Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Birthdays and Bedtimes!

I had a great day yesterday...not only was it my birthday, I also had the pleasure of having my kids home with me. Yes, we had half an inch of snow on Sunday which iced overnight, which menat NO SCHOOL!!!

Normally I probably would have been annoyed but I was in a great mood and the kids were trying extra hard to be nice. That's right, they were being nice, not only to each other, but good in general. They burst into my room together with my birthday card and hugs and kisses. We deicided to have a nice "healthy" breakfast. I was given a wonderful crepe recipe by a friend of mine and decided to try it out.
mmmmmm!! delicious! We topped our crepes with Nutella and some with strawberries and lemon juice and sugar. I think we are offocially addicted. We're thinking of having them for dinner one day!!

The kids are still on time out, from one another but somehow manage to evade the rules and end up playing, chatting and getting on with each other. I only needed to give them gentle reminders here and there, so all in all, a great day. They decided to take me out for lunch and seeing as Thai food is one of my favorites, we went to a local reataurant. Both boys behaved in a very respectable manner and undrstood that this was not a place where you see kids at lunch time. I told them they should be seen not heard and that is exactly what they did.

I think they finally understand that when they are not loud in public, it is a more pleasant experince for everyone, including themselves. My neice cooked dinner and we ended the evening with a nice chocolate cake topped with cream....talk about a high calorie diet!
Like I said...a really good day.

Today was back to normal with school and work...the long weekend was over. Morning routines are quiter now because we made a deal with Niks. He has a habit of scrambling for all his things just as it's time to leave the front door...many times almost missing the bus. What's the deal? Simple realy....he has to have everything ready in the evening before with his bag placed by the front door. If for any reason he forgets....I knock off half an hour from his bedtime! As every mom knows, all kids hate early bedtimes. So far so good. It's been a few days and he hasn't forgotton yet.

I use bedtimes as insentives all the time because I know they always want to stay up for as long as they can. I am a real stickler for setting bedtimes because I believe kids perform better in school when they are better rested. So do we as adults. I think most of us get too little sleep and therfore do not function at our best. Most of Niks' friends have much later times then him, so he is always trying to barter with me. I usually win because I am MOM!!, and I know what's best for him.

Thankfully soccer practice was cancelled so I was able to get my chores done and spend a little time on my business. Wish me luck as I think I have some one else intersted in the opportunity, so I get another chance to make a real differnce in someones life.

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