rewards

In life there are rewards...when you do something good, or accomplish something new.  It's just how it is.  We however have never been ones for charts and stickers and rewards.  When it was time to potty train Ryker just caught on.  and for anything else I never seemed to need it....UNTIL NOW.  haha!

When he started to go to preschool in January every week when I picked him up he would be crying.  And it was ALWAYS because he hadn't gotten his stamp at the end of the day.  The teachers said to me one day "he just isn't getting it...that he has to be good to get a stamp!  It's like something just isn't registering...."  Well I could have gone into great detail what I thought about that...but I chose to respond by telling them that we don't parent that way and bite my tongue at that.

Now a few weeks later I decided that maybe we should try doing a little chart.  It seems like we had too many expectations, but I wanted to focus on bedtime routine and Cody wanted to focus on having Ryker help clean up his toys.  So we combined them into one.  I knew that the preschool method wasn't working...he needed instant rewards.  So he earned one sticker when he helped clean up his toys at the end of the day and got to put his sticker up right away.  He loved it!  And then he could earn another sticker for bedtime by staying in his bed.  He actually did great!  Some days were harder, but I tried not to be so sticky with the rules.  If I felt that he made a great effort than he got a sticker.  I didn't make it so black and white (which I can be sometimes...haha).  Ryker is a child who has energy and sometimes has a hard time controlling himself.  With bedtime we used to always lay with him which we have been working on and so he sometimes came out for "one more kiss!" We always would give him one chance, but if it was unreasonable than of course he didn't get the sticker.

And a chart couldn't be a chart without being a little bit cute!  haha!!  I just printed off the house of 3 calendar and let him stick his stickers wherever he wanted.  It stayed on his bedroom door and then the reward...was the new Numbers Ahoy movie by Leap Frog.  Ryker love love loves all these movies.  So it was an easy reward.  I knew he'd work hard to get it.

Today was the day he finally earned all his stickers!!  He woke up so happy!!  It was super cute listening to him express his excitement.

There was definite progress :)

K

There must be something missing.

I don't know what it is about blogging, but I always feel like there should be a picture or something more for everyone to see rather than just my words.  I don't know if I feel like my blog is just a little boring without it or what?  But it's definitely one of the reasons I haven't been blogging much lately...there's just not much to show or share.  Well maybe there is lots to share I just haven't gotten around to downloading the pictures to my computer yet.


This week has been one of those weeks that I'd like to rewind and do differently.  If only we had control of those things.  Unfortunately life just doesn't work that way so instead I woke up Sunday to a sick little boy...who had been sick everywhere!  And so that is how the laundry began.  Two days dealing with him and then my own fun began.  I went to bed Monday night with a stomach ache and spent Tuesday in bed.  The poor kids...or maybe I should say 'Lucky' boys got to watch a little too much t.v. and had full rein of the house.  Maguire really enjoyed that part of the day.  He's great at pulling things out of cupboards and dumping boxes.  Really...I think he was loving it!  haha!!  The best part was that Cody came home early from work and cleaned up...took care of the kiddies...and let me sleep all afternoon.  It's amazing what 3 hours of sleep can do.  I love him!!!


Wednesday things were pretty much back to normal.  The boys went to grandmas for a couple of hours while I worked away cleaning things up around here.  There's still a lot to get done.  I think I need to make a list and re-evaluate my goals for the year again.  I get off track so easily.  And with all this cold weather we have been spending most of our time at home...there are no excuses as to why things aren't getting done.  Just no desire to do it.  Does anyone else feel that way???


Ryker and I made a really yummy dinner last night from this cookbook (my favorite!)...Roasted Butternut Squash soup....yum!!!  The other two boys weren't as excited about it and Ryker had a change of heart once there was a bowl of it in front of him, but I LOVED it!  I'm always up for new recipes :)


And today we attempted swimming again with some friends!  I will admit that I was a little bit nervous, but things went really good and I was completely in control as the mother.  haha!!  I might have brought a sucker for each of the boys as a little bribery.....whatever works, right??  haha!!


Tomorrow night we are planning a little family date night.  Not sure what that's going to be yet, but it's fun to do things with the boys and make it a little special.  I've been reading one of many parenting books the last couple of weeks and have really been seeing big improvements lately.  I don't feel like the nagging mom anymore!  Positive parenting is definitely the way to go....I feel more in control and feel like the expert on my children.  I've been really trying to understand each of their little personalities and they way they each work...cause what works for one definitely doesn't work for the other.   I've seen how our bedtime routine has really paid off...and how it can quickly fall apart when we don't follow through.  I've seen how making rules allows for happier children...and how rules are sometimes meant to be broken.  It's coming...it will never be perfect, but it's coming.  Making some simple and difficult changes has really helped me to be more patient and look at things differently.  I love my little family :)



Off to bed.  Completely exhausted tonight.....

K