Closet Rescue

Recently, all the girls in the house decided that we needed fewer clothes.  Crazy, right?  The younger girls were overwhelmed when it came to putting clean clothes away.  Drawers would just not close and the clothing bar was jam packed and hard to see what was what.  So we gathered up perfectly good clothes that still fit and sorted them into 2 areas.

We did each closet as a group.  We started with shorts and alternated keep and donate.  Keep 3, donate 4, keep 2, donate 3, keep 4, donate 2.  It was all really random.  I think we kept roughly 10 of each clothing item, which is still more than they need, but choices are good.  We kept more shirts, but again, sometimes you need choices and my smallest frequently changes her clothes for no real reason.

We did Ginger's closet first and Sugar was allowed to take a few 'can't live without' items to her future clothing boxes.

The girls were better about throwing things in the donate pile that I would have.  I did get upset when they wanted to donate something that they BEGGED me for in the store.  I guess that means I need to disregard more of the begging.  

I would say we removed at least a third of the girls clothing from their closets.  Drawers now close, they can see what pants and shirts they have, and now the same 3 pajamas from the top of the drawer will not be worn over and over and over until I wonder if they have enough.  

I wonder if I will work in my closet or just let it go for now?

TV as a Commodity

The economics of making things scarce.

I took 2 economics classes YEARS ago.  Some of the lessons actually stuck with me.  Scarcity for example.  Even perceived scarcity.

All the parenting gurus and books and doctors say that you should limit TV time to 2 hours for young children.  I think this is an excellent idea, I just accomplish it very differently that people expect.

Our TV is tuned to PBS nearly every waking hour.  (Mostly educational cartoons.)  Yet, my children watch their 2 hours or less of TV, because it is not a commodity.  Since it is always available, there is nothing special about it.  It is not a reward or a treat.  It is not something they have to work for or beg to get. Instead they beg to turn off the tv and listen to music.  I LOVE that!

TV is not scare, so they don't care about it.  Computer time is a different story right now.  Ginger loves playing games on the computer.  She only has a small windows of opportunity because she does not have her own.  When her chance comes up, she stares and gets obsessed and distracted and nothing else matters.  

Sugar gets no computer time, so she is always wanting to play on the iPad.  She is very good at the touch interface, but the keyboard and mouse are just a tiny bit beyond her.  I'm just not ready to prove that she could figure it out if I allow her a chance.

I am thinking out scheduling computer time in the future, because there are 2 children and not enough computers for everyone.  Some things are just scarce because of having to share with a sister.  Thus my children will learn about scarcity too.

Scrapbooker, I am not

I started a 8x8 scrapbook for my first daughter, Ginger, before she turned one. It was to show her entire 1st year 1 month at a time. I finished it 5 years later.  Last week.  Really.  

I also started and finished Sugar's at the same time.  Only 4 years late.  

I have been good about taking the photos and the footprints to show them how much they have grown.  Making the book, I found, was much more involved.  I drug my husband along to Hobby Lobby to pick out stickers.

I have plans for a second year book done by month.  Maybe I will finish in the next year or so. At least by the time they leave for college. I need somewhere to put all the foot prints we made, after all.  After that large endeavor, the girls will get 1 page a year. All of year 3 boiled down to one 8x8 page.  I think I have the perfect crying shot already picked out for Sugar.  

I learned my limitation and the girls will have a billion photos when they are grown but 8x8 pages with stickers?  They can make their own.  Where would I even store them?  

I love my daughters and I keep a box of sentimental things, but if I were to give them a stack of 18 books when they finally moved out of the house I think they would wonder who I had paid to make them.  I prefer to channel my love different ways, maybe the scars on my feel because of stepping on legos and barbie shoes, or the gray hairs I earn when they hit puberty. For now, they will have to live with cookies on the fly and random attacks of the kiss-y monster. 

Baby Birds

We found a bird's nest in our grill when we went to use it last.  I guess we had been neglecting our grill and so a pair of cardinals decided to move in.  Each girl has a bird feeder on their window and Sugar has been watching the mommy eat, while Ginger has been observing the daddy. I should have expected to find eggs, but it was a shock when we opened it up and found this nest with about 6 eggs.

It is grilling season and forgive me for doing it, but I moved the nest, very gently, so that we could continue on with our meal plan.

I found a safe spot, not as sheltered as the inside of my grill.  The next day, after the grill had cooled off, I moved the nest back to the grill and asked mother nature to make sure the pair of cardinals kept looking after their babies.

