Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Date Night

It is often difficult to spend time individually with each of our children, but we're working on it.  One of the great pieces of Accountable Kids is a date card that is earned by completing all daily core chores on time for 10 days (doesn't have to be 10 consecutive days).  Joshua is the first of our crew to earn this special privilege and he was very excited about it!  He chose to go on his date with Mommy.  We found a youth symphony orchestra who was performing last Sunday in the afternoon, so that fit our schedule.  Joshua enjoyed his first orchestra experience and asked if we could go to their next concert in May.  After the concert, we went to Sonic for another first - Sonic blasts (Joshua has only had plain vanilla ice cream from Sonic in the past).  Then we went to church and took a quick stop at the church library so Joshua could select some new reading material.  It is very difficult to keep enough books around for him to read!

On the way home from church, I asked Joshua what he thought about the date night.  He said it was kind of like cheating because he got to do three special activities for one date card.  I told him it was okay to do more than one activity on a date if that's the way we decided to use our time. I also told him that we might not get Sonic blasts on every date! haha!

Now he's working for another date with Mommy to the Wizard of Oz play on March 12.  Maybe Szachary and Benjamin will complete their date cards by then as well.  We'll keep you posted.

Sleep does a body good!

Yesterday our home was filled with whining, crankiness and frumpy-grumps...from all four of our precious treasures.  Our two potty-training boys were NOT interested in working on keeping dry clothing, but instead worked on filling our bathtub with dirty laundry.  Hitting, fighting, kicking, doors slamming...that was all in the first 15 minutes of our day!  This is the kind of day when people's comments about how I've "got my hands full" ring in my ears and I see our family from their perspective.

Today, on the other hand, was MUCH more pleasant!  We zipped through school time, went on a couple of errands and were home in time for lunch.  Everyone had a pleasant quiet time in the afternoon and we all had smiles on our faces.  The two potty-trainers were back to work and even Joshua's math time wasn't filled with dread and excuses. 

Some smiles for today:
While we were running our errands, a man commented, "You got a baseball team there?"  "Yes, almost!" I replied with a grin.
The typical...."That woman's really got her hands full!"
And one more: "You've got quite a crew with you!  They're so cute!"

I guess I do make a bit of a spectacle when I run errands with my four kids in tow.  I'm thankful for my "almost baseball team" and yes, my hands are full - full of precious treasures God placed in them.  I'm thankful.  And I'm most thankful for rested, pleasant children!

Becky