead for their education, only figuring that the summer before they turn five, we'd look into the local schools.
It seems most of the other kids around their age are already in preschool or will be starting next fall, some of them younger than Oliver. I'm feeling like a slacker. For a kid like Oakley, who loves sitting down and colouring and doing puzzles and reading books, I'm not quite as worried about it, but Oliver doesn't sit still very long to do things like that. He likes to build things and put things together. He's very mechanical about everything he does. I'm worried that he won't do very well in a school-type setting, but I also don't think homeschooling would be a good idea for him either.
I would appreciate any suggestions/tips from experienced moms (and dads.) I've tried, not very hard, but a few times, to sit down with Oliver with some pre-school books but he gets so bored and gets distracted....
Also, any tips about when to look at schools and what to look for.
Fast forward six years or so, (really, it's been almost six years since graduation? That seems crazy!) and I'm in the same boat, but this time, my children are suffering.
There needs to be a class or something, maybe around the time your oldest child is two, that tells you when you need to start looking at pre-schools and regular schools and all that stuff. When to start teaching reading, writing, or even the basics like colours, shapes, numbers and the alphabet.
My children are by no means stupid, I'm not trying to imply that at all. And they do pretty well on the basics despite the fact I probably didn't start as early as I should have teaching them those things. But it only recently occurred to me (Oliver's fourth birthday) that I've done nothing to really plan ahead for their education, only figuring that the summer before they turn five, we'd look into the local schools.
It seems most of the other kids around their age are already in preschool or will be starting next fall, some of them younger than Oliver. I'm feeling like a slacker. For a kid like Oakley, who loves sitting down and colouring and doing puzzles and reading books, I'm not quite as worried about it, but Oliver doesn't sit still very long to do things like that. He likes to build things and put things together. He's very mechanical about everything he does. I'm worried that he won't do very well in a school-type setting, but I also don't think homeschooling would be a good idea for him either.
I would appreciate any suggestions/tips from experienced moms (and dads.) I've tried, not very hard, but a few times, to sit down with Oliver with some pre-school books but he gets so bored and gets distracted....
Also, any tips about when to look at schools and what to look for.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Makes Me Smile.
Sometimes children say odd things, mean things, sweet things. I've been lucky enough to avoid most of the "mean" things for now (aside from kids telling each other it's THEIR toy or that I'm playing with a certain train wrong, etc...) but our life has been rife with curious sayings and changing of words (As very young toddlers, Oliver and Oakley called noodles "noo-noos" and waffles "waff-waffs" and so we still call them that today.) Every once in a while though, they will say something that will just melt my heart or make me laugh...
One of my all time favourites is from about a year ago now, I think. I was heading out with the kids to do errands on a particularly windy day, Oliver was wearing a foam-type construction hat (why not?) and opened the door just as a huge gust of wind went by. His hat started flying off, and amazingly he caught it and said, "Come on hat! Don't be scared!" This is my go-to for cheering myself up.
My favourite thing Oakley has probably ever said, was actually on two separate occasions, the first about a month ago now, and the second a couple weeks ago. The first was when I was curling my hair (very rare!) and Oakley came into the bathroom and told me I was "fancy" and "pretty." Phil has been pretty good about teaching the boys that ladies like it when you compliment them, and so most Sundays as I'm getting ready for Meeting, Phil will ask the boys, "Doesn't Mommy look pretty today?" or something to that effect. The second time Oakley decided to pay me a compliment was when I was getting ready a couple of Sundays ago (it's really the only day of the week I get dressed that early and bother with make-up) and Phil asked Oakley as usual "Doesn't Mommy look pretty?" and Oakley said, "No," long pause, "Mommy's beautiful." (*sigh*) What a sweet boy! He will be trouble with the girls later on, I think. Besides the fact that he already knows how to one-up his daddy in the compliments department, he's got the hair that everyone wants to touch... Oakley spells trouble :)
Elliot doesn't really say much yet, he's fully able of communicating, just not with actual words, but one thing that cracked me up, happened just yesterday: Oliver was petting the cat (a rare time that she came out during the day) and she was enjoying it and making meowing sounds and Elliot was meowing back at her. It was very cute (probably had to be there.)
One of my all time favourites is from about a year ago now, I think. I was heading out with the kids to do errands on a particularly windy day, Oliver was wearing a foam-type construction hat (why not?) and opened the door just as a huge gust of wind went by. His hat started flying off, and amazingly he caught it and said, "Come on hat! Don't be scared!" This is my go-to for cheering myself up.
My favourite thing Oakley has probably ever said, was actually on two separate occasions, the first about a month ago now, and the second a couple weeks ago. The first was when I was curling my hair (very rare!) and Oakley came into the bathroom and told me I was "fancy" and "pretty." Phil has been pretty good about teaching the boys that ladies like it when you compliment them, and so most Sundays as I'm getting ready for Meeting, Phil will ask the boys, "Doesn't Mommy look pretty today?" or something to that effect. The second time Oakley decided to pay me a compliment was when I was getting ready a couple of Sundays ago (it's really the only day of the week I get dressed that early and bother with make-up) and Phil asked Oakley as usual "Doesn't Mommy look pretty?" and Oakley said, "No," long pause, "Mommy's beautiful." (*sigh*) What a sweet boy! He will be trouble with the girls later on, I think. Besides the fact that he already knows how to one-up his daddy in the compliments department, he's got the hair that everyone wants to touch... Oakley spells trouble :)
Elliot doesn't really say much yet, he's fully able of communicating, just not with actual words, but one thing that cracked me up, happened just yesterday: Oliver was petting the cat (a rare time that she came out during the day) and she was enjoying it and making meowing sounds and Elliot was meowing back at her. It was very cute (probably had to be there.)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Run, run, run...
