Handsome's Drawing

Handsome woke me up one morning to show me his drawing.  This is what he wants for Christmas from Santa.  A remote control Lightning McQueen.  I love watching as his drawing gets better and better.  He told me that the hard part was getting the flames right.  Looks good to me.  Such talent Handsome, way to go!

Adorable: Growing and Moving

My Little 7 (almost 8) month baby boy is just so ADORABLE!

I love, love, love, this phase of life.  He is learning, growing, and starting to show some personality.  He is very much a "Mamma's Boy" as he now follows me all around the house crawling.  If he is not in my arms he is either crawling on the floor to get to me, or being distracted by his big brother and big sister. 

He is already in 12 month size clothes.

He has started babbling "mamamama."  I LOVE this!

He is also my little thrill seeker.  He loves it when he is thrown in the air.  And he LOVES it when you scare him.  I really mean it!  If you startle him and say "boo" he laughs and laughs and laughs.  It looks like I'm being mean, but he laughs so hard I can't help but sneak up behind him and lightly grab him as I say "boo."

He crawls, but it is not a "normal" crawl but a wiggle worm crawl.  He gets up on his knees, wiggles back and forth, and then goes forward onto his belly.  Then back on his hands and knees to repeat the process.  He has tried the "traditional" crawl, but is much slower, so quickly goes back to the "wiggle worm" crawl.

And now my little Adorable is starting to pull himself up onto everything!

 It started as he pulled himself over our legs, then onto low boxes, where he would topple off, or cry because he would feel stuck.  But if he fell off or we got him off, he would go right back on.  Then he started pulling himself up to his knees on toys and such.

Next he would pull himself up to a stand on our occasional table.  This scared/still scares me as I feel like I have to be close by because of the corners.  Yet, if I pull him down so I can leave to room to do something, he is right back up there. 

Then I laughed as he pulled himself up to the rocking horse and would wobble back and forth as the horse rocked. 

And then one day I went in to get him from a nap, and found this!  he had pulled himself up in his crib!  So now the crib bed has been lowered so I can sleep peacefully at night.

I just can't believe all he is doing.  If I remember correctly my other two were just crawling (maybe still an army crawl at this age). 

My little baby is growing up!

Welcome Home Daddy!

We are SOOOOO glad that Daddy is home!

He came home just before Thanksgiving.  It seems that he has been gone FOREVER.  OK, really not too long, but before he left town, he was working a modified swing shift, so we really hardly saw him then too.

So since Grandpa Rowley was picking him up from the airport (THANK YOU GRANDPA!).  The kids and I were getting ready.  We made banners, and cookies.

Handsome wanted to have a surprise party for him.  So after the banners were made and hung and cookies baked, we played Candy Land all while keeping a look out for Daddy.

Gorgeous working hard on her picture for Daddy.

Then I heard the sound of a car door shutting.  Handsome went to the window to verify, Daddy was home!  The lights were dimmed and door unlocked as we all got into our hiding positions.   I have to say, it was TONS of fun, especially with the excitement I felt from the kids. 

Welcome Home Daddy! 

Accountable Kids Update

So we are still doing the Accountable Kids program. 

 So far so good.  I am really liking this program.  Before I had the mentality that the kids had to ask for TV/Wii/ etc. privileges and if it was near the end of the day and they hadn't been in time out, etc.  they would get it.  But it would be taken away if acting out.  Now it has completely switched.  The kids don't have those extra privileges to LOSE.  Instead they have them to GAIN.  They can do their chores and earn tickets and them use them.  When we first started the kids would ask, as they had usually done in the past, "Can I ...." and before I would think in my mind, have they been in time out? have they been helpful or ornery?.  Now I answer, "YES!  Do you have (certain number of) tickets?"  And they would realize that they were the ones in control of earning their privileges.  I no longer get asked if they can have a privilege.  It has been wonderful!

 Also, I no longer have to encourage them each step of each task, for example getting ready for bed.  I leave them with the responsibility and let them experience the consequences.  And yes, sometimes they have had to miss out on things.

