What Happens when you Ban the Video Games

It's only the first day of Gus's true summer vacation. He could have slept in, but chose to get up at five instead – didn't want to waste the day! He and MM started playing on the GameCube first thing, but by eight it was clear that I needed to put a stop to that. He was getting extremely frustrated and agitated over the smallest things, near tears at one point. Then I could see him getting stuck in a loop, trying again and again to fix one little mistake and making it worse each time he went back because he was so stressed. So GameCube was banned.

They watched television for a few minutes. Then I noticed Gus going up and down the stairs.

"What are you doing?"

"Sweeping the bathroom."

Er…okay. Can't really argue with the initiative there. So he brought everything from the bathroom down to the living room and brought the broom and dust pan upstairs. Then he went to play in MM's room!

Since the intention was pure, I did the sweeping. It only took another hour to get him to move everything back upstairs – one…piece…at…a…time. I praised him for making the effort and left the two mischief makers upstairs. Who says kids aren't creative any more?

The next game was Fortune Teller. Gus took an old knit cap, a snow globe and a snack table and decided he was going to be a fortune teller. MM took a turn as well.

I've discovered that the curtains are down in my bedroom, and Gus is now dressed as Ash from Pokémon. It's not even lunch time yet! It should be interesting to see what they come up with for the afternoon.

Thursday Thankfulness: Having Trouble Telling Time

Our summer schedule, or rather lack of schedule, makes it very hard for me to keep track of days. Add in an early week camping trip instead of a weekend trip along with a holiday weekend - I'm all jumbled. I actually forgot that yesterday was Thursday!

My thanks:

• I am thankful that I finally got the tick head from behind Gus's ear without having to drag him to the doctor. It's all healed up and he was even okay when I had to remove a few deer ticks from him during our camping trip. I swear the tick population is ridiculous right now! Which leads to my next point...
• I am thankful I finally know the right way to remove ticks and that I learned it before our trip. Between all of us, we found eight of them - all deer ticks. But we found them before they could get too attached, so it was all good.
• I am thankful that neither of the kids got lost or hurt during our trip although Gus kept wandering down into the woods without us and both kids started learning to chop small branches of wood with hatchets (under full adult supervision). They're really maturing, and I'm starting to see signs of an emerging 'tween in Gus. He's not there yet, but there's the tiniest hint of defiance and independence lurking below the surface. It's making me a little nervous!
• I am thankful that we got two glorious days for our trip despite warnings of thunderstorms. We got a nasty downpour our last night, but it was after we had already cooked dinner, and it was relatively short-lived. My father-in-law made an amazing fire that totally withstood the deluge, and our tent held up in its first test against bad weather. The best part: around 8:00 the rain stopped (I wish the kids had been awake) and we saw a magnificent rainbow. Its colors were brilliant against the steely gray backdrop, and the full arc was clearly visible instead of just a portion of it. "Miraculous" would be an appropriate description. That band of color in the sky was the perfect ending to our day.

Hopefully, I will get my act together as we move into a better routine. In the meanwhile, what are you thankful for this week?

Thankfulness Thursday - Almost Forgot What Day it Is

This week has gone by so fast, I didn't even realize it was Thursday! It's late and I just got back from a bike ride, so I'll have to be brief. This week I am thankful for:

• Finishing my first ride with the cycling club! I did the whole 17 miles and only had to walk halfway up one hill! I feel quite accomplished! And I made it home in time to say goodnight to the kidlings! Bonus!
• Having a few days to hang out with my kids before Gus starts summer school. We've done some organizing and shopping for our upcoming camping trip, took a few trips to the playground and saw some of the neighborhood kids. It's been a pretty mellow, if busy, time.
• Summer finally showing itself! It's been so cold and wet, I was starting to wonder if we'd somehow time/space warped to Seattle. It was actually hot enough for the sprinklers and kiddie pools! I hope it's here to stay!

What are you thankful for this week?

On a more somber note, RIP to three icons who passed this week: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett & Michael Jackson.

Days Off CAN Be Peaceful!

The kids had off today for the holiday weekend, and I was a little worried about what we'd do because it was supposed to be very hot today. We started our day with french toast, which they'd earned by getting dressed with a minimum of fuss (Gus didn't even need to be asked today). We went to the nursery to get some deer repellent and fertilizer stuff for our plants. We ended up with a new tomato plant. MM named the new one Aim (short for Aimee I later learned).

After getting home with our new friend, I realized I had no way to hang the hanging vines. So we had lunch and then headed back out to the hardware store for hooks and a chain. I have to say, the kids were very good in both stores. We went over the rules in the car each time and I asked that they keep their hands to themselves. I also pointed out that we would be around living things and we wouldn't want to hurt them by accidentally knocking anything over. Seemed to work.

Gus's tomato (who does not have a name) has gotten too big for the kitchen, so we've relocated it outside (thus the deer repellent, which by the way stinks to high heaven, as my mom used to say).

Gus stayed inside most of the afternoon playing Pokemon, but came out to play with the kids with water guns and the neighbor's hose. By the time he came out, most of the kids had gone, but he still had a good time.

All in all, a better than average day! How was yours? Leave a comment and if you've got a sec, please vote in my sidebar poll! Have a great weekend!