Den and I had stole a little bit of time away from all the kids. It was time that was dedicated to just him and I; more of a rarity nowadays. We had found ourselves wandering back to our old stomping grounds, Barnes and Noble. It's a quiet, laid back zone, and it's free. As we were holding our yummy drinks from the attached Starbucks we began to head to the same old section, ya know the one on how to decorate, farm, or revamp a house one way or another. As I was standing there glazed over at the same books that have been there since the beginning of the century I saw a table that had been spread out with homeschool books. It drew us in immediately. The books on that table had nothing new to offer me, but it got my mind whirling. It made me contemplate my vision for my family. What was that vision? I remember taking a homeschool teaching course and in the beginning of the classes they made us take poster paper and draw a picture of our vision for our family, then we had to explain our concept to the class the next day. It was surprising how many of us had the same vision. It was very inspiring.
So after a very short stay at the bookstore Den and I decided to go for a drive, even though gas prices are making our SUV a very expensive necessity anymore. Regardless, we drove all over the back country side and talked about our goals concerning parenting and family life. It was reinvigorating, and more needed than I first realized. We have been needing to remind ourselves of our goals; it has been far too long. I think that having a baby has put us into "adjustment mode" and we have been just rolling with the punches, but there comes a time where you have to shake yourself and make sure your awake for this parenting thing. *slap slap*
I began to think about the youngest to the oldest. Boaz went without saying, I mean he is a newborn so we are all about changing diapers, giving lots of love, feeding him and making sure he gets enough sleep. It all sounds simple enough, but believe me it is extremely time consuming right now. Roman....well we need to step up with the potty training. He has been showing plenty of signs for awhile, but mommy has been lazy and not ready to get down to the dirty work. So things are about to change in the double diaper duty front. Plus I have found myself giving him too many opportunities to disobey me. It hasn't been anything major, but minor things turn in to major things if they go on for too long. Therefore, when I say, "Come here", then I expect him to come here immediately. It is time to be consistent, and it won't be long before I will see the results I am use to. Now Abram, well I have let him slide a little too much too. I have found that I haven't been checking his chores. I have been taking his word for things, but in the back of my mind I have known I am failing him (and me) in this area. I am not doing him, or me, any favors by not holding him accountable. All in all it is time to crack down. I could go on, but this post could and would go on forever, but I'm sure you get the idea.
Rather than feeling discouraged I felt more ready than I had felt in a long time. I was anxious to start rebuilding the fundamentals again. It's amazing how adding another person can push things out of order. I think it's pretty normal really, but what wouldn't be acceptable is if I let it go on for too long. Keeping this house running in a Godly orderly fashion is a full time job, and there isn't a lot of time to take leisure (hahaha) breaks before things and kids go completely askew.
Following Day Results:
Boaz............Still eats, poos, sleeps, and accepts love.....Whew!
Roman........First day of potty training and only one pee pee accident! Yahoo! He got a swat for ignoring me when I told him to come here, and he caught on very quickly. I never said he wasn't super smart! lol
Abram.........I told him to do his chores (cleaning his room) after an hour I asked him if he had finished the job, but I could tell by his hesitation that he hadn't. So I quickly went into his room, put a timer on, and told him I would be back then and it had better be done. I believe he knew I finally meant business, and the room was complete. Job Well Done!
Hmmmm that wasn't so tough, it's all about making the time to follow through, and not being lazy. This will be good for all of us!
8 comments:
So many things to comment on...where to start? ha! First, I LOVE going to Barnes and Noble with Kevin too - those are our best dates and FREE!
Second, you are such an inspiration as a parent. As a teacher and just general Wal-Mart shopper (hee-hee), I see all kinds and it seems most take the easy way out. I can tell just from your posts that your boys show the signs of guidance and parents that take the time with them that is missing so much for so many kids. Kudos to you!! Maybe someday you can give me parenting advice! :-)
And last, I LOVE the timer idea with cleaning the room! So simple, yet effective! Ok - enough from me! That's my longest comment ever! LOL!
Glad to hear you & Bro. Den had some mommy & daddy time. We all need that from time to time.It sounds like you had a relaxing time.
You are an amazing women to me.With all you do and handle with a happy heart.
The TIMER? Oh yeah...my kids know all about the timer...in fact they know about it so well, they have been introducing it to little granddaughter lately! LOL... hey it gets the job done and puts a little fear into their hearts that the timer is going to ring before they are done! You can't imagine it now, with all my big strong men, but we had to use the timer to get them to eat when they were little! They w e r e s o
s l o w . . . at eating. We finally started using the timer and it worked! Poor little things. . .!
It's good to take time without children and visit about things that need to be talked about. Sometimes it is just too hard and distracting to talk at home, there always seems to be something distracting going on. It is easy to lose focus of what you want to do, isn't it? I'm glad Roman is doing good on potty training :) And awesome that Abram is learning to do his part of chores, that makes it so much easier on you. This was an inspring post :)
I think that I need to borrow your enthusiasm for a day or two? I have to admit to being somewhat dragged out for a while now. Big changes bring chaos indeed. Sounds like you are on the right track, maybe I'd better join the bandwagon? On three. One, two, two and a half, two and three quarters......I need to learn the meaning of JUST DO IT! Thanks for the reality check, "wake up woman", slap, slap. :)
I so enjoyed this post. I feel like I have let things go due to being to tired or just plain to busy with life. I am ready to be moved and get things in gear. By the way that little Boaz is so adorable. I can't wait to hold him, I sure hope he likes me.
Good job Roman, before you know it you will be totally potty trained.
Sounds like you are getting in gear. I know that has to feel good. You and Den are doing such a great job. You guys are examples to many. My phone minutes start over on Friday, I'm counting on a chat then.
Boaz is getting cuter everyday!! I know I've said it so many times but I can't help saying it again-you are an AWESOME mom! The way you (and Den) evaluate your parenting skills and are forever on the lookout for your kids..it's so inspiring.
ps-Thanks for taking the time out and commenting on my blog. I'm only 18, and a comment from has completely made my day, coz I SO look up to you.I really want to be a good mom too someday..and I hope I'm atleast half as good as you are!
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