SUMMER SCHEDULE...
So, we basically have one week of summer left here. It flew by. Seriously flew by. I, for one, am excited about school starting back up. I thought about homeschooling Samuel this year...like really thought about it. I am really thankful that he is going to 5th grade to finish elementary school. The Lord made it pretty clear that's what we needed to do and I'm glad. I think I'm a much better mom to them (and him specifically) than school teacher. And they do much better with me when they have some time away from me. But that's just us for right now. It may all change one day and I may homeschool. I love the thought of homeschooling. I love my friends who do it! One reason I am glad I have not been called to it yet is I really don't think I would be good at it. People think I'm really organized, but I am really actually not.
I tried to do our summer schedule this summer because last summer that would have worked really well for us. This summer it was a total fail. We did it the first week. Sigh. To be fair, we really haven't been home an entire week together since then. And then there was potty training.
POTTY TRAINING...
I have done the 3 Day Potty Training boot camp with every single one of my children and none of them have succeeded in 3 days. Go figure. They have gotten it eventually usually by day 4 or 5 though. I still HATE it. In fact, when I first saw the surprise two lines on a pregnancy test that meant I was pregnant with Annie, my first thought was I have to potty train again. I'm not lying! It really is my least favorite parenting task! So about 2 weeks ago I decided to go ahead and train her. The dreaded time had come. Summer seemed a good time to do it. She was pretty familiar with the process. She watches me go all the time. She watches her sisters go all the time. She was showing several other signs. Plus this way I could get her trained before the craziness of school starts.
POTTY TRAINING...
I have done the 3 Day Potty Training boot camp with every single one of my children and none of them have succeeded in 3 days. Go figure. They have gotten it eventually usually by day 4 or 5 though. I still HATE it. In fact, when I first saw the surprise two lines on a pregnancy test that meant I was pregnant with Annie, my first thought was I have to potty train again. I'm not lying! It really is my least favorite parenting task! So about 2 weeks ago I decided to go ahead and train her. The dreaded time had come. Summer seemed a good time to do it. She was pretty familiar with the process. She watches me go all the time. She watches her sisters go all the time. She was showing several other signs. Plus this way I could get her trained before the craziness of school starts.
I have a problem in believing that my children will follow the plans laid out for me in articles/blogs/books. It's a real problem, because for whatever reason not one of my children has been by the book. Maybe it's an issue with me and I don't do things right...but none the less my children do not like to do things by the book. None of my babies ever really did the whole schedule thing. Jeff told me to throw out the Babywise book when EK was about 5 weeks old because it was making me crazy that she wouldn't do what the book so easily laid out. She had reflux and is strong willed and has been since the day she was born, but I digress. Abigail has been the only one who has been easy to sleep train, potty train, train in general. She is my only compliant child. I love her for that. Thank you Lord for one. So, back to Annie. She is a lot like EK...so I was prepared. I was prepared for potty training to be hard. It was. I still hated it.
Day 3 I almost gave up, but I'm stubborn too (have no idea where my girls get it from:))...so we stuck with it and by day 5 she got it. Well, she got the pee-pee on the potty anyway. She has that down to a T. What we don't have is the other. Still. My others got the whole part of potty training eventually like after about a week. Not this 4thchild. Oh no. She waits to go in her pull up at nap time or at night. Or she just goes in her panties. And she does not care one little bit. And I have no idea what to do. I've bribed. I've offered rewards. I've acted disappointed. I've acted like it's no big deal. Oh, it is making me crazy! So hopefully one day this stubborn child will be fully potty trained and I will breathe a big sigh of relief to finally be done and never have to do it again!
CHORES...
Why can't I be consistent with this? I mean, we have really tried every thing. Nothing works well past a week or so. Don't get me wrong, the kids are expected to make their beds, help clear the dinner table, help set the table, help clean up, unload dishwasher, help put their clean clothes away, etc. So they do that well and most of the time without complaint. Having a big family really means the kids have to contribute to the running of the household and my kids do a lot. I would just love for them to have a few more responsibilities and a system in place for some rewards so I'm not always reminding them. I know it requires discipline on mine and Jeff's part and I guess that's where the whole thing is breaking down.
MEALS...
Jeff and I did a challenge called WHOLE 30 in June and it was great! For 30 days we ate only fruits, veggies (but no corn or beans), and lean organic meats. We cut out all gluten, dairy, alcohol, sugar, and legumes.
It was hard, but we learned so much and it was so worth it! We both felt the best we have felt in a long time! So we are trying to move to a paleo diet but it's hard. Expensive and hard to adhere to all the time. Why are fresh and healthy foods the most expensive? I think our grocery bills are more than our mortgage right now. We are spending so much on food and I have got to figure out a way to cut that down. One way I am trying is through Emeals. I signed up (with a coupon of course) for their paleo plan. So they will email me recipes and a grocery list each week. The ones I've made so far have been great, but I'm not sure it has helped on the budget yet.
If I even have readers anymore and you have any thoughts or advice on any of the above, I will gladly take it:)!!!
If I even have readers anymore and you have any thoughts or advice on any of the above, I will gladly take it:)!!!
5 comments:
girl i have been online on pinterest looking at chore charts, discipline charts, etc.. My children are fighting day in and day out and Im completely exhausted and at a lost for words or ideas. i too am ready for school to start! I just want to hire someone to make them somehow get along. I just don't know what else to do! You are not alone! Im glad that Emma is potty trained too! What a relief, I dislike potty training too!
Leslie, glad to know I am not alone!!! My kids have also been fighting a lot. Boo:(.
I try to eat super clean and it is pricey - especially for a post-grad single gal on a teacher salary. I buy store brand, get produce and organic things at Costco in bulk, and cut other corners. Cooking big meals for Shabbat on Friday gets me good leftovers to last the first half of the week and I jive off easy to prepare clean meals the rest of the time, but it is hard!!
I will jump in on the potty training. Brice, my hard headed one when it came to this topic, about put me over the edge. He too would wait until night time when he had the pull-up on. Got the pee part down in three days flat. No issues, never one accident after that. After NINE LONG months...I took the pull-up apart at the sides and tucked the front and back part over a potty insert on the big potty. I told him he go "ON" the pull-up but it was still over the toilet. Then each night, I would lower it a little. I think he had issues with it leaving his body and dropping into the toilet. I read this somewhere and it make sense but why he had to put me through all that, I will never know! After a few days, then I said, "no more pull-up, just GO!". Hope this helps.
Have you read Cleaning House? I started it and did the first month of chores like she suggests and it worked great. Then we traveled and life got crazy but I recommend it. Ah potty training......it took Isaac almost 6 months so I have only sympathy to offer my friend. :)
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