Potty Training - Day One

So I've gone a little bit against my own advice and decided to start potty training...BOTH of my toddlers at once. I may be on the verge of insanity...but I thought I'd give a specific method a whirl. It's the famous 3-day potty training method, by Lora Jensen. She guarantees that if you follow her method to a T, then it WILL work and you will have a fully potty-trained toddler in three days or less. Sounds good to me! :)

I guess I'm not like many other mommies I know, because I really don't care that my kids aren't potty-trained. Sure...diapers can get pricey...but use some coupons and make them stretch...or have some super giving grandparents who enjoy blessing you with diapers and pull-ups...and you won't care as much! :) If you think about it, life is actually MUCH easier with two in diapers (though my son has been poop-trained for almost a year now), than it is with two newly potty-trained toddlers.

As I am in the midst of this, I can't help but imagine what my outings are going to look like now that they are potty-trained. I'm going to have two toddlers who will probably both have to go at once...holding themselves, doing the potty dance...and then I'm going to have to rush them to a public toilet somewhere and decide who has to go worse. And if we don't get there in time, the dreadful accident occurs...with pee dripping down their little legs, forming a lovely puddle of urine on the floor. And I get to kneel down and wipe it all up...and get them all cleaned up...and have an entire extra set of clothes to change them in to...and a big bag to store the pee-soaked ones.

Call me crazy, but isn't that A LOT more work than what I'm doing now? I mean...when I go out, we worry about NOTHING. Sure...I'll take a couple of extra diapers in case she poops. But she usually doesn't. So we go out for a few hours, they go pee in their pull-ups/diapers, and I change them in the comfort of my home. Why would I want to end this easiness?

I have always maintained that I will wait until they are absolutely ready...as in...they are ASKING to wear underwear and to use the toilet. I just don't want to deal with a gazillion accidents or the stress of going out with newly potty-trained little ones. So why on earth am I doing this to myself? I DON'T KNOW!!

Maybe it's social pressure...Isaac is over 3-years-old now, and "should" be trained. He is totally trained on the poop side of things...just prefers to use his pull-up to pee. (And quite frankly, I kind of like that he does that too.) But I feel like I "should" be doing this because it's time. I heard of this 3-day method and it sounds pretty straight-forward. So I thought...WHY NOT?!?

But now, one day into it, I'm wondering...WHY? :) But I'm going to stick it out for the duration of the three days. If, by the end of the third day, they are still not "getting it" then I'm going to revisit the convenience of diapers/pull-ups again. I knew that she wrote that I'd be exhausted after the first day...and boy was she right! Whew! Here is our progress report for Day One:

I am COMPLETELY exhausted. I am wondering if it would have been better to do one child at a time! UGH. SO tempted to give up with Naomi, but going to suck it up and stick it out through the end of the three days. If she's not 100% potty trained by then, I'll have no problem waiting awhile longer for her. Naomi did make it on the potty 4 times today, but had 12 accidents, most of which were preceded by 3 or 4 "false alarms" in which she tried to go, but her body wouldn't release. Big E for effort, though. She did good. And Isaac had 3 accidents and went on the toilet more times that I can even count! He was HIGHLY motivated by all of the stickers/treats/rewards, and therefore likely peed more often than he actually needed to. Haha! He also woke up completely dry after a 3-hour nap which surprised us all. :) I'm guessing he'll be officially potty-trained by the end of tomorrow. Still a bit nervous about tonight, though. Naomi would NOT pee before bed and hadn't gone since having an accident an hour earlier. So we'll probably need to wake her up in an hour to have her go, but she can't make herself, so not quite sure how this is going to work. Really makes me wish we could just keep her in diapers at night. And if she doesn't get the hang of this in the next two nights, then diapers it is!! :) BOTH kids REALLY struggled with the cutting off liquids an hour or two before bedtime. Made me realize why they both always wake up crazy soaked in the morning. It's because they drink WAY too much right before bed!! They were crying and begging for water at bedtime. :( We let them have sips, but it didn't satisfy. ANYWAY...it's been a LONG day. Need to re-collect and prepare for another long day tomorrow. Here's to hoping for a good, dry night and a better day tomorrow...with less accidents and more successes! Any and all prayers are welcomed for our family!! :)

Thankful Thursday

I had an especially rough day with the kids yesterday. And really it was more my problem than theirs. I set my alarm for 6:00am, hoping to spend some time in worship and prayer to start my day off right. I normally set it for 6:30, but Naomi has been waking up right about that time as well. So I tried to outsmart her. But alas...she was up at 6:01am. UGH.

