The kids did pretty awesome today even though they wanted nothing to do with yard work. I asked them if they wished they had never begged for a bigger yard. Some said yes and some said no that they love the yard and being able to play outside and not have to worry about the busy street.

We are making great progress out front. Just one month ago, there were a ton of bushes along this piece of sidewalk and now they are gone and so are the weeds.

 

 

 

Carson is working off what it is going to cost to fix the 3 holes in his wall that he made the other night when he was angry. It is ok to be angry, but it is not ok to hurt others or property or yourself. And because this is the 2nd time he has done this, he has to pay for it this time.

He has worked so hard today.


I got pretty sunburned today. I thought I stayed in the shade enough, but apparently not.
I was smart enough to spray the kids with sunscreen because I knew there was no way of keeping them out of the sun.



Nadia was at a friends house while we poured cement, but she did not miss out on all of the fun, she did make it home in time to put her hand print in it.









We tried to put their hands in the cement and do an imprint, but the cement set up faster than we were expecting, so we had the kids each put their hand back down and I traced their hand with a stick. All three girls hand prints look just about the same size.
I hope that this will serve as a memory to them that we can work together as a family. This little cement pad is for the basketball hoop to be put on so that the kids can play basketball again. Because we park in the driveway at this house right now, we needed another place to put it, plus it will help keep the ball in our yard more.

Our kids are learning how to work hard to earn things, because lets face it, the world is not free. This is the hardest we have ever worked them in the 3 years we have had them. They have had it pretty easy, but when we moved, we decided that it was about time that they learn how to do certain things. One of which is yard work. They have a strict chore chart and they have to follow it daily. Carson is learning how to fold his own laundry (girls learned last summer) and Raven and Nadia are learning how to cook something besides pb&j's. They are now able to make ramen noodles by themselves. Carson is also learning how to open cans, pour his own cereal and milk. He is also learning how to work the microwave.

We are not sure what is going on with Raven right now, but she has been complaining about being dizzy a lot lately and we are now noticing that she is having a ton of anxiety. I know that some of it has to do with wanting to know her birth dad. Thankfully, we have a pretty good relationship with him that we are able to get bits and pieces of info and relay that to her. She has been so caught up with making up stories about him that she is confused. She is not sure how to feel at this point. Right now, she has no need or want to know more about her birth mom, but when that time comes, we will cross that bridge when we get to it. According to her therapist, it is normal for adoptive kids to start asking questions around the age of 10. We are not promising when or if we will ever meet her birth parents, but we are working on getting our kids in a much healthier place in life so that when and if the time does come, they will be able to handle themselves appropriately and not get angry or upset. We want it to be a positive experience not a negative one.

Now it is time for bed. We are trying to get back on a good schedule because since moved, the schedule has kind of gone to the crapper. The past few nights they have been up past 10 or 11 and then the next day there is serious attitude all around. So tonight, I flat out laid down the law and told them that we are not playing around, it is 8:30, time for family prayer and then bed. No TV and playing around. Our kids love a schedule and they do much better with their behaviors when we are on one. Every once in awhile, it is ok to stray from that, but not often because it messes things up. During the summer, we allow them to stay up an hour later so generally we send them to bed at 9, but tonight, we have had a long day in the sun and we need some rest.

On a side note, I can't forget to mention:

Carson did amazing today. Not only did he work hard, but he did not mess his pants. It has been a very long time since we have had a clean pull up. Yes, we have put him back in pull ups because I cannot keep up on the massive laundry that comes with him messing his pants 4-5 times a day. This way, all he has to do is change his pull up and clean up his bum and I don't have to wash his dirty clothes.