Wise friends

This morning as we were getting breakfast ready and tidying the house up, I see my boys fight over something and then hear Jefferson say under his breath "I hate James!" Hate is one of the words we don't use in this house. I don't like it when my kids say hate even for small things like I hate hot weather or I hate beans, or whatever. But when Jefferson used that word for one of his siblings, it made me really mad. I counted to ten, and then grabbed Jefferson and told him that since the word hate has four letters, he gets four spankings, and he will get four spankings every time he uses that word. Jefferson didn't like it a bit, so I'm thinking this method might work.

As I was getting ready to take a shower, I asked Gillian if she could change Charlton's diaper, so we could save some time and be on time for our running club. When I got out of the shower, Charlton was changed and dressed and ready to go. Jefferson had helped Gillian with the diaper, and Gillian had put the onesie on, and then had proceeded to dress him for the day down to the socks and shoes. I was very proud of them. As you might have guessed reading my blog, we have a healthy dose of competition in our house, especially between Gillian and Jefferson. Gillian is the official caretaker of Charlton, after me of course. This doesn't sit well with Jefferson, who recently has tried very hard to be #1 for Charlton. And he has been doing a pretty good job of it. I've seen Jefferson play for minutes at a time with Charlton, read him books or lend him his gun (a big privilege in our house). So, today when I asked Gillian to change the diaper, Jefferson had intercepted and 'helped' Gillian out. In return, Gillian had taken it further and dressed Charlton all the way. The beauty of it was that they weren't even aware that they were competing. They seemed pretty happy to have amazed mom.

Today was running club. The children had worked hard this morning in cleaning their bedroom and by 9:30 a.m. they seem tired. Nevertheless, they did another five mile today, mostly walking. Charlton was playing in the playground nearby, but as soon as he saw Jefferson running with the punching card in his hands, he approached Amy and waited till she understood that he wanted his own card. It was the most adorable thing ever. And then he walked across the field to catch up with Jefferson, which of course made Jefferson very happy. Together they walked two miles. At one point I saw Jefferson, James, and Charlton, as well as two other friends holding hands while walking. There is nothing better than group support when exercising.

The prize for walking another five miles today was a visit at Yogurtland. Amy and I took the kids there and had them fill their cup with yummy frozen yogurt. Charlton and I didn't finish our five mile, so we got only testers. (Just kidding! He doesn't like frozen things very much and I always end up eating them, so I wasn't about to add more pounds to my body just so I wouldn't waste my money.)

As we were eating and talking, at one point Amy and I were discussing how much our girls seem to be eating lately. Honestly, Gillian eats as much as my three boys together. And she has a sweet tooth. It makes me angry, because I tried very hard when she was little to avoid sweets and eat only fruits and vegetables, which she still likes, but she seems to need candy every day. I try to explain to Gillian and to my boys for that matter that candy isn't healthy for you if you eat it often, and that it causes your body to malfunction, as well as get fat. But this is just preaching to the kids. I wanted something practical that would put a stop to their demands and complains. I had thought of eliminating it altogether and have none at home, but in the past this has made them want it even more. So I asked Amy what she does to avoid the candy confrontation, and she told me the coolest thing ever. She tells the kids that they could have a piece of candy or brownies, but they would have to run two laps around the basketball court. Isn't that the smartest thing ever?! Without words, it teaches the kids that we can have fun foods but we need to exercise as well to keep those fun foods from making us unhealthy. When I applied this rule to the kids tonight, I made it to four laps.

Another piece of wisdom that I liked today from Amy was on the topic of the birthday parties. Both of our girls' birthday is in July and so we were talking about their parties. She told me that they take turns every other year to celebrate birthdays with friends. So, one year they have a birthday party with friends, and the next year they do something special as a family. This way you don't get burnt out with party ideas and planning, but instead they take a break from all that by being together as a family. When I mentioned it to my children, they weren't quiet happy with the idea of no party every other year, especially Jefferson who lives to make plans and write lists down. However, when I added that the birthday celebration with the family can be a trip somewhere, Jefferson immediately started making plans for Disneyland. And here I was trying to simplify birthdays celebrations. Nevertheless, thank you Amy for your great wisdom. You are an awesome mom.

Tonight, we were invited for dinner and spent Family Home Evening with some friends. The children had a great time jumping up and down the trampoline and we adults enjoyed the good food, great company and the most beautiful weather ever. However, my favorite part was when our friend taught the kids an awesome way to remember the Ten Commandments as her lesson for Family Home Evening. She used rhyming words with the numbers that proceed the commandments. I don't think I remember them all, but here are some of them:

One - one God (Easy)
Two - Moo (cow- golden calf - No graven image)
Three - Tree - Leaves - Veins (Do not take the name of the Lord in vain)
Four - Fort - Holes to position the guns - (Keep the Sabbath day holy)
Five - Alive - Parents that gave birth and brought you to life (Honor thy father and thy mother)
Six - Sticks - You can hurt someone if you hit them with a bunch of sticks (Do not kill)
Seven - Heaven - Only when you honor your husband or wife, you can go to heaven (Do not commit adultery)
Eight - Gate - made of steel (Do not steal)
Nine - Line - Take an n off and it becomes lie (Do not lie; do not bear false witness)
Ten - Tent - House (Do not covet your neighbor's house)

Next Family Home Evening, we'll test the children and see if they remember them better than me. I love days when I learn new things, and I'm grateful for fun and wise friends.

What is something fun or wise you learned lately?