Our sweet family suffers from a terrible disease.... Selective Hearing. It has hit the children the hardest. They just can't seem to hear things if they don't want to. It is driving me nuts! I must say, the parents also have signs of this disease, but not to the degree that the children have it.... maybe it is something you outgrow!?!? Hopefully!
We also seem to suffer from Selective Memory at times. Man, what a stellar family we are! Are there others with these diseases in their families? Any good remedies? I mean besides bribes of candy, chocolate or toys?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Alphabet Timer
We sing the alphabet constantly at our house. I am getting a little sick of it, but it is my own fault. It is our timer for doing things.
I have the kids sing it to time how long they need to wash their hands. I have them sing it to time how long they need to wait for me to get them a drink of milk. I sing it to time how long they need to be brushing their teeth. They sing it when everyone is buckled up in the car and I need to run inside the house to grab the diaper bag I forgot. I have them sing it 2 or 3 times when I am checking my last email. Okay sometimes they need to sing it more than that. But, I have to sing it 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 times when it is "clean up the toys" time. We sing it together at "get on jammies" time.
As much as I am sick of hearing it, it is better than me getting frustrated and saying, "I need you to wash your hands" 10 times. I say something once and then whomever the timer is starts singing. Also, it is a lot easier for them, and for me, to have them busy doing something while waiting, than to be bored out of their minds. Shocking, I know, but it has even turned out to be a great way to teach them the alphabet, since we sing it no less than 100 times a day!
It has gotten to the point that when I ask my daughter to be patient for something, she asks me how many ABC's she needs to sing before I can get to helping her. Good thing she loves singing it so much! She usually even throws in an extra one to give me more time and her more singing practice.
I have the kids sing it to time how long they need to wash their hands. I have them sing it to time how long they need to wait for me to get them a drink of milk. I sing it to time how long they need to be brushing their teeth. They sing it when everyone is buckled up in the car and I need to run inside the house to grab the diaper bag I forgot. I have them sing it 2 or 3 times when I am checking my last email. Okay sometimes they need to sing it more than that. But, I have to sing it 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 times when it is "clean up the toys" time. We sing it together at "get on jammies" time.
As much as I am sick of hearing it, it is better than me getting frustrated and saying, "I need you to wash your hands" 10 times. I say something once and then whomever the timer is starts singing. Also, it is a lot easier for them, and for me, to have them busy doing something while waiting, than to be bored out of their minds. Shocking, I know, but it has even turned out to be a great way to teach them the alphabet, since we sing it no less than 100 times a day!
It has gotten to the point that when I ask my daughter to be patient for something, she asks me how many ABC's she needs to sing before I can get to helping her. Good thing she loves singing it so much! She usually even throws in an extra one to give me more time and her more singing practice.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Souper Saturday
Last year I made a resolution to make family dinner more fun and more planned. I made a menu with a theme for each day. I heard about it a few years ago and decided to try it out. It was GREAT! Everyone in the family got excited about it and helped plan the meals.
Last year's themes were Special Sunday (a special meal), Mexican Monday (anything Mexican), Twice-Baked Tuesday (leftovers), One Pot Wednesday (casserole or soup, just one pot or dish), Tuscan Thursday (anything Italian), Frozen Friday (anything from the freezer: pizza, burritos, fish sticks, etc.) and Souper Saturday (any soup).
Some other ideas we came up with are Southwest Sunday, Spanish Sunday, Sunday Brunch (breakfast), Meaty Monday, My Monday (a member of the family picks), Meatless Monday, Tuna Tuesday, Tuscan Tuesday, Wild Wednesday (anything), Once Again Wednesday (leftovers), Try It Thursday (new recipe), Thin Thursday (healthy or diet food), Fishy Friday, Friend's Over Friday, Family Friday (a member of the family picks), Favorite Friday (favorite meals), Fried Friday (nuggets, fries, whatever other heart stopping food you like), Fresh Friday (salads, fresh fruits and veggies), Frestaurant Friday (eat out), Salsa Saturday, Seafood Saturday, Spaghetti Saturday, and Sandwich Saturday.
It worked so well last year, we're doing it again this year. We'll try some of the other themes. Try it out! It is wonderful! Let me know if you have any other ideas.
Last year's themes were Special Sunday (a special meal), Mexican Monday (anything Mexican), Twice-Baked Tuesday (leftovers), One Pot Wednesday (casserole or soup, just one pot or dish), Tuscan Thursday (anything Italian), Frozen Friday (anything from the freezer: pizza, burritos, fish sticks, etc.) and Souper Saturday (any soup).
Some other ideas we came up with are Southwest Sunday, Spanish Sunday, Sunday Brunch (breakfast), Meaty Monday, My Monday (a member of the family picks), Meatless Monday, Tuna Tuesday, Tuscan Tuesday, Wild Wednesday (anything), Once Again Wednesday (leftovers), Try It Thursday (new recipe), Thin Thursday (healthy or diet food), Fishy Friday, Friend's Over Friday, Family Friday (a member of the family picks), Favorite Friday (favorite meals), Fried Friday (nuggets, fries, whatever other heart stopping food you like), Fresh Friday (salads, fresh fruits and veggies), Frestaurant Friday (eat out), Salsa Saturday, Seafood Saturday, Spaghetti Saturday, and Sandwich Saturday.
It worked so well last year, we're doing it again this year. We'll try some of the other themes. Try it out! It is wonderful! Let me know if you have any other ideas.
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