Skip to main content

Teaching Independence

This weekend our children each had the flu for the second time this season. Interestingly, it seemed to follow the same sequence as it did the first time around. Thankfully, Chris was here this time to lend a hand vs. going it alone as I did last time. Mya's sickness began on Friday night into Saturday and Claire woke up Sunday morning with the yucky tummy. It has been a pretty low key weekend. Claire and I are home hanging out today, which brings me to this post. Our girls are great kiddos. They are pretty good listeners, kind to others, creative, and pretty smart; however, they rarely play independently. They LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to play games, read books, and snuggle WITH US! Their desire for us to direct their lives every minute of every day is both a blessing and a curse. Take my  last stay home day with Claire. It was filled with activity after activity of "homework." No lie. She is an eager learner, but part of me thinks she didn't know what else to do with herself. As a result, Chris and I have been working to teach them to play independently, simply so we have a chance to relax too. I have seen little bits of progress along the way. Here is my latest evidence. Look at the fun you can have with tape, a baggie, scissors and a highlighter! This lasted for 30 minutes or so. Yippee!

Photobucket

Comments

Jessica said…
That is a weird combination...perhaps a coloring book and crayons next time. ha ha. The girls are getting so big I am SO EXCITED to see them! The summer can't come soon enough! PS..The kindle is fantastic--you need one!

Love ya, Jessica
Kara said…
I looked at them last night. Sadly, my list of "I wants" is rather long, but Mother's Day is coming ;) oh--and my birthday!!

Popular posts from this blog

0.0

Yes, indeeedy do. 0.0 is exactly the amount of weight I lost this week. Irritating! Here's the breakdown: number of times I cheated on my diet--ZERO! number of times I worked out--FIVE!! (running, no less). Now that is a mean, mean slap in the face. After I picked myself off the floor and resisted the urge to throw the scale through my window, I've come to realize that it is time to call in the big guns. There will be no messing around. Through a very valuable (HA!--sense the sarcasm) inservice this year, I've learned that I am "Green," meaning logical, research based, problem solver, mathmatical thinker. I am applying the same thought and strategy to my 'get fit' adventure. There will be no relying on the treadmill to tell me how much I've burned. That thing lies, LIES, LIES!! Take for example, the fact that each time I worked out, I burned at least 300 calories--most often 350, my pulse was around 87 (which is pretty much a near death resting ...

Bouncing Crazyiness!

I do alot of online shopping. When you live overseas, you have to. The BX is thrilling, yes, but it changes out the merchandise only so often ;) When it comes to clothing, if you shop at the BX (which I do as well), you can be guaranteed that at least 3 other people will be seen in the same item. Take for example this little gray vest that I bought. The other day, 2 other teachers showed up in the same one. Thankfully, I hadn't worn mine that day, but you get the point. Anyway, several places do not ship overseas. That's where my Mom comes in. I typically have the stuff mailed to her house and she graciously mails it to us. Readdressing the boxes, running to the post office and mailing our stuff is a major pain. I know this, but she's been so great about it. Priority mail is the way to go. She generally mails it priority and we recieve it in a week to ten days. However, I ordered a "jumpy jump" as Claire calls it, well before Christmas. Since it was so heavy and s...

my workout playlist

I never dreamed I'd be listening/watching this when I worked out, but it is true. Here it is: photo courtesty of Laurieberkner.com I wouldn't have it any other way. My little healthy lifestyle journey is going well. I have exercised 7 days thus far which consists of treadmill activity and an ab workout every other day. I don't pressure myself to run everyday, but I have run 4 of the 7 days. I am quite proud of that. I have never been a runner or enjoyed running, but I have grown to like it. I used to say that I had exercise induced asthma! I think I did, but maybe I outgrew it? ha. Whatever the reason, I am finding it pretty easy to run and maintain a steady pace for no less than 20 minutes each time. Pretty impressive feat for a girl like me. Interestingly, I had planned to take today off, but didn't. I actually had the desire to run. Chris and I are both sticking to the eating plan as well. So far I am down about 4 pounds. Although 4 pounds is plenty, it ...