One example, each Friday is "family movie night" at our house.  But when I started the program an hour of movie cost 2 tickets.  I wondered if it was fair to charge for family movie night.  Then I remembered that if they were disobedient all day we would send them to bed without movie night.  So why would it be different.  They were still expected to help out around the house to "earn" movie night.  So we decided to charge 2 tickets to participate in family movie night.  Handsome chose to use his tickets earlier in the day for the Wii.  I reminded him of movie night, and made it very clear that he would have to work hard to get the 2 tickets before movie night (it was possible).  He made the decision to play the Wii.  Then nighttime came and he had failed to meat the deadline of day chores being done, and missed a ticket.  He couldn't participate.  He cried and cried, but the consequence was there, he made the choices he had to deal with the consequence.  It was nice, I was taken out of the equation, it wasn't me punishing him, he made choices and had to deal with the consequences.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give it a 4.5 (I am VERY picky and really never give a perfect score, because really is anything truly PERFECT?)

I'll write later about how we are using it and adaptations we made to help our young family.

Leaf Turkeys

Before we are done with November I have to show off the turkeys the kids made for a Thanksgiving project.  I got the idea from here.

Basically glue leafs in a half circle.  Then I hot glued the pinecone in the middle.  We added googly eyes, and construction paper for the beak, etc.

I think they are cute! (oh, the turkeys looked good too) :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope your family is having a wonderful Thanksgiving.

My new Thanksgiving Banner.  I made it simply out of scrapbook paper, and then sewed it together on my machine.  So much faster and easier than fabric.  Although, I don't know how many years it will survive. :)

And a new tradition.  I totally stole the idea, Thanks Rachel!  I cut out paper circles of different sizes, then put the blank circle in one container.  When we think of something we are thankful for, we can write, or draw, on the back of a circle.  Then it goes into the other container.  And my goal is to sew them together and hang on a wall... I'm thinking around the kitchen table.  Then it will remind us of what we are thankful for, and remind us to BE thankful for all the wonderful blessing God has given us.



Then of course our traditional Cranberry Scones!!  One of the best parts of Thanksgiving.  This year, I decided to make them for breakfast too.  We always end up eating them as they come hot out of the oven (yummy!), so why not just tell the kids it's our breakfast. :)

And I found out something new about Gorgeous this year.  As Handsome and Gorgeous were helping me make the scones, Handsome asked to try a cranberry.  Smiling I gave him a small piece of a cranberry and watched his face as it puckered up.  Then Gorgeous wanted to try one too.  I decided to give her an even smaller piece than I gave Handsome expecting the same results.  But NO!  She asked for more!  Until at the end I was just giving her handfuls of whole cranberries to snack on.  Who knew she loved cranberries so much!

Delicious!

Kid Quotes

Yesterday morning I overheard Gorgeous telling Handsome at the breakfast table;

"I wish I had a pink chair."


Later I asked Gorgeous if she had good dreams.  Her response;

"I dreamed about Cinderella, Rapunzel, pink, and ballerinas.  I had girly dreams."


After morning scriptures, Handsome asked;

"Were you alive when Christ was on the earth?"

Me: "No he was born long before I was."

Handsome: "Then was Grandma Carol alive when Christ was on the earth?"


They make me smile. :)

FINISHED!

I feel like I need to somehow celebrate.  Handsome finished the 100 lessons in "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"!!!!  Way to go Handsome, and what a reader you have become!  It is so fun to see him look through our library of kids books and pick up and read one on his own. :)

Thanksgiving Educational Website

I discovered this educational website about the first Thanksgiving, or as they call it, the Harvest Festival of 1621.  It is an interactive educational tool for children, I would guess, geared for kids in third to sixth grade.  But I LOVED it for myself, and we are using it for Handsome.  Thought I would share it with you.

It is here.  Check it out!

Mother Guilt and Vaccines

Am I the only one?... but it seems that just as Handsome was born with him came the "Mother Guilt."  That if I do this and such and such happens then it is my fault, or if I do the opposite and such and such happens, then it is still my fault.

