Reed's Time Out

I don't know how many times I have tried to explain to Reed that kids learn by playing and by watching.  Max has learned several undesirable words from Reed and at least one from me, and I'm not talking just about curse words, just other words that I don't like to hear, such as, fat, stupid, dumb...and yeah, a few curse words that seems to be his favorite words to say in a crowd, sh*t-fire and h*ll are the big crowd pleasers.

Recently, I have had to put a lock down on Reed's tv privileges.  No more family guy, violent movies like die hard, or grey's anatomy for me (all the blood and guts tend to make Max anxious).  Even if the boys are playing and you think they are not paying any attention they some how seem to pick up something bad.  So we always just have to wait till the boys go to bed to watch a tv show we want to watch.  I used to always be so frustrated with people that had kids when they were not caught up on current events, new movies coming out, trends, new tv shows, new music, etc, and now I realize why they are so out of the loop!  I used to think these people must be living in the stone age or not managing their time well to not even have time to watch a little news!  Now I realize exactly why parents of toddlers are completely unaware of what is going on in the outside world (especially housewives!).  These little toddlers are like super absorbent sponges that soak everything up...the good and the bad!

However, sometimes all this observed behavior can lead to some funny things.  We have a very strict no water guns in the house policy.  Failure to follow this rule means serving time...3 torturous minutes for Max and 2 -ish minutes for Jerry.  One day last week, Reed and I were doing the dishes after supper and he very slyly reaches over and grabs something and walks away (at the time I was not paying any attention so had no idea what it was) the next thing I know the whole back of my hair and shirt is getting soaked with water!  I turn around, ready to send a guilty toddler to time out, and see my husband holding Max's biggest water gun with full intentions to completely empty all it's contents on my face.  With no water gun in sight for a means of retaliation, I just take off running though the house because at this point I am dripping water running through the house... I am so soaked.  The next thing I know Max is standing in the doorway screaming "wait stop!"  Of course we stop because he rarely speaks with this much force and determination and he looks so darn cute.  Max then grabs Reed's hand and takes Reed to time out and says, "sit in the chair.  3 minutes daddy, ok-alright!"  Then he walks over to the oven and tries to set the timer like I always do and crosses his arms looking at Reed waiting for the punishment to be over.  It took everything I had to not die laughing at the whole situation.  Clearly he observes everything from what is punishable to my body language during time outs!  Obviously, the timer is not going to go off because he doesn't know how to set it, so when Max thinks it has been the appropriate amount of time he walks over and informs Reed that he can now get up and play.  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen and I was so proud that my husband was willing to play along and accept his punishment.  I know I am biased, but I think I have the most intelligent 3 year old ever :)

Reed serving time :)  

Homeschool!!!

Ok, the time is rapidly approaching to where if I am going to homeschool my children I seriously have to get my butt in gear!  Max would normally start a preschool program in the fall, but he is already showing a lot of interest in curriculum and learning.  I have my teaching certificate, but I have to be honest and say I am a little bit terrified.

I really want to use a Reggio Emilia and Montessori blended approach, which I think is completely possible because they are both centered around individual learning and I would only be teaching 2 individuals.  So while it is not possible for classrooms of 20 + I think it is the best thing for my children.  If anyone knows of any good homeschooling blogs or curriculum I would greatly appreciate the information.

Being a Mama to two Boys

Learning how to be a mom was kinda hard at first, mostly just getting over the fact that I will never, ever sleep again or have clean clothes was the hardest.  Learning how to be the mom for two boys is very, very hard!  I have never been a girly-girl, so I thought I would be ok, but boys are just soooo different; its like learning a new language.

Learning how boys play has been an experience.  Trucks, trains, dinosaurs, bugs, tractors, are all very loud things in a boy's mind and they crash/fight A LOT.  So far, in the 3 years we have been playing, our cars have never taken a leisurely drive, trains have never just went around the track, dinosaurs have never just gotten along, bugs have never been normal, and tractors never have a quiet motor.  It took me a while to realize that this is just how they like to play and its normal.  My house is pretty much always loud and pretty cluttered with toys.  I have finally accepted the fact that I am just going to have to touch up a lot of paint from about my knees down because a lot of tractors and trucks have crashed into my walls.  Its loud and fun, but you have to be prepared for it, otherwise my house would seem like a complete mad house to you.

Now that I have finally tackled how to play, I have to learn how to tackle tackle...fishing tackle that is.   I have never been much of a fisherwoman.  I love to hunt, that is something I will have no problem teaching the boys how to do, but that is a ways off.  Fishing is basically a new concept to me.  Max and Jerry absolutely love to fish so I have to learn fast.  Luckily our pond is basically just full of perch at the moment and I don't think there is any real strategy to pond fishing...at least I hope not.  I didn't even know how to tie a hook at the beginning.  Now I can do that pretty quick.  Putting the bait on is pretty easy too, but we have one major problem.  The first time we went fishing without Granny or Grandpa it was all going perfectly smooth...then we caught a fish!  I was so excited that I must have done something right because Max reeled it in and the hook didn't come off or anything.  Then I realized I don't know what to do next!  I know I am supposed to take the fish off the hook, but there seems to be teeth in there and every time I touch the fish those dang fins hurt me.  I am very unsure what my next move is supposed to be because I am not putting my hand in its mouth and I am pretty much done with those fins hurting my hand.  So I did the only thing I could think of...I distracted Max by telling him to look at the cows and I threw the line back in the water with the fish still attached!  So he thought he was catching a fish every time and was extremely happy and I didn't have to touch that fish anymore, so I was pretty happy.  Since then, my dad has taught me how to get the hook out of their mouth with some needle nose pliers and I don't even have to touch the fish.  Someday I will be brave enough and learn to do it with my hands, but not today and probably not tomorrow.

I'm not sure what I will be learning next, but I bet it will be fun.