So I began my day in frustration. And tired. And it just went from bad to worse. It was one of those days in which I wish that I could take back half of what I said and did to my children. I lost my patience more times than I care to admit and stooped to the level of yelling at them throughout the day. I was n-a-s-t-y. And they were dishing it out just the same. We were all grumpy and taking it out on each other.

Today, I am thankful for a NEW day. For a fresh start. And I am thankful for a truly tender-hearted son who extended his forgiveness to me last night. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Isaac, mommy needs to apologize to you for something I did."
Isaac: (interrupting me) "What did you do, Mommy?"
Me: "Well I was SO mean to you today. I got angry and yelled at you and I should not have done that. Mommies are not supposed to speak to their children that way. I'm really sorry that I spoke to you so rudely today."
Isaac: "How were you rude to me?"
Me: I rehashed and confessed every way that I could think of...
Isaac: "Oh yeah...that wasn't good. That didn't honor God."
Me: (smiling) "You're right...that did not honor God at all. I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"
Isaac: "Yes...I forgive you, Mommy."
Me: "Thank you, sweetie. And I will do better tomorrow. I am going to work on being more kind to you and Naomi and not let things get me so frustrated."
Isaac: "We'll all be kind to each other!"
Me: I then proceeded to give him permission to hold me accountable by calling me out when I am speaking rudely to him.
Isaac: "What does ack-an-ti-ta-ble mean?"
Me: (smiling again) "Accountable. It means that we help each other to do the right thing. You can tell mommy if you think that my voice is too harsh or sounds rude. And I will tell you the same."
Isaac: (with a BIG smile and a little giggle, gives me a HUGE hug)

Our conversation went on quite awhile longer and ended after I told him that I was going to go spend some time with God...
Isaac: "Oh...you're going to go read a book about God?"
Me: "No...I'm going to go spend time with God."
Isaac: "How?"
Me: "I'm going to worship and pray."
Isaac: "Where? In the place with that big room with the drummer and the singer...and that other girl who sings?"
Me: (laughing inside) "No...I'm going to spend time with God downstairs in our living room."
Isaac: "Well how will you worship?"
Me: "With music."
Isaac: "How? From that radio thingy?"
Me: "Yes."
Isaac: "Okay."

And then we said our good night's and I love you's and he went to sleep. I am SO thankful for this precious gift that is my son. I am thankful that even after a day filled with me acting so terribly toward him, he responds with such love and grace...and forgiveness. He may not forget how I treated him, but he has forgiven me and loves me just the same. I praise You, Lord, for blessing me with two of the most amazing kiddos I could have asked for. They test me constantly and there are days in which they nearly drive me crazy. But Lord, they ARE gifts from You. And I thank You for them and even more...I thank You for Your love and forgiveness. Unconditional. Undeserved. Unending. My heart is overflowing with gratitude. Thank you!

Why we are deciding to homeschool...

I am getting asked this question a lot, so I thought it would be fun to write out all of our reasons. So here they are:

1. Because we feel that it's what the Lord wants us to do. We are a Christian family and enjoy asking God what He would have us do in different circumstances. As we have prayed about where to send our children to preschool, Kevin and I both keep feeling like homeschooling is what we're supposed to do. So that's the most important reason of all. :)

2. I love my children. Hehe. I (for the most part) really enjoy spending time with my children. Sure they drive me crazy from time to time, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love watching them grow and develop. We made a choice for me to stay at home to raise them, and I have been so blessed to be there for every milestone - first words, steps, potty training, etc. And it just makes sense for me to continue raising them and not miss out on seeing them read their first book or complete their first math problem. :) I want to witness their excitement as they master new skills and be there to encourage them when they struggle through others.

