Nov. 13, 2008
Dirtbikes and Habit Training
Posted in Habits
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One of the things I love about my husband is that he works very hard to provide for us. He works really hard. He is a professional firefighter and works 24 hour shifts. During his shift, he may get a couple of hours of sleep and be out at all hours of the night helping people. While we are snug in our beds, he is out there taking verbal abuse from those experiencing drug overdoses, those who made a bad decision while driving or from those who have been in pain for the last 12 hours and thought that 3am is a good time to call for help. He also sees stuff that the rest of us couldn't even imagine. I realize he censors what he tells me and that is all bad enough. All of that said, he loves his job. He gets off at 7am and drives about 1.5 hours to get home. I try really hard to convey to the children that daddy deserves to come home to a house that is straightened up. He works hard and the least we can do is make sure he has a clear path to the bed so he can rest when he gets here. Somehow, last night, I missed our dirt bike that was sitting out on our sidewalk. The kids had it out yesterday and failed to put it away. They also failed to pick the helmets up out of the yard. This morning he came home and found our dirtbike out on the sidewalk. That made him really angry. I feel that I talk until I am blue in the face and the children just don't seem to be listening. I think the problem is the lack of consequences for bad habits. So this morning, the dirt bike was the straw that broke the camel's back. When I first thought of grounding them, I thought that would be the best thing to do. Then I remembered all the stuff on our calendar for the next two days and started to reconsider. Here is another great thing about my husband, he helped me to see that they may just have to miss these things this time. Although I am following through with this grounding for two days, my heart is breaking because of what they will miss. At the same time, I'm thinking, "Woohoo! I don't have to drive anywhere today!" Is that wrong? |
Jun. 18, 2008
Reality Check
Posted in Habits
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How many times have we gone to a homeschool function and felt that "I am so glad that this event isn't at my house." We look around and feel that everyone else has it so together. How many times have you told someone you homeschool and they say "Oh, I could never do that. I don't have the (patience, organization, discipline, etc., etc.)" I try not to put up a facade, although I often feel that others don't really care about my daily "hardships" so I don't burden them with it. I do have people over to my house and they get to witness the disaster area first hand. When others say to me "You are so organized". My rebuttle is "Have you seen the condition of my house lately?" So I try to convey that I am no June Cleaver. Okay, I like to post pictures on my blog. So just to prove that I don't have it all together here is a current picture of my kitchen / dining area. This needs to be cleaned up. So what do I do? I ignore it while I make popcorn and blog. Now don't get me wrong, I will get to it.  This picture is of what the FLY-lady would call a hot spot. It is ALWAYS blazing!  My popcorn. I make it on the stove. The microwave stuff tastes fake after living on this stuff.  On the upside, I am in the proccess of building habits. I've learned that this doesn't happen over night. So I am starting with routines in the morning and at bedtime. I feel those are the easiest times to start a routine. If a bedtime routine is in place, it's easier to instill a morning routine. Once the routines are established, the habits follow closely behind. Honestly, it wears me out just to think about it. So if I have disappointed anyone by confessing my shortcomings, I'm truly sorry. So far as having it together, I didn't even really mention how I talk to my kids when I am stressed out over (finances, closest relative living 4 hours away, the value of our home, etc., etc.). Maybe that will be another post. |