Dilly-Dally

Do you have a "dilly-dally" at home? You know.. the child you send up to his/her room to get dressed and gets side tracked into doing something completely unrelated to the task at hand? For the longest time I had a dilly-dally. He would get so easily unfocused because of the things around him that looked more enjoyable to do than the thing that he was supposed to be doing. I figured that there had to be an easier way to get him to complete the simplest of tasks without standing there and walking through every movement with him or removing every object from his bedroom other than his bed and clothes.

So, one day the light bulb came on and I discovered what would motivate my dilly-dally. I wasn't going to bribe him because then I would have a dilly-dally PLUS I would be broke. So, I knew that he loves competition...well.. to be honest, he loves to WIN competitions, so I knew if I could turn simple tasks into a contest, he would be all over it.

Now every morning when I need him to get dressed, I simply say "I bet I can get dressed before you! Or, if I'm already dressed, I'll say, I bet I can put on my socks and shoes before you can get your clothes on!" And he is ALL over it!

Then, when that task is completed, I'll say, "I bet I can make my bed before you make yours!" And again, it's a race... and the task gets done.

I repeat the same for breakfast, putting on shoes, cleaning up a room, putting away toys, etc. Whatever I need him to focus on becomes a game. No more frustration over getting him to focus.

So, if you have a little dilly-dally see if this helps him or her get motivated to move a little faster and stay focused.

Quote of the Day

"Prayer is asking for rain.... Faith is carrying an umbrella"

Barbara Johnson

Move Over Kate!

Kate Middleton better watch her back... there's another princess on the scene. I was greeted yesterday morning with "Good Morning Princess!" I was taken aback because maybe that's a common greeting in your home each morning, but certainly not in mine. When I asked Chris why he wanted to call me princess he replied that it was because he wanted me to call him a prince. But of course... I should just call him Prince Lego since that's his favorite thing... although if I flipped that around I guess I would be called Princess Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and that just doesn't sound very much like a princess.. it just makes me hungry. LOL

Fire Drill

Yesterday we had a family fire drill. I'm proud to say it was mainly at the prompting of Christopher. So, we practiced leaving the house and going to our designated meeting space. It went very smoothly. Then I decided it would be a good idea for Chris to learn how to use my cell phone in case of emergency. I showed him how to call Steve and thought we should role play.

Me: "Call Daddy and tell him that something happened to mommy and you need help. Think of a situation when Mommy might hurt herself"

So, Chris uses my cell phone to call Steve (who is sitting next to us during this activity) and says: "Hi Dad.. it's me,Christoper. Mommy fell down the stairs and got hurt."

For those of you not too familiar with my legacy... I am notorious for falling down stairs.. it hasn't happened in a while, but even my son knows this about me.

I had myself a good laugh and felt confident of two things: 1 - Chris is ready for an emergency and 2: I better keep an eye on my cell phone now that he knows how to use it.

Letter to the Editor

To Whom It May Concern:

Today my son was home from school and I decided to pull out your Grade 1 Curriculum to have him do some relevant classwork. While working in the reading/spelling section he was stumped because he was supposed to match the first letter of the word to the picture that started with the same letter... He was stuck because he said " the letters there were "R" and "T" and it showed a picture of a Rose and a Radio... "

So I meandered over to see what the problem was... and the problem was that your curriculum was written before Flat Screen Televisions invaded America. The picture of the correct answer was a "television" that honestly looked like the floor model my grandfather had in his home in 1975. It had ANTENNAS on top of it as did your picture... my son thought it was a radio.

So, thanks for making me spend 30 minutes trying to convince my 7 year old that the picture was not a radio, but an old fashioned television. Don't you think moms home with sick children have enough to deal with?

Thanks

Friend or Foe

About a week ago, Chris came home from school and announced to me that he was now friends with "Bob". I was a little surprised because Bob has tried my patience, has softened my heart and has opened a door for me to teach my little boy how to act towards others...especially those who are not nice to you. You see, Bob has some learning and behavioral challenges and, as such, is not to blame for some of his actions. So, I've spent the majority of the year trying to explain to Chris that we are to treat others the way we want to be treated, but if you get pushed or something is said or done that doesn't follow the rules, you need to tell the teacher right away. And Chris has been great about doing just that, but always with the mindset that he does NOT like this kid.

So, that was why I was surprised that the boy who will "accidentally" knock into him and give him grief, is now his friend. I didn't get too much into it the day of Chris' announcement because we were with other people. As I was driving Chris to school the next day he said to me, "Mom.. do you know why I am now friends with Bob?"

No, Chris I don't... why did you decide to be his friend?
"Well, Bob does not have even ONE friend in our class and so I decided I was going to be his friend that way he has one. I was thinking how would I feel if I was the one who didn't have a friend and I would be very sad. So, that's why I am now his friend."

As the tears were rolling down my checks I told him how proud I was of him and how he is being so Christ-like in his actions.

Kid Funny

The following conversation took place in church recently:

As the ushers were called to come to the front of the sanctuary...
Chris to me in a whispered tone: "Mom.. are they going to turn the water into wine today?"
Huh?? What was he talking about??.. the ushers were coming to collect the offering.. and then it dawned on me.. he thought they were going to pass out communion!
"No.. there is no communion today, Chris. Usually once a month"

He remembered his recent Sunday school lesson about the miracle of Jesus turning the water into wine. And I guess when explaining communion to him he just put the two stories together.

At least he's not mad anymore thinking that it wasn't fair that the adults got to have the snacks (juice and bread) and the kids got nothing.

Get Rich Quick!

Chris is saving up money to take Tae Kwon Do lessons. We told him that we would pay for the majority of it, but we'd like for him to chip in a little bit to help with the cost. So, each week he is putting part of his allowance aside and I guess he is getting a little impatient...

"Mom.. get the video camera out!"
"Why??"
"I'm going to record something funny so we can win the $100,000 prize on America's Funniest Home Videos. So, get the camera and I'll do something to make people laugh." (I could ONLY IMAGINE what that would be....

Needless to say, I explained that those videos are usually spontaneous and not planned out actions.

"Well... if I win then I can go to Tae Kwon Do AND still have money to buy tons of Legos".

Yes.. .it's all about the Legos once again. I hope his future home has a room big enough for his future collection.