3. I am already their teacher. I have been teaching them since they were born. I helped them learn how to breastfeed, then how to take a bottle. I taught them the meaning of "no" and trained them to use manners. I have worked with them on their shapes, colors, numbers, letters, their names....the list goes on and on and on. Just about everything that I've done with them is teaching of some sort. So it just makes sense to continue on doing what we've already done! Having a degree in education and extensive experience in the classroom setting probably makes it a lot less intimidating for me as well. :)

4. Because my kids are smart. Isaac and Naomi have both shown signs of exceptional capacity to learn and remember things VERY quickly. Isaac came into this world early, started rolling over, crawling, walking, and talking early...and hasn't slowed down one bit since. He has already mastered most of the things typically taught in preschool - knows all of his letters and most of their sounds, knows all of his shapes, colors, etc. He still struggles a bit with his numbers, but can usually identify them and sometimes counts accurately. He has grasped almost all concepts of opposites and comparisons. I recently did a Kindergarten readiness test for him, and aside from working on writing his name, he was pretty much ready for Kindergarten. Now I realize that at just 3-years-old, he is not truly ready for Kindergarten! His behavior is still very much in line with his actual age!! :) And he still has a long way to go before being able to draw any type of letters (although I guess he has written O's and I's so far). I am not planning to push him into higher grade levels than what he is actually ready for. I am planning to start with a preschool curriculum this fall and continue with that throughout the school year. He will very likely be ready for Kindergarten the following fall, when he'll be 4 and a half. I would not normally put a boy that age in a traditional school setting, but with homeschooling, he'll likely be ready and be challenged by it. I'm still not sure what I'll do with Naomi quite yet. She very well may be ready for a preschool curriculum when she's 2 and a half, but I may hold her off until she's 3-years-old. She's not even two yet, but knows most of her letters, including some of their sounds...and counts better than her older brother! :) She is also grasping other concepts well ahead of time. So who knows!?!? I just love the idea of being able to nurture their natural gifts and abilities and teach at their pace...be it fast in some areas and slower in others! :) I am also excited to incorporate LOTS of PLAYTIME into our daily routine. To start out, we'll probably only spend 30-60 minutes a day on school (split up, of course). We'll see how it turns out! :)

5. I want to shelter my children. Yes...I just wrote that. :) And please let me explain. When we did try sending Isaac to preschool last year, he came home with behaviors that I had not taught him. He came home with a whole new vocabulary of potty talk that he didn't learn from me. I was not ready to deal with this so early. Children are SO impressionable. And having them away from me for 3-4 hours each day (three days a week)...makes it impossible for me to control what they are exposed to. If they hear another child talking with a filthy mouth or see a child bully another without any correction, it wreaks havoc in their little hearts. Being a Christian, I plan to train my children up in the Truth, according to how the Bible instructs. By sheltering them, I do not mean that their lives will be void of enriching experiences or relationships, but rather, that I will intentionally monitor what they are exposed to and when. I want to fill their minds with things that promote love, faith, and other godly character traits...rather than the hatred and self-serving messages that are at the core of so many secular movies and media. I would rather have a sheltered child than one who blends in with every other child in the world. I want to maintain and preserve their innocence and purity for as long as I can. And homeschooling is one way to help me do this! Children, by nature, are not ready to be exposed to HALF of what our society allows for them to see and hear. They are bombarded with messages of violence, sex appeal, and consumerism. We live in an instant-gratification world and our children are suffering because of it. I won't shelter them forever, but plan to allow exposure to different things at later times, when they are more mature and can handle them.

