So as I mentioned in the last post... Richie and I are taking a Love & Logic parenting class. I am really liking the class so far, but have a long way to go before perfection. I have certainly learned that I am the "helicopter" parent, which in some situations is necessary, but in the long run the helicopter parent doesn't allow the children to learn for themselves through experiences. It sends them the message that they can't do anything without you there helping them or saving them from failure. The idea of Love and Logic is to have your kids learn through natural consequences for their actions. Consequences are not punishment given by you, but rather a consequence for their choice. You use empathy to show them you feel bad for them and sad that they made that choice, but the consequence would be a natural one. The only time you intervene as a "drill sergeant" is if the consequence would hurt them or someone else.
So the other day I put to test the love and logic model... This was my experience
MaKenna was refusing to wear socks with her shoes, so I decided to give her the choice (since not wearing socks would not kill her). So she went without socks and like the Love & Logic classes say, I was hoping it would go awful for her so that she could learn a lesson about why she should wear socks. It was a success!!! She got a blister! Mean I know. I was actually excited that she got a blister, but the idea is that she is learning to make good choices young before the consequences are too serious. The price to pay for learning young is small and that is the whole idea behind it. So wish us luck in our journey of parenting with love & logic. I'll continue to post more love & logic stories. I may even start a Love & Logic blog or FB page separate since I know a lot of my friends are also love & logic fans and maybe we can share ideas, concepts, and stories.
Let me know if you are interested in such a thing.
E
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Fun with the Molloys
Sarah (Richie's oldest sister) and her five kids: Naomi 9, Grahm 8, Noah 4, Lincoln 2, and Georgia 10mos, came out to visit us for a week in Oregon and they stayed at our house. It was a full house, but so much fun. MaKenna and Ella just loved having them here. I needed to take vacation time at work or I was going to loose it so I took the whole week off and we filled it with lots of fun activities!
Saturday: We drove up to the Portland Temple to go through the temple with Marissa, who is a childhood friend of the Trussell family's. The temple grounds are so beautiful this time of year with the tulips and it was a very spiritual experience. I also was reflecting on how it has been four years since we first went through the temple and what a blessing it has been in our lives.
Sunday: Church, which was fun in Primary with my niece and nephews there.
Monday: We took the kids to the Kroc Center, which is an amazing recreation center that is new in Salem. We had not been there yet and we were totally missing out. I'm sure we will be going back there a lot. Mostly we swam in the play pool and it was nice because it was so shallow I could leave the girls and not have to hold them the whole time! MaKenna loved the slide and went down it over and over again!
Tuesday: We went to the movies and saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. It was a lot of fun. I love the new 3D technology! MaKenna and the bigger kids liked the movie, but it was the first time that I have taken Ella to the movies and I think she is still a bit young. She did not want to sit the whole time. Thankfully we were the ONLY ones in the theatre so it was fine to let her run around a little! The only bad thing was how expensive the movies are they were $11 each even for the kids in the middle of the day. And they need to make some smaller 3D glasses for the young ones, Ella couldn't even keep the glasses on because they kept falling off. In the evening Richie and I went to our first Parenting with Love and Logic class. We are enrolled in a 6 week class every Tuesday. Hopefully we will gain some good new techniques to help with discipline as the kiddos get older and too smart for our tricks :)
Wednesday: We went to the Gilbert House Children's Museum. Another one of Salem's attractions that I had not taken my kids to. MaKenna and Ella loved it there and they didn't want to leave. Then that evening we celebrated Mother's Day with Richie's mom Kathy since Sarah was in town. She requested shrimp so we made shrimp kabobs (spelling?). They were so delicious! She is an amazing mother who was a strong woman raising 7 kids. I certainly have learned a lot from her and am blessed to have her as my mother-in-law!
Thursday: We took the folks from Utah to the ocean, since they rarely get to see it! It was a beautiful day in Pacific City, OR! We climbed the big sand hill and got a workout doing so. Kenna climbed it twice all by herself, I was so impressed. She was attached to her big cousin Naomi the whole time. Ella also made it to the top twice with a little help. We also got to climb on the rocks at the tide was out and we saw some starfish on the rocks. I have never seen starfish like that out in the wild, it was pretty neat! Everyone was worn out and passed out on the way home! Then the Molloys had to head back to Utah and we were sad to say good bye. Hopefully we will see them again soon.
