A little of everything

I gave in and had to reinstate time-outs. The kids have spent lots of time with their arms folded and their eyes closed and their heads bowed. The first few days were quite shocking for them- especially when Noah found himself sitting there more than he thought he probably deserved- and boy did he deserve it!! I haven't yelled nearly as much and the kids are starting to really hate time-out which means they aren't sitting there as often!! Yes! I also pulled out the incentive chart again. It took a nice little rest. We needed something to keep the peace good in our home. The kids are now working hard for the new rage- A Khung Fu Zhu Zhu Pet. It is working!! We dragged the kids around with us as we did our bi-weekly shopping. I told Daniel we would be going shopping and he looked at me and said, "Mom, I really hate shopping." I know it is really hard for him so I told him he could earn 5 stickers for his chart if I didn't have to yell at him at the stores. He followed directions so good. He started to get antsy at the end. I took one sticker away. He didn't throw a fit- he even said he agreed that he didn't deserve all 5. This from my emotionally charged kid. I was so impressed and so happy for him. He was so good! I am reading the first harry Potter to Daniel. We read a chapter and then watch that part in the movie. Noah keeps trying to listen in on the book and the movie. Daniel won't let him. Daniel says it is just Mommy and his time.
Jodi is leaving her little toddler ways behind her. I am so sad. I mentioned in a previous blog how her voice changed timbre. Well, the family will be sad to hear that she doesn't say "Waa" for "Yes" any more. It is still funny because she says, "Whep" instead!! She cracks me up. SHe told Daddy the other day that he wasn't good at the Wii. I told her she was getting so big. Jodi lifted her pant leg and said, "My legs are so wong!" She has such spunk. She loves riding her bike- even in the heat.
Noah is having a fun summer. He got his swimming legs back and has been having a blast going down the twisty water slide at the public pool. He has been having fun creating Hogwarts train tracks and Hogsmeade villages with ALL of his toys. We are reading the 3rd Harry Potter together. He was showing a little too much enthusiasm for the movie instead of the book so I told him he can't watch the movie until we have finished reading the book. He was sad, but he loves the book. In fact, he told a lie to us last night so for punishment I took away our night's reading. He was so upset. He said we could read double today. I told him nope- he lost out because he told the lie. I don't think he will be doing that again!
We are enjoying our home and Apache Junction. There are a lot of things I want to do with the kids here. There are a number of archeological trails and sites to see. I want to take them on a 2 hour scenic drive, but will wait when it gets cooler! We are counting down the days for our camping trip in CO! Can't wait!