Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Kira has definitely hit the troublesome threes. She is whining whenever things don't go her way and she has started being rude. If you tell her or ask her to do something her immediate response is either no or why. We have been spanking or sending her to timeout. Yesterday when she was tantruming because she couldn't go with Daddy, I stuck her in timeout. When I put her on the bed, she flinched because she expected to get spanked too. I don't want my child to be afraid of me. I just want her to grow up to be respectful, happy, healthy and enjoy life.
I spent the rest of the evening thinking about ways to get her attitude under control. My mind went back to a conversation that I had with my Mom last year when Kira told her first lie - she hasn't lied since, thank goodness! Mom told me that one of the moments she regrets the most was when I was about Kiras age and I told a lie. She tried to get me to tell her the truth and I kept lying. Finally, she told me that she knew I was lying and she gave me a swat on my bottom. I don't remember this incident at all, but Mom had spent the next 20 years wishing she had bent down and given me a hug instead of a swat. That is who I want to emulate.
With that said, I thought of alternatives to timeouts and spankings. I tossed around the idea of taking away privileges, adding extra chores, washing her mouth out with soap, etc. When Josh and I talked he solidified that I don't want to wash her mouth out yet or worry about the more 'grown up' punishments now.
After much contemplation, prayer and discussion, we are going to take away toys. Everytime she acts out, the toy she is or has been playing with most recently will be put in a basket. If she tantrums after that, then instead of one doll going into the basket, all the dolls and their accessories will be removed as well. Another part of consequences are the rewards. So for every hour that she behaves she gets to take one toy out of the basket. If she goes all day without a toy being put in then she gets all the toys back and gets a sticker on her chart. Kira is excited about it and I hope that helps her to behave better. So far today she has been wonderful!
I will keep you posted on if this works or not. I sure hope so! I am so ready to get into the terrific 3's!
I spent the rest of the evening thinking about ways to get her attitude under control. My mind went back to a conversation that I had with my Mom last year when Kira told her first lie - she hasn't lied since, thank goodness! Mom told me that one of the moments she regrets the most was when I was about Kiras age and I told a lie. She tried to get me to tell her the truth and I kept lying. Finally, she told me that she knew I was lying and she gave me a swat on my bottom. I don't remember this incident at all, but Mom had spent the next 20 years wishing she had bent down and given me a hug instead of a swat. That is who I want to emulate.
With that said, I thought of alternatives to timeouts and spankings. I tossed around the idea of taking away privileges, adding extra chores, washing her mouth out with soap, etc. When Josh and I talked he solidified that I don't want to wash her mouth out yet or worry about the more 'grown up' punishments now.
After much contemplation, prayer and discussion, we are going to take away toys. Everytime she acts out, the toy she is or has been playing with most recently will be put in a basket. If she tantrums after that, then instead of one doll going into the basket, all the dolls and their accessories will be removed as well. Another part of consequences are the rewards. So for every hour that she behaves she gets to take one toy out of the basket. If she goes all day without a toy being put in then she gets all the toys back and gets a sticker on her chart. Kira is excited about it and I hope that helps her to behave better. So far today she has been wonderful!
I will keep you posted on if this works or not. I sure hope so! I am so ready to get into the terrific 3's!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Laurel Ann Madsen
Mom always told me how much she loved my blog so I figured I better update it.
Last Monday (7-12-2010) was a great day for me. I was so productive. I got my entire house cleaned, all the laundry done and put away, grocery shopping done and even got bread made! I was doing great.
I call Mom everyday. Its just nice to reconnect with her, make sure she doesn’t need me to call anyone to help her and share any sweet things about the girls. When I called her on Monday, my Aunt Janae answered the phone and said she was getting a iv line and pain pump put it, that she wasn’t doing very well. I knew she had been really sick, she hadn’t been able to talk for a few days, yet like every time before, I knew she would bounce back. That is, until Dad called me at 10:30 as I was going to bed. Josh and I had had a petty argument, and I was pouting when Dad called. He said that it looked like the end for Mom, that her hands and feet had started to turn blue. This was only the second time he had said she was close to the end. I felt so sick for being petty. I started packing to go out to Utah right then. Somehow, I knew that this was the end. An hour later Tyler called and told me she had passed. I cried, I felt sad, but I also felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I feel so grateful that I had her to talk to after Aurora was born. It had felt like borrowed time.
