good plan

well i gotta say i've stuck with that 'bible time' thing and it has been so fun. and productive. nice when something works! a few days ago we learned "do everything without complaining, phil 2:14"...gus's version is "do everything without whining" ;-) kevin was home for lunch one day and said he didn't want to go back, and rex straight called him out on it and quoted the verse. boo ya.

i've been meaning to come up with a more specific schedule for our days at home. today i finally started one and it worked great.
7-8:30 boys wake up, eat, get dressed, brush teeth [rex sleeps later...gus plays his little "twain compoota" while we wait on him]
8:30 bible time
8:45 color/worksheet/something at the table while i wash breakfast dishes
9:00 play
10:00 snack
10:15 chores
10:30 play
11:15 lunch
11:45 boys clean up room
12:00 gus nap

then rex and i hang out...do some more school work type stuff...clean up...sometimes watch a movie or let him play his leapster.

it's been a GOOD day.

a few pics to prove it.

working on 'homework'

yeah he's wearing a head band. he's awesome. i also just noticed he's using his right hand. thought he was a lefty. make up your mind gus!





boys are weird.



look at all these teeth!!




another reason things have been going well, is i've been implementing some duggar rules. i know people talk a lot of trash about them, but i love me some duggars. they do a great job with those kids! i got to go see her speak last week, and she had some FABULOUS ideas on things to do with preschoolers, discipline-wise. i keep meaning to type my notes up...and i will....but seeing some nice results! my favorite is replacing 'yes mam' with 'yes mam, i'd be happy to'. oh my word it's so cute and cheerful. love it.

waves

i often notice our life moving in waves. waves of super easy, every one gets along, organized, simple and lovely. we look at our kids and think, "how did we deserve this?"
ah....
...often followed by waves of stress, general unrest, busyness, chaos and "omg. did we create these monsters? didn't we use to like them? "
agh!!!!

what generally happens at the end of one the 'bad' waves...is i pout for a bit. "things are so hard! i screwed all this up!"... then i snap out of that and decide things are bad because i let them get that way, and i shape up. i work harder at our routines. i take more time for myself and kevin. i'm more consistent with the kids. i work hard at fixing the things that had gotten out of control.

and i stick with it.


for a week or two. or sometimes a month.


then i start to slack again...something stresses me out and i let it effect me. i let the kids notice. they start taking advantage of me not being totally on the ball and start acting out. then i'm stressed that they aren't obeying. i'm working so hard to referee some days that my house gets trashed. and if you know me at all you know i hardly function if my house isn't as clean as i like it. then kevin gets home from work and i'm frazzled, no dinner, and i'm asking for help because the kids are whining and i didn't finish what i wanted to.
he must love that!!;-)


agh! how did it get out of control so fast?!
so i pout for a day. then i decide to snap out of it.
and another wave starts.
so i get a plan.
and when i get a new plan i'm always sure it will last. "this time we will not sink back into that nutty life we were living!"
maybe this time it will.

if you didn't see this coming....i started a new plan.
because your attitude determines your altitude[insert cheesy poster of killer whale leaping out of the ocean]. bahahaha. i hate that saying. but really, i can get a BAD attitude. and it's contagious. but i can also have a good attitude, and that's definitely contagious too. especially with the kids.

part of this past 'bad wave' was the boys fighting. a lot. and part of my new plan, is bible time on the couch in the mornings. i have my coffee and my 3 still pj'd boys...and we get their little bible and read. and then we work on verses, and we pray. and THAT my friends, is a good way to start the day.

so far we've done 2 verses. verses we've learned before, but i want to keep track of which ones they know so i started over. i was going to do a verse a week, but they learned it so quickly i think we'll do two.

"children, obey your parents" col 3:20
and "be kind and loving to each other" eph 4:32

i'm making them each an index card with their own verse, and putting them on the door in the kitchen. here they are practicing this morning.



i absolutely adore that gus barely speaks in sentences, but the kid can recite a verse. makes me happy.
and i'm not even making this up. they have been WAY better the past few days. sweeter to each other. sweeter to ME. ah....how i love when something i come up with WORKS!


hopefully we can ride this wave for a while.

Psalm 93:4
Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the LORD on high is mighty!

(in no order...some pictures from the past week or so.... )