Thankfully I have the added knowledge of prayer.  I think Heavenly Father knew that Mothers would need A LOT of guidance with raising his children here on earth.  I have turned to prayer so much with all these decisions, and had such peace and comfort with decisions, and at other times I feel I am left to figure some things out on my own,.. and I'm faced with decisions... and on comes the "mother guilt"

Handsome was born and immediately...

Do we circumcise?  Thankfully that one was answered with prayer.

Do we immunize? ... that one was a LOT harder

Having a nephew with Autism, and having worked with many children with Autism I have seen only a glimpse of what life is like for their family, which I would not want any family to have to go through.  I also heard many mothers say.... "he was a normal boy until....Vaccines."

But all the doctors tell you it's safe, and really how many children received vaccines and are just fine?

Is it genetic?  If so, having a nephew with Autism does that mean my children may have the gene?

Doing a lot of study and prayer I came up with...

Some vaccines are unnecessary for my kids, like Hepatitis B! Really they are not sexually active as babies, I think we're safe there!

And the chickenpox, I got the chickenpox and survived, there I feel like the benefits do NOT outweigh the costs.

So I decided to only do a select few and to wait until the child is older, and only do one shot at a time.

That brings me to our last doctor visit.  Prior I prayed hard to know if the vaccines I had chosen to have Handsome and Gorgeous have was safe and OK for them to have at this time.  No answer, so I went ahead with what I had planned to do.

It was Handsome's 4th DTAP shot and Gorgeous' 1st DTAP shot (although she had just the Tetanus shot prior).  All is going well, until at night when they change I see a HUGE red lump on Handsome's leg, and a few red dots on Gorgeous.  I circle them with a sharpie to know in the morning if they are getting bigger or smaller.

In enters Mommy guilt.  I chose to vaccinate, and now I may have caused harm to my child.  (Of course if they had gotten sick with one of the things that the DTAP vaccinates for and I didn't do it, I would have the same "mommy guilt")

I called the nurse, and of course this is "normal."  Really? did you guys see this too with your kids?  Handsome's lump went away after 2 days, Gorgeous spots got bigger and bigger until they were/are a big lump.  And I was told it is "normal" for it to last  1 to 2 weeks.  Really?

And then the lingering question.  How come the company that makes the vaccine, also tests the vaccine, and then can not be held legally responsible if there are problems with the vaccine?

  Some accountability should be there.  I understand that if they were always getting sewed, they wouldn't make the vaccines... and we do need them.  But don't the same companies make drugs, that then are pulled because they are causing harm and then are sued and held responsible.  Why is it different with vaccines?

Trying to Raise "Accountable Kids"

So I saw a booth at the Homeschool Convention I attended months ago about raising accountable kids.  It jumped out at me as I was struggling with what to do with chores, etc with our family.  I only had a few dollars to spend and decided to spend it on their book.  I didn't even have time to attend the class.  So I came home and the book sat and sat as life sped on.

Then I got sick, and found myself having to be still.  I picked up the book and started to read.  With each new chapter I would get excited.  I was reading all about the stuff I learned about in college about shaping behavior, including the perspective of agency and God.  It was exactly what my BYU college professor had suggested for raising kids.  I had to do a double check to make sure it wasn't my college professors book! (no it was not).

As I was sick and had so little energy and very little breath to talk, it was hard to encourage chores to be done and easy to give in to TV and movies.  It made me realize how much I needed this program.

So what is it?

It is called Accountable Kids.

In their own words it is...

"a unique parenting program designed to teach accountability and responsibility in the home. It is a back-to-basics system which includes essential parenting principles and concrete stepping stones that strengthen relationships and build a foundation for success.   Children learn to balance choices and consequences in a fun, productive manner. They experience the joy of being a vital, contributing member of the family and develop confidence and self-worth."

