For those of you who don't know, we use a token system in our house. All of the things the kids are supposed to do through out the day as well as some bonus activities are written on little cards in a chart that, at the end of the day, they move to the "Did It" pocket if completed. Each responsibility has an accompanying value. The chart includes things like, brush your teeth, comb your hair, make your bed, read scriptures, recite an article of faith, clear the table, practice TaeKwonDo, work in the garden, etc., etc. At the end of the day I count the tokens earned by each child, award them their tokens earned (little slips of paper covered in packing tape so that they are durable) and they redeem them for wii time, computer time and tv time.
We started this last summer because I got tired of telling the kids "no" when they asked if they could watch tv, etc. Now, I just say "Do you have tokens?" If they do, they can play on the computer, etc. The system is set up so that they can earn around an hour a day during the school year and up to an hour and a half during the summer. (Although during the school year they average about 35 minutes and so far this summer no one has earned more than 65 minutes.)
The system worked so well last summer that I changed the charts and kept it going during the school year, much to B's dismay. In fact, the system has worked so well that I keep telling B that when he is 16 and wants to use the car I'm going to say, "Do you have tokens?"
Anyway, back to the story...today the kids were supposed to clean up the basement. After telling them and making sure that I made eye contact with each of them so that I knew they heard me, I went upstairs. Ten minutes later I could tell by the sound that no cleaning was taking place so I asked R get after them on his way out the door to a meeting. As soon as he started to get on them, they started with the "we didn't know we were supposed to be cleaning, blah, blah, blah." Yes, I love summer but three weeks into it I am tired of all of the trips I have to make up and down the stairs because people aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing. So, when I heard the discussion in the basement I grabbed a plastic bag and headed downstairs to do what my Mom used to do... clean up myself and keep the stuff until they earn it back.
The earning it back part drives me crazy though, trying to figure out what they have to do, and when they are going to do it, and then wanting to earn something back at a time when I am busy doing something else. As soon as I confiscated the toys that they had out, B and C immediately started grilling me on how they could get their stuff back. I said, "I don't know. I'll think about it and we'll discuss it later. Go upstairs and get ready for bed." And then P came to the rescue. As she walked up the stairs with me she said, "I know how they can get their toys back, Mom. They can pay tokens." Thank you P! Why didn't I think of that? So simple and so easy. I love the token system! (And how many tokens will they have to pay? The same number as the dollar value of the item.)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
It's Raining It's Pouring
... and the gardens are not growing.
Monday afternoon we were treated to yet another rain shower. (Not the kind of shower that is a light, lovely, and pleasant rainfall, but truly a shower... like someone turned on the shower faucet overhead.) I would show you what the beginning of the shower looked like but my video skills were lacking and instead of video taping the rain, I video taped my hand, the side of the house, the door, the ceiling in the house, etc. I think I forget to push record and then when I pushed record again (thinking I was turning the camera off) I recorded all of my random movements.
Anyway, the only difference between the beginning of the shower and this clip is that initially, it was very dark outside and since the rain had only just started, the gardens didn't look like ponds yet.
Here is our afternoon shower.
And here is what B did when the rain stopped.
He had been in the basement building lego boats (maybe he had been for warned to build an ark), so when we looked out front and saw that the side walk and half of several neighbors' yards were now a lake, it was the perfect opportunity to test the seaworthiness of his vessels.
Note the depth of the water on B's legs. It only rained for about 15 minutes and prior to the rain falling, there was no standing water in the yards.
Monday afternoon we were treated to yet another rain shower. (Not the kind of shower that is a light, lovely, and pleasant rainfall, but truly a shower... like someone turned on the shower faucet overhead.) I would show you what the beginning of the shower looked like but my video skills were lacking and instead of video taping the rain, I video taped my hand, the side of the house, the door, the ceiling in the house, etc. I think I forget to push record and then when I pushed record again (thinking I was turning the camera off) I recorded all of my random movements.
Anyway, the only difference between the beginning of the shower and this clip is that initially, it was very dark outside and since the rain had only just started, the gardens didn't look like ponds yet.
Here is our afternoon shower.
And here is what B did when the rain stopped.