I know my Mom is still with me. That she is watching out for me and my family. The Lord gave me the greatest Mother a girl could get. She loved to have adventures, read stories, soak you in a water fight, teach me about anything and everything. She instilled in me a sense of community, a loyalty to God, country and freedom. She taught me that family is the greatest pleasure in this life and monetary items are fleeting.
One of the last conversations we had, I was having a hard day with the girls. Rora has been teething and had kept me up, Kira had a couple temper tantrums, etc, etc. I was talking to her as I cleaned the kitchen and I asked her how or if I should tell Josh that when he scrapes the leftover food into a container that he misses a servings worth. It was so irritating to me to throw away food. Mom had a smile in her voice as she told me how grateful she was that Josh was so good to me. That he doesn’t complain when I ask him to help, what a wonderful father and husband he is. At the end of that conversation, she left me feeling so blessed for all the gifts that the Lord has given me. Blessed that my children are whole and heathy, that my husband loves me, my children and the Lord with all his heart and will do anything for us. Blessed that I can clean the kitchen, that I can cook food to be wasted. That was just Mom. She could put your life back into perspective without making you feel guilty for getting blindsided by the small things. The next day when Josh missed a serving a jambalaya after dinner, I smiled because of what Mom had said.
She left such a wonderful legacy. One day, I hope to be half of what my Mother is. I know that if I were stuck in a bed, after three years I wouldn’t be as happy as she was. She has so much faith. I know that she is now rejoicing in Heaven with our Savior. Marveling over the wonders of the universe and smiling down on her time here on earth.
I will miss my Mom until we are reunited in Heaven, until then I will live everyday trying to live up to the person she saw in me.
Till we meet again!
I love you Mom!
Last Monday (7-12-2010) was a great day for me. I was so productive. I got my entire house cleaned, all the laundry done and put away, grocery shopping done and even got bread made! I was doing great.
I call Mom everyday. Its just nice to reconnect with her, make sure she doesn’t need me to call anyone to help her and share any sweet things about the girls. When I called her on Monday, my Aunt Janae answered the phone and said she was getting a iv line and pain pump put it, that she wasn’t doing very well. I knew she had been really sick, she hadn’t been able to talk for a few days, yet like every time before, I knew she would bounce back. That is, until Dad called me at 10:30 as I was going to bed. Josh and I had had a petty argument, and I was pouting when Dad called. He said that it looked like the end for Mom, that her hands and feet had started to turn blue. This was only the second time he had said she was close to the end. I felt so sick for being petty. I started packing to go out to Utah right then. Somehow, I knew that this was the end. An hour later Tyler called and told me she had passed. I cried, I felt sad, but I also felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I feel so grateful that I had her to talk to after Aurora was born. It had felt like borrowed time.
I know my Mom is still with me. That she is watching out for me and my family. The Lord gave me the greatest Mother a girl could get. She loved to have adventures, read stories, soak you in a water fight, teach me about anything and everything. She instilled in me a sense of community, a loyalty to God, country and freedom. She taught me that family is the greatest pleasure in this life and monetary items are fleeting.
One of the last conversations we had, I was having a hard day with the girls. Rora has been teething and had kept me up, Kira had a couple temper tantrums, etc, etc. I was talking to her as I cleaned the kitchen and I asked her how or if I should tell Josh that when he scrapes the leftover food into a container that he misses a servings worth. It was so irritating to me to throw away food. Mom had a smile in her voice as she told me how grateful she was that Josh was so good to me. That he doesn’t complain when I ask him to help, what a wonderful father and husband he is. At the end of that conversation, she left me feeling so blessed for all the gifts that the Lord has given me. Blessed that my children are whole and heathy, that my husband loves me, my children and the Lord with all his heart and will do anything for us. Blessed that I can clean the kitchen, that I can cook food to be wasted. That was just Mom. She could put your life back into perspective without making you feel guilty for getting blindsided by the small things. The next day when Josh missed a serving a jambalaya after dinner, I smiled because of what Mom had said.
