So I can't believe that March is over and that it is April!! I thought by the end of March we would have had a lot more of our projects done, but Bryan's side jobs have expanded and he has spent a lot more time there then he has at home. There are some days that he is gone before the kids are up and home after they are asleep. It is so sad! At home we are working on our yard, putting grass in the backyard and fencing it in and reseeding the front yard. We also hope to have siding on soon, but regardless it will be done before summer is over.
On Friday night we went to our church building to meet with other young married couples in the ward. We had a game night and ate lots of snacks. It was so fun! The couples in our ward are really amazing people and Bryan and I had such a good time that we all decided to meet every couple weeks for games and activities. It is really nice to associate with other people besides ourselves and make some new friends. The girl in charge of the activities (it is her calling! she is so lucky) is my VT companion and she is so funny. We are definitely looking forward to more activities.
Bryan had Saturday off (miracles do exist in these latter-days) and so we decided to work on the yard. It wasn't raining or snowing here either (another miracle!) so he went and cleaned up the backyard and mowed the grass in the front yard. If you drive by our house from the back we look so white trash - there is stuff everywhere! Anyway, I attempted to clean the house and fold four loads of laundry, which never goes well with two crazy boys and a baby begging for attention. We then went and got a thatcher from a friend who rented it for the weekend. Our front yard has a ton of moss that is taking over the grass so by thatching it we basically rips out all the moss. It took a lot longer than we thought and my back and shoulders are still aching from raking all the moss up (once the thatcher removes the moss you have to rake it up). This weekend we are going to put down some top soil and reseed the front lawn. I am so excited to have grass (I am so not hard to please!). I'll post pictures of the yard and siding and whatever for your viewing pleasure when we get around to those projects (we are also accepting all volunteers to come and help with fencing and siding - we have a spare bedroom!!!).
Saturday night we took Rix out because he completed his sticker chart. Bryan and I are having a difficult time with Rix, who can be very grumpy and has meltdowns every day. We have tried everything, and we decided that instead of punishing him for being bad, that we would reward him for when he was exhibiting good behavior. Whenever he is helpful or positive or obedient during preschool, swim class, church, or at home he gets to put a sticker on his chart. For his reward he got to pick a place for dinner. We chose pizza and we went to Pizza Hut (so greasy - we won't go back!) and then he got to pick out a movie at Hollywood Video (he chose the Bee Movie - it is terrible! Not funny at all). We put Bryce and Cole to bed and then watched the movie with just Rix and us. We are still struggling with Rix. He gets frustrated easily and gets angry easily and hates change- and he either withdraws and refuses to do anything (and I mean anything) or he freaks out and yells and then he withdraws. His poor primary teacher gets a lot of his attitude because by the end of church he is ready to go home! We keep reinforcing the good behavior with the sticker chart and keep praying that we will know what we need to do. Most of the time he is a really good kid - he is so good with Cole and loves to play with Bryce. He even helps me cook dinner on most nights. Hopefully this is a phase that is soon over - Bryan and I are running out of options! If you have any ideas, let me know!!!
For those who live in Utah, you can start planning the parties! We fly in Wednesday afternoon and don't leave until really early Monday morning. Cafe Rio here I come!
Rix and Bryce sharing pretzels after church. They are good buds - most of the time.
Bryce lounging in Cole's swing at the office. He loves to sit in this swing and often will just hang out in if for half an hour!
Cole and Daddy at the office.
Rix is Cole's best bud. I always find him sitting by Cole making sure he has his pacifier or talking to him. Cole can see Rix in the car and all Rix has to do is smile and talk silly to him and Cole will just laugh and squeal.
Rix loves tattoos. One is from McDonald's and the big one is from Pizza Hut. Notice the tattoos are proof that I feed my children only the healthiest of foods!
3 comments:
Sounds like excitement to me! Glad I don't own a house, I like being bored some of the time =) Your ward game night sounds like fun, I don't think our ward could pull off something like that. And good luck with Rix, although it sounds quite similar to what we are going through with Hayden (meaning me, since Jage is MIA most of the time). I tried the sticker chart, we still have it up, but I haven't seen a change in behavior, I end up in tears almost daily because I get so frustrated. Let me know if you find anything that works! Have fun in Utah, I'm glad you can see his family and that missionary friend, wish we could have somehow made it work to see you too =(
I think it's funny that both the pizza and movie for Rix's sticker chart reward were bad. At least he liked them, right? Sorry you are having issues with Rix. I don't have any suggestions for you, but it sounds like the sticker chart is working. I like that you reward his good behavior. I want to see pictures of your lawn and everything when it is all done. Are you doing a garden this year?
No garden! I don't have the time to weed (hello - three kids!!!) and our garden is too big and the weeds take steriods. We are taking out the garden spot and putting gravel there for parking space.
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