Today the countdown was at twenty days until my half-marathon.
Training has not been going well, or really, at all. I've still been going to Winter Warriors, but only averaging three to four miles. Still a long way from where I started last year, when five miles seemed like the longest distance EVER, but not good enough to get me ready for thirteen miles.
When we got home from Meeting today, Phil knew I needed to run, so I grabbed a granola bar and changed. I drove out to the Centennial Trail, since it has mile markers and that way I can track my mileage a little more accurately.
On a side note, before I continue with the real story, there's this watch I've really been wanting for a while, and I told myself that if I ran over eight miles, I'd let myself get it. (Thanks to the Thanks for Sharing dollars I'd earned from Macy's.)
So, the first two miles, go okay. A little slow feeling, until I check my time and see I've been running about nine-minute miles, which isn't too bad for me. I did forget my water bottle at home though, and had forgotten to take a piece of gum with me to help keep hydrated, so I was feeling a little dry. The first couple of miles always seem the hardest to me for whatever reason. Once I hit three, I feel like I can run just about anywhere.
About where the three mile marker would be, the trail splits off and to keep going on the Centennial Trail, you have to turn, but there seemed to be a lot of bike traffic that way (and more hills, honestly) so I kept going straight. Little did I know that the trail this way turns into Liberty Lake Trails, which are just as nice, all paved, but do not have mile markers. (Hence, the estimation on my distance based on driving as close to the trail route as possible afterwards.)
I kept waiting and waiting for a mile marker, thinking surely I should've passed one by now! But they never came. I was almost in Liberty Lake at this point, and remembered that a bit onward, there's an overpass for the trail that connects it to the other one on the other side of the freeway and it runs along the river. I thought, I must be close, I'll just run to that, and cross and that'll be my way of turning back around to my car. It was a lot farther than it seems while driving on the freeway, and the trail was starting to turn sharply towards the hills and I realized (after calling Phil) that it would be many more miles before I reached that overpass not counting all the miles I still had to run back. So, I just turned around there, since it seemed a good a spot as any, and as best as I can figure, that was pretty close to the four and a half mile mark for me. (A tip: I do not suggest immediately driving your running route. What took an hour and a half for me to run, took about five minutes to drive...)
Before today, I think the farthest I had run was six and a half miles, so I was pretty proud that today I hardly walked at all, kept a steady pace, and still felt pretty good at the end of my run. I walked about a (broken) half mile, but I still count it into my distance, since I needed that to get back to my car. My pre-half-marathon goal was to be able to run about ten miles "comfortably" so I'm really close! I figure if I can run ten, the last three of the race shouldn't be too hard to finish. I'll let you know how that works out ;)
As for my watch, I went to get it after my run, and neither Macy's in my area had it. Big bummer! I did get Phil some cologne he's been wanting for Valentine's day instead, and will start re-saving up for my watch....
Training has not been going well, or really, at all. I've still been going to Winter Warriors, but only averaging three to four miles. Still a long way from where I started last year, when five miles seemed like the longest distance EVER, but not good enough to get me ready for thirteen miles.
When we got home from Meeting today, Phil knew I needed to run, so I grabbed a granola bar and changed. I drove out to the Centennial Trail, since it has mile markers and that way I can track my mileage a little more accurately.
On a side note, before I continue with the real story, there's this watch I've really been wanting for a while, and I told myself that if I ran over eight miles, I'd let myself get it. (Thanks to the Thanks for Sharing dollars I'd earned from Macy's.)
So, the first two miles, go okay. A little slow feeling, until I check my time and see I've been running about nine-minute miles, which isn't too bad for me. I did forget my water bottle at home though, and had forgotten to take a piece of gum with me to help keep hydrated, so I was feeling a little dry. The first couple of miles always seem the hardest to me for whatever reason. Once I hit three, I feel like I can run just about anywhere.
About where the three mile marker would be, the trail splits off and to keep going on the Centennial Trail, you have to turn, but there seemed to be a lot of bike traffic that way (and more hills, honestly) so I kept going straight. Little did I know that the trail this way turns into Liberty Lake Trails, which are just as nice, all paved, but do not have mile markers. (Hence, the estimation on my distance based on driving as close to the trail route as possible afterwards.)
I kept waiting and waiting for a mile marker, thinking surely I should've passed one by now! But they never came. I was almost in Liberty Lake at this point, and remembered that a bit onward, there's an overpass for the trail that connects it to the other one on the other side of the freeway and it runs along the river. I thought, I must be close, I'll just run to that, and cross and that'll be my way of turning back around to my car. It was a lot farther than it seems while driving on the freeway, and the trail was starting to turn sharply towards the hills and I realized (after calling Phil) that it would be many more miles before I reached that overpass not counting all the miles I still had to run back. So, I just turned around there, since it seemed a good a spot as any, and as best as I can figure, that was pretty close to the four and a half mile mark for me. (A tip: I do not suggest immediately driving your running route. What took an hour and a half for me to run, took about five minutes to drive...)
Before today, I think the farthest I had run was six and a half miles, so I was pretty proud that today I hardly walked at all, kept a steady pace, and still felt pretty good at the end of my run. I walked about a (broken) half mile, but I still count it into my distance, since I needed that to get back to my car. My pre-half-marathon goal was to be able to run about ten miles "comfortably" so I'm really close! I figure if I can run ten, the last three of the race shouldn't be too hard to finish. I'll let you know how that works out ;)
As for my watch, I went to get it after my run, and neither Macy's in my area had it. Big bummer! I did get Phil some cologne he's been wanting for Valentine's day instead, and will start re-saving up for my watch....
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