6. I don't like the way traditional schools are run. I think the way schools are functioning these days is detrimental to our society as a whole. Class sizes in most public schools have gotten ridiculously large, due to widespread budget cuts. Teachers are no longer given the freedom to use very much creativity in what they teach...as what they teach is almost solely dictated by what is on the standardized tests. They have specific goals they have to meet in order to keep funding. Teachers are over-worked and underpaid. And it is impossible for them to teach to the many different learning styles that are out there...so they choose one or two of the most common. Many children (especially young boys) are being diagnosed with ADHD, when in fact, they are just little kids with LOTS of energy...and who were not designed to be sitting and paying attention for such long stretches of time. And speaking of time, there is LOTS of wasted time in the school day. Children spend half of their days waiting...waiting at the drinking fountain, to use the restroom, to get into the cafeteria, then in line in the cafeteria...waiting for slower students to finish their work, waiting for the teacher to finish helping another student before answering their questions...waiting with their hands raised to answer a question. With so many students per classroom, students have to learn the art of waiting. While there is certainly character to be developed with respect to waiting, I don't think it's a great use of time during the school day. If a child has already mastered a concept, why do they need to wait two or three days for all of his/her peers to catch up? And what about the student who is really struggling to keep up, but the majority of the class has mastered the lesson so the teacher moves on? Those students who didn't quite grasp the concept get left behind, in a cloud of confusion. Why not let the children move on at their own pace? Because that would be impossible with the way schools operate right now. But with homeschooling, I can cater to each of my children's own learning styles and help them grow and learn at their own pace. I will not teach them so much WHAT to think...but rather, HOW to think.

7. I'm a free-spirit. I've always been one to march to the beat of my own drum. I like doing things a little differently. I don't enjoy waking up super early. I don't enjoy rush-hour traffic. I like the freedom to plan our days as I see fit. I like the option of being spontaneous...doing things on a whim. I am a creative person and I look forward to using that creativity to plan sweet lessons and create structured, meaningful activities that will help guide my children and help them grow in knowledge. I LOVE the flexibility that homeschooling offers. I LOVE the idea of NO HOMEWORK. Before daddy comes home from work, all schoolwork will be complete for the day...thus our family time will be just that...family time. I also LOVE the idea of longer recesses, more time for lunch, and more one-on-one, hands-on education. Oh...and I LOVE field trips. And I can plan as many as I want...all year long! :) If we are studying something that took place on the East Coast, I can drive my kids over there for a history lesson. If we are studying space, I can take them to Cape Canaveral to explore the space museum! The sky's the limit (as long as the budget allows)! And I just LOVE that freedom.

 

So....that ended up being longer than I expected! :) Bottom line is that I don't need to justify myself or our choice to homeschool to anybody. Everyone chooses what they choose for different reasons. Sure...there are aspects of homeschooling that I am not at all thrilled about (I'll save those for another post!). But we are pleased with our choice for now...and hope that it works out well for our family.

Sunday Secrets

The secret: Our children need us to listen to them.

I have learned this lesson in kind of a sad, round-about way. This weekend, we experienced a first for our family: BOTH of our kiddos spent the night away from us...at their Nana and Papa's house. It was SO nice to not worry about getting up with a crying toddler or to be woken up in the wee hours of the morning because they are ready to get up! :) It was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

After waking up the next morning, I made the anxious phone call to my mom to find out how the night went. For the first time away from us, it wasn't TOO bad! They both did pretty well. But the first thing my mom said was, "Man does that boy love to TALK!?!" Isaac was sharing a room with his Nana, and was pretty excited to sleep in his very own big boy bed there. But once Nana joined him in the room, his little mouth did not stop talking until well after an hour and a half!

So what, exactly, does a three-year-old talk about for so long? Well...first of all, he recounted his ENTIRE week with her. He shared all of his fears and things that were bothering him. He talked about getting lost at the museum and how it was dangerous because he is "kind and cute." :) He talked about playing with his friends...and how one of them told him not to tell his mommy something bad that they did to him...and how he didn't tell me because he didn't want to upset his friend. He shared about an experience being bullied by older boys...and how those boys lied to their mommy about what happened. He was replaying a few scary scenes in a show that he had seen...and how he was concerned about what had happened. He expressed feeling scared about the "big eyes" that were looking back at him on his new Toy Story pillow case! :) He talked, and talked, and talked....and TALKED.

And upon hearing about all of the things that were weighing on my son's little heart, my eyes welled up with tears. Why hasn't he told ME these things? Why didn't I know how much he had going on within? And as I was sharing an uninterrupted breakfast with my husband, it hit us. He doesn't spend time talking to us like that, because we don't let him. This kid struggles to go to sleep EVERY night of his life. We give him consequences for getting out of his bed every night (which he does multiple times). We sigh in exasperation as his nighttime struggles frustrate us. But what if all this time, all he needed to do was...TALK? Just typing this, the lump returns to my throat and I feel like crying.

