Playing Games...

My youngest son, Aiden, loves to play games of all kinds. One of my favorite ways to incorporate board and card games is during dinner. We slow down that way...there's more talking and laughing...and for busy kids, there's more eating! Tonight Connar was at soccer practice with Kyle, so Aiden and I had a chance to have a special dinner. We cooked some pasta together and launched into an Uno game. Uno can be really fun with just two people, because you need to come up with creative ways to use some of the cards such as reverse. We talked and laughed over our dinner and our game.

What do you do to slow your family down and take time?

It's Monday...

It's time to coordinate all your calendars...home, work, kids...and your to-do lists for the week. I took some time this morning to make sure my Family Calendar had all of our after school & weekend events posted. Then I made sure those were stored in my phone as well. There is an event that I have to attend for work on Thursday afternoon and that was added to the Family Calendar. Finally, I spent a few minutes when I arrived at work this morning to make sure my Work Calendar & To-Do list was ready to go for the week.

It's a Monday commitment that really pays off during the week! What is your Monday-Morning-Must-Do?

Sorting Out the Kids...

Shopping! My husband and I took the boys shopping today and let me tell you shopping is a completely different experience with boys. They needed jeans and new shoes. I have put off buying jeans because it's April...nearly summer...and I thought they'd be into shorts soon. But as it turns out, it's freezing cold and all their jeans have holes. So they needed jeans. They are both somewhere between sizes so they ended up trying on several pairs each...and they are not patient in the changing room. Aiden was convinced that he needed black jeans beacuse, "they're cool and attractive" but sadly they weren't available in a 7 Slim. So once he was convinced to choose blue jeans, it was Connar's turn. He was less picky about the color, thakfully, but very concerned about the style. He wanted skinny jeans...not loose, not boot cut...skinny jeans. It took a few try-ons but he found jeans with just the right fit. Thank you Old Navy!

Once the jeans were purchased it was off to buy shoes. My kids really only have one pair of shoes. They're boys and they skateboard. Have you seen what skateboarding does to shoes? It's not pretty! Fortunately we found skateboard shoes on sale. The pickiness set in when trying to choose the shoe company to wear. Aiden will argue about the fit of a shoe...making up problems...if he doesn't like the brand. It was crazy-making. Finally though, he ended up with Etnies (that fit!) and Connar with Adio's. And when we got home, they tested out the shoes on skateboards and determined them to be perfect! I, on the other hand, am exhausted :)

Does shopping with your kids make you crazy? What item in particular are they bound to be picky about?

Books I Love…

Ahh…It’s Saturday morning and I have a few minutes while everyone else is sleeping to indulge in my favorite past time…Reading!  I love to read (and trust me, the house doesn’t have to be asleep for me to do it!)  I just made a fresh cup of coffee, the sun is shining outside, my cats are curled up on top of my quilt and I have a good book to read.  This is perfect!
Recently, I finished one of the best books I have read in a while.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  The story is told in letters exchanged between several different people and the authors do an amazing job of developing the characters through this very narrow perspective.  The island of Guernsey was occupied during World War II and a group of people truly survived the occupation due to their literary society.  While the war is over in the book, it is about this group of people, the books they read and the relationships that were formed.  The quote, “I laughed…I cried” is completely true when it comes to this book.  It’s a must read!
Now I must curl up with my current good book…which I will tell you about later.  What’s your favorite way to refresh & recharge?  What’s the best book you’ve read recently?  Will you check out Guernsey?

Technorati Tags: Books,Relax

Sorting Out the Kids…

I wish it were always fun & games, but some days just aren’t.  This week has been a bit hard on the kids, especially Connar.  In his world, he went from a glorious week of vacation to…school, homework and 2 hour and a half soccer practices, plus an early morning wake-up (and…he broke his ipod touch – insult to injury!)   On soccer practice days Connar needs to get his homework done right after school, leave by 4:30, practice until 6:30 home for dinner.  Wednesday he didn’t quite get his homework done and he was so tired after dinner.  He decided to finish homework Thursday morning (our kids go to school a bit later on Thursdays).  Well…Thursday morning he decided not to finish the homework, lie to his Dad about said homework and erase the entry in his school planner.  Kyle saw him erasing the entry.

At that point it was time to leave for school, so Kyle said they would talk about it when Connar got home.  He worried about what would happen all day.  And when he got home he was grounded for the rest of the day.  That meant he was in his room – doing homework, reading, he could even play but not with anything electronic – all by himself.  He came out for dinner and to take bath.  While he wasn’t at all happy, and tried to talk us into a reprieve, he knew these were the consequences.  When we tucked him in, he said, “Being grounded sucks!”  I guess it does and I hope it also means he won’t lie again for a while.  We also knew the consequences were meaningful when he hugged & kissed us goodnight.  He knew he was responsible and he wasn’t angry with us.  He’s such a good kid!

What consequences have you recently doled out? 

Technorati Tags: Family