It's hard on the days when Monica is at school and Ken is at work all day. I am here. alone. with my thoughts.
I don't like noise though. I want it quiet. I don't even turn the TV on anymore.
It is especially hard when I don't want to get up. I have to get up and make someone else (who doesn't want to get up) get up. Then, we have to fight ourselves and each other to get where we need to go for the day.
I am so looking forward to not having to do that anymore very soon. Summer is my favorite season. It's nice out. This year we get to go places and do things we didn't always get to do.
I have found myself thinking, "Wow! Megan would have really loved this!" And, then I think, "Wait a minute. No, she didn't! She couldn't when she was here."
I thought I had already mourned the fact that she wasn't a normal child. But, I find myself mourning it all over again, now that she's gone.
Blogmania is over 100 blogs giving away hundreds of gifts...ONE DAY ONLY...April 30th - BLOGMANIA DAY!
I found it through this blog:
There will be links on each participating blog to lead you to the rest of them. All the blogs are giving away packages of prizes, not just a single prize. If I enter 100 giveaways on the same day, I wonder what the odds of winning one of them is? I guess I will find out on Friday and Saturday!
Tomorrow night, get plenty of rest. Get up early Friday, and CLICK, CLICK, CLICK your way to 'Loot Scoopin Mania!' I know I am!
There's a neat giveaway going on this week at my friend, Cap Creations, blog. The goal at Worthy of the Prize is to encourage people to stay spiritually fit while they are keeping themselves physically fit. They have great key fobs that can be used as a key chain or to keep your fit cards together. There are three types of fit cards: memory cards, devotional cards, and prayer cards. There are 31 cards in each set - one for each day of the month. The giveaway is being listed until next Sunday, May 2nd.
I mentioned last week that, previously, just getting through life was the focus of our household and that we didn't even have the time/energy to look around and notice things that were minor but not the way we wanted for our home.
I also mentioned that one of the things that bothers me the most is the fact that, as a result, my 8-year-old daughter (Monica) doesn't know much about the process of de-cluttering, cleaning, and "earning her keep," LOL!
Since we are working on de-cluttering and cleaning, it would be a shame to let it get back to the way it was, right? I have found a tool that helps parents and children make an agreement about jobs the child is to perform, assigning point values to the daily jobs, and then allowing the child to shop in a reward store once they have earned enough points.
My Job Chart is a FREE interactive, online version of the traditional charts we have made in the past where the child has the chores listed, you mark off the job in some way (stickers, initials, etc.), and at the end of the week they get an allowance or something else.
This online chore chart system has a separate log-in for the parents and the child(ren). The parents are guided through the process of assigning jobs, printing a copy of the completed chore chart with each child's picture (if desired), assigning point values for each job, creating rewards with the number of points the reward costs, and sending messages of encouragement (or otherwise, if necessary) that the child will see when they log in to their account.
My Job Chart even gives good suggestions for jobs that can be assigned as well as rewards that are not necessarily monetary goods. Parents can also make up their own jobs and rewards if they don't see what they want already listed and even upload pictures of the jobs/rewards to encourage the child. My Job Chart can also send parents e-mails saying the child has either finished a job or earned a specific reward.
When the child logs in to their specific account (siblings are not able to access each other's account), the first tab lists each job they are to do and separates them according to the time of day they are to be completed (morning or evening). The next tab shows a list of "extra credit" jobs that the child can do if they want - or are trying to get points for a really big reward. The third tab shows the reward store that has pictures of the rewards and how many points they cost.
This video shows what the child's account looks like.
It only took me about 30 minutes to create an account, select basic jobs that I want Monica to start with, assign their point values, and give her a choice of 5 different rewards to choose from. It was really easy. And, yes, she was actually interested in what we are agreeing to do.
One of the bonuses to this online system is the fact that Monica enjoys computer time and feels like she has somewhere to privately work on her progress rather than look at a poster on the fridge, where anyone can see what she has or hasn't done.
This week will be our first full week implementing this system. I'll tell you if it was effective for us in next week's post. You can sign up here if you want to try My Job Chart to help you and your child(ren) focus on keeping your home de-cluttered and clean so that you can enjoy it more.
This is a weekly link up from Mama M. She provides the questions. We provide the answers and link to her blog so we can see everyone else's answers too! Here goes...
1. What was the first car you owned? I owned a 1983 4 door, Chevrolet Chevette Scooter (with racing stripes). It wasn't the coolest car but it was a 5-speed stick and only cost me $600.
2. What song are you embarrassed to know the lyrics to? Way too many Hannah Montana songs. My, ahem, DAUGHTER is a huge fan :)
3. Have you ever had stitches? Yes, when my children were born.
4. What was your first job? I worked at a walk-up ice cream stand for a couple of months one summer before moving to my restaurant job in high school.
5. Who is your favorite Sesame Street character? Ummm, Big Bird. He is big and yellow (Meg's favorite color) and is always cheering someone up.
At first, Monica was embarrassed when she found out I used her picture with my doll carriers.
The second time she modeled for me, she knew what it was for and wanted to see herself on my website.
Today, she basked in the glow of the sunlight and gave me some fun poses.
And, no, the doll never fell out! I know, A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
To think that there has only been about a year and a half since the first photo is almost unbelievable. She has changed so much! P.S. Wow, I took these myself. All I did was move the photo session outside! Oh yeah, I forgot. I have to pay her now too! It cost a new pair of sunglasses! This post was inspired by:
I am working on an upcoming post detailing what I am doing to help my 8 year old help us around the house instead of trying to pick up faster than she can dish out.
I just finished a tutorial for my other blog about baby doll bibs. You can see it here. It's amazing how long it takes to describe in each little detail about something that is really so simple.
I am sewing my most current doll carrier fabrics today in hopes of getting Monica's help for my photo shoot so I can freshen up the home page of my website and get better shots of some other stuff. The lighting is so better outside and makes the pictures so much more lovely. And, it is a decent temperature today - 62 is better than 32 any day!
I am making something for a friend of mine and I hope to get it mailed to her by the end of the week. Just a small token of appreciation.
I am making new friends and enjoying their company.
I have found so many awesome ideas lately, I can't pick the one I want to try next.
I need to finish some projects I started. Many of them are half-way done. They shouldn't take long to finish, right? I just hope I can remember what it was they were supposed to be, LOL!
Then, I have to sort out the new stuff I get in the mail every day so I can get it all in my van when the Flea Market starts in a couple of weeks. Wowsers! May is almost here already!
Having a family member with special needs and the issues associated with them affect every person in the family. This blog gives a view from each perspective and a window into how we cope as a family in the midst of all the situations presented to us.