Our son just wants us to listen to what he has to say. His poor little mind and heart are so filled with things that have happened throughout his week. And he just needs to process them all. But we haven't let him. In the name of discipline and having time to ourselves, we have neglected to listen...really listen...to what's going on in Isaac's heart. No wonder this poor kid takes so long to wind down every night. He's got a lot on his mind! Maybe if we'd just spend 45 minutes or so letting him process it all, then he'd fall asleep with much more peace in his little heart.

We will be making this change immediately. And we'll take turns with him...starting the bedtime routine much earlier. We'll just lay there with him in the dark...letting him talk our ears off. We'll help him process through his day and pray with him about what is weighing on his heart. We'll let him share his fears and worries with us and encourage him to share those things with God too. We are going to start actually listening to this precious child.

Thank You, Lord, for teaching us this lesson! We praise You for creating Isaac with such a beautiful heart and mind. Thank You that he is a little thinker...and is even able to process through the things that happen to him throughout his week. I pray that You would bless our new times together and that Isaac would be comforted through these changes. I pray that Your peace would reign in his heart. We love this precious son beyond measure...and I know that You love him even more than that! Wow! How great must Your love be for us! Thank You, Father, for listening to YOUR children! I love You, Lord! Thank You for loving me! :) Amen.

It Happened...

It happened. I lost one of my kids. It was only for 5-10 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. And I am thankful for a lot of things, but first, let me share how this all happened. As with many days, I began my day before the sun came up...in a time of worship and prayer. I love starting my days like this, as it sets the tone for the rest of my day. This morning, my time was cut short due to early wake-up times from my beautiful children. :)

But even while they were awake, I continued in prayer...asking God what He wanted us to do during the day. I know I wanted to get out of the house with the kiddos. I just didn't know where. I liked the idea of free, so the Children's Museum, the mall, and the library were all the best prospects. I made the mistake of mentioning them to Isaac and he began to obsess over going to the museum. So I told him that we'd go. But even while we were on our way, I asked God where we should go. I kept hearing, "the mall," but I wrestled with the idea of disappointing Isaac. I wasn't in the mood to deal with a grumpy 3-year-old who didn't want to go where I thought God was telling me to go. So I followed my own (and more so, Isaac's) agenda and we went to the museum.

As we pulled up to the museum, the traffic was unreal. I thought, "Oh great...it's crazy busy." I had no idea just HOW busy until we got inside. WOW. I've never seen a place more packed. I know that by the time we left, it was AT capacity. And inside, it felt like it was slightly BEYOND capacity. (See photo above)

After poking into two or three different exhibits (but leaving shortly after because they were too busy), we headed down to the food court to eat our packed lunch. Naomi was in a high chair across the table from me, and Isaac was sitting in the seat to my left. We were nearing the end of the meal, and I was helping Naomi finish up when I turned to ask Isaac something. But he was gone. Just like that. I looked around, to see if I could see him running around a corner or hiding from me. He was not. One second he was sitting peacefully beside me, the next he was nowhere to be found.

I left Naomi at the table (within eyesight) while I walked around the food court. I began looking at all of the mommies at the tables around us, trying to get some sort of read as to whether anyone saw my son leave. No one acknowledged me. No one was aware of my distress. A few minutes had passed at this point, so I put away our lunch, got Naomi into the stroller, and headed out. I was outwardly calm, but my heart was sinking. Where did he go? Why would he do this? Maybe I should notify someone who works here. So as I was looking for Isaac, I was simultaneously looking for ANYone who could help me. There were no museum employees around that weren't already up to their knees in work, helping other people. Okay. I don't need them anyway, right?