Dad tuckered from carrying Ella on the shoulders up the hill and MaKenna crawling to the top while Naomi pushes herself as well.
Family Photo opp at the top (windy, but beautiful)
Friday: I went back to work just for a bit and then my work had a staff yoga class! I have found a new love in yoga this past year as I was introduced to it by my good friend and co-worker Margot, who is a yoga instructor. I have found it to be very good for my flexibility, balance, and overall energy flow!
Saturday: I ran in a race. It is called the Hippie Chick run. It is an all women's run at Champoeg State Park. It was a beautiful day for a race! I originally signed up for a half marathon, but I had to reduce it to a quarter marathon because I have been struggling with an IT band issue. So I was kind of bummed to not be able to do another half marathon, but I ended up running most of the way (only stopping once to strech the IT band) and I finished 30th out of 206 with the time of 1hour and 2mins. Not too bad for not being able to train my best. It was fun because my mom, Richie, the girls, and Charlene (my grandpa Augie's girlfriend) all came up to meet me at the finish line! Then they had a pancake feed and live music! After that we went to one of my favorite places, Bauman's Farms. We got plants to plant in our vegetable garden! And the girls love it there because they can pet the animals. They have a goat who just had triplets, so we got to see the baby goats and they were so cute. The girls got to feed another goat with a bottle, they loved it! The we went home and I worked in our yard at home. I've got our beds all cleaned out and we planted bell peppers, jalapenos, and lettuce in one of our raised beds! Busy day I was exhausted.
Our Veggie raised bed!
Ayla feeding the goats at Bauman's
Sunday: MOTHER'S DAY!!! Got to sleep in a bit, but woke up with a bit of a sore throat. Not surprising considering how busy I've been this past week. I guess it is just catching up with me :( Then we had a Mother's Day Brunch with my side of the family at our house. It was wonderful food! Then we went to church and MaKenna sang a mother's day song with all the primary kids. It was her first time singing in front of the whole church and she did AWESOME! I was so proud of her, she didn't know every word, but she sang the ones she knew and wasn't shy. We only stayed for the sacrament meeting because I was loosing my voice and so we came home and I planted some flowers that richie got me! We have impatients in the shade out front and petunias and marigolds in the sunny spots in the back! I'm so excited our yard is looking good so far this year! Next we need bark to make it look all nice and clean! I have to reflect on Mother's Day 2010 about the amazing and miraculous job of being a mother. It is the most rewarding thing in my life. Although very hard sometimes, it is a challenge that is rewarding beyond no other. So that brings us to blogging on Sunday night. We got a new computer and it is a MAC laptop, so hopefully I'll be a better blogger now that I can do it in the living room!
Thanks for following our family activities
E
Ella holding Georgia
Saturday: We drove up to the Portland Temple to go through the temple with Marissa, who is a childhood friend of the Trussell family's. The temple grounds are so beautiful this time of year with the tulips and it was a very spiritual experience. I also was reflecting on how it has been four years since we first went through the temple and what a blessing it has been in our lives.
Sunday: Church, which was fun in Primary with my niece and nephews there.
Monday: We took the kids to the Kroc Center, which is an amazing recreation center that is new in Salem. We had not been there yet and we were totally missing out. I'm sure we will be going back there a lot. Mostly we swam in the play pool and it was nice because it was so shallow I could leave the girls and not have to hold them the whole time! MaKenna loved the slide and went down it over and over again!
