Out on the Town All by Myself

I was starting to feel the *hate* part of my "Love-Hate Relationship" with Summer Vacation a little too much lately, so.......I've been pondering on a solution.

The part that I *hate* is that all my kids think that they're on vacation - from EVERYTHING!!!  (i.e. getting dressed, general grooming, reading or anything intellectual, sleep routines, eating properly, or basically LIFTING A FINGER TO DO ANYTHING.)

They all have a list of things that they are suppose to do every day, that would take about an hour to 1:15 (depending on how well they are able to stay on task, and how much daily maintenance they're actually doing), BEFORE they are able to do anything else.

So, this is how it's been going.....
They haven't been completing their lists which means they haven't been doing anything.

Here's their mentality:
Oh well, I guess I won't go play with any friends today....because I don't want to do any chores.
I guess I'll miss the Summer "field trips" we've planned....because I don't feel like doing any of my chores.
I guess I won't have any screen time (at least not when mom & dad are watching) today....because I don't like doing chores.
Oh darn, someone invited me to do something fun with them, but I had to say, "No"....because I "forgot" that I should be doing my chores. (wink, wink)

REALLY?!?  Come on, people!  It's ONE HOUR of duty for the rest of the day of freedom!  You can't figure it out?

Apparently not.

So, I came up with a brilliant idea!  And I ran it by Matt, and he agreed.

I announced that from now on, I will be going out for a treat every day after I get off work and get ready (so around noon, after lunch).  Those who have ALL of their check marks done will go with me.  Those who do not, will not.  (And I will do random inspections to verify that it was REALLY done instead of them just "fibbing" their check marks....not that these angels would EVER do that, but I like to be "thorough" ya know.)  {chuckle}
But, no matter what, I am going.

In order to make the Where Should We Go? conundrum easier, I made a list of many choices, with a number beside each one.  Each day, we will roll three dice, add up the sum of all of them, and match that answer up with the corresponding number on our list.  And then that's where I will go that day - and I will continue this every day for the rest of the Summer - the only variable will be WHERE and WHO.  The girls got really excited about this list and started to fantasize about all these places.

Well, evidently, they spent too much time fantasizing (i.e. general poor time management) because on that first day, NO ONE was done with their check list at the appointed time, and I made that first treat run ALL BY MYSELF. (gasp!  I was so surprised! haha).  Luckily, they got their act together and 3 out of the 4 children got to go with me today!

I realize this could get really expensive, really quick - have you heard of "The Latte Factor?" - so I fought my inspiration for a while....

But, desperate times call for desperate measures!

AND, I'm counting on them succombing to their old, usual mentalities sometimes, too, and not getting to go!  
Because I'm kind of fine with going out by myself, too.  
(peace & quiet is needed even more during Summer Vacation!  haha.)  ;) 

Three Strikes.....on My Idea

Katelyn turned 10 years old this week.  Double Digits!!

It was her year for a friend birthday party and she wanted to have a “Game Show” themed party.
We played "Wheel of Fortune" and "Friend Feud" with some puzzles/questions I made up.

I made the game show boards out of poster boards and paper.

I thought it would be fun & clever to have one of the “Friend Feud” questions be:  
"Name something great about Katelyn.” 
I thought it would be a good way to "CELEBRATE" the birthday girl.

FOR THIS QUESTION, I had all 12 answers worth 100 points each (instead of how I did it on the other questions and how they do it in the real game where ALL the answers only total 100).  This way, the girls could REALLY earn a lot of points for this *BRILLIANT* question.

The 12 "Katelyn" answers on the board [that were covered] were: Friendly, Happy, Athletic, Crafty, Honest, Brave, Great singer, Caring, Helpful, Gives compliments, FUN, & Smart).

Well, this *special* idea of mine?.....it kind of bombed...
because the first person guessed, “funny.”  STRIKE ONE. 
Katelyn:  "WHAT?!?  I'm not funny?  I always make everyone laugh."  (As everyone, literally, laughed!)

The next person guessed, “sweet.”  STRIKE TWO. 
Katelyn: “WHAT?!?” 
Oh no.....she's [thinking she's] NOT funny, and she's NOT sweet!

The next person said, “Awesome.”  STRIKE THREE. 
Katelyn: (practically speechless, with mouth gaping open)


So, the other team gets a chance to "steal."  And they say, “pretty.” 
I was dying because I knew THAT answer wasn't on the board, either, but I didn’t want to give ANOTHER strike.....because what Katelyn wasn't understanding was, that even though all the previous answers given about her were TRUE, and it's what her friends thought of her....it just wasn’t one of the TOP TWELVE ANSWERS ON THE BOARD.
"Pretty" got a STRIKE, also.
 
When Katelyn saw it wasn’t on the board, she hid her face in the couch and started to cry.