He had been in the basement building lego boats (maybe he had been for warned to build an ark), so when we looked out front and saw that the side walk and half of several neighbors' yards were now a lake, it was the perfect opportunity to test the seaworthiness of his vessels.
Note the depth of the water on B's legs. It only rained for about 15 minutes and prior to the rain falling, there was no standing water in the yards.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Happy 400th Birthday to the Hudson River
Yesterday (Sunday) was the main festivities in celebration of Henry Hudson's discovery of the Hudson River 400 years ago. Henry Hudson was hired by the Dutch to find a trade route between Europe and Asia that cut through the Americas. When he discovered New York Harbor, he thought he had found the Northwest Passage. He followed the Hudson River, named for him, all of the way to Albany until it got too narrow to navigate.
In celebration of the discovery of the river, a Flotilla of boats sailed up the river yesterday so we spent a couple of hours down by the river yesterday. The weather was beautiful. We sat on our chairs and enjoyed listening the water and feeling the gentle breeze.We saw a ton of boats just out on the river for fun, and several of them were sailboats. It made me a little nostalgic, especially when I saw this. (Click on the picture and you will notice the people on the front with their legs hanging over the side as the boat sails gently with the wind.)
This barge, being pushed by a tug boat, went past while we were waiting for the Flotilla. Notice it's size in relation to the sailboat who's picture I took from the same place, when the boat was at the same point in the river and also about the same distance away. I actually had to zoom out some to get the whole barge in the picture.
The kids enjoyed visiting with friends that we kept seeing. Lots of people were out to see the boats. They also had fun standing on the "rocky dock" as it bounced in the waves. (It is made of several sections of plastic so it rolls and rocks as the waves come in... and there were lots of waves due to all of the boat traffic.)
The Flotilla arrived at about 5 pm and was hailed with the firing of several cannons from shore.
It was fun to see all of the boats, including the fire boats, one large and several small. The larger one, the John J. Harvery, pumped water to firefighters at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th.
We also saw a replica of the Onrust, a Dutch vessel that sailed in 1614
an old older tug boat of the type used in the canal systems up north
a replica of the Half Moon, the ship Henry Hudson sailed when he discovered the river,
And many other boats.
In celebration of the discovery of the river, a Flotilla of boats sailed up the river yesterday so we spent a couple of hours down by the river yesterday. The weather was beautiful. We sat on our chairs and enjoyed listening the water and feeling the gentle breeze.We saw a ton of boats just out on the river for fun, and several of them were sailboats. It made me a little nostalgic, especially when I saw this. (Click on the picture and you will notice the people on the front with their legs hanging over the side as the boat sails gently with the wind.)
This barge, being pushed by a tug boat, went past while we were waiting for the Flotilla. Notice it's size in relation to the sailboat who's picture I took from the same place, when the boat was at the same point in the river and also about the same distance away. I actually had to zoom out some to get the whole barge in the picture.
The kids enjoyed visiting with friends that we kept seeing. Lots of people were out to see the boats. They also had fun standing on the "rocky dock" as it bounced in the waves. (It is made of several sections of plastic so it rolls and rocks as the waves come in... and there were lots of waves due to all of the boat traffic.)The Flotilla arrived at about 5 pm and was hailed with the firing of several cannons from shore.
It was fun to see all of the boats, including the fire boats, one large and several small. The larger one, the John J. Harvery, pumped water to firefighters at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th.
We also saw a replica of the Onrust, a Dutch vessel that sailed in 1614
an old older tug boat of the type used in the canal systems up north
a replica of the Half Moon, the ship Henry Hudson sailed when he discovered the river,
And many other boats.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Stuffed Animal Family Picture
This blog is for P, at her request.
The other morning I found P in her room with all of her stuffed animals, and C's stuffed animals, on her bed. When I asked her what she was doing, she told me that they were taking a picture. I told her that if she got dressed and ready for the day that I would take a real picture for her.
"With the real camera?"
"Yes."
"And will you put it on the blog?"
"Sure, we can put it on the blog."
The other morning I found P in her room with all of her stuffed animals, and C's stuffed animals, on her bed. When I asked her what she was doing, she told me that they were taking a picture. I told her that if she got dressed and ready for the day that I would take a real picture for her.
"With the real camera?"
"Yes."
"And will you put it on the blog?"
"Sure, we can put it on the blog."
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