Well, we made it through today. For some reason it was rough on me. Ardyn was in a mood from the time she woke up and her mouth. never. shut. If she wasn't chattering, she was demanding, arguing, complaining, and debating. *sigh* My patience was worn thin if not completely gone by bedtime, and I can still hear the two of them back there.
We started off the morning with the new chore chart. It went really well, and I could see Marek beaming with each task he completed. He was especially excited to be the only one in charge of feeding Krypto and filling his water bottle. Ardyn of course found something to complain about in each chore. Some of the chores rotate so that they each do it every other day. Like one day someone is in charge of setting the table and the other child is in charge of picking up all the shoes and putting them away. And of course no matter what her chore was, Ardyn wanted Marek's chore and wanted to debate me about it and complain. I told her that doing her chores without complaining was part of getting a punch on her chore card, and that if she continued to complain she would certainly not be considered for a "best beehavior" Card which gives you an extra punch.... and she may lost her end of day punch even if she did do all her chores. It partially worked. But nothing like I had hoped. Marek didn't complain about a single thing. He was on his best behavior all day and the only time I really had to scold him was when I caught him chewing on a shingle that he found out by the pond. He even took a short nap, that was of course disrupted by Ardyn who woke him and me up because she was "bored."
We also invited a bunch of friends swimming today and ran to Walnut to sign up for swim lessons for the kids in July. There was really only one session that we could make because the others didn't have slots for two toddlers, and the only other one that did was the one that overlapped dance camp in Princeton. So we are signed up and the kids and I are both excited. After that we went swimming at Grandpa and Grandma's house and ate our packed lunches on the deck. Once again Ardyn had to fight with me about the rules. She wanted to get in the pool when no one was in, she wanted to sit on the side when she knows she isn't supposed to unless there is an adult in the pool. She was pulling on Marek in the big pool and fighting with him in the baby pool. Marek on the other hand, wore arm floaties for the first time and learned how to balance and keep his head afloat. He also did some really impressive back floating that had him excited. He did really well. Ardyn is pretty self sufficient if she has a swim ring or floaties but she still needs to follow the rules. She thinks she is invincible and I am constantly reminding her of the time that she disregarded directions and let go of the side of the pool and Daddy's friend Lee saved her from certain sinkage.
After swimming I was exhausted. Dragging them around is tiring enough when you aren't pregnant, and add in constant mental stress with Mr Argumentative and I was ready for a nap. Marek was tired too and he and I fell asleep almost immediately. Too bad it was short lived. Tonight I could tell that Ardyn was tired and would have been much better behaved if she HAD taken a nap, but her naps are few and far between these days, which is to be expected.
Tonight I vacuumed and mopped the porch. Dog stinks it up pretty fast. And while I was gone over the weekend he peed on his bed and I have washed it three times and am hoping that the smell will finally be GONE. Yuck! He also needs a bath but so do I, and I am not sure who will win.
At bedtime when I told Ardyn that she was getting one punch for finishing her chores and Marek was getting TWO, one for finishing his chores and one for excellent behavior, she was pretty PO'd. I explained that her behavior was not good today and that she continued to argue and complain about everything, and that tomorrow would be a chance for her to improve her behavior and see if she might make an attitude adjustment for an extra punch.
I hope that I also will be feeling less cranky tomorrow... because another day of that attitude will likely test my limits.
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