Creatively Getting It Done

Since it has been nice out, we have had a harder and harder time getting Alex to settle down, stay inside and finish his homework. I will add that I think the amount of homework for a 1st grader is a bit ridiculous, but I digress. So, the theme has been- he runs home from the bus stop, gets his bike and we don't see him until dinner at which time he inhales his food as fast as he possibly can and races back outside, then it gets dark, we call him in and battle with him until way past his bedtime to get his homework done. Phew, it's exhausting. So, we decided that he will not be allowed to go outside and play until his homework is done. Day 1 of this went fairly well with minimal whining. Day 2 he came home and loudly (and proudly) announced that his homework was already done, so he was going outside. I stopped him and asked to see this completed work. Well, I will say it was done and correct, but NOT in Alex's handwriting. So I asked him how this was done and he finally admitted that his 5th grade friend on the bus did it for him. Of course, I did the responsible thing and erased it all and made him do it over. But as I was thinking about it, sometimes it is ok to reward creativity and ingenuity in getting tasks done. After all, that is what will someday make him successful, right? Alex has always been our creative one with a million made up stories and ideas that can make your head spin. Too bad this time he wasn't smart enough to write the answers himself.

Swimming in Frustration

Ok.....this will be a bit pessimistic and negative so I will apologize in advance. I am feeling so frustrated with the lack of quality, affordable swimming lessons that I could just scream! At this point, Anna has taken swimming lessons once/week since September. You would think the girl would be able to swim laps by now. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It is not for lack of trying on her part- she is a fish- loves the water, not afraid to do whatever she is told, always looks forward to swimming lessons. The problem is that all the instructors seem to focus on is playing in the water. This is not what we are paying for. Maybe if it were Sarah taking lessons, I'd expect this. In her last 8 week session which just finished up tonight, she was still "swimming" with someone holding on to her. They never truly challenged her to do more than that. She can jump in without anyone's assistance, but they would always ask her if she wanted "one hand" or "two hands" to jump in. She was too polite to say anything different. By week 6, I finally told her she just has to say "no hands". Well, that lasted one night since she seems to get a new instructor every week and so none of them have a real handle on her progress anyways. But, the kicker of this entire thing is she got her "certificate" from this session tonight with the recommendation to REPEAT this level AGAIN. I was never so tempted to rip something up in my whole life. Poor Anna just said, "Mom, did I pass?" I lied - what else could I do? It wasn't her fault she didn't pass. So now that I've tried 3 different swim locations, I am torn on what to do. If I send her to the Y for lessons, it is $90 for an 8 week session. I'm afraid I'll get the same results. If we go the "guaranteed results" route and go with Foss, it is well into the $250 range for a 12 week session. Even then they have about 9 different levels which makes me question whether or not she'd actually come out of there swimming or if they would just recommend 8 more 12 week sessions. I really want to foster her love of water because I really think it could be something she can be good at. I think maybe we'll just put in a pool, it will probably be cheaper : }  The only downside is that we would have to tie Sarah up on a leash if we let her outside because she can pretty much climb any fence you can build. Oh well, Anna has decided she is taking a little break from swimming and doing gymnastics anyways. Personally, I want to take a break from all organized sports at this point!

* I am COMPLETELY kidding about the pool so don't plan any big summer parties based on this post!

Living in Chaos and Looking on the Bright Side

So, as some of you know, we have begun the road towards home remodeling. By this I don't mean any knocking down the walls projects, but major enough when you are attempting to live in the space simultaneously. Luckily, I was able to reconnect with a high school friend who now owns a handyman business (http://www.chrismeis.com/- in case any interested readers need a reliable handyman) and has been doing a great job helping us check off our to-do list. As a run down of the list, the kitchen is the major area. We have moved some things around, added a few cabinets, are getting new countertops and painting the cabinets as well as the stairwell that is attached. We are then also getting a tile backsplash. In addition to this, we have completely replaced the floors in the kitchen, hallway, closets, living room, dining room and (soon) the entry way. They are all laminate hardwood, except for the entryway which will be tile. The living room, dining room, hallway and entry way are also getting a fresh coat of paint. There is still much work to be done, but here are a few snapsnots of before and the in between. I won't call these the after because much better ones will follow soon.

