Make 'Em Work For It

As a parent, I struggle with teaching my kids to work for what they get. In this world of over-abundance, I don't want them to expect that the world owes them anything, much less everything their greedy little hearts desire. I worry when I hear them say "I want it" and when I respond "Well, we're not getting it" they reply "But I WANT it!," thinking that wanting something badly enough somehow entitles them to get it. I want them to do chores and contribute to the family without whining and complaining the whole time... maybe that's a useless hope. But I do expect them to help out around the house, and have great desires to teach them to work hard and not be afraid of hard work.

Am I alone in this train of thought? Does anyone else feel this way?

Anyway, the reason I tell you all this is because I've been wanting to get them new scooters. Caleb still has a 3-wheeler, and Olivia's is just old and falling apart. But, I didn't want to just give them to them. So, I came up with an idea. I decided they can earn new scooters by doing 50 jobs apiece. And I didn't want it to be like "Oh, pick up five toys, that's a sticker." I've been having them vacuum entire rooms, clean 4 windows inside and out, sweep the kitchen, fold laundry, etc. Granted, Olivia has much higher abilities than her little brother, so I try to keep the jobs age-appriopriate. So far it's going well, and my house has never been so clean. This is how far they've gotten in the first week:

Little Miss Competitive always has to be sure she has the most stickers on her chart.

The enthusiasm has waned a bit, and I'm hoping they will earn their stickers by the time school is out, or in about 3 weeks total. I think that's a reasonable goal--not too much, not too little.

Or maybe it's too many jobs. They are just little kids, after all. As you can see, I'm not quite settled about this. But, I figure it's a learning experience all around. And we're seeing payoffs already. When the boys and I were at Target the other day, Caleb pointed out a toy he "really, REALLY" wanted. I told him as soon as he earned his scooter, he could work for more stickers to earn that toy. He seemed satisfied with that response.

I wonder how this little experiment will go. Will it teach them to value something they worked so hard for? Or will they just poop out and decide they don't really want new scooters after all? I'll keep you posted.

Does Anyone Ever Bathe This Kid???

This is a kid who loves to play outside. Which is great, since the weather is usually nice, and he's getting vitamin D, right?

The down side is that he usually gets pretty dirty.

I'm not kidding. The kid gets really filthy.

Don't ask me why he's sitting in a wet spot here. I don't even want to know.

The funny thing is, no matter what he's wearing, by the end of the day he's down to just a diaper and onesie. And splinters on the tops of his feet and on his knees. And dirt, lots of dirt.

The good news is, he doesn't seem too much worse for the wear.

Childbirth, From a Four-Year-Old's Perspective

Yesterday Caleb and I were watching "Bringing Home Baby", a show that chronicles a family's birth experience and adjustment to having a new baby. He asked me "Mommy, do they scoop out the baby very carefully with a shovel?"

At least he thought to put the "very carefully" part in there.

Way Back When-sday: Strawberry Farm

Last week, I accompanied Caleb on his preschool field trip to the strawberry farm. Being there brought back memories of when we had gone on the same fieldtrip two years prior, when Olivia was a preschooler. It struck me how quickly time passes, and I'm so glad I got to go with him on this fieldtrip. I was all stressed about how Ben would miss his nap if we went, but Caleb really wanted me to go so I decided to just take my chances and hope Ben wouldn't get too cranky.

As luck would have it, Erik stayed home from work sick that day, so I was able to put Ben down for a nap and go with Caleb. It was relaxing and fun to be with just him and not have to try to wrangle a wiggly one-year-old. Also, I think Caleb enjoyed the one-on-one time. I know I did. Here he is with his strawberries (pardon the facial expression. I think he was complaining that the strawberries were too heavy to hold a second longer).

And here he is with his strawberries two years ago.

Time is speeding up and I don't like it! Someone push the pause button, please!

And They Say There's No Difference Between the Sexes

Two kids painting on a Sunday morning:

Let's use this brother-sister example to examine some differences between boys and girls, shall we?

Girl's paint palette:

Boy's paint palette:

Girl painting: clean lines, use of color to accurately portray real-life objects, no paint anywhere besides on the paper and the tip of the brush.

Boy painting: one big fat mess that gets all over the paper, the table, the chair, and the person. Luckily Mommy remembered to strip him down first so no clothing got ruined this time.
This always ends up happening when this kid paints. Every time.

#5

Behold, my darling daughter:

Cute, right?

Let's take a closer look.

Almost-fallen-out teeth kinda creep me out. I mean, look at it! It's hanging by a thread!

A few hours later, the thread finally broke.

Ahhh, MUCH better!

That's five down, only 19 more to go. Wait, do they lose their molars? Probably not, right? I don't know, this is my first kid. Anyone? Anyone?

p.s. We had just come home from the preschool carnival where she got her face painted by one of the teachers there. Pretty amazing, huh?

Way Back When-sday: My First Drink

I am a Mormon. I'm pretty sure anyone who is reading this blog knows what that is, and most likely is Mormon too. Growing up, I always knew that I believed different things than my school friends, but sometimes I got confused in my sheltered world. When I was about ten years old, I ended up at a restaurant with a non-member friend and her parents. My friend ordered a Shirley Temple drink, and her parents suggested I get one too. I resisted, thinking it was some type of alcoholic drink. I knew that as a Mormon I didn’t drink, but since none of the adults I knew drank either, for me the distinction was between Mormon and non-Mormon, not child vs. adult.

My friends’ parents assured me it was just 7-UP and grenadine syrup. Now, I didn’t know what grenadine syrup was, but it sure sounded alcoholic to me! They finally convinced me it was okay, and I hesitantly drank it. I felt kind of naughty. But I must admit, I was more than a little relieved when I discovered, years later, that it was a non-alcoholic drink.

p.s. I'm kind of rocking those turquoise pants, aren't I??? I think they were Esprit, with the button fly. Soooo stylish.

Fix-It Guys

True love is coming home for lunch when your wife calls you and whines that the drain is broken and she has to host book club that night. Erik was so sweet to come to the rescue and fix it, and Ben was absolutely thrilled to see Daddy in the middle of the day. He decided to be Daddy's little helper. I say, get them started young on the home repairs.

Ben took his job seriously and analyzed the problem close-up.

And just like that, all fixed!

I'm sure Erik couldn't have done it without Ben's help.

It's Written in Black and White

A couple of weeks ago, our local paper announced that they wanted people to write in and tell why their mom was special so they could print a Mother's Day tribute page. Olivia saw this and decided that very day she wanted to write something. On her own, she wrote a little something, put it in an envelope, and we helped her address and mail it.

I couldn't help but think "I'm so lucky my daughter loves me so much, she wanted to tell the world how great I am." The next day when she came home from school she asked "Is my name in the paper yet?" I guess she was less interested in declaring her adoration for her mother than in seeing her name in print. Oh well, it was fun to see it when it did come out.
I love that she thinks going to Denny's is a big deal. We've been a couple of times, just the two of us, and she thinks it's the greatest thing ever. I'd like to think it's my company she appreciates, but I'm pretty sure it's the free coloring page. In any case, it was a fun little Mother's Day tribute.