I admit it. My work schedule has made it difficult for me to be as consistent as I should be when it comes to chores and my kids. It's kind of ironic really. Getting my kids to do their chores means I have less work to do around the house, so you think I'd prefer that to doing it all myself. For some reason though, I found I've just been letting it slide. Not only has it been getting on my last nerve, but hubby wasn't all that happy about it either.
So a couple days ago hubby and I had a talk (with each other) and the next day we presented our unified front on what our expectations are for the kids and their chores. Yes, I'm having to spend a little more time making sure they get things done correctly, however I know in the long-run it will make my life easier and it will also make them more prepared for adulthood.
Oh, and I learned something... all those times I was showing my kids how to do things and they were telling me they couldn't do it... they were pulling my leg. Not only could they do the parts I thought they should have been able to do, they are also capable of doing stuff that I figured was too hard for them.
I think it's safe to say, I was not giving my kids the credit they deserve. No more! My kids are smart, strong, and capable of whatever they put their mind to.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Looking Back - 10 year later
It's hard to believe that 10 years ago today I became a Mom. It seems like just yesterday. Especially since I remember the day so vividly.
My day started out very early. I remember waking up around 1:30AM with what I thought were contractions. They weren't particularly close but they were consistent enough for me to go downstairs to watch TV and figure things out. My little brother must have heard me because he came down too (I forgot to mention that we were living on a mountain at the time, and 10 days earlier - my due date - an ice storm came through so we ended up staying at my parents house rather than get stuck on the mountain). So my brother and I watched TV for a couple hours as my contractions got closer together.
Around 3:30 I woke up my husband to let him know what was going on. He took a shower and we left the house by 4:30. My contractions were still 10 minutes apart or so, but we were also in Northern Virginia and had to drive TOWARD Washington, DC. Something I didn't like to do on a regular day, much less while I was in labor. I DID NOT want to get stuck in rush hour traffic and deliver on the side of the road.
Turned out that was not an issue. We made it to the hospital with plenty of time to spare. In fact, my labor was SO slow, I told my husband to go to a meeting that was scheduled for that morning. You see, he and his brother were trying to start a business and this meeting was important for that. In fact, the guy had come down from New Jersey for the meeting, and the meeting location was only a couple miles from the hospital. I told him to keep his cell phone on and I'd call if he needed to come back.
Needless to say, I didn't have to call him. In fact, he got back to the hospital and I sent him and his brother back out to eat some lunch. And I didn't deliver our son for another couple hours after he got back from lunch.
By the way, hubby and his brother got a contract out of that meeting 10 years ago. Although the contract didn't come that day, I've always used my son's birthday as the "start date" of the company.
My day started out very early. I remember waking up around 1:30AM with what I thought were contractions. They weren't particularly close but they were consistent enough for me to go downstairs to watch TV and figure things out. My little brother must have heard me because he came down too (I forgot to mention that we were living on a mountain at the time, and 10 days earlier - my due date - an ice storm came through so we ended up staying at my parents house rather than get stuck on the mountain). So my brother and I watched TV for a couple hours as my contractions got closer together.
Around 3:30 I woke up my husband to let him know what was going on. He took a shower and we left the house by 4:30. My contractions were still 10 minutes apart or so, but we were also in Northern Virginia and had to drive TOWARD Washington, DC. Something I didn't like to do on a regular day, much less while I was in labor. I DID NOT want to get stuck in rush hour traffic and deliver on the side of the road.
Turned out that was not an issue. We made it to the hospital with plenty of time to spare. In fact, my labor was SO slow, I told my husband to go to a meeting that was scheduled for that morning. You see, he and his brother were trying to start a business and this meeting was important for that. In fact, the guy had come down from New Jersey for the meeting, and the meeting location was only a couple miles from the hospital. I told him to keep his cell phone on and I'd call if he needed to come back.
Needless to say, I didn't have to call him. In fact, he got back to the hospital and I sent him and his brother back out to eat some lunch. And I didn't deliver our son for another couple hours after he got back from lunch.
