Chronic Ama

We've started off this year with a BANG! Well, kind of. I guess? I don't do resolutions. But, I did set new ground rules for behavior around here.  Bella had been getting a weekly allowance since she was 3 for doing chores around the house. Lately, the allure of doing chores for allowance has diminished and the Christmas brattiness had been setting in. I came up with a new plan as of New Years. For every time Bella acts up, has a tantrum (apparently she hasn't outgrown these) or talks back, she loses a toy. I keep a big box in a storage area to put them in. For each day she completes her chores (usually only on Wednesdays and Sundays), she gets to get a toy back. Plus, at the end of the month, if she had done her chores and hasn't lost too many more toys, she gets an allowance. She seems to like this idea so far and hasn't lost many toys this year yet.  As for her brother, he's still too little to understand a lot of rules. But, we do make him pick up h

Man, I love the Pintrest ideas for Elf! He's fond of drinking syrup and using my lip gloss. Bella thinks it's awesome! Still doing pretty good behaviour wise. Had a slip up last night with a tantrum before bed. I think she really misses her dad while he's at work during the week. He works long hours and I think it takes its toll on all of us. But, I always tell Bella to be thankful that she has a hardworking daddy because she has everything she could possibly need or want even. Yes, we spoil our kids. That's the whole point of having them, right? But, I digress. I really am digging our little elf. Just wait 'til you see what the sneaky thing is doing tonight!  As for my side of things, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. We got our tree up today and I made reindeer munchies, marshmallow pops and Twix fudge. I think tomorrow will be tamales at mom's and probably some rum balls with coffee liquor instead of rum this year. I can

Oh little elf, you are so awesome. I could sing your praises all day. Yesterday, Bella was in awe that the elf could get up to the ceiling. She was super aware that she was being watched, so she cleaned her room without anyone asking again! She even made her bed and set out her PJ's for night time! Her room looked like I had just gotten done in there! Bella also did her homework without a complaint. Although, she was a bit bratty in the evening, playing with the car door locks during a trip to Target. But, when she had lost bedtime story privileges, she was OK with it since the elf was watching! No scream fest without a story last night! Wheee!!! As for me, I'm getting ready to celebrate 5 weeks post hysterectomy tomorrow! I'm feeling great! I still have icky feeling days, but those don't bother me too much. I can wear jeans now and it feels like a lot of swelling in my belly is gone! I can't wait to get back to running and back to work in another week! I s

Apparently Aiden the Elf has a sweet tooth. He really is a big help around here. Bed times have gone much much more smoothly! Too bad Logan is too little to understand that he's being watched! Maybe he wouln't pull hair so much...  I also had a break through with Bella eating breakfat this morning! I've been trying to get her to beat the timer so she could have a treat after she eats breakfast and gets ready. (This kid needs incentive to eat, so a Hershey's Kiss is what she gets. We did discuss this with the pediatrician and she agreed that it's OK. Long story... ) Well, she cannot beat the kitchen timer no matter what. She can easily drag a bowl of cereal out over 30 minutes. And I don't let her watch TV or do anything else in the morning. So, today, I found her hour glass in her bedroom. I decided to use it as a visual timer to finish breakfast and it worked! She ate quickly and got ready for school! Holy Cow! I'll have to blog about our mealtime

So, last Friday, we got an Elf on the Shelf after a week of hellacious bed time battles. At first, Bella hated it. She wanted to know why Santa just couldn't watch her and she had to take an elf home. Then, she finally came around and picked up her room and helped around the house because she wanted a good report. We had a really good weekend with the elf around. Now, I need some ideas on what to do with Aiden the Elf. The little stinker ate my marshmallows already! I need to start taking pictures of him. I'm also "pinteresting" some elf ideas for the week. I will try to update on how we're doing behavior wise. I think it's going to work! I sure hope so! I need to keep my little angels little angels. Stay tuned for more elf updates!