Come on - everyone break out into song now, "It's MY party, I can cry if I want to, cry if I want to.....YOU would cry, too, if it happened to you!"

*****************
But, in an attempt to make things better, I let the "stealing" team call out another one of their answers they had brainstormed up together - and it was [finally] ON THE BOARD! (Makes friends easily)

Resolutions Report

I know, I know.....January is already A THIRD of the way over and I haven't even made my New Year's Resolutions for 2014, yet!  What a slacker.  ;) 
I'm hesitant to do it.....and I think I know WHY.  It MAY have something to do with the fact that I already KNOW I wasn't even 100% on my last year's ones!
I wrote them on this blog o' mine, to hold myself accountable, so it's not like I could just "forget" about them ever existing!  {darn}

But, maybe I have to "close out" 2013 before I can move on to 2014???
So, here's the "Report."

1. Invite another couple to go out to dinner with us every month 
THIS one was suppose to be a FUN goal!  And it was......when we could get another couple to accept our invitation, that is!  ;)

THANKS FOR THE GOOD TIMES:

Page's

Sears'

Maxwell's

Knudsen's

Badham's

Lacy's

Waters'

Peterson's

Bryson's

Wood's

It actually turned out to be really tricky....and I hadn't expected it to be!  

At times, I had a High School Flashback - like I was getting turned down for dates, and all!  (Not that I asked too many people out on dates in H.S., but all those awkward/vulnerable/rejection/uneasy/wanting-to-be-accepted gumbo feelings are all related)  Matt, the eternal optimist, would try to tell me that people's schedules are just busy and it's hard to always match up with ours.  And, also, that a surprising number of couples are not even used to going out on weekly, or even monthly, dates.  I, on the other hand, assumed it meant that all these people who had excuses weren't able to go would rather poke needles in their eyes than go out with US!  (Is it ME?  Is it MATT?  Or is it the combination of the two of us?)  We take showers, and Matt wears cologne!!  (maybe THAT IS the issue? ;))
Report:  So, we actually were able to go out with another couple 11 out of the 12 months this year.  
BUT, I will confess; one month, we got invited - by relatives - and we "counted" it anyway.  The other month we missed, we happened to be at Station Park on the very last day, and we ran into some others we knew, and we sat together at an outdoor table to eat our treats, and talked for just a little while.....Matt thinks we should "count" that, too, and call it 100% accomplished!  
But, I'm more.....shall we say, "exact" in observing the rules, so if you ask me, I don't count either of those, and we only had 10 out of 12 for 83%.  
BUT, on the other hand, if you read the wording in the goal, it actually says TO INVITE another couple out, not actually TO GO (I just had the misconception that the two would go hand in hand).  So, looking at the goal LITERALLY, we WERE 100% in our inviting - even 110% - because sometimes we invited multiple couples before we got any takers.  So, YEA, check that one off, after all!?!

2. Get ready IN THE MORNING
I thought this one would be hard....and it was.
There is such a PULL for me to just hit the ground running in the morning to get things done - and getting ready just seems to get in the way of all that!  So, I really had to force myself to do this against my own natural urges.
Report:  I did this usually 5 out of 7 days (with Saturday frequently being the day I didn't)  So, I was about 71%.  Which is 5X better than it was before I started this goal! says Matt, the eternal optimist.  But, it's still not an instinctive habit.  {dang}

3. Write more on my blog
Even thought I really enjoy this one....it was hard to get it done!  There were too many days that had no blogging time in them. 
Report:  I had a frequency in my head, that I kept quiet - AND was super lofty, of how often I wanted to write on my blog.  Did I reach that number?  No.
BUT, again, if you read the wording in the goal, it actually says to write MORE.  So, looking at the goal LITERALLY (and the yearly count blogger so conveniently adds up for me) I did indeed write more than in 2012 and in 2011!  So, check it off?  Sure! says Matt, the eternal optimist.....or is that defined as a "short cutter?"  ;)   

4. Healthier Lifestyle
OK.....remember how I was going to introduce a new healthy thing per month and write on my blog about it?  Well, I did it in January, February, and March.....and then STOPPED!  Well, I stopped writing about it after March, and I stopped doing anything new one month later, in April.  I didn't even get to the "eat breakfast" month or the "reduce soda" month, let alone the "control your condiments/toppings" month or "more sleep" month.  (Probably because I knew they were too lofty?!?)
Report:  I sucked it up on this one.  Even though, I planned and announced my new thing those first few months, I never did do well at weight lifting in February, so I give myself a 16%.  And that's not even me being my usual "hard on myself/holding myself to high expectations" self!  That's the cold, hard truth.  Matt even has no comment.

