I don’t think we’re unique nor should it come as a shock that mornings can be stressful. Trying to get people fed, dressed and out the door to school/work can be hard and filled with yelling and tears…. from everyone.
Last week Andrew and I had a particularly rough morning. And Andy was traveling so there was no one to ‘tag out’ to either. That day every single task was an utter battle and he flat out refused to do ANYTHING (I can hear the chuckles for anyone who knew me as a child. I can also hear you saying ‘payback is a b*tch’). By the end Andrew had lost Ellie, the iPad, his Easter candy, his bike on bike day… it was awful.
During that day I thought about how sideways our morning had been and decided we needed a change. A new approach that would lead to Andrew and I liking each other again.
So meet our new ‘Chore Chart’ I made from old craft supplies! Here’s how it works: Andrew has 5 tasks he needs to do each morning; (1) eat breakfast, (2) take his dishes to the sink, (3) eat his gummy vitamins, (4) do his Kumon and (5) get dressed. He can earn a star for each task if he does it and without whining or tears. If he gets all his stars, he gets a ‘treat’ of his choosing, e.g. to watch the iPad until we head out the door to school.
I’m happy, ecstatic, relieved and a little shocked, but it worked! On our first morning he had earned all his stars by 7am! Chore chart for the win!
Thank you mommy blogs and Google images for helping to restore a little sanity back into our mornings!
We spent Easter weekend with Grandma and Grandpa and managed to pack in lots of fun to a few days. We visited Grandpa’s relatives in Watchung, went to the Leonard Buck Gardens, visited the Liberty Science Museum, went to church on Easter Sunday, hunted for eggs and were blessed with treats from the Easter bunny!
First a visit to the gardens:
And then the Easter Bunny came!
Easter Baskets! Dressed to the 9’s in our Easter Sunday best
And if Easter eggs and a new Paw Patrol Tower weren’t enough, the Easter Bunny brought Andrew a new bike!
Andrew’s illustrious T-ball/baseball career started on Saturday morning with the opening parade and his first ever practice. To summarize, I think the ‘T’ in t-ball stood for the following at one point or another on Saturday:
Terrifying
Terrible
Tumultuous
Torturous (for Teddy to just watch)
Trying (for Dad & Mom)
Twist one’s arm (what we had to do to get Andrew to stop crying)
Tepid
Terrific
Tremendous
Thrilling
By the end, you couldn’t wipe the smile nor get the uniform off of him!
This meme says so much….Little did I know that on the eve of our trip to Florida for some sun and R&R, it was also the beginning of major Hand, Foot & Mouth outbreak….
The Friday before our trip Teddy came home with a fever. I thought nothing of it because toddlers get weird 24 hour fevers all the time. And by morning he was fine. We had Saturday to recover before our flight to Florida on Sunday morning. At our 5am wake up call, Teddy was all clear. But by the time we were on the plane (my first solo flight with the boys BTW), he was in full rash breakout mode; hands, feet, bum, legs. And that’s how we started our week with Papa and Coco…..
I think I read every mommy blog and homeopathic treatment article for Coxsackie Virus (aka Hand, Foot & Mouth) that exists which explains why poor Tedders was slathered in Coconut oil, chugged elderberry syrup hourly and bathed in Epson salts like it was his job. And poor Papa and Coco had to deal with Mommy’s crazy. At it’s worst:
We were spared and it never spread to his face or mouth- just every where else. And since he was in good spirits and no longer contagious (just gross looking), we tried not to let it stop us from enjoying our time in the Sunshine state.
We rode bikes… A LOT! My parents neighborhood was perfect for Andrew and he loved it! One morning we went on a 5-mile ride and Andrew only stopped twice for about 30 seconds each. Go Andrew!
Teddy enjoyed cruising too from the back seat
The boys went on scavenger hunts to find the gold the leprechaun had left on St. Patrick’s day:
And they went swimming everyday…even the day it rained. Doesn’t Coco look thrilled?!
By midweek Teddy’s spots had started to fade and he was clearly on the up swing so we decided to keep our plans for Disney World. Daddy was even on his way to meet us there from Chicago, so why not?! But somewhere between Bonita Springs and Disney World, Andrew started to go down hill.
The virus was really fickle with Andrew. Some moments he’d be perfectly fine and then others, he’d be falling asleep. And knowing the timing of how it all works (contagious period, fever & rash), we decided to proceed as planned. Plus I feared what he’d be like if I told him he had to miss Toy Story Land.
It wasn’t always pretty but we did it! Andrew and I started our first day at Disney at the new Toy Story Land with the slinky roller coaster. I thought this was a no brainer. He loves Toy Story and really liked roller coasters last time. Here we are killing time in line and teaching him thumb wrestling:
There are no mid-ride photos on this rollercoaster but based on his reaction I’m pretty sure this is what we looked like:
My bad. Lesson learned…. sort of.
Next up:
Checking out the characters
Dining with Minnie and friends!
Teddy still loves Mickey from afar and HATES him up close!
The boys were super pumped to return home to their Lightning McQueen hotel; a dream for my little boys!
Day 2: The Magic Kingdom!
Inspired by the Pirates of the Carribean
Riding the monorail to the park is half the fun!
Teacups!
Baby’s First Splash Mountain
And we’re spent. I think this picture sums it up after a week of battling illnesses and then tackling the happiest place on Earth.
In between the rashes, fevers, coconut oil, elderberry shots, melt downs (mommy included), and crowded theme parks, we had fun!
Thanks Papa and Coco for the help, hospitality and memories! We’ll be sure to get a doctor’s note before our next trip!
Andy celebrated the big 3-6 on Wednesday! The boys helped celebrate him by baking brownies (read- eating a lot of brownie batter), playing with the balloons we bought him, opening the presents for him, and blowing out the candles. If I didn’t know any different, you’d think it was their birthday!
When the dessert is so big & your hands are so little….
