It's A Crazy Life.....

Fall is by far my favorite season of the year.  Despite horrid allergies, I love the cooler weather and the changing of the leaves.  I think one of the benefits to living in northern mid-Michigan is that the fall weather makes for some beautiful drives.

With cooler weather and greyer skies, my head immediatly turns to warm belly food.  This is the food that fills you up and warms you from head to toe.  My favorite kind of food!

Today I'm sharing my famous pot-roast recipe.  It's super easy (even for a busy working mom mid-week) to throw together and super yummy too! 

As a running theme in this blog....Life goes on.....

Late summer happened and with it the taking apart and putting away of the garden.  We froze many a green/yellow bean, corn kernal and broccoli tree.  Not to mention the berries that were frozen and put away.  Or the mushrooms, berries, onions, and apples that were dried.  The onions that were braided and put into the cistern for storage.  The peaches canned.  The apples sauced.  The tomatos juiced and sauced.  BBQ sauce made.  Cabbage fermented and frozen as sauerkrat.  Busy times.

Then school started.  Thing #1 began second grade in the gifted and talented program.  She's doing grade level work in science and social studies and working one grade ahead in math and language arts.  She is in a magnet classroom, so all the children are at the same level and working at the same degree.  Thing #2 began first grade and is having all the challenges that come with being a spirited child in this world.  He just doesn't fit into the box of a "typical" first grader and has a teacher that wants all her kids to fit neatly into that box.  It's a struggle, but he's coping well and we're working with him on respect and expectations.  Things #3 and #4 began doing preschool with Auntie CrazyLife, who comes to our home each morning at 6:45 to watch the children.  Having her around has been a lifesend.  Mornings are so much easier and the big kids don't have to ride the bus anymore.  I'm not rushing around to get out the door and everyone is happier in the home setting than a daycare setting.  Mr. CrazyLife and myself both started teaching in new schools this fall and are adjusting as well as we can in the situation.

Add afterschool dance classes, college classes and church activities and well, we're pretty much on the go all the time!

So that's life....I'm trying to be more productive with the blog and keep it updated more; life just seems to step in the way.  I haven't been online at home in almost 3 weeks!  And at school during my prep time I'm actually planning and prepping (amazing, I know).  So time has been limited.  I promise to update, but expect like 5 posts in a day and nothing for like a week!

Thanks for sticking with me and being loyal followers and friends!

I admit it.  I had fallen into the rut of doing almost everything for my children.  I picked out their clothes.  I made all their meals, packed their schoolbags, even picked up their dirty clothes off the bedroom and bathroom floors. But there came a point at the beginning of this summer when I said to myself, "Self?  What in the heck are you doing?"  This came after spending almost an hour picking up toys and messes after the children had gone to bed.  Why was I the one doing this?  I didn't make the mess.  If anything, I'd picked up that same exact mess at least three times already that day. Why? Why? Why?

I never intended to become the parent who did everything for their kids.  I wanted my children to be independent.  I wanted them to be able to take care of themselves.  And they were - they just couldnt' or more likely, wouldn't  do it.

So I declared war.  As soon as school was over this summer.  I made up a system to "help" them help themselves.  And it's worked....as long as I keep up on it.

You see, my children are just like myself.  In order to stay accountable to me, to them, to each other, we need a visible checklist, something we can see what needs to be done.  This can't be something you can hide away and forget - it has to stay constant, and you have to be able to physically manipulate it.

I mentioned in my last post about my love of the Motivated Moms system.  I keep the calendar in a 3 ring binder on my kitchen table.  I HAVE to mark things off the list before I feel like I can finish my day.

The kids are the same way.  Through trial and error, we came up with a system that helps them help themselves (and me in the process).  It's worked for the most part - vacation days kind of put us off.  But the biggest thing is that we keep it visible and that the kids are able to physically manipulate their list.

Here's what we do:

I made up a chore chart for each of the children.  I just used Excel, nothing fancy.  Each child has 7 chores per day.  These things include brushing teeth, making beds, picking up bedrooms, picking up toys, picking out clothes.  They also include some "extra" chores - setting the table, clearing the table, sweeping the floor, taking out the trash, putting away laundry.   Many of the basic chores are the same for each child, allowing me to use the same template for all four munchkins.

I post the chore charts on the side of the refridgerator.  That way, the kids can check themselves to see what needs to be done and I can check to see how they are doing.  When they finish a chore and I've checked it, they can put a sticker on the chart for that day.

Each chore is worth 5 cents of "momma money".  At the end of the week they can earn up to $2.45.  This isn't a real allowance.  It's Momma Money.  The wee monsters and I sat down and came up with a list of rewards that they can "buy" with their Momma Money.  The things included, dinner out, a date with mom/dad to the park, swimming at the college, a sleepover wih a friend; all things that are free or reletively free.  Or they can save up or pool their money to "buy" something larger: a trip to the zoo, a movie date, a toy from the dollar store, etc.

It's working pretty well.  The kids are saving up right now to buy a trip to the zoo for the Halloween event and Thing #1 wants a sleepover with 2 friends.  If they start to fall behind, a simple reminder of what they need to do and what they are working towards seems to help.

And we're all staying more accountable!