I kept an eye out for them and watched them happily sing in the tree just over our neighbors fence.  3 days later the neighbors cut down the tree.  It was sad.  Yes, the tree was a volunteer and it was in an awkward location, but it was a part of nature and shelter to a couple of parents and I hurt for the loss.  

I haven't seen the pair but we have a couple of other volunteer trees on different fence lines and I hope they keep coming back for their babies. 

Since cardinal eggs hatch in 10-13 days, I guess we will just wait and see and remember that nature can take care of her own if we just get out of her way, and STOP chopping down her trees and using our grills.

Height Check

Back in April, at Sugar's yearly check-up, the pediatrician told me she was not growing like normal kids grow.  Her percentile was dropping much faster that normal children.  Yes, normal children.  I was not really phased at the time.  I asked if it was because of her self-restrictive diet, the doctor said it was unlikely.  I just took in the info and walked away and we made an appointment for 3 more months just in case it was as simple of her check-ups being just before growth spurts.  

I told her daddy.  I did not tell my mom.  I just was not that worried about it.  Kevin and I joke about it.  It bothered me only a little because you have to be 48 inches tall to ride Space Mountain at Disney World and we are patiently waiting on Sugar to catch up to that arbitrary height so that we can make this generations pilgrimage with the entire family in tow.  

So, I pulled out all the little pieces of paper I get at the pediatricians office and let my geek flow freely.  I graphed both girls heights.  Yes, I did.  I used my excel skills from my career days and made a line graph to show me at least a snip it of what the doctors chart showed.

I feel much better.  Sugar is shorter than Ginger at every turn, but not by much.  I do see where Sugar's line could be in danger of breaking off of its trend, but it is too early to tell.  Overall, I am glad I did not let the doctor worry me and I am glad I had the skills to calm myself.  I still wish Sugar would shoot up on her next growth spurt, mainly so I can take both the girls to Disney World and not be stuck in Kiddie Park Hell.  I'm sure you are all pulling for me.  

MNO vs KNO

Husband and I have a pretty good schedule going right now.  It took us a while to get it together, but we love it.

He gets one day to go out with his friends and do geek boy stuff.
We take a yoga class together once a week while his mom plays with the girls.
His karate day used to line up with me doing whatever while his mom watches the kids.  Now it has become a date night of sorts.
Once a month I have book club.
Twice a month I have the option of going to an MNO scheduled through my mommy group. (We usually go out the eat and vent about the topic du jour.)

We have started trying to add a KNO to this schedule, once a month.  My kids spend almost all of their time around an adult family member.  Sugar has a little preschool she goes to and Ginger takes a gymnastics class, but besides that they are around one of the same 5 adults, aka referees.  I felt like the girls need to go out sometimes and follow other peoples rules and play with other kids in a safe and fun environment.  Mainly, they need to play in the same space, just not with each other.  Ginger can be bossy and Sugar can be resentful.  They need an occasional night to stay up way past bedtime (which I almost never allow) and a chance to run and jump and bounce on things that are not my furniture.

Which is better?  I would NEVER give up my time with my mommy friends, but honesty, I think the kids night out is better for the girls.  They of course have more fun, but it allows them to break mommy's rules without getting into trouble, since mommy's rules don't pertain to KNO.

We all need a break from the rules sometimes.  That way, the next day the rules don't seem so constricting.  Plus, we love our sister more when we get a break from her!

Yes Ma'am!

I am a huge fan of manners and showing respect to all people, young and old.  I say yes ma'am and no sir to adults older than me, to my peers, and to children. 

One thing this does, other than show the respect everyone deserves, is teaches by example.  I think our children learn best by watching, at least at a young age.  Sugar is very respectful.  I hear yes ma'am from her more often than not. Ginger, being 6, has her swings.  She needs to show a little more respect to me and her dad, but she still has good manners in public.  This is a constant lesson. I will never stop respecting people and my children will see it every day.  They will learn that manners are not just for special occasions.  Manners are for every day and for every one.  I say thank you to my children, to your children, to strangers' children.  I hope that getting a simple thank you will make them want to do more for people in the future.  

If I am polite, my children will learn to be polite.  If I yell, my children will learn to yell.  (Trust me on that one.)  What does your child learn from watching you?  Do you show your children the respect that you want them to show you?  Next time your child does something for you, smile and say thank you, then watch their eyes light up and the smile creep over their faces.  Smiling children are the best children!