Basically, you are implementing this program into your family routine in 4 steps.  I love that it not only has chores and rewards, but it also has one-on-one dates with a parent, as well as Family Council, although they call it "Family Forum."  It even has a way for kids to earn money for extra chores, and teaching about managing money.  So to break it down, again in their words:

"Step One: Children learn to take care of personal responsibilities without constant direction. They learn work ethics, time management, and responsibility. Children earn Tickets by completing basic chores. Tickets can then be used for activities or privileges. Tickets provide parents the ability to discipline without losing control or physical contact. Basic values are encouraged and reinforced with the Best Behavior Card.

Step Two: The Privilege Pass is introduced to eliminate specific negative behaviors. This process empowers children to predict consequences, follow rules, and redirect themselves towards positive behaviors. A Special Date Card is added to allow children to work for future rewards and enhance parent/child relationships.

Step Three: Completing basic chores provides basic privileges, but not the extras. Children earn Bonus Bucks for completing extra chores. This gives them the ability to make decisions about purchases. They experience the advantages of saving and learn to manage resources for the future.

Step four: The Family Forum presents an opportunity to discuss goals, problems, challenges, and accomplishments. It provides an opportunity to monitor progress and encourage positive behaviors. Quiet Time is introduced to refresh and recharge children and parents. It encourages the use of imagination, self-discipline, and self-entertainment."

I got a progress board for Handsome and Gorgeous.  The program is for ages 4-14, so Gorgeous is a little young, and needs a little more guidance and reminders, but so far so good.

The program encourages that the kids be part of the decoration process of their board.  So we went to the craft shop and they picked out a color to paint their board.  In the future I hope to get some vinyl lettering of their name to put on it, but for now the colors will have to do.  They really enjoyed painting the boards.

In the back of their book they have pages for you to copy and put up to help.  I decided to put them up, as a reminder for the adults and babysitters mostly. 

 We are now in step one.  So I put up the way to use tickets, (for our family 1 ticket gets 1/2 hour of an approved PBS TV show, 2 tickets can get 1/2 hour of the Wii, or 1 hour of a movie.)  how to lose tickets; and the Best Behavior characteristic we are working on (honesty right now).

So each child has a their chores on a peg, they see the chore that needs to be done, do it, and turn the chore over to see the next.  This has been such a good reminder for Handsome and Gorgeous.  Then if the chores are done by a specific time, they earn a ticket.

This has saved me so much time reminding, nagging, and threatening to take away privileges, to get chores done.

So far so good. On a scale of 1-5 I give it a 3.7, mostly because I figure to get the top score you have to be PERFECT, and I need more experience with it.  I'll give it a new score each time I blog about it.  I plan to blog about this as we go through the steps and let you REALLY know how it works and ways we have adapted it for our family of young children.

If you are interested check out their website here.

Portable Growth Chart

I saw a tutorial for a growth chart here.  And I loved it.  I loved the idea of a portable growth chart, because well, I knew we would not be in the same house forever, yet I wanted a cute way to mark how tall my little ones were getting.  So I made one up, and added it in to our social studies unit about "myself" learning about height and a little of math with measurement.  Mine is not as cute as the lady's on Whipper Berry, but I still like it, maybe the idea more than my creative talent. :)  I only did one for the family and am using key tags and writing in different colors for each kid (Handsome is blue, Gorgeous is pink, Adorable is green).  Then if/when we move I will just take it with us. :)

Bunk Beds!!

So after much saving, and poor Gorgeous and Handsome having to share one bed on the floor, we now have BUNK BEDS!!!

Yes, it wasn't easy for the sharing, there were many nights where complaints we heard about feet being in the way, blankets being pulled, etc. etc.  But the kids knew we were saving and our goal was to get them some bunk beds.

I think it was a good lesson for them as well.  That things are worth saving up for, and that at times it does take awhile to save, but then when they are finally bought, it is exciting and that we have to treat them well because we waited so long and worked so hard for them.

We knew it would only be a matter of time before the temptation of jumping on or off the beds happened.  Our punishment?  The loss of the privilege to sleep on the bed.  And yes, Handsome tried it, and that night he slept on the floor with a blanket.  Needless to say, we have not had the problem since.

