Neglecting the Blog

Rob went back to the US for over two weeks and I have certainly been neglecting this blog.  Life was even more boring than usual in terms of things to write about.   The boys kept me VERY busy, but there was nothing really to say about going through the chores of the day and keeping the kids under control.  Now that he is back, I am hoping that things get back to a comfortable level of boring with some fun thrown in every now and then.
I have been blogging, however.  I have been working on a new blog.  It is called Ways I Entertain My Kids and it is located at http://entertainingmykids.blogspot.com/ .  Its purpose is to remind me of the things that I do to keep my kids busy.  When Ryan gets older, I can repeat some of the activities.  If I go back to teaching, some of the ideas might be useful there as well.  Anyway, I decided to put them in a separate blog because I write enough about my kids to begin with.  If you don't have kiddos the same ages as mine you probably don't want to hear about nursery rhyme crafts or their favorite toys in detail.  Even if you do have kids the same ages you might not want to hear about that.  So anyway, look if you want.  I plan on keeping most of the ideas VERY simple.  I am not trying to be Martha Stewart or some sort of child entertainment genius.  I am going with what gets me through the day.  Soon I will probably have a post about the kids playing in the boxes that their toys come in.  Sometimes the boxes are better than the toys!  So really, it will be down to earth, nothing fancy.  Any "special" materials I have will be leftover from my teaching days and things that can be easily improvised in a simpler fashion.  I just wanted my school stuff to be durable so I didn't have to make it again every other week. :)
Enjoy or ignore.  It is primarily for me.  I think the boys will enjoy it later in life too. :)

Potty Training

This week I was talking with my parents, my sister, my brother, and my sister-in-law.  It was almost 7 AM on Monday for me here in Namibia, around midnight for my sister in New York, and a little before 9 PM on Sunday night for everyone else.  Through the 'magic' of skype we were able to talk for free and spend a little time together as a family catching up.


Catching up included an update on Justin's potty training.  He is doing really well.  He wears a pull-up at night because he doesn't stay dry through the night.  I also make him wear one if we are going to be out  and about for an extended period of time.  In the US I would probably just drag him into store bathrooms when I thought it might be close to time for him to go, but here in Namibia... Well let's just say I am never really sure what facilities, if any, may exist.


I am crazy about charts and Justin seems to be the same way.  We have charts for when he says his prayers, when he reads a book, when he follows the rules, and, of course, when he uses the bathroom.  He loves getting to the end of the row or finishing a chart and moving on to a new one.  He counts to see how many spaces are left on a chart and comes up with a plan for how he will finish it.  My sister, Meredith, came up with an idea that I loved--a chart that lists number of days without an accident.  You know the signs you see up by construction sites, at the gates of military bases, along dangerous highways, and probably any other number of places.  How could I not love the idea?

This is what I came up with.  I used Mayer Johnson Boardmaker because I happen to own the program and it was already open in a window on my computer.  I found some construction related graphics at http://www.donotenter.com/cool/ucgraphics/index.htm and http://www.free-clipart-pictures.net/construction_clipart.html and went a bit overboard with my creation.  I will print out the sign and some numbers, laminate them, and then change the numbers to reflect the number of days my boy has successfully used the toilet, night time excluded.  I have a feeling that he will love it!