A RealFamilies RealFun Blog

Aug 26 2008

Story time in the gulag

Category: At Home

Nathan's punishment began the next day for lying and being a bad example for his sister. According to his monthly behavior chart, if he earned a bad sticker he was banished to his room for the day with no TV. Parole was earned by working on his reading and math, and doing as his mother and father asked.

For Nathan, being forced to stay in his room alone reading books, doing worksheets, and not watching TV was hell on earth. Luckily for him Lucie came to the rescue. She refused to stay away from him, even when I tried getting her to come in my room to watch a movie. When I got too busy with housework or writing, she'd sneak into his room. It was impossible to coral her, so I finally let her stay with Nathan only if he read to her.

They both got into his bed and read several books under the covers. I realized even though Nathan is reluctant to sit and read books by himself, he loves to show off by reading out loud. Plus, he's a terrific reader. After being out of school for over a month, his reading skills had actually improved. I just wish he'd read to his sister more often instead me forcing him to do so.

Hmmm, maybe I'll get Nathan to read Lucie a few bedtime stories from now on and give mama a break!

 

Aug 25 2008

Better than a safety pin

Category: At Home

Having never met a bargain I didn't like, I shop at children's consignment stores. I love these stores because you can find items that are normally too expensive to buy at rock bottom prices. To put it another way, even though I love Gymboree, I'm a Target shopper, so I only get my Gymboree garments on consignment.

There is a caveat at buying on consignment. Even if you're a careful shopper, and give an outfit the once over for spots and tears, you never know how well you did until your child actually wears the clothing.

I had bought Lucie a cute pair of pajamas from a clothing brand I trusted. Well, it must have been an old pair -- even though it wasn't faded -- because the elastic in the pants stretched out after one wearing. I discovered this when Lucie came downstairs one morning holding the front of pants up, while the rest of her was flapping in the breeze (luckily she was wearing a night time diaper.)

Since I was in the middle of fixing breakfast, I looked around for a safety pin to fasten her pants to her top. However, the safety pins were all upstairs in my sewing box. Then I got a brilliant idea. I opened the giant drawer with all of my more eclectic kitchen utensils, everything from a handheld lemon juicer to the strawberry stem remover. Rummaging around, I finally found it -- a large kitchen clip.

Gathering up a bunch of material, I fastened the clip and clicked it shut. Lucie looked at my work, then up at me and smiled saying, "Cool, I'm like a bag of chips."

Now where did I put that salsa?

 

Aug 19 2008

Best friends

Category: At Home

There are days when I check Nathan and Lucie for physical signs of devilishness. Surely their bottoms have sprouted forked tails and their heads grown horns since their last bath. Otherwise, why are they constantly fighting and yelling horrible things at each other? Could these two mean and evil children be the devil's spawn? The name Lucie is pretty close to Lucifer, after all. 
 
Sometimes the children make a big effort to get along, like on weekend mornings when Paul and I attempt to sleep in. Nathan acts the part of the good big brother and takes care of his sister. He gives Lucie a hug good morning when she finds her way downstairs. Nathan then gets her a sippy cup or some yogurt, and covers Lucie with a blanket when she lies down on the couch next to him to watch cartoons.

When they hear us walking around our bedroom, Nathan sends Lucie on a reconnaissance mission to see if we're awake. Then Nathan bounds up the stairs after her once she gives the all clear. They both climb into our bed, inevitably crowding me out. I jump into the shower, and they hang out with their dad. After I get out, I towel off and listen to Nathan badgering his dad with a request for the day's agenda.

Paul then heads for the shower, leaving the two kids in the bed watching TV. One morning, Lucie beamed at Nathan and put her arm around him. With a big smile she turned to me and said, "Best friends." My heart skipped a beat, and I sighed, loving the moment. Maybe my kids aren't as devilish as I think.