confessions of a slacker mom… episode 3

hopefully this is the final episode.

last night, DADDY had a little chat with layla. he basically told her, “you have to do your chores.” I love how stuff like that is more effective coming from him…

so this morning, layla was up in plenty of time. she did sleep in her clothes again, and I think we’ll stick with that unless she asks not to at some point, and then we may TRY a night in jammies and see how the morning goes. tuesday is a band morning, so I have to take the little kids with me to drop off shane. (after a freak day in sweatpants, shorts guy is back in shorts. thought you’d like to know.) when we got back to the house, told layla to get busy. she didn’t really say much, but went in and looked at her chart. the first card was ‘get dressed’, so she kind of giggled, and moved it over. the next one was ‘make bed’. she whined and complained and told me that she didn’t want to have to do it. I reminded her that she needed to do it and it wasn’t that hard. she’s done it herself plenty of times before. we argued for a minute about how she was to do it, and she eventually went off to do it. about 10 minutes later, I went in the room with micah to get him dressed. her sheets and comforter were all straightened out already, so I handed her her pillows and a couple of stuffed animals that had fallen on the ground (her bed is the top bunk). she finished up by arranging all of her animals in some grand display, and I told her to come down. she went on with the rest of her chores, and was SO excited when she got to the breakfast card. she was ecstatic when she ordered her cinnamon toast and apple juice! she ate it with plenty of time to spare, wiped her face, brushed her teeth, and got her coat, backpack and shoes. before we left the house, I gave her her ticket and she was thrilled! I thanked her for doing such a good job and being agreeable, but I told her that tomorrow, I just wanted her to work on being a little faster at making her bed. she agreed.

we had no tears, no yelling, everything got done, and we got to school even before shane was off the band bus! and that’s something that NEVER happens!

I hope I’m done with this whole episode. but I know that if it’s not this, it’ll be something else…

I’m glad dave decided to have his little chat with layla. I was not so fond of the fact that her reaction to having breakfast moved to the end of the chore list was just to rebel against the chores completely. that’s not really what I was going for.

and some of you have asked about our chore system. here’s the link to what we use. it’s called “accountable kids”. it’s not perfect, but I love the flexibility of it; I love the visual cues (for non-readers and easily distracted people); I love that it’s not a ‘list’; which can be overwhelming to some kids; and I love that the completion of chores is tied into earning privileges like tv and video games. check it out!

http://accountablekids.com/program.aspx

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week 47 in pictures

sunday: the MOMS club collected halloween candy to send off to deployed troops. we had to separate chocolate from non-chocolate candy and layla and micah were happy to help, especially since they got to skim a little off the top. monday: missing something? I opened the microwave and the vent cover came along with the door. tuesday:just a little wrestling before bed. wednesday: the atm gave me these totally weird $100 bills! thursday: book dominos. friday: ginger found a sun puddle in micah’s room. saturday: at ella’s birthday party. a couple of extras:

instafriday

it’s friday again!!! and that means: layla, still sick, but enjoying some brady bunch episodes in the recliner, with a cat, and a… tent? no idea. this warms my heart! checking out our family history via project life… circa 2007. LOVE! what I spent my sunday evening tackling: done! thank goodness. micah’s “hooked”! hahaha! a quick visit to the library. dinner: meatloaf, green beans, and very pretty roasted potatoes. I got this awesome little bundle at the store that had yukon golds, red, and purple potatoes. purple potatoes are SO fun! I tossed them with some olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, a little rosemary, and a bunch of garlic! so yummy. the meatloaf was good, too! operation: pick out cheesy, cheapo valentines. yes, I live in yuppy-ville. if you call 1-888-dog-waste, you can PAY someone to scoop your dog poop for you.I wonder if shane knows about this… empty peanut butter jar = very happy dog. yes, that’s my 5 year old, excitedly tromping in to preschool with...

2017–week 14

sunday: i had some professional development classes to take for work, so i was chained to the computer for a good chunk of the day. this was my companion as i worked. monday: very odd day. there was a threat of violence at the high school, so pretty much most of the student body stayed home. shane was among those lobbying for a day at home, so to ensure it wasn’t just a day of fun and leisure, i made him a lengthy to-do list to keep him occupied. i think it worked out very well. ;) also monday: when i got home from work, i took bonez on the longest walk ever, because it was such a nice day. this is some of the awesome spring color we saw on our walk. wednesday: i was making white chicken chili for soup supper at church, and was tossing my cans into this bag for recycling. i seem to have attracted the local wildlife. saturday: school’s out for spring break, which means it’s time for my traditional school break to-do list. i make one for every break, and usually don’t get that much o...

meal plan monday

monday: chicken caesar salads; bread tuesday: bruschetta chicken ; salad wednesday: french dips; chips; carrot sticks thursday: hamburger helper; green beans friday: pizza and assorted other junk/health foods (for layla’s birthday party) saturday: this is layla’s birthday, and she mentioned wanting ribs, but since sunday is shane’s birthday, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to say ribs as well, we will have to figure out which one gets the ribs on their birthday… we may go out the other day, depending on what the birthday people decide. sunday: whatever we don’t do on saturday. it’s still in the 80’s and 90’s this week, so I’m trying to avoid stuff that requires the oven to be one for an hour in the evenings, and nobody wants to eat soup when it’s hot out (well, I would, but nobody else).

week 10 in pictures

monday: micah’s favorite food in the whole wide world… tuesday: his new favorite passtime… setting up soccer cones in ‘roads’ that he then ride through. thursday: earning their keep! actually, the just wanted to help me clean so I gave them rags and a bottle of windex. also thursday: at book club, ingrid telling her famous “making meatballs with the kids” story. friday: a sunny afternoon MOMS Club park playdate. micah got hungry and wanted to leave, so his friend was kind enough to offer him some of her lunch to keep him there a little while longer. also friday: layla at a pj party with the birthday girl. saturday: a dry, sunny saturday meant the first mow of the season followed by fertilizer application! just one skinny this week… micah was ‘on the ball’ at target. yes, that’s a plastic axe stuffed down the back of the shirt… pretty sure he’s a ninja. and some little squares I will collage to put in the book. book shots:

rachel's continued ramblings

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