I'll Give You a Reason To Cry!

I love having all my kids home for the summer! It's our time! Time to play, time to work, time to learn, time to teach, time to tear my hair out. Wait, did I say that out loud?

The first day I took all 4 of them to Big Town to get shopping done I came home and counted out how many days until school started again. No, not really. But I did ask my Husband to count it out. Which he didn't. He laughed and obviously thought I was kidding.

How many times can I pull the car over? How many times can I tell them, "If you don't stop we will leave all this in the cart and walk straight back to the car, drive the 80 miles home, WITHOUT even the MILK!" Before they realize that Mom would NEVER waste a day, let alone the gas, to do something like that. Nope. I really wouldn't. That would be stupid. So I put up with it. And I bribe. (Candy? Milkshakes? Snow Cones?) It never really does much.

In an attempt to reinforce their good behavior, as a posed to the awful stuff I was screaming about, I pulled an old memory out of my childhood. My dad was a high school teacher and he taught the "skills for living class." Yes, he was the sex ed teacher! One of the lessons I remember him sharing with us as a family was the Warm Fuzzies. Doing good deeds and being kind brings a warm feeling and so each time we do something good we get to add a warm fuzzy to a jar. When the jar is full, we will go do something awesome, like go to the water park. OK, I don't remember the water park being the goal as a kid, but this was something my parents tried to implement and I thought I would try it to. Even though I'm pretty sure it didn't work for them either.

The problem is actually remembering to issue the warm fuzzies. Which are pom poms. So really it's a work in progress. But still! The kids are into it, so we all keep trying. Otherwise Mommy will be checking into the nut house soon.

At this point, however, I'm starting to think I should be taking the warm fuzzies OUT of the jar.