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| Happy Birthday to my big boy! Mama LOVES you SO much! |
By the way, hubby and his brother got a contract out of that meeting 10 years ago. Although the contract didn't come that day, I've always used my son's birthday as the "start date" of the company.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Macschooling
I'm sorry this is so late in coming. I went looking for pictures that apparently I don't have. Rather than make you wait further, I figured I'd post what I could.
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In a recently (for me) post, I mentioned that my son has become quite the tinkerer. I wish I could say he's gotten this joy and talent from me but I admit it's mostly from his father. Yes I can come up with some interesting solutions to problems (and patterns for knitting), but my husband... well, he's awesome when it comes to such things. In fact he was hired at his new job to help fix electrical and computer components rather than just replacing them. To say he to tinkers is an understatement.
In fact, for at least a week after I met my now-husband, I knew his as MacGyver. As in the guy from the TV show. Why? Because when he started working at the summer camp we met at, he had a Swiss army knife and used duct tape to fix things. Since then, he has upgraded to a Leatherman knife and he uses other things besides duct tape as well, but the nickname still works for him.
I've asked my husband how he learned to fix things. What I was told was that when he was growing up he started out by going through people's trash looking for electronic things for parts. He would take parts from various "broken" pieces of equipment that he found and he would get one item working. He also fixed Walkmen for people at his school (for a fee of course). During college he worked at a computer store fixing and assembling computers.
So, it came as no surprise to me when my husband came home from yard sailing with a broken Billy the Bass for our son to mess with. I WAS a bit surprised however, when my son got it working in less than an hour. Since that day, my son has started going yard sailing for the sole purpose of finding things to fix or use for parts. He was given a circuits kit for Christmas a couple years ago and he's even mixed parts from that with parts from "real" electronics in order to make new things.
I am a firm believer that hands-on learning is the way to go for many things in life, and this is no exception. Thankfully, I have an electrical engineer in the house to help make sure our son doesn't hurt himself while tinkering. If any of my local friends have any broken electronics, contact us before throwing it out. I MIGHT know someone who would like to play with it. :-)
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In a recently (for me) post, I mentioned that my son has become quite the tinkerer. I wish I could say he's gotten this joy and talent from me but I admit it's mostly from his father. Yes I can come up with some interesting solutions to problems (and patterns for knitting), but my husband... well, he's awesome when it comes to such things. In fact he was hired at his new job to help fix electrical and computer components rather than just replacing them. To say he to tinkers is an understatement.
In fact, for at least a week after I met my now-husband, I knew his as MacGyver. As in the guy from the TV show. Why? Because when he started working at the summer camp we met at, he had a Swiss army knife and used duct tape to fix things. Since then, he has upgraded to a Leatherman knife and he uses other things besides duct tape as well, but the nickname still works for him.
I've asked my husband how he learned to fix things. What I was told was that when he was growing up he started out by going through people's trash looking for electronic things for parts. He would take parts from various "broken" pieces of equipment that he found and he would get one item working. He also fixed Walkmen for people at his school (for a fee of course). During college he worked at a computer store fixing and assembling computers.
So, it came as no surprise to me when my husband came home from yard sailing with a broken Billy the Bass for our son to mess with. I WAS a bit surprised however, when my son got it working in less than an hour. Since that day, my son has started going yard sailing for the sole purpose of finding things to fix or use for parts. He was given a circuits kit for Christmas a couple years ago and he's even mixed parts from that with parts from "real" electronics in order to make new things.
I am a firm believer that hands-on learning is the way to go for many things in life, and this is no exception. Thankfully, I have an electrical engineer in the house to help make sure our son doesn't hurt himself while tinkering. If any of my local friends have any broken electronics, contact us before throwing it out. I MIGHT know someone who would like to play with it. :-)
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| Son watching Daddy fixing our washing machine |
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| Son looking at the "broken" electronics panel from our new fridge. |
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| Light-band son made from the broken panel from our fridge (Mac[Gyver]schooling at it's finest) |
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