A New Plan...
With Michael working from 3:30 pm-2:15 am, it makes for a lot of single parenting around here. Don't get me wrong, we are THANKFUL beyond words for the job. I wouldn't trade it. But the boys and I had a roller coaster of a ride learning how to balance our evenings without daddy. We've never been without him. And we never want to be without him! He's our glue! It seems as though his testosterone balanced their testosterone out! They tried their best to test me over the first couple of weeks. None of us were showing our good side. So after long conversations with my colleagues/friends at school, I knew I needed a PLAN.
Monday, I wrote up a SCHEDULE. It is posted on the fridge and we follow it pretty closely. We also wrote up some common courtesies that we needed to be reminded of....me included. The other big change was that I "unplugged" all of us! No Wii, no computer, no laptop. We did NOT give up the TV though...I'm not crazy. :) I also allowed myself to be on the computer after they went to bed. Unplugging us made us all much more efficient! We kept up on everything around the house and even had time to do the FUN stuff!
So, besides the normal things that should be on a schedule (1-mommy's run, 2-snacks, 3-homework, etc....) We also added a daily chore and an activity to do together. There is something about making these things more purposeful that changed the whole atmosphere of our nights. One night, we cleaned out a cabinet of their art supplies. They LOVED it. Another night, we went to the Y. They got to be totally independent while I went to aerobics. They LOVED it. One night, we went to DQ and had ice cream. But their favorite activity and their idea, was making a vegetable tray....So here they are getting ready. (Jacob loves KNIVES!)
Nicholas busy at work. Thankful he finished with all fingers intact!
With Michael working from 3:30 pm-2:15 am, it makes for a lot of single parenting around here. Don't get me wrong, we are THANKFUL beyond words for the job. I wouldn't trade it. But the boys and I had a roller coaster of a ride learning how to balance our evenings without daddy. We've never been without him. And we never want to be without him! He's our glue! It seems as though his testosterone balanced their testosterone out! They tried their best to test me over the first couple of weeks. None of us were showing our good side. So after long conversations with my colleagues/friends at school, I knew I needed a PLAN.
Monday, I wrote up a SCHEDULE. It is posted on the fridge and we follow it pretty closely. We also wrote up some common courtesies that we needed to be reminded of....me included. The other big change was that I "unplugged" all of us! No Wii, no computer, no laptop. We did NOT give up the TV though...I'm not crazy. :) I also allowed myself to be on the computer after they went to bed. Unplugging us made us all much more efficient! We kept up on everything around the house and even had time to do the FUN stuff!
So, besides the normal things that should be on a schedule (1-mommy's run, 2-snacks, 3-homework, etc....) We also added a daily chore and an activity to do together. There is something about making these things more purposeful that changed the whole atmosphere of our nights. One night, we cleaned out a cabinet of their art supplies. They LOVED it. Another night, we went to the Y. They got to be totally independent while I went to aerobics. They LOVED it. One night, we went to DQ and had ice cream. But their favorite activity and their idea, was making a vegetable tray....So here they are getting ready. (Jacob loves KNIVES!)
Nicholas busy at work. Thankful he finished with all fingers intact!
Jacob ate more celery and cherry tomatoes than cutting. But, for a kid who doesn't love vegetables and once told the doctor that his favorite vegetable was bacon, I was pretty happy.
They insisted on shots of me, since it was a family activity. Ugh...
I like to call this my after-glow look from running.
Throwing the cherry tomatoes in the air and trying to catch them in his mouth. Nicholas must've taken 50 of these pictures and not ONCE did he capture a tomato on film!
The after.....
We have all been much happier this week. We were treated today with Michael getting up and cooking us all a big breakfast (after only a few hours of sleep). This weekend we have plans to get the Christmas things out and get the house all decked out! We love this time of year.
So, this week was a smashing success with mommy ending up in a timeout only one time (after they snubbed my dinner). We're hoping that we are creating good habits that will last a lifetime. Michael has talked with them each morning about how grown they are and how important it is that they step up to the plate. It makes them feel so proud.
Sometimes the simplest things are waiting right in front of us.
I guess it's never too late to discover that. You would think that as a teacher, I would just be able to use my common sense--model the behavior you want.
I think I grew up a little bit this week and became a better parent.
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