Tuesday: We went to the movies and saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. It was a lot of fun. I love the new 3D technology! MaKenna and the bigger kids liked the movie, but it was the first time that I have taken Ella to the movies and I think she is still a bit young. She did not want to sit the whole time. Thankfully we were the ONLY ones in the theatre so it was fine to let her run around a little! The only bad thing was how expensive the movies are they were $11 each even for the kids in the middle of the day. And they need to make some smaller 3D glasses for the young ones, Ella couldn't even keep the glasses on because they kept falling off. In the evening Richie and I went to our first Parenting with Love and Logic class. We are enrolled in a 6 week class every Tuesday. Hopefully we will gain some good new techniques to help with discipline as the kiddos get older and too smart for our tricks :)
Wednesday: We went to the Gilbert House Children's Museum. Another one of Salem's attractions that I had not taken my kids to. MaKenna and Ella loved it there and they didn't want to leave. Then that evening we celebrated Mother's Day with Richie's mom Kathy since Sarah was in town. She requested shrimp so we made shrimp kabobs (spelling?). They were so delicious! She is an amazing mother who was a strong woman raising 7 kids. I certainly have learned a lot from her and am blessed to have her as my mother-in-law!
Thursday: We took the folks from Utah to the ocean, since they rarely get to see it! It was a beautiful day in Pacific City, OR! We climbed the big sand hill and got a workout doing so. Kenna climbed it twice all by herself, I was so impressed. She was attached to her big cousin Naomi the whole time. Ella also made it to the top twice with a little help. We also got to climb on the rocks at the tide was out and we saw some starfish on the rocks. I have never seen starfish like that out in the wild, it was pretty neat! Everyone was worn out and passed out on the way home! Then the Molloys had to head back to Utah and we were sad to say good bye. Hopefully we will see them again soon.
Dad tuckered from carrying Ella on the shoulders up the hill and MaKenna crawling to the top while Naomi pushes herself as well.
Family Photo opp at the top (windy, but beautiful)
Friday: I went back to work just for a bit and then my work had a staff yoga class! I have found a new love in yoga this past year as I was introduced to it by my good friend and co-worker Margot, who is a yoga instructor. I have found it to be very good for my flexibility, balance, and overall energy flow!
Saturday: I ran in a race. It is called the Hippie Chick run. It is an all women's run at Champoeg State Park. It was a beautiful day for a race! I originally signed up for a half marathon, but I had to reduce it to a quarter marathon because I have been struggling with an IT band issue. So I was kind of bummed to not be able to do another half marathon, but I ended up running most of the way (only stopping once to strech the IT band) and I finished 30th out of 206 with the time of 1hour and 2mins. Not too bad for not being able to train my best. It was fun because my mom, Richie, the girls, and Charlene (my grandpa Augie's girlfriend) all came up to meet me at the finish line! Then they had a pancake feed and live music! After that we went to one of my favorite places, Bauman's Farms. We got plants to plant in our vegetable garden! And the girls love it there because they can pet the animals. They have a goat who just had triplets, so we got to see the baby goats and they were so cute. The girls got to feed another goat with a bottle, they loved it! The we went home and I worked in our yard at home. I've got our beds all cleaned out and we planted bell peppers, jalapenos, and lettuce in one of our raised beds! Busy day I was exhausted.
Our Veggie raised bed!
Ayla feeding the goats at Bauman's
Sunday: MOTHER'S DAY!!! Got to sleep in a bit, but woke up with a bit of a sore throat. Not surprising considering how busy I've been this past week. I guess it is just catching up with me :( Then we had a Mother's Day Brunch with my side of the family at our house. It was wonderful food! Then we went to church and MaKenna sang a mother's day song with all the primary kids. It was her first time singing in front of the whole church and she did AWESOME! I was so proud of her, she didn't know every word, but she sang the ones she knew and wasn't shy. We only stayed for the sacrament meeting because I was loosing my voice and so we came home and I planted some flowers that richie got me! We have impatients in the shade out front and petunias and marigolds in the sunny spots in the back! I'm so excited our yard is looking good so far this year! Next we need bark to make it look all nice and clean! I have to reflect on Mother's Day 2010 about the amazing and miraculous job of being a mother. It is the most rewarding thing in my life. Although very hard sometimes, it is a challenge that is rewarding beyond no other. So that brings us to blogging on Sunday night. We got a new computer and it is a MAC laptop, so hopefully I'll be a better blogger now that I can do it in the living room!
Thanks for following our family activities
E
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