She left such a wonderful legacy. One day, I hope to be half of what my Mother is. I know that if I were stuck in a bed, after three years I wouldn’t be as happy as she was. She has so much faith. I know that she is now rejoicing in Heaven with our Savior. Marveling over the wonders of the universe and smiling down on her time here on earth.
I will miss my Mom until we are reunited in Heaven, until then I will live everyday trying to live up to the person she saw in me.
Till we meet again!
I love you Mom!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
H, I, J, K and L!!!
Josh and I combined when we did H. She ate HOT dogs for lunch. We played HIDE and seek and made a HAND print. We counted by HUNDREDS. Daddy took her to his HARC meeting. (HUNTSVILLE amateur radio club.) We also danced around and sang HI HO - from Snow White. It was a lot of fun. I know we did more, but it was a week ago so I forgot some of what we did.
For I we followed the INSTRUCTIONS to make a INSTRUMENT. We played cowboys and INDIANS. We measured by INCHES. We also played I spy. I had so much fun with I ;) I am sure Kira did too!
JUICY JUICE started off our J day. After we had our JUICE, we played with the JUMP rope and watched some videos of the JIVE. Of course, after we watched the videos we had to practice the JIVE. Kira did pretty well with it! We then sang JOHN JACOB JINGLEHEIMER Schmidt. Kira said it made her tongue all twisty ;) We practed our JUMPING JACKS and then ended our day by making a JELLYfish. It was JUST a fun day!
K was on a Friday, which is when Daddy is home. He got to sleep in that day so we decided to start our preschool day early. We put on lipstick and KISSED a bunch of papers and then stuck said papers all over Daddy's desk, computer, chair, etc. When he woke up he found that he had been KISSED. It was fun. We then played KEEP away and read 'Three little KITTENS,' 'The KISSING Monster,' and a bunch of other books. Of course, after reading KISSING Monster, we had to run around the house playing Kissing monster. Exhausting, yet fun! We also learned a little about KANGAROO's. It was a fun.
For our LAST LETTER we LEARNED about L. We went to the LIBRARY and she got to eat LUNCH with LIZZY. She LEARNED how to fold LAUNDRY. We also had a LETTER review. She did great! It was a fun LAST day!
Now that we are done with the alphabet, we are toning it down for the rest of the summer. We will be reviewing numbers and letters via worksheets alone. For some reason Kira loves to do worksheets and practice her handwriting. We leave for Utah on Saturday, so we will have one week to go over numbers before we leave. The letters were fun, but it was very exhausting! I guess its time to find our next adventure!
For I we followed the INSTRUCTIONS to make a INSTRUMENT. We played cowboys and INDIANS. We measured by INCHES. We also played I spy. I had so much fun with I ;) I am sure Kira did too!
JUICY JUICE started off our J day. After we had our JUICE, we played with the JUMP rope and watched some videos of the JIVE. Of course, after we watched the videos we had to practice the JIVE. Kira did pretty well with it! We then sang JOHN JACOB JINGLEHEIMER Schmidt. Kira said it made her tongue all twisty ;) We practed our JUMPING JACKS and then ended our day by making a JELLYfish. It was JUST a fun day!
K was on a Friday, which is when Daddy is home. He got to sleep in that day so we decided to start our preschool day early. We put on lipstick and KISSED a bunch of papers and then stuck said papers all over Daddy's desk, computer, chair, etc. When he woke up he found that he had been KISSED. It was fun. We then played KEEP away and read 'Three little KITTENS,' 'The KISSING Monster,' and a bunch of other books. Of course, after reading KISSING Monster, we had to run around the house playing Kissing monster. Exhausting, yet fun! We also learned a little about KANGAROO's. It was a fun.
For our LAST LETTER we LEARNED about L. We went to the LIBRARY and she got to eat LUNCH with LIZZY. She LEARNED how to fold LAUNDRY. We also had a LETTER review. She did great! It was a fun LAST day!
