Game Plan

Yesterday was a pretty normal day, except I didn’t go to the gym for the second day in a row.  I iced my wrist, which hurt terribly, but it’s finally better now and I feel like I can get back to working out.  I have always underestimated ice for injuries that aren’t blue and visible, but I won’t forget the wonders that it worked on my wrist.  Thank God it’s better.  Picking up the boys and trying to carry on as usual with a wrist that feels broken is not fun.  Pushing the stroller and picking them up was sometimes unbearable. 

The boys and I didn’t do anything particularly special yesterday, except enjoy a nice quiet house together.  I really miss Logan and Lindsey—I truly do.  However, it is so quiet around here and I have been enjoying my time with the boys because I am not stressed out and breaking up a fight every three seconds.  Noticing how calm everyone in the house without Logan and Lindsey’s constant bickering has enticed me to come up with a game plan for when they get back.  We are all getting a break and resting and I am not a fool….I know that as soon as they get back it’ll go back to normal if I allow it.  As soon as I pick them up (even if they have gotten along) I will hear fighting and it’ll immediately anger me and then we'll be spinning in the same the nasty cycle again. 

I have made “lists” and “schedules” for Logan and Lindsey before and they did help, but I always missed something somehow.  I have now made chore lists, check-lists, and routines that are so simple that they WILL work this time—they have to.  I considered what they fight about and I tried to tackle those areas on paper.  I also thought about what I nag them about the most and tried to cover those areas as well.  Finally, I thought about the excuses that they always give me and I tried, on paper, to take away the opportunity for them.  The papers are very specific.  I’m putting a copy in their rooms and downstairs. I think that they’ll enjoy having the freedom to manage themselves and they will love not having to hear me nag so much.  I’m also getting them each a basket to put their junk in so it’ll be easier to put it away.  I think one reason their stuff ends up everywhere is that they are too lazy to make 10 trips and/or they forget.  (Lindsey is by far the worst about this.  You’ll find 10 pairs of shoes blocking the front door before she listens to you and picks her stuff up.)  One of the worst things about being a mom is being a nag.  The Bible talks about how annoying a nagging wife is, but I have yet to see proof of another option for us caretakers whom get slapped in the face so much.  What choice do we have?  I’ll tell you what the choices are…. look at the disgusting, sloppy house in which your children’s stuff is strewn everywhere, or pick it up yourself.  How fair is that?  If a household is a place where many people live then everyone should work together like cogs on a machine, meaning “Pick up your own stuff and we’ll be fine”.  And then you always get that question “Have you seen my (insert item)” and you think “Shouldn’t you know where your own hat is?  How could I possibly know where your belt is, didn’t you take your own pants off?  No, I haven’t seen the piece of paper that was in your hand yesterday!”  I laugh as I write that because I do know where these things are because I’m the one who picks them off of the floor!  I’m really not venting or complaining because it is inevitable that this happens if you’re a mom, I am simply stating the facts.  Moms don’t like to be nags, and they don’t like being the bad guy.  I am attempting to show my children that I want to give them freedom, and I want to stop nagging them about their messes and I want to stop being upset about their fighting.  They’ll be back in 2 weeks. 

Logan and Lindsey are having a great time.  As we speak they are on their way to Chicago to go to the Museum of Natural History.  I think that’s what it’s called.  It was always my favorite. 

I made a bunch of headbands yesterday.  I made a couple of Lindsey and they are so adorable that I am planning on selling them.  No two are alike, but I can do any color scheme.  If anyone is interested in purchasing them, email me.  I will post some pictures soon.  Most of them are for children, but I made some for adults too.  (Older color schemes, obviously.)  I am also working on legwarmers, but I doubt that many of my readers need legwarmers. 

By the way, I am on Season 7 of "Cheers" and I really miss the early years with Diane.  I just can't get used to Kirstie Alley.  I realize that this show is ancient and that the subject lacks in originality, but it's new to me, so allow me to be a loser!  Diane was the best. 

Here’s the Word of the Day:

patois \pat-WAH\, noun:
1. A regional version of a language differing from its standard, literary form.
2. Arural or provincial form of speech.
3. Any jargon or private form of speech.