So I began to pray. I didn't even know what words to pray, so I just prayed in the Spirit. Lead me to him, Lord. Help me, PLEASE! I continued fighting back my tears...but they were so close to just pouring out. Then I remembered that Isaac had talked about wanting to see the dinosaur exhibit. Maybe he headed down there? So I started heading that way, and as I began walking down the ramp, I heard his voice yelling, "MOOOOMMMMMMY!" He was grinning as he was being chased down/escorted by a VERY helpful museum employee. I thanked her, then my first words to my son: "Where have you BEEN?" She said that he came up to her and said that he lost his mommy. She asked him where he last saw me, and he told her and led her to the food court. The timing was just right because he happened to spot me as I was about to pass them going in the opposite direction. :)

We left immediately and Isaac got an ear-full about why it is not okay to leave my side. I gave him the whole "bad guys" talk. I talked to him about how it's my job as his mommy to keep him safe, but when he runs off and does his own thing, I can't help him or protect him. I warned him that if he runs off like that, someone could snatch him away and that we'd never see him again. And I let him know how sad that would make us. I wanted him to realize that it is never, ever okay for him to do this again. I hope it sinks in.

And as I was driving home, the Lord spoke to me again. He tenderly told me, "I tried to warn you. But you left my side. You went out on your own and experienced the consequences that I KNEW you were going to experience. I tried protecting you from this whole experience, but you chose to do your own thing." It could have been A LOT worse. I am SO thankful that Isaac is okay. And I am praising God for showing me how my own choices were very similar to my son's today. I am definitely taking this lesson and letting it sink in. And by God's grace, I hope to never leave His side again!

Not so great mommy moment #327

Kevin and I were trying to have a conversation this evening and Isaac KEPT interrupting us. I tried explaining to him that I was talking to Daddy and I didn't want him to keep trying to talk over us. With each interruption, I grew in my frustration and finally told Isaac to just leave the room and play by himself. My tone was far from a loving one. Kevin reminded me that Isaac was just really wanting (and needing) some one-on-one attention, and that we could continue our conversation after he was in bed. A few minutes later, Isaac walked back in and without even glancing in my direction, said, "Excuse me, daddy, but will you please play spaceships with me?" Kevin looked at me with puppy dog eyes, as if to ask my permission. I smiled and said, "That sounds like fun!" Kevin agreed with excitement and got up to walk away with Isaac.

As they were walking away, without looking at me, Isaac waved his hand in my direction as he exclaimed, "And mommy...you can just talk to yourself...and Mona." I couldn't help but laugh out loud at his candor! And so there I sat, just me and Mona (our dog)...as my son happily played spaceships with his daddy. :) This kid has got some serious chops. Wonder where he got that from? :)

Play time with cousin Owen...

She absolutely ADORES him! :)

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the sweet, innocent conversations we have with our 3-year-old son. He comes up with the most wonderful things and sometimes they just tickle my tummy. As our children begin to really discover the world around them, there are so many questions to be asked. Here is an example of one of our recent conversations with Isaac:

Isaac: "Mommy, why don't YOU have hair on your face like Daddy?"

Me: "Because I am a woman...and daddy is a man. When you get older and become a man, you'll have hair on your face too."

Isaac: "OH! So...daddy is a man, but you're not and I'm not yet."

Me: "Right! But some day you will be!"

Isaac's conclusion: "So I am a woman like mommy."

Oh dear!! :) Love his reasoning here. He is a very matter-of-fact little guy, and sometimes talks like he's a little professor, using phrases like: "Actually..." or "In fact..." I have really enjoyed watching and guiding him as he figures out all of the perplexities of this world. I LOVE the mind that he's been given. And today, that's what I am thankful for! Thank you, Lord, for creating Isaac so wonderfully. Thank you for giving him such a beautiful mind...and the words to be able to express what's in it! :)

Please leave a comment and share examples of fun conversations that you've had with YOUR children!! Share what YOU are thankful for today. :)

Experiment - conclusion

So after spending a week with my phone turned on silent, not being on the computer, watching any television, or reading any books at all during the day, and completely fasting from Facebook...I feel like I am a much better mommy. Simplicity is beautiful. But it has been challenging. I still find myself wanting to escape from time to time...and I think from time to time, that will be okay. Just not doing it ALL of the time will be a good thing.

