Mama Dweeb » Lizzie

WW ~ Mama & her babies

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:21 +0000

Making a pretty chore chart online

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:27:44 +0000

This is Lizzie’s new chore chart and I am going to make David one too. At 4 years old I know Lizzie is ready to start helping out with chores around the house. She has helped me put dishes away since she was about 2 years old, but I never created an organized system for her to follow. Once in awhile, if she asked for a toy, I created a small chart for her to earn her toy with.

It is about time to organize my home and have it run on a system.

Every other time I create a chore chart I spend at least an hour or more searching for cute little pictures and try to design it myself. I waste so much time doing that. But I just found an easy, (and free!) online chore chart creator at GoalForIt.com. It has a bunch of bright and colorful templates – or if you want, you can create your own from scratch. I chose not to spend more time than I needed to and chose the super pink princess theme. Perfect for Lizzie.

Then, she can either use the computer (her favorite way) to put a pretty sticker on her chart or I can print the chart off and let her use her physical stickers. The only thing I wish it could do is sync with our iPad as an app. But I really like how you can put stickers on it with your computer. And then I get to chose from two stickers at the end of the week – either a YAY or “work on it.” And you can choose from a huge list of chores, desired behaviors and healthy habits to put on the list, or you can add your own.

Check it out! I cannot wait to get Lizzie and David helping out by picking up toys, putting away clothes and helping with dishes.

I was compensated for this site review. All opinions are 100% mine. Check out the site for yourself and create your own opinion about their services.

WW ~ Handmade Christmas Gift

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:51:18 +0000

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Delicious first birthday dinner & mouthwatering cupcakes!

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:25 +0000

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Cupcakes inside of cupcakes! Triple chocolate mini cupcakes inside white cupcakes. Topped with irresistible caramel buttercream frosting!

You cannot eat just one! They melt in your mouth! Really, the caramel buttercream frosting it what makes it a true treat!

Sweet, honey ham paired whonderfully with buttered, steamed green beans. I then made sweet & creamy mashed potatoes! Lucy really enjoyed the green beans and ham more than the taters.

The Kansas Pork Association has pork coupons on their site. Sign up for their e-newsletter for recipes and more savings!

After dinner we sang her happy birthday! She tried to grab the flame, poor baby!

But she wasn’t hurt and soon as she tore into her cupcake she was all giggles!

Lizzie shared her 4 years of wisdom with Lucy. It was a very happy and special birthday!

Discussion or instant obedience? Parenting question

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:42 +0000

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When it comes to parenting Lizzie and David, I am encouraged by two separate camps of parenting. Both have excellent points and both have wonderful results for them. As with every parenting issue (formula vs. breastmilk, co-sleeping vs. crib in separate room) I have to find what works for me and my kids.

What is the end goal here?

To keep my kids safe and teach them to respect my authority as well as the authority of others and be able to make wise decisions on their own.

Here are the two methods/philosophies of parenting that I am met with.

Expect instant, respectful obedience

These people believe a child should always instantly obey their parents, without question or hesitation. Obedience is required. It keeps the children safe and teaches them how to respect authority. Any questions of “why” or “but -” or obeying with a foul attitude is quickly met with discipline. Some in this group (not all) also believe in spanking as a form of discipline.

Allow kids to discuss the options and decide together

This group of people believes their way is more gentle. They believe in helping to foster a child’s decision making abilities by discussing options when they give the child a command. They offer choices and if a child is acting in a way that contrary to the task at hand, the parent will find a creative solution. Instead of “you must obey me because I am your mother,” this group believes “how can I as the mature parent help my growing child make the best decision?”
My (growing) position

I am totally stuck in between the two positions. I understand the importance of teaching my children to obey and respect me. However, I get so angry when I see them “disobey” my direct orders. I hate that feeling. I am the more mature person in those situations. I need to change my thoughts and harness my emotions. Instead of viewing Lizzie’s “no” or “why” as an insult to my authority or her being “rebellious” I need to view those moments as teaching ones. My compassion rather than my anger needs to kick in. I understand that children should obey their parents and instant obedience is needed for safety (picture kids running in the street, you can’t discuss at that moment) – however, I cannot demand instant obedience 100% of the time without feeling anger. If I view every incident – like completing chores, for example – as a teaching moment and try and see it through her eyes, then I believe we both can grow.

