Things I’m liking this week …
morning bike rides
outdoor swim lessons
kids helping to clean up
the sound of the vacuum cleaner running (and me not running it)
quiche
getting caught in a downpour
letting the four-year-old ride her bike, with training wheels, to the grocery store (bonus: more room in the bike stroller for groceries)
corn on the cob from Herrles
catching a cat-nap
ceiling fans
bedtime reading: The Hobbit
Things I’m not liking this week …
feeling more tired, being back with the kids all day
the noise, the noise!
back-talking children
sibling conflict
disorganization
struggling to find time for EVERYTHING
whining
complaints about the service around here
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Back-talking children and sibling constant. I have had it with those! Do you have any solutions? Wish I did!
Love the photos of Fooey. Adorable!
Tricia
Tricia, the only solutions that seem to work are to have friends over or to send children off to friends’ houses (for sibling conflict). The morning swim lessons have also been great–giving us a focus for the morning. I was trying to convince the kids to take a second round, but nobody wanted to.
For back-talk, I’ve been sending kids on time-outs. It’s not ideal. I can’t say it entirely works, but at least the child is removed from the situation. But, then, sometimes it turns a small problem into a battle. So, no great solutions …
Whoops. I meant to write sibling conflict, not sibling constant (although the conflict is constant here some days).
As you mentioned we have also been trying to have play dates as often as possible and it really does help. Unfortunately, many friends are away at the moment on holiday.
I have also used time-out with Heather by sending her to her room. It is not ideal because she does not go very willingly and getting her to the room can be a battle in itself!
Thanks for writing back. I hope your day goes well today.
Tricia
Like: The illustrations in this post.
Fantastic photos.
Like: Red headed children – so adorable! Even if they are driving you crazy. (That is the job of all children, right?)