Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Enjoying the Weekendy Things, but not so much the Weekday Things

I thoroughly enjoyed our weekend, even though they never seem to last as long as we'd like. While I'm ready for spring temperatures and blue skies with sunshine, there is still a part of me that enjoys days here and there where the excuse of "it's too cold outside" prompts more snuggles and movie days and longer days in our pajamas. But then I remember that I hate cold air, and I would really rather live in say, Florida, where I can use the excuse "It's too rainy to go outside" and do the same things. This winter, Florida is tempting me more and more......

Friday night, Dan celebrated a good friend's birthday by hitting the town for dinner and a movie. The kiddos and I cozied up in the living room for a blanket picnic of Kelly's cheeseballs, ice cream and sour skittles while watching The Croods on Netflix. Joyous night it was. We hit the hay early so we could be up at the crack of dawn for Carter's last wrestling meet of the season. Little man got his first 1st place win! Carter's gotten a lot of flack lately for being difficult, but this mama's pride level soared when a dad of one of the wrestlers came up to us after his last match and told us how impressed he was by Carter's sportsmanship. Carter had gone up to the boy and his dad to shake their hands and tell him 'good job'. And while he may have had a few slip up moments where he may have looked too smug when he told Melissa he made two boys cry, not to mention that he told anyone who would listen that he got first place, that one moment made it all worth it.

We celebrated the win with some Taco Johns and our first trip to the frozen yogurt shop. Best. Idea. Ever. I will be going back!

And while you know I love me some impromptu fun, Dawn sent out the all call for some girl time while the guys got to enjoy some hot tub time. So after lots of planning messages and finding a sitter, we were off to "Guacamole", the new Mexican restaurant which may not have the ambiance my husband so desires (or as good of a margarita as Los Tulipanes), but the conversations were just as awesome as they always are. And because I'm sentimental in the worst kind of way, I paused a moment to remind myself how incredibly blessed I am to have these girls in my life.

Sunday, we spent the day making Superbowl food and getting in a good workout so that I had an excuse to munch on all the great food. Our new family February challenge, a circuit workout, is a killer, and I'm learning that I apparently tend to put more emphasis on the right side of my body as I've been stiff and sore on that side for about 3 days straight! In fact, I walk with a slight limp! The party was a blast even though our team lost (or didn't show up. I'm not sure which). Good company makes everything better!

Our week, however, hasn't been as fun filled. Sawyer man woke up Monday morning with a horrible cough that he couldn't shake. By Monday night it had turned into a fever, and on Tuesday, we were home cuddling up in our jammies watching Caillou and taking extra long bubble baths that prune our fingers into raisins. With the nudging of my mom, I took him into the doctor when I went to town to pick up the kids, only to find out that he has Influenza A. Ugh. Just one more reason for us to move down South. This sickness and cold weather are killing us over here.

So, I'm home today. Dan's home tomorrow, and hopefully he's feeling better by the end of the week. His temp is slowly going down and he's not coughing as badly as he was on Monday. He actually got a full night sleep last night which makes for a well rested mama as well. Hopefully we can get some things crossed off the old to do list, and if not, we'll spend some good quality bonding time together in our big cozy chair.

Oh yes, and for the record, our mornings have been going a LOT more smoothly after some advice from a good friend. We started a sticker chart to earn screen time. He has checklists for before school and before bed and if he can cross them off without being told to keep moving or throwing a fit, he gets rewarded with a sticker. He also gets a sticker if we catch him being good (being nice to his siblings, doing something without being asked, doing his homework without reminders, etc.). If he does the opposite however, he gets an X on the chart. A sticker gets him 10 minutes on a screen and an X takes away ten. It's just a regular old sticker chart that you can get from any teacher supply store. I've seen them at Target too! If he gets a whole row of stickers, he earns an extra 15 minutes of screen time and if he fills his chart with less than three X's, he gets a date with mom and/or dad. It's been a brilliant idea so far! Thanks Nancy!

And thank you friends for all your kind words on the last post. It was difficult to write it, let alone post it. It's hard to admit your shortcomings in a world where you are criticized for being who you are. Sharing that with the "world" really motivated me to be accountable to be a better parent, but all of the e-mails, texts, comments and messages I got were more than I could have imagined. Just another reminder that we are all in this thing together. You are some good people. :)

Happy Hump Day!

No comments:

Post a Comment