Where do you fall in this spectrum?

The winning bed time routine chart

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:00:32 +0000

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Once upon a time, deep in the woods, a lovely couple raised a cute family. Mama, Daddy, and their three little children lived a fun and quiet life. The theme of the house was, “Daddy means fun, mommy means business.” This theme carried into bedtime as well. The ornery four year old girl and happy two year old boy would run around the house giggling and laughing with daddy into the deep hours of the night. Daddy’s goal was to play until he wore them out and let them fall asleep fast.

But mama knew better.

She dreamed of a peaceful evening, with children sleeping soundly in their beds, glass of wine in her hand.

So she drew this chart.

Don’t laugh, mama is not and artist. Not even close!

Bedtime Routine – starts at 8 pm

Ssshhh!! Do the routine quietly! (That means daddy too!)
Pajamas on
Teeth brushed
Go peepee in the potty (and wipe your tushie)
Read books by the booklight (that looks like a shower, but it is light)
Stay in your bunkbeds – quietly – until you fall asleep.

The daddy and kids followed the routine exactly. And a magical thing happened! The house was quiet. The mama rejoiced! With the routine chart to follow, there were no arguments or discussions. No getting off track or distracted. And with the pictures the children new exactly what was coming up next.

Mama and Daddy lived happily ever after!

~~~~

Did you like that story? Well it was fun to write but even more fun to live out! Seriously, bedtime was a disaster at my house – a super fun, giggly, disaster. I tried to communicate to Josh how to do bedtime, but Lizzie and David would get distracted and bedtime often became derailed. I sat Lizzie down with me and we drew the chart together. Honestly, she could probably draw it better than I did! But there it is. Josh holds the chart in his hands as he goes through each step with the kids.

We are currently on Day 3 of usage of the chart. So far, so good! I hope this is the answer we looked for!

I have also heard doing sticker charts works and setting a timer so the timer is telling the kids when to go to bed instead of the parents, eliminating arguments. What have you found helps with bedtime?

WW ~ Pretty little dweebs

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:33:54 +0000

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She loves preschool! Thank you Marble Jar App!

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:00:11 +0000

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As you may remember, Lizzie had a very rough transition to her new preschool. It was just as rough as her transition to her previous preschool, but her new teacher had stricter rules. Lizzie had two choices: adjust and thrive or refuse. I worked with Lizzie at home and had meetings with her teacher. Then a close friend online suggested the Marble Jar app.

It works like a sticker chart or physical marble jar. It is an app for an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Being an app, you can take it with you wherever you go in a way you cannot take a sticker chart or glass jar.

Lizzie, like most 4 year olds, thrives off of accomplishments she can see instantly. We transitioned her to her own bed with the help of a sticker chart. Potty training – sticker chart. But with this preschool transition it was harder. The biggest difficulty was getting her into the classroom. She’d stand in the hallway and throw a fit. Then I brought out the Marble Jar app. If she walked into her classroom with a smile she got to put 3 marbles in her jar! She started to look forward to walking into her classroom because she got to play with the iPod touch and save up marbles for her prize.

Anna Palmer – creator of the app – said the child should be saving up for something that is specifically related to the skills they are improving:

One main emphasis is that the privilege (goal) and responsibilities (actions) should be related.

I found this article very helpful in understanding more about this app – that it is not meant to act like a rewards chart. It is meant to connect parents and children, opening up communication and giving parents a valuable tool to help the children build character.

And that is exactly what I discovered. I learned from Lizzie how much she dislikes being late to school and we put actions on the app that helped us to arrive to school earlier. Lizzie’s end “prize” for filling up her jar was her choice of snack for school. I’m not sure if she thought about how hard she worked to earn that delicious snack as she ate it, but I know it motivated her!

There is a lot of discussion on the Marble Jar Facebook page about different strategies and uses of the app. You can download the app free and I totally recommend it for whatever skills you are hoping to build with your child – or even yourself.

I received monetary compensation for this post. All opinions are my own and I am relaying the honest experiences we have had with this app. Others might experience different results – please let me know what your opinion is.

WW ~ First Snow in Kansas

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:00:43 +0000

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WW ~ Another post about Halloween costumes

Annie @ Mama Dweeb — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:30 +0000

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