5. Make new recipes out of ward cookbook
This totally should've been easy, and yummy....but I kinda forgot about it for the majority of the year, AND I had a heck of a time finding coconut pudding mix! (pina colada dip)
Report:  Buffalo Dip - check!
Famous Dip - check!
Pina Colada Fruit Dip - not until just last week, so it was already 2014....and since this was a 2013 goal, I was 66%.  (But, Matt would tell me to "count" it, of course!)  ;)

Final Verdict?  According to me:  I flopped!  According to Matt:  I achieved!
So, now that I've analyzed it all and "talked through" the rulings some, MAYBE I CAN do something for 2014.....

It is with great reluctance, I present to you my goals for the new year:
 
I saw THIS on Pinterest which I'm interested in, so here goes:

5 BOOKS I WANT TO READ:
(Let's go with the ones that are on my shelf right now)
She Got Up Off the Couch (a sequel to the one I was reading back here)
Reached
Fairy Godmothers, Inc.
The Book of Mormon (before our "Moroni's Quest" Youth Conference in June)
My Story (Elizabeth Smart)

4 PLACES I WANT TO SEE:
Nauvoo, IL
Cape Canaveral, FL (specifically the Ron Jon Cape Caribe Resort)
the different islands in Hawaii (via cruise?)
Disneyland

3 THINGS I WANT TO DO:
Be in the family cast of the Nauvoo Pageant
Finish Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Brookelle
Fill those empty spaces in our home with furniture & finally hanging things on the walls.

2 THINGS I WANT TO LEARN:
Gluten-Free baking/cooking
How to do a photo slideshow with music

1 THING I WANT TO CHANGE:
Give more compliments/encouragement to others.


There was also THIS ONE on Pinterest that I thought I'd do.  (some things are the same as above)

A BAD HABIT I'M GOING TO BREAK:  Staying up late (when I don't HAVE to because of work)...just to do [sometimes frivolous] things like surfing the internet, late-night T.V., and "getting one more thing done."  {Don't look at the time stamp of this post!} ;)

A NEW SKILL I'D LIKE TO LEARN:  See questionnaire above

A PERSON I'D LIKE TO BE MORE LIKE:  Jesus Christ - particularly His attributes of being calm, non-judgmental, & patient.  (Did I just describe Matt?  I believe I did!  Opposites attract?!?)

A GOOD DEED I'M GOING TO DO:  Keeping this one to myself....I want it to be anonymous!  ;)

A PLACE I'D LIKE TO VISIT:  See questionnaire above

A BOOK I'D LIKE TO READ:  See questionnaire above

A LETTER I'M GOING TO WRITE:  Maybe my OWN MISSIONARY SON? (possibly at the end of the year?)  If not, my Young Women at church or my children's Primary teachers - ANY or ALL.

A NEW FOOD I'D LIKE TO TRY:  Korean or Indian - our neighbors said they know some good places to take us!

I'M GOING TO DO BETTER AT:  Exercising in the winter.  My friend has recommended Bikini Body Mommy.  Apparently, it has a work out every day - and it started on Jan. 6th.....and I am going to start sometime....anytime now!  ;)

I shall look back on this post next year and either be really proud of myself....or extremely disappointed...

WHAT 2014 GOALS DO YOU HAVE?

Why Didn't I Think of That?

This is how I found my daughter, in bed, on a Sunday morning...

THAT is her church dress underneath her pajamas!

That girl is THINKING!  (I surely can't take credit for the idea.)

Because 9:00a.m. church is VERY early!

It's one less thing she has to do to get ready on Sunday morning!  (AND she wanted to be the 1st One dressed for Sunday - the little competitor!)

What a clever child.

Maybe I should try it?  The reason I say that is this summer up at Youth Conference, a bunch of us adult leaders, including our current Bishop and one of our past Bishops, were sitting around talking and we got on the subject of what the Bishop sees going on in his congregation from the stand up front where he sits during Sacrament meeting.  There were a lot of funny stories shared, but our Bishop was serious when he told us that he can TOTALLY tell a difference in the families/people who are in the chapel ON TIME vs. the ones who come in LATE.  He says it TOTALLY shows in their countenances and in their attitudes and affects their ability to be in the right spirit to receive the full message of Sacrament meeting from beginning to end.  Uh Oh. 
It got me thinking......then I actually confirmed with him that he HAS known many times that just minutes before entering the chapel [late], I had been very cross with my children (and their inability to understand what, "Get dressed,"  "Brush your hair," and "Get in the car" means.)  Ever since that enlightening conversation four months ago, I have been even more ambitious to get us there on time -- even if it means driving off without some [unnamed] members of my family, who are then left to walk to church (it's not far at all - it's Utah, after all!)

So, back to my daughter's genius.....maybe her tactic WILL help.

(Nice that this "inspiration" came up in DECEMBER, the last of our 9:00a.m. church for this year - we'll be moving to 11:00a.m. the first of the new year.)  ;)