Two Large Mason Jars and Four Packages of "Fuzzies" - $30 (steep, I know, but Jay didn't exactly bargain shop for the fuzzies).
Money Collected for Bad Behavior - $14.25
A Week Without the Word "Idiot" - Priceless
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
When You Love Someone...
...Set Them Free. Especially if that "someone" is your very favorite video game console and a beloved member of the family.
Yesterday we were driving our Wii to the FedEx office. It is acting up and Nintendo promised to fix it and try very hard to save our data for a good bit less than a new Wii, so we packaged it up to send to their repair place.
As we were driving, William said, "It must be true. They say 'If you love someone, set them free. If they love you, they will come back.' Kind of like our Wii."
The world according to William, ladies and gentlemen.
Yesterday we were driving our Wii to the FedEx office. It is acting up and Nintendo promised to fix it and try very hard to save our data for a good bit less than a new Wii, so we packaged it up to send to their repair place.
As we were driving, William said, "It must be true. They say 'If you love someone, set them free. If they love you, they will come back.' Kind of like our Wii."
The world according to William, ladies and gentlemen.
Monday, January 16, 2012
January, Schmanuary
Ah, January. My least favorite month of the year. I shouldn't even complain because it's been suspiciously warm this winter (I say suspiciously because I have a bad feeling we will get dumped on later this winter). Still, I am grumpy about January. The warmish weather makes the intermittent cold, wet and windy days feel even worse. The only good thing about January is that it morphs into February, which is one month closer to spring.
I take it back. In January we have basketball to look forward to for the boys. They both play Jr. Jazz basketball and they love it. Henry is playing on a 5th and 6th grade team this year and they actually play, you know, basketball. They run plays and rebound and there is an actual point to it. William plays on a 1st and 2nd grade team. Sigh. They have fun. They pass the ball. They travel and foul each other. Alot. But they shoot and score and enjoy themselves. Here is a shot of William making a basket:
OK. I promise it's William. You can kind of see his white sleeve behind the tall, blond kid with the glasses. Also, I am a terrible photographer. I should not be allowed to take pictures of my kids.
January also brings the NFL playoffs. We typically don't care about the NFL that much around here. Back in the day, Jay used to care. Alot. He studied the teams and players and even won his Fantasy Football League one year (1998, I think). But since we have kids now and no longer have unlimited time to fool around with stuff like that he hasn't followed the NFL too much. This year, however, his "team" - I put it in quotation marks because he only likes them because a former Ute quarterback plays for them - is in the playoffs. Since the game was on a Saturday afternoon and we only have one TV, I opted to avoid conflict - meaning Tessa throwing a tantrum about sports being on TV - by taking Tessa to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D. It was very fun and we got popcorn. And the 49ers won. Everyone is a winner.
Even in January.
I take it back. In January we have basketball to look forward to for the boys. They both play Jr. Jazz basketball and they love it. Henry is playing on a 5th and 6th grade team this year and they actually play, you know, basketball. They run plays and rebound and there is an actual point to it. William plays on a 1st and 2nd grade team. Sigh. They have fun. They pass the ball. They travel and foul each other. Alot. But they shoot and score and enjoy themselves. Here is a shot of William making a basket:
OK. I promise it's William. You can kind of see his white sleeve behind the tall, blond kid with the glasses. Also, I am a terrible photographer. I should not be allowed to take pictures of my kids.
January also brings the NFL playoffs. We typically don't care about the NFL that much around here. Back in the day, Jay used to care. Alot. He studied the teams and players and even won his Fantasy Football League one year (1998, I think). But since we have kids now and no longer have unlimited time to fool around with stuff like that he hasn't followed the NFL too much. This year, however, his "team" - I put it in quotation marks because he only likes them because a former Ute quarterback plays for them - is in the playoffs. Since the game was on a Saturday afternoon and we only have one TV, I opted to avoid conflict - meaning Tessa throwing a tantrum about sports being on TV - by taking Tessa to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D. It was very fun and we got popcorn. And the 49ers won. Everyone is a winner.
Even in January.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Resolved
Jay and I have resolved that our children are going to be nicer to each other this year. I don't know how kosher it is to resolve something that you, by yourself, cannot accomplish but we are bound and determined to help our little family get along better.
The kids have seemed to get gradually worse about picking at each other, calling each other names and just being frustrating. There are many evenings that I have gone to bed at a loss as how to get to a place where things are generally peaceful.
The solution - they pay. Money. They will be charged for being mean to each other, calling each other names and excessive teasing.
Jay bought two big Mason jars. Each child has a different color puffball. Each time they violate current family policy, the jar with the frowny face gets a puffball matching the color of the offending child. Each Monday night during Family Home evening, they pay up. Tonight, William owed $2.25, Henry owed $1.75 and Tessa owed a quarter. They cannot earn this money back and we haven't exactly decided what to do with it yet. However, in the week we have been doing this, I have noticed a difference. Contention has decreased, which is the whole point of the exercise anyway.
Also, because we want to catch them being good we have a reward system in place. The second Mason jar has a smiley face on it and any time we catch them being good - being nice to each other, helping each other, doing a good deed without being asked - they can add a puffball. Once we fill up the "good" jar, we will do a fun family activity together. So far they are doing things like taking out the garbage and recycling without being asked and helping each other at school.
So basically we are taking money away from the kids for being naughty. We honestly didn't know what else to do and they seem fairly reluctant to part with their not-so-hard-earned allowance. We shall see how it all turns out.
The kids have seemed to get gradually worse about picking at each other, calling each other names and just being frustrating. There are many evenings that I have gone to bed at a loss as how to get to a place where things are generally peaceful.
The solution - they pay. Money. They will be charged for being mean to each other, calling each other names and excessive teasing.
Jay bought two big Mason jars. Each child has a different color puffball. Each time they violate current family policy, the jar with the frowny face gets a puffball matching the color of the offending child. Each Monday night during Family Home evening, they pay up. Tonight, William owed $2.25, Henry owed $1.75 and Tessa owed a quarter. They cannot earn this money back and we haven't exactly decided what to do with it yet. However, in the week we have been doing this, I have noticed a difference. Contention has decreased, which is the whole point of the exercise anyway.
Also, because we want to catch them being good we have a reward system in place. The second Mason jar has a smiley face on it and any time we catch them being good - being nice to each other, helping each other, doing a good deed without being asked - they can add a puffball. Once we fill up the "good" jar, we will do a fun family activity together. So far they are doing things like taking out the garbage and recycling without being asked and helping each other at school.
So basically we are taking money away from the kids for being naughty. We honestly didn't know what else to do and they seem fairly reluctant to part with their not-so-hard-earned allowance. We shall see how it all turns out.
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