Successes

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  • joannarammell
    Participant

    I could write volumes on my failures. So I decided to instead share a success or two. I invite you to share as well. We can celebrate together!

    My dd/7 an emergent? reader picked up a Young Scientist book about the Earth to practice reading for fun–little Miss. Science. She read a sentence or two, and looked up from the book and said in a shocked voice. “Mommy, this book has evolution in it.”

    I’m telling you those Jonathan Park CD’s are worth their weight in gold!

    My 2y/o has been nicknamed Houdidi by me early on b/c of his tendency to escape. My mother-in-law named him Bam Bam. And I admit I’ve called him my uncivilized child. He is a charmer. But, he conquers everything. Whatever he does, he is conquering. Eating, playing, walking…it is in his swagger, his natural happy aggression. Today the 7y/o was running from him…he had two race track swords after her. It’s been a bit louder from the complaints alone since he started walking :-)…I have racked my brain as to how to school with him bent on destruction, how to occupy him, how to keep an eye on him, how to crave out space from his interference with the others, how to train him, and how to tomato stake him (once I tied a ribbon around his and my wrist…it kind of worked, until he walked by his older by 2 years brother and reached out to give him a hug, I thought how sweet, and just then, he gave his older brother a serious love bite.) He’s a handful and so cute you have to really work at not laughing so you CAN civilize. So here is the success. I, who cringe when the children’s activities get too dirty and have trouble tomato staking and can’t seem to get my floors clean and who had a bathroom that smelled like a urinal with all the boys being such big boys and doing it themselves when they have to potty, shut myself and the 2y/o up in the bathroom with a bucket of soapy water, brushes, and sponges. And we went at it. It was a wild wet ride. At one point, I said, Joshua hand me that sponge, and a wet sponge flew through the air towards me dripping water in a wide arc. I caught it and continued. Thinking to myself that I had to tell you ladies, that I was tomato staking, cleaning the bathroom, occupying Bam Bam the Conqueror, and we had a great time. I found urine on a wall and what is it about the base of the toliet? I thougt pee was supposed to go inside it. LOL

    My last fun story which was scary too…was my 4y/o stuck a bead up his nose and it wedged in there really good. scared me half to death. after 6 attempts to get it out…and a final success…I looked at my now bead free son and said…If you ever put a bead up your nose again, I am going to beat you until you are blue (I don’t beat him!). He ran through the house crying out. I don’t want to be blue. I don’t want to be blue. My daughter laughed and laughed. And then my son started laughing too. I still giggle when I think of it. He was so literal. He didn’t really hear the beat you part…he thought I was going to color him blue as a consequence 🙂

    that’s all folks.

    jo

    Glad you are able to see the fun side :o) It is an adventure isn’t it!?

    For future reference I one had to drive a neighbor and her son to the ER for a bead in the nose that they couldn’t get out. The ER doctor was a dad himself and very friendly and he taught us a little trick. Seal off the nostril without the bead by pinching it closed. Then put your mouth over the toddler’s and gently blow (CPR style). The pressure from your breath will pop the bead right out.

    joannarammell
    Participant

    wish i’d known that last night!

    i just asked him how I was going to turn him blue…color him with a marker 🙂

    Heather
    Participant

    The urine smell in the bathroom…ugh!  The only thing I can clean my bathroom to get that smell gone is vinegar and water.  Works like a charm…and cheap too (which is good because I use alot of itWink)!

    joannarammell
    Participant

    i used a lot of dish soap, water, and tea tree oil. it is so much better!

    i’ll have to try the vinegar. but, it definitely had to get better after i found and cleaned that wall!

    Carolyn
    Participant

    Jo, with 2 boys of my own, you are scaring me, ha!  

    I had a pretty successful week.  My husband only travels for business once a year to Puerto Rico and this was the week.  I decided that I was going to tackle our bedroom closet.  Since we were married 5 years ago the closet has been a disaster.  So Monday morning the boys and I (4 1/2 and 1 1/2 yo) started removing stuff from the closet.  I have to confess my family room looked like I was a hoarder for a day or 2.  Two days later, the closet is amazing.  My 4 yo said “Mommy we can run in the closet!”  My boys are all about running.  What an awesome feeling it was to pull up to Goodwill and open the back of my van.  Someone else can enjoy our junk (I mean treasures).  The closet will be a nice welcome home to my dh.  

    I look forward to other success storiesSmile

    Carolyn

    joannarammell
    Participant

    Me too! That was a good one!

    Wings2fly
    Participant

    I am so glad I read through this thread. I laughed and laughed…and laughed!

    You ladies are such a blessing. I really needed a good laugh. I, too, use lots of vinegar AND baking soda.

    Joanna – that is great about your 7 yo and the Jonathon Park CD. I bought a few sets on recommendations. When I first started listening to one, The Voyage Beyond (vol VII), I stopped it because there was so much talk about Darwin. At age 7, I really don’t want ds to learn about Darwin. I just want to focus on God and His creation. So, I shelved it for now. Is the whole series like this? Should I skip this volume for now and try another one? I had chosen that one because we were studying about the ocean for science. Ds7 loves dinosaurs. Any recommendations?