Now that we are done with the alphabet, we are toning it down for the rest of the summer. We will be reviewing numbers and letters via worksheets alone. For some reason Kira loves to do worksheets and practice her handwriting. We leave for Utah on Saturday, so we will have one week to go over numbers before we leave. The letters were fun, but it was very exhausting! I guess its time to find our next adventure!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
D, E, and G - yes, I know we skipped F...look at previous posts ;)
For D Josh took Kira on a DADDY DAUGHTER DATE for the whole DAY! She had a blast. We started as a family going out to lunch and playing at the mall. She DANCED DOWN the hall at the mall to the playland. Then they said goodbye to Rora and I and went to field DAY. The rest of that day and night and then even the next day was spent at field day. Maybe I can get Josh to update as to what went on there...but if not, then just know that it was fun! Rora and I even came down for a few hours and a potluck dinner and enjoyed it...I know!...I'm shocked too!!!!!
E! E was EXCITING! We EXERCIZED, then we ENJOYED ourselves as we got our ENVELOPES ready for mousekeeping(Disney World thing ;) While we did decorated(with confetti of course) we listened to 'When I see an ELEPHANT fly.' Since both Kira and I love planning our trip to DW it was ESPECIALLY fun for us. There is just something magical about vacations....especially to DW!
GAMES, GAMES and more GAMES! That is what we did for G! We had a GREAT GAME day. Started off by playing 'Don't eat Pete' then we had drink, GRAPE juice of course, in a GOBLET. Following that we played way to many rounds of Candyland - I only won once....Kira kicked my butt! She next chose to play Scrabble. I was a bit leary as to how I could make the game at her level, but it ended up being a lot of fun and we played for almost an hour. First, she drew a tile. Then thought up a word starting with that letter. Next we sounded out the word and found the letters to make it. Example - She chose A, then the word alligator. It took a bit to sound out alligator, but she got every sound and was able to find the letters. It was a blast! As a mom I enjoy seeing her knowlege grow. For our last game she chose Rummikub. (Yes, we have other 'kid' games, these are just the ones she chose...so get off my case!) We started by finding all the numbers 1-13 and putting them in order. Then we put them in groups of numbers - ie, find all the 8's. Or all the orange tiles. Numbers are harder for her to recall so this game was a bit harder for her than scrabble. Again, it surprised me because the numbers should be easier than letters...it looks like when we have finished the letters, we will review the numbers! Anyways, that was our last game. When we were done with it, she practiced writing G and did a wordsearch - looking only for the letter G. Following that we had a GOOEY GRAHAM cracker for snack. Delicious! (Graham cracker and marshmallow goo.) It was GRRREAT!
E! E was EXCITING! We EXERCIZED, then we ENJOYED ourselves as we got our ENVELOPES ready for mousekeeping(Disney World thing ;) While we did decorated(with confetti of course) we listened to 'When I see an ELEPHANT fly.' Since both Kira and I love planning our trip to DW it was ESPECIALLY fun for us. There is just something magical about vacations....especially to DW!
GAMES, GAMES and more GAMES! That is what we did for G! We had a GREAT GAME day. Started off by playing 'Don't eat Pete' then we had drink, GRAPE juice of course, in a GOBLET. Following that we played way to many rounds of Candyland - I only won once....Kira kicked my butt! She next chose to play Scrabble. I was a bit leary as to how I could make the game at her level, but it ended up being a lot of fun and we played for almost an hour. First, she drew a tile. Then thought up a word starting with that letter. Next we sounded out the word and found the letters to make it. Example - She chose A, then the word alligator. It took a bit to sound out alligator, but she got every sound and was able to find the letters. It was a blast! As a mom I enjoy seeing her knowlege grow. For our last game she chose Rummikub. (Yes, we have other 'kid' games, these are just the ones she chose...so get off my case!) We started by finding all the numbers 1-13 and putting them in order. Then we put them in groups of numbers - ie, find all the 8's. Or all the orange tiles. Numbers are harder for her to recall so this game was a bit harder for her than scrabble. Again, it surprised me because the numbers should be easier than letters...it looks like when we have finished the letters, we will review the numbers! Anyways, that was our last game. When we were done with it, she practiced writing G and did a wordsearch - looking only for the letter G. Following that we had a GOOEY GRAHAM cracker for snack. Delicious! (Graham cracker and marshmallow goo.) It was GRRREAT!
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