First Bike Ride

Aggravation

"Aggravation" the hot new game in this house. You know, the game with the marbles. And I don't like it. I actually do feel aggravated when we play it.

The boys want to keep playing the game to its finish, but their attention spans do not match their enthusiasm. So they end up rolling around on the floor between turns. Then they're still rolling when I aggravatedly tell them to take their turn. Then I tell them that if they keep rolling around not paying attention to the game, I will put it away. They sit up for another round or two, then they forget and are back to rolling around on the floor.

Then I think, "What's my big deal? Why am I so aggravated? So what if it takes 3 1/2 hours to play one little game?" So I don't actually put the game away and just sit there really feeling the aggravation.

But tonight I put the game away, out of their sight. They still remembered it when I asked them if they wanted to play a game before bed. But I gave them a flat-out NO.

We need to have a garage sale. A secret garage sale when the boys are at school.

Advice Needed

Help. My boys cut a large hole in the side of a borrowed pack 'n play. A hole big enough to crawl through. I have had time to cool down now, but I was so frustrated. (To put it mildly.) So, unless I can find a good used one (the borrowed one was well-used), we will need to be shelling out a lot of money to replace it.

I need a creative idea. Obviously, Eli and Evan won't be able to come up with $65+ to buy a new one. I want them to see the seriousness of what they did and to face the consequences. But I am lacking creativity. I love hearing other people's ideas.

A Experiment With Whining

I have been driven nearly to the brink of insanity. It's the whining. High-pitched, the-world's-gonna-fall-apart whining. Sometimes accompanied by desperate jumping up and down.

Evan understands the difference between normal talking and whining. When he scream/whines, "Mommy! Help me!", I tell him, "Say, 'Mom, could you please help me with this?'" And he will repeat that back to me in a nice, calm voice. Complicating everything is the fact that he sometimes just plain talks in a high voice. So when I am on edge from the whining, it's hard for me to distinguish normal talking from whining.

Anyway, I have felt at a loss for how to work with this issue. It triggers a highly emotional response in me, making it hard to respond rationally. And whining back at a kid isn't an effective way to deal with whining. Trust me, I've tried it- though not on purpose.

So the other night I sat down with the good ol' internet to gather some ideas. After reading different articles and message boards, I came up with plan. I printed out 4 pictures like this:


On 3 of the pictures, I drew a line through the whining Calvin. (That is 'No Whining' for my little non-reader.) One I left as it was. I posted the 3 'No Whining' signs in the bathroom, the kitchen, and the living room. The one without a line through it, I posted in the boys' bedroom. Now I was ready for the next day.

The next morning I explained to Evan that the signs meant that these rooms were 'No Whining Zones.' He would not be allowed to whine in these rooms. If he started whining, I would remind him of the sign. He could then either change his tone or go to his room, the designated 'Whining Zone.' If he kept whining and refused to go to the 'Whining Zone,' I would carry him there. He was allowed to whine all he wanted in his room. He seemed to like the idea.

Now, I'm not saying that everything went so well after that. For example, that evening he was taking forever to fold his laundry. Finally I told him that Eli and I would start eating supper soon and he would not be allowed to sit down at the table until his laundry was put away. He slowly folded his laundry and put it away, all while crying loudly for a good 10 minutes. Did that count as whining? Probably. Did I send him to the 'Whining Zone?'. Oops.

But, here's what happened later: He started whining about something and I pointed to the 'No Whining' sign. No joke- He abruptly stopped mid-whine and asked me his question in a very pleasant tone! I could not believe it! It was hilarious.

So, the experiment is off to a good start. We'll see where it goes from here.

Bedtime

This was the boys' bedtime activity and snack. Eli really wants me to put the "recipe" on my blog. It's almost time for a bedtime story, but here it is, in Eli's words:

Need bread, food coloring and milk. If you want, you can take butter and cinnamon sugar. So, you get your piece of bread and pour milk into a container. Then you put food coloring, a paint brush, and mix it up. And then you paint the bread. You put it in the toaster. And then if you want you can put the butter and cinnamon on. And you can use the leftover milk and food coloring to drink. It actually just tastes (pronounced taste-es) like normal milk.

I remember doing this with my mom. And, unfortunately, bedtime is not always so wholesome. Last night I was absolutely, unwholesomely seething before it was all over. Hopefully we're off to a better start tonight. And now, "Don't go away kids, it's storytime!"

Babies

This was me last night. I'm rusty with this baby thing. And my house is no longer baby-proof. And Kendall was at work. (Yes, the boys were the photographers.)

But anyway, I only had these two pink bundles for two nights. One is just over a year old and the other one is almost 2. I'm doing respite care for another foster mom while she's out of town.

The boys have had fun with the girls. They especially like the oldest one. Eli said, "I wish we could keep her." But the honeymoon is ending. A little while later he said, "No! We can't do this!" His concern? "They will be sleeping in my office when I want to have quiet time!" And Evan is having a hard time adjusting to the idea that babies mess things up. He can't get his car ramp all set up in the living room and expect to have it untouched. Sigh. But overall it has been a good experience. They leave tonight after supper (I'm not complaining that we don't have another bedtime to wade through).

Evan's Turn

Last week it was Evan’s turn to start school. He was so excited to go to school and didn’t seem to have anything negative to say about going. He was very proud with his backpack that was nearly as big as him. All four of us walked to school Wednesday morning. We sent Eli off to his class and took Evan into his classroom. He changed his shoes. (A separate pair of indoor shoes is required. Canadian etiquette, you know.) Then it was time to go sit down in circle time. He held onto my hand and wanted me to go with him. So I took him and got him settled next to a little boy he already knew. After I walked away, he never once looked back at us.

We stood in the doorway behind him and watched him for awhile. His buddy beside him kept reaching over and patting his back, playing with his hair, etc, etc. Evan hardly seemed to notice. Good thing he has a brother and is used to so much physical contact or he would have been quite distracted. :)

Evan has only gone once since that day. They do something called “gradual entry” here for the little guys. He will start going every Monday and Wednesday by the end of this month. He is still very excited about school, which, of course, makes Mom happy.

I have a feeling that he is going to very quickly seem much older…