    I’m not sure if it is considered a “success” or not, but I finally decided to do something about everyone coming to me AFTER they are OUT of clean clothes or whatever. dh tells me in the AM while getting ready for work that he is out of clean socks or underwear or shorts… I always said, “Well, why didn’t you tell me yesterday when you put the last ones on?” He says, “I forgot.” (or something like that.) My ds7 started this with me, too. He needs nighttime pants for bedtime and he doesn’t tell me until he is OUT! These incidents were occuring way too often and always had me feeling like a failure. So, I decided to make a secret stash up high in the bathroom closet with extra nighttime pants and extra clothing for dh. So the next time dh asks if I have any of his socks clean, I say “I’ll be right back”. And then I enter as the hero with a clean pair of socks in hand. Then after he is gone to work, I know my first load of laundry for the day is whites. And I am sure to put that extra emergency pair of socks back in my secret stash. I did the same thing with his tea. When he says he is out, I say “Well, I can treat you to a 7-up or a Coke” (which I have well hidden in the bottom-back of the refrigerator; tea is front and center). Then I go and make more tea without that feeling of failure.

    Wings2fly
    Participant

    For those interested, I also found this old post on Jonathon Park:

    http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/jonathan-park

    joannarammell
    Participant

    VERY good ideas SarahCPA I might have to use that one!

    about Jonathan Park…don’t have time to look at that thread right this minute…but I will say that Jonathan Park is ALL about GOD and His creation and giving glory to God. But Sarah, you have to start at the beginning–not the END. AND dinosaurs are all throughout it. Start with the very first CD in the first set. The Parks and Brenans are like family to us…but to get that way you need to meet all the characters as they are introduced so you can understand all the relationships, growths, and personalities. My daughter started these when she was 5 and my son was 2 and my third was a newborn. She has listened to ALL of them at least 3 to 5 times all the way through –my son is now 4 and he’s been listening right along…he obviously didn’t get as much out of them yet. But my daughter has such a solid foundation in creation that when she hears or reads something about evolution she rolls her eyes and says why do they put that in a good book? 🙂 or teach that at government school? which is what we call public school. She has been exposed to much scientific thought, and while I don’t know that she understood all of it at five, she has a very good grasp of the fact that there is a battle in worldview and that evolution is Satan’s tool to steal Glory from God…not that she would necessarily say it that way. She is not one who is going to be led astray by theories that sound reasonable…because those thoeries have been refuted thoroughly by Jonathan Park and family. They won’t be new –oh I never heard of that, I have no way to refute that logic- ideas when she hears them in the world –from the children next door. In fact, she can talk about God’s creation so, that the children next door ask HER questions and she is the one giving them good Biblical ideas and new thoughts to chew!

    HTH

    jo

    4myboys
    Participant

    All this talk about boys and bathrooms has reminded me of the chore I have waiting for me when I get home from the office — you’d think a toilet would be a pretty decent size target, especially for a four-foot tall child.  I hate house work! 

    2flowerboys
    Participant

    LOL! I totally agree w/ the potty issue! UGGH, the smell is so gross! And thanks for the tips on how to clean around it! I have been using like a clorox wipe to scrub around! It does not work!

    As for Jonathan Park, we love them! Yes, definitely start at the beginning! They go in order! 🙂

    Also, will have to tell a story later! Everyone have a blessed day!

    Linabean
    Participant

    Well, I only have a couple minutes before another crazy day REALLY starts to roll but I wanted to chime in really quick because…um…we have bathroom issues here as well. My ds is almost 7 and I have come into the bathroom in the morning and stepped in a puddle right BESIDE the toilet! Peeing in the dark…not a great idea for the little fellas! He told me this when I asked him about it,. ” well, I can’t see at night and I am TIRED! I can’t SEE where it’s going!”. To which my dh replied, “you should always hear a splash, though! If you don’t hear a splash then you’re in the wrong spot!”. All I could think was ” maybe you should just sit down to go! At least until we can give you some pee-shooting lessons!”. I would get him to clean it up but am very afraid of what would get left behind! LOL! I did hear of some mom putting cheerios into the toilet to give something to aim at for the littler guys. I had hoped that this issue would get better with age but my husband’s comment sorta took that hope away! Do they REALLY go by SOUND in the middle of the night?!?! And my dh is actually a very clean and hygenic fellow! What would it be like with a guy who wasn’t?!?! I mean, c’mon, A SPLASH!

    Kay, gotta go clean my bathrooms…again!

    -Miranda

    joannarammell
    Participant

    LOL

    Bookworm
    Participant

    I count it as one of the greatest events of my life that I was at last able to move into a new house with TWO bathrooms.  Really, some people dream of House Beautiful, all I wanted is TWO bathrooms. It can be a dump, but I’m so outnumbered here that it is my dream home if it has a bathroom for ME . . . and a bathroom for THEM.  LOL  All my guys seem to have trouble although they all blame it on one of the other ones.  My youngest seems to have poor aim and my two older boys seem to be up so high above that something happens on the way down!  LOL  Dh has floated the possibility of builiding urinals in the bathroom and put one WAY up high for my 6″ and over crowd!

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 24 total)
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