S Club Mama

I've been wanting a chore chart for my boys for a long time. We have done some homemade ones periodically, but none that lasted. Then my friend, Stacey, told me about Accountable Kids. It's basically a system to teach children not only to do their chores but to hold themselves accountable for their responsibilities. Here is Accountable Kids creators, Scott & Traci Heaton's philosophy: " to strengthen families by providing fun, hands-on tools that help parents teach accountability, responsibility, and character development in the home." blurry picture (sorry) but you can see the whole system; low enough the boys can reach Big A and I sat on this information for awhile before purchasing our boys' start-up kits. Each kit comes with:  "the Accountable Kids book, one child kit, and a link to the online Quick-Start Video. Each child kit contains  a natural wood Progress Board, 60 Reminder Cards, 3 blank Reminder Cards, 10 Tickets, 10 Bonus Bucks, 4 Bes...

It is again time for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. A lot of good posts and good prompts this week; why not head on over to check it out for yourself. Prompt #1: If You Give a Mom a Moment... If you give a mom a moment... she's likely to ask for a bath. While soaking in the bath, she's going to ask for some bubbles. The bubbles will remind her that the dishes need done. So she'll get out of the tub and dry off. While getting dressed, she'll hear the washer running. So she'll go to switch over laundry. On her way there, she'll probably step on a toy. She'll start to pick up toys. She might get carried away and pick up every room. She may even end up vacuuming, too. When she's done, she'll need a nap. She'll have to make the bed. She'll climb under the sheets and roll around a few times to get comfy. Just as her eyes close, the baby will wake up. She might get excited to have a little cuddle... until she smells the poo. She'll go to ...

SO sorry for yesterday. To you, to my kids, to my husband, to God. I was GRUMPY myself! Part of it is that I go into 3am feedings and am grumpy and stay grumpy. This morning, I tried really hard to just go in and feed Squirt and be compassionate that he's sleepy, too, so he may not eat in 2.5 seconds. I think it's helped. I'm in a MUCH better mood today. There are some things that just overwhelm me, though. I don't think I've fully gotten that Big A isn't with me every minute of every day like he was in Virginia. I don't think I've let myself miss him until recently. And, boy, do I miss him! Anyone know of any way that we can live for free and be together 24/7? haha And I HATE chores. I feel like my laundry has multiplied (and I hardly wash the kids' clothes because they have so many at this point). It is NEVER DONE and it takes me forever to fold because Squirt wants held all the time. Dishes are worse. We used to have this deal where one of us woul...