Chore Time

Friday was a busy day at our house. The house was cluttered after a week of coming and going and the laundry had piled up. I knew I needed my little people to help but didn't feel like listening to all the whining that tends to come forth when I anounce it is time to work. I usually give them a chore and when it is finished they are to come back to me for their next job. That works fine when everyone is motivated and in the mood to get things done but then you have those days when no one feels like doing anything and there is fighting, dawdling, sloppiness and the like going on. For something different I made them each a list of chores and the rule was that mom needs to ok the finished job before it gets crossed out and you go on to the next thing on the list. Surprisingly they loved this idea. They could see what they had accomplished and how much more needed to be done before they were free to play. As an unexpected reward for their cheerfulness and good attitude I gave them each a peanut butter cup I had stashed away for just such a time.

Earlier I tried writing all the jobs that needed to be done on a slip of paper and putting them in a cup. When one job was finished they pulled another slip to find out what the next chore was. That didn't work as well as the children have varying levels of ability and I ended up having to supervise even more to be sure that the little guys weren't getting all the tough jobs and big brother wasn't just sailing through the easy ones!

This character came to visit me the other day. A friend did corn rows in Kiana's hair and she wanted to try making them herself, thus the wild hair do! Lots of shampoo and coconut oil made it surprisingly easy to comb out the knots.

I made a couple batches of salsa on Saturday. It is delicious! 

Today is "therapy Monday" the day with two appointments back to back.  Kiana and Joseph are having their second to last riding lessons at Green Meadows Farm. I dread telling them that those lessons will be ending soon. They love every minute of their time on the farm.