A Blip From Another Blog

I wanted to share this here as well. Enjoy! :)

After They Fall Asleep. . .

 I love how my routine goes when I close up the house at night. My kids are in bed and suddenly the remnants left around the house all become precious little mementos of a day I'll never see again. I fight back the tears as I pick up the sweet packet of oatmeal my 3 year old got out but I never cooked for him. I put away the Spiderman mask that one of the twins was so excited to tell me about but I got agitated cause he kept interrupting me. I find the Batman plane the other twin has desperately been searching for. I lovingly pick up the empty bowl my 18 month threw on the floor. I get so upset when he does that, but suddenly I realize it's a token of a missed moment because I didn't fully take it all in today. Suddenly I don't know if I really looked at my kids at all today. What do they look like? What if they look different tomorrow? *Sigh*. . .Picking up the house is sure an emotional roller coaster when you have empathy for each object you find.

Once those four fall asleep I'll take a moment to kiss them all good night and enjoy this moment of peace before I forget it all tomorrow and once again become a screaming lunatic. OK, perhaps not screaming, but at the very least a very firmly speaking lunatic.

Pics are from Sunday when I taught the boys how to make eggs for the first time.

Scientists, Books and Money for Checks.

 "I can build these. I'm a scientist. I just need some materials."

This is what he kept saying to me over and over again after he checked out his first library book. He chose one about airplanes.

When I was little I loved science and I dreamed about growing up to be a science teacher. Of course, course for some reason these dreams always seemed to take place in the late 1800's with me walking my students across a grassy field, in a swirling pioneer type dress, as we ventured to learn about the outside world and I think to bury the classroom pet that had just passed away-- it was all part of my answer to, "How would I help the students handle the death of classroom pets".

Anyway. . .I find my boys enthusiasm adorable. I love that they have an interest in books even though I have never been good about reading to them. And I'm get a little ounce of satisfaction of knowing my child has the same childhood dream as me. Though his reaction last week when he was frustrated about not being able to work his toy, "I'm just a stupid scientist," is probably more in line with things learned from their mom ;).

Checks for the Store

On another note, we are trying out a new reward system. The boys like to earn money but it was hard to keep money on hand, so I made them charts and they get checks. The checks represent money. At first we told them they could use the checks to buy things, but I'm changing my mind. I'm now going to buy things and create a little store they can shop at. They can turn four checks in for a dollar if they would rather just have money. They can put check towards a trip to a playplace. Or they can just use checks to buy small prizes. I really want my kids to grow up with a good grasp on how to handle money, so I will probably have them turn in four checks for a dollar that will go into savings each week. And I have even toyed with teaching them to make sure they buy enough kitty and puppy food for their stuffed toys before they spend all their checks on fun stuff. That may be taking it too far, but we'll see how it goes. :)