Ultimate Slacker!

I could possibly win an award for America’s Ultimate Slacker tonight.  Ok, maybe not the ultimate slacker.  First, let me show you the “dinner” that I’m eating right now:

My son’s dinner: PB&J, a banana and some milk.  He was lucky to get that.  My husband's: one of his protein shakes (he's part of a strenuous workout class right now) and chips and salsa.  At least my daughter ate well.  A thawed cube of sweet potato zucchini and some breast milk! J 

The reason I’m posting this is because I started my morning reading another blog post about the “perfect mother” and have thought all day about why mothers find it necessary to criticize each other.  Every move I made today, I thought, “What would another mother think of this?” or “I wonder how many other mother’s have done this exact same thing.”  I wasn’t getting down on myself.  Just curious thoughts. 

I think going from a working mom to a stay-at-home mom, I really set the bar high for what I wanted to do around the house and with the kids.  But even stay-at-home moms don't have perfectly clean houses or get dinner on the table every night.  And I'm slowly beginning to be okay with that.  So what's really important?  Slacker or not, I’m a pretty great mom.  Some days I’ll doubt that, but today isn’t one of those days.  Besides, isn’t it more fun to just let loose sometimes.  Who wants dessert before dinner? J

Thank God It's...Friday? What's that?

TGIF!  Wahoo!  The last day of the work week!  Weekend here I come.  Two full days of no work replaced by relaxation!  I know exactly how I’m going to spend it.  I’m going to sleep in late, watch TV in bed, order pizza for lunch at 2:00 in the afternoon, shower whenever I want for however long I want, then maybe call some friends to figure out “the plan” for the evening.

Hold up.  You mean to tell me that I’m going to be doing the same things during the weekend that I do during the week?  I’m not going to get a break?  I STILL have to fix food at normal eating times and pick up toys and play make believe and help kids get back to sleep in the middle of the night but still wake up at the crack of dawn?

Oh that’s right, because I’m a mom.  Back to reality.

My husband asked me this morning if it sucks that I don’t have a real “Friday” because I stay at home.  Eh.  Not really.  I still have that “TGIF!!!!!” feeling and the I get the “Monday blues.”  I don’t know why exactly because sometimes my husband even works weekends, so really it is exactly the same as the week.  But I love my job.  I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Kudos to all you Mommies (and Daddies) out there who sacrifice it all for their little bundles of joy.  You have the most important job in the world, and it's amazing!  But take some time for yourself this weekend, even if it means locking yourself in your bathroom for 30 minutes to enjoy a facial and hot shower.  Why don't you go ahead and sing in there while you're at it.  J

A Look Into My Parenting Philosophy

It's been very busy around my house for the past, oh 6 months.  My daughter was born and my son went crazy.  I'm not sure if he's jealous of her, or annoyed that he's not the only child anymore or if his behavior can all be blamed on his age.  And gender!  I'm sure it's a combination of all of that.  The past 6 months was a rough transition for my husband and I so why wouldn't it be for our 4-year-old too?!?  I quit work at the childcare center where I was his preschool teacher and soon after was his last day there.  Then, he started at a new preschool with a new teacher and new friends.  He has to share the spotlight at home and learn how to act around a baby (and a sleeping baby!)  We went from two incomes to one, so we've had some stressful times because of that.  So I know it's been quite a change for him.  He loves his sister and his excess energy has never come out in violent ways, but that doesn't make his rambunctious behavior any less annoying!  And unfortunately (I'm embarrassed to admit this) we've turned to cartoons and video games, particularly Mario Kart Wii, to help us get some down time.  He loves him some screen time!

I really don't want his couch potato habits to escalate anymore, so I've been on the hunt for ideas for some sort of chart to track his screen time and give him a visual for what he's limited to.  Being a preschool teacher in my past life, I always feel the need to make lists and charts and organize things anyway I can!  It's an addiction.  I'm also big on positive reinforcement and positive discipline.  I made a "responsibility" chart for Cade about a year ago and we tracked his daily goals with some sort of stamps each day.  He had a set number of stamps to earn before he got a special reward.  He loved it and it worked wonders!  I always encourage parents with preschool or school aged children to use visuals to help get your point across or to help "train" your children to do whatever you want them to do. J  

Here's what that chart system looked like:

Everything is laminated and we used dry erase markers to make the "stamps" and write the stamp goal.  All the different rewards have a piece of Velcro on the back to attach to the Velcro dot on the "goal" sheet.  Cade loved this, but has since outgrown those goals.  He's getting old enough to have actual chores and special duties around the house so I wanted a new chart to have those.  Also, I wanted to incorporate his activities and limits on screen time somehow too.  This is where it's getting complicated.  I'm continuing my search online for ideas so I can simplify my version.  I found great ideas on this website and I'm wondering where it has been my whole life!  I love it!  It's given me wonderful inspiration and hopefully I'll have an update soon for what I come up with for a new responsibility chart that works for us.

I love this kind of stuff and I'm always trying to learn new ways to teach kids and feed my hunger for organization!  I welcome any of your ideas!  Also, I'm willing to give tips for what I've done in the past or if you'd like a downloadable form for the chart I used, I'd be willing to share that too. 

Wordless Wednesday: Sibling Love♥