My hypothesis with this "experiment" was that I would see a dramatic difference in the behavior of my children if I was simply more present for them. I tested my hypothesis by cutting out all unnecessary distractions and really worked hard to remain present with them throughout our days. Some days I did better than others. I did not do it perfectly, as I cheated and held phone conversations a few times. However, my hypothesis was CORRECT! Most of the frustrating behaviors of my children had a large part to do with them simply wanting and vying for the attention of their ever-escaping mommy. So when I gave them what they were wanting and needing, they responded in amazing ways. :)

After this week, I have made some decisions about how I am going to spend my time as a stay-at-home mom. I have resolved to begin treating it as if it were my full-time job. I will continually ask myself, "Would I be doing this on the job working for someone else?" If the answer would be no...then I need to reconsider my choices. I plan to limit how often I use my phone during the day, using it only to send and receive calls, and to check email only occasionally. I will continue sticking to my no television or computer time while the kids are awake rule. It has been freeing. And I will actually begin to REALLY limit the amount of time I spend on Facebook.

I have realized how addicted I am to Facebook...all in the name of staying connected. But what has happened is that while I've been keeping up with the lives of people I hardly know, the very people closest to me have felt disconnected from me. Do you see how twisted that is? Like seriously messed up. And it's not fair to them or me.

Maybe I'm the only one in the world who spends too much time on there. But I have found that an hour can go by, and it only feels like it's been ten minutes. I enjoy seeing what's going on in other people's lives...and I enjoy helping others feel connected to me. But I have to really question things when 400 of my Facebook friends know about a personal medical emergency before my own sister, who by the way, has been deeply hurt by this reality. Something is wrong with this. And it's my own fault. So things are going to change.

My children need me. They need my attention...my UNDIVIDED attention. In this day and age, it is so hard to remain present...with our phones, iPads, etc. We are consumed by the vast number of applications, games, or social networking opportunities available to us all the time. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I just can't handle it. But maybe I wasn't designed to. Maybe none of us really were.

So there you have it. The Great Behavior Experiment is over...sort of. :) I am SO thankful that I chose to do this, and am excited to see how things begin to change in all of the relationships in my life...especially with my children. I have realized that their behavior goes much deeper than what I see on the outside. There is a war for their little hearts and souls...and I'm gonna fight for them...because that's my job.

Experiment - Days 4 and 5

Day 4

7:45am - Wake up for the day - Kevin let me sleep in and since I went to bed WAY too late, it was SUCH a blessing!

8:30-9:30am - Did a series of activities, including: playing on the floor piano, coffee bean work (which they LOVE), counting sticks, and puzzles.

*All of the work with coffee beans made me crave some coffee...so I'm enjoying some right now! :)

9:45am - We invited a neighbor friend over to join us for a movie and play time. SUPER fun!!

11:30am - lunch, then naps

1:15pm - both kids up from their naps...it was a very short one today. UGH.

2:00pm - snack, then playtime - they enjoyed pretending that they were riding on horses on the couch! :)

3:00pm - dance party!!

3:30pm - more structured activities: cutting and pasting work, colors/sticker activity, felt board, Color Wonder markers coloring, and work with shape board.

**It was a busy day, and they both responded VERY well to all of their structured activities. I need to be more intentional about planning out more things for them like I did today!**

Day 5
*no photos from today, as we were busy with friends all day! :)

6:45am - get a shower, and both kids are up early!

8:15am - I enjoy my breakfast as the kids are working on their space shuttle. They are waiting on me to re-fuel, so I can join them on their space mission. :)

9:25am - We leave for a playgroup. Enjoyed time talking with other mommies.  Unfortunately, half-way through, Isaac came up to me and said, "Excuse me, mommy. I'm not having very much fun." He was bored, as he was the oldest child there...by quite a bit.

1:00pm - got home and ate lunch

1:30pm - Naomi down for nap

1:45pm - Isaac down

2:00pm - Isaac up to go potty, Naomi is still awake.

2:45pm - UGH. Naomi is crying...doesn't want to nap today.

3:15pm - brought Naomi downstairs, then some friends arrive for a playdate.

5:00pm - friends left, and I put a frozen pizza in the oven while kiddos watched a show.

**Today was SUPER easy. Fun times with other mommies...and kids.**