Kitchen before

Another shot of kitchen before- notice the very ugly linoleum :) I should have taken pictures of what was underneath this because THAT was some hideous flooring- orange and yellow hexagonal patterns.

The new kitchen floor!

Modified cabinets- missing counters still and new fronts to the cabinets but so excited that we will gain nearly 4 ft of counter space!

Dining room before- well, actually it was after we ripped out the badly stained carpeting (who puts carpet in a dining room????)

Beautiful new floor!

Living room before- same ugly, stained carpet that was in the dining room.

Gorgeous floor! Nevermind the missing trim- that will go on after the fresh coat of paint. Had to show off the floors though because they are awesome! Alex and Anna have decided they will be perfect for hockey practice and Sarah has found a new game where Chris pulls her around like a little rag doll on the floor- good times!

In other, unrelated non-remodeling news, Alex had his check up with the cardiologist this week. Everything looks great and hopefully we will not need to see him again. No swelling of his heart or valve problems so we were very relieved. As for the penicillin shots, those will likely be needed until he is at least out of college and potentially longer if he goes into a job where he is around kids or young adults most of the time (more likely to be exposed to strep). Oh well, could have been much worse and we are thankful everyday for his health and for the fact that we have been blessed with 3 beautiful, rambunctious, crazy, unique, fun and challenging kids! Life is good :)

The Apology

Earlier this week I was unpacking Alex's backback and came across this......

When I asked Alex what injustice this poor girl had done to him and his BFF Noah (who is the "you guys" referred to in the letter) he went on and on......."well mom, I used to have a 64 pack of crayons in my desk but now there are only 25 left and then she broke my scissors and stole my folder".......I couldn't help but feel bad for the poor little girl who probably just wanted some attention from Alex, must have gotten caught and was forced to write this letter. I'm guessing Noah had a matching one in his backpack. But Alex decided that he would forgive her and they were friends again, just like that. Then I started thinking, wouldn't it be nice if grown ups could just fix everything bad they had done with a simple letter. The world indeed would be a more peaceful place!

When "I can't grow a plant if you paid me", meets "I really really want a Chia pet for Christmas"

Ah, plants. You'd think with the fact that I have somehow managed to nurture and care for three children as well as a dog, or the fact that I am the oldest of 10 and have been babysitting or watching children in some form or another for over 20 years, or maybe  the fact that the career I have chosen is based on caring and nurturing, that this somehow would have given me an edge on the whole gardening skill. But, alas, as poor Chia Shrek found out, this is just not the case. I can't grow anything. We actually have one living plant in our entire house and if it weren't for Chris' diligence in watering it, it would have died years ago.

Chia Shrek was a Christmas gift to Alex who was soooo excited to watch him grow. And now,  nearly 2 months later (yes, we tried to grow him beginning on Christmas Day), I think we need to just let it go. Of course, we stopped watering him about a month ago when we realized all we were doing was just prolonging the inevitable and getting Alex's hopes up just to be dashed. However, in the busy-ness of life, he has sat on our kitchen counter, staring, almost mocking us, waiting for a decision. Today I think I have looked at this sad creature long enough. So- sorry Shrek and sorry Alex. Perhaps I should just stick to humans and animals (mostly humans).

Sarah's Dance

The following is more than just a cute video of Sarah dancing to her favorite Taylor Swift song.....it is also a good snapshot of what 3 minutes of Sarah is really like. In this video, you will see

- Sarah hitting her head (not that it slowed her down)

- Sarah being defiant

- Sarah being indepedent

- Sarah being just plain busy

- Sarah getting distracted

- Alex and Anna competing for attention




Just another 3 minutes of our lives :)

The Fun of Winter

We aren't really winter "people". We don't really enjoy winter sports (unless ice fishing counts, and even then only about 20% of the household truly likes that), we don't do much outside from December until April. Every year we ask ourselves why we continue to live in this miserable state. But, every once in awhile we do brave the outdoors and try to let the kids know that people really do still go outside when it is below 60 degrees. Here is our attempt at winter fun.....

And after filling up on handfuls of snow.....Sarah smartened up and went inside to watch :)

And at the end of the night, here is what winter at our house looks like.....