Rainbow Writing

Handwriting is an important part of school, though not as much fun as some things.  Ok, well... really it is at the bottom of the fun list.  However, I have found a way to add a little more excitement to it.  I learned about it while I taught Kindergarten.  Another teacher told me her trick and I used it then, and continue with Handsome.  I call it "Rainbow Writing."  I let Handsome write with markers (a special privilege in our house) and pick a new color for each line of writing he does.  He can pick any color, yet he often chooses to make it the actual colors of the rainbow. 

Also, I have to put a little plug out there for the Handwriting curriculum I found at .... Walmart.  Yes, Walmart!  My sister-in-law told me about it.  It is the Mead Writing Fundamentals workbooks they have in their learning section.  I like that they tell fun stories for how to form the letters.  That they do all capitals first, one complete book.  Then they do the lowercase in a different book and compare them to the capital letters, plus they help the kids know where the lowercase letter goes by defining the three different areas as the "sky", "grass", and "dirt."  So I just reiterate with Handsome that the "w" has to touch the top of the grass and the bottom of the grass, but make sure it doesn't go into the sky or dirt.  We are having good success with it.  We also have the "Number Stories" which I like.  Some of the pages we have skipped, but most are good, especially the number formation lessons.

Trick-or-Treating

The night of Trick-or-Treating I was on my own with three little ones.  We did dinner, and got ready.  Gorgeous decided yet again on another costume.  She decided to be Cinderella.  Handsome was still Diego, and Adorable still my little Chunky Monkey.  I took them out leaving in the light, but soon it became dark.  We only made it to 1 and 1/2 blocks with only about every 3rd house welcome to Trick-or-Treaters, yet they still had tons of candy.  When we got home I had two that wanted candy, one that needed a feeding.  Then baths, and tuck-ins, all while I answered the door for trick-or-treaters.  It was a busy night.  But by 8pm it was done with little ones in bed, and no more door knocks.

With their loot!

Trunk-or-Treat

I LOVE the Trunk-or-Treat tradition that our church has each year.  All three wards gather together one night, usually different from Halloween night, and all the kids go from car to car of people they know from church.  This year it was at 6pm.  Perfect time for our family!

 My little monkey.  I actually couldn't help but call him a "chunky monkey" since there was so much padding around the tummy on the costume. :)

 Gorgeous decided to go as a BYU cheerleader instead of the planned Rapunzel, only an hour before leaving.  But she got LOTS of comments about her costume and more than a few times people gave her a second handful of candy saying things like "Go BYU!"

 Handsome said he wanted to be Larry Boy or Diego.  Since I had on hand things to make him like Diego and nothing I could think of that would work as Larry Boy, he became Diego!

Pumpkin Carving

This years pumpkin carving found Daddy helping the kids carve.  I did the drawing on the pumpkins and feeding a hungry baby. :)  It was tons of fun and full of good family memories.

Handsome wanted to design his own and drew it on paper first.  Then I helped him by drawing it on the pumpkin and then he went to work to carve his pumpkin with some help from Daddy. 

 Gorgeous insisted that her pumpkin had to have "fire."  She said that her cousin, Daniel, said his had "fire" and so she had to have it too.  Can you tell she looks up to Daniel.  I think the fact that he plays with her and is so sweet to her when he is over has made him one of her favorite cousins.

I also cooked some of the seeds, only a few, and found that Handsome and Gorgeous LOVED them!  Good thing we have one uncarved pumpkin left, I'll get more seeds from it to cook before I cook the pumpkin. :)

 Family photo in our pjs.  ;)

Thank You Pumpkin Fairy!

Last night we had a visit from the Pumpkin Fairy!  After the kids went Trunk or Treating, they got to pick out 5 pieces of candy to eat.  Then after they went Trick or Treating they got to pick out another 5 pieces of candy to eat.  Then they combined it all, each picked out 10 more pieces to eat and the rest they set out for the Pumpkin Fairy.

And this morning they found that the candy was gone and in it's place were some reading books, just at Handsome's reading level.  Thank you Pumpkin Fairy!  We'll have to remember you in future years too. :)