Summer Time! Week 1

I know I originally stated that I would home school year round but I feel that the kids and I all need to take a breather and focus on our family for a few weeks. So, I will be using the roughly laid out plan I made and my resolutions to guide us through the summer.  Here's what we did this week.

Generally speaking . . .
This week we turned off the TV and video games. We went cold turkey. I have noticed a few odd behaviors that Shannon has adopted from the seemingly innocent shows he has been watching. So we turned off the electronics and spent a lot of quality time together. Now I can be the one to guide them and teach them, not some animated characters with attitude. There is a catch: I have to actually set a good example.

Home Ec

We worked on folding clothes, mostly just towels and small things. Shannon can get upset very quickly when a task seems overwhelming. He especially found folding large towels to be frustrating. When I saw and heard the signs of a meltdown brewing, I would gently give him tips on making the job easier. They both did very well and the clothes were folded in no time. Next, we labeled their dresser drawers together so they would know where to put their clothes. When I handed them each a pile of clothes to put away, they were very excited to be doing this mature task on their own. "We're independent!" Chloe exclaimed.

Chloe's Dresser                                                                                      Shannon's Dresser

Fun!
I must admit, I was a bit nervous when I announced to the kids that we wold not be hanging out with our buddy, TV, this week. But by Wednesday they didn't even ask about it anymore. Instead, we spent lots of time at the park, doing random art projects, and blowing bubbles in the backyard. My goodness, they can blow some bubbles. Hours and hours of bubbles. And they made forts with the bunk bed and played in the toy room a bit. Without any prompting from me, we did end up doing some free writing. Shannon handed me a piece of paper that said, "I love u mom" (awwwwww) and the kids spent some time with their alphabet train puzzle. We also spent a lovely afternoon at the park with our home school group. I feel blessed to have those moms to share my successes and struggles with.

Projects
I will have to add these in as I get our days flowing more smoothly. I did clean the inside of the refrigerator. Does that count?

Mom's World
On the days that I woke up before the kids, I was able to read my Small Steps for the day, pray, and do some relaxation exercises. And then just read and make some lists (I love lists!) until the kids woke up. These were definitely my most successful days.  On the days when I did not go to bed early enough and the kids woke up before me, I invited them into bed so we could all just snuggle and be together, stress free, for the first 20 minutes of the day. This was helpful but I could feel that something was missing throughout the morning. Having an hour to myself before the kids wake is definitely ideal.

My friend, Laura, and I have started the Couch to 5K program and have successfully completed week one. I also did 30 minutes of pilates after each run/walk and on a non-run day as well. Now I must conquer my terrible eating habits. I want to clarify that I don't eat junk food; I just don't get many well rounded meals or snacks in. I tend to carb load because it's easy to just grab a quick muffin, scone, or even a piece of bread when I think I am too busy (lazy) to prepare a proper meal. The kids are all eating just fine because I tend to try and get things done while they are eating and resolve to eat later.  As I types this, I just grabbed one of the peaches I got from Safeway this evening. See, I'm getting better already.

So, I am reading my books, taking notes, and implementing the techniques as they come and I can already see a big improvement in my ability to control my temper. I only had one real big outburst on thursday over something really dumb. And then a medium sized tantrum earlier in the week. Each time I failed to control my temper I would have these immediate negative thoughts: "I can't believe I did that. I just ruined all of my progress. I should just give up." But, luckily, those thoughts only stuck around a short time and I was able to forge ahead. With God's Grace, I will conquer this.

All in all, this week felt very positive. Lot's of awesome quality time spent with the kiddos. I think the TV can stay off for a while longer. 

PS > This peach is crunchy. It is a white peach, which I don't recall ever having before. Are they supposed to be crunchy?