Tuesday, January 25, 2011
It's like Christmas Morning!!!
Each night before I go to bed I check on Aliya, then I head to the bathroom and tear off four squares of toilet paper, fold it and put it on the side of the sink. Jon jokes that it's like I'm leaving cookies for Santa. Each morning I go into the bathroom and check to see if the toilet paper is still there...did she get up and use the potty in the middle of the night? Was she able to hold it? I get so excited either way. Gone or still there. I am like a child on Christmas morning! The funny thing is is that she expects it to be there too. When we tuck her in each night she says to me "leave my toilet paper out mommy". She makes me smile!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thee Yers, can you believe it!?!?
Three years ago on January 21st 2008 at 6:10pm our lives changed forever!We became the proud parents of this amazing gift. WOW has time flown!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Quick Update
Well, we are one day 3 of the sticker chart and it is working great!! Aliya has only been in time out once since we've started. And oh what a difference in her mood when she's asleep by 9pm!! I hope this is a start in the right direction!!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Sticker Chart
I would be lying if I said our little Aliya is perfect, but compared to some three year-old's I must say, she is pretty well behaved. She has good manners and is very genuine in her concern for others. She is usually very adaptable and understands/reasons well for her age. All this changed four days ago. I don't know where my sweet Aliya went, but I want her back!! In the past four days we've witnessed Shrill screams that last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour STRAIGHT (I can't even describe the sounds that have come out of her mouth to paint an accurate picture of this sound), slamming doors, rolling around on the floor, hitting, kicking, bossing, stomping feet, throwing things...you name it, we've seen it. Not to mention going to bed at 8:30p but still awake at 10:30p, changing clothes, playing in her room, ripping down her curtains (yes, right out of the wall anchor).
Time outs weren't working, the occasional spanking (nothing hard, but a light tap on her rump to get her attention), time away in her room. NOTHING was working.
I refuse to get into power struggles with my children, especially the one that is three. I felt like a failure of a mother, my child does not act like this. And the fact that she was doing this in front of Jon was huge. She's pouts around him, but NEVER throws fits. I felt helpless and guilty.
So last night Jon came home with an idea. A sticker chart. My initial thought was, "this is never going to work, but at this point we need to try something". So last night We sat her down and went over her chart. Jon purchased a "busy mom's calendar" for a dollar at the beginning of the year (score!) and it works perfectly. It has 5 lines/spaces for each day of the week. So Aliya is working on 5 areas.
1. Wake up dry
2. Morning routine with no tantrums
3. Being good at the sitter's (which consists of having kind words, gentle hands and being helpful...not bossy)
4. Eating all her dinner (or at least enough to be full)
5. Going to be with no fussing and staying in bed
Of course she isn't expected to ace all 5 areas perfectly all the time. She can have three prompts to complete each task to be considered "successful" and get a sticker in a particular area. She has the opportunity to get 5 stickers each day. If she receives 3 out of 5 stickers for the day she receives a big red heart sticker for the day. At the end of the week if she has 5 red hearts she will be able to pick a prize from a box. (dollar tree items)
So far she's doing great! She is proud of her stickers and enjoys putting them on her chart. We've had 2 melt downs in 24 hours. I'll take it!!! We went to the bank, pet store and Payless today and she listened, she used her manners and was polite. She even commented to me several times that I was proud of her because she was being good. I must have told her 100 times in the course of an hour how proud I was of her and how good she was being.
By all means, I don't think this will be the end all cure all, but if it works for awhile I think it will be worth it. I'm not much one to read parenting books, but I'm thinking this is probably in a book somewhere.
I hope the next time I post about this I will have a good report!! (in the mean time, pray for me!!)
Time outs weren't working, the occasional spanking (nothing hard, but a light tap on her rump to get her attention), time away in her room. NOTHING was working.
I refuse to get into power struggles with my children, especially the one that is three. I felt like a failure of a mother, my child does not act like this. And the fact that she was doing this in front of Jon was huge. She's pouts around him, but NEVER throws fits. I felt helpless and guilty.
So last night Jon came home with an idea. A sticker chart. My initial thought was, "this is never going to work, but at this point we need to try something". So last night We sat her down and went over her chart. Jon purchased a "busy mom's calendar" for a dollar at the beginning of the year (score!) and it works perfectly. It has 5 lines/spaces for each day of the week. So Aliya is working on 5 areas.
1. Wake up dry
2. Morning routine with no tantrums
3. Being good at the sitter's (which consists of having kind words, gentle hands and being helpful...not bossy)
4. Eating all her dinner (or at least enough to be full)
5. Going to be with no fussing and staying in bed
Of course she isn't expected to ace all 5 areas perfectly all the time. She can have three prompts to complete each task to be considered "successful" and get a sticker in a particular area. She has the opportunity to get 5 stickers each day. If she receives 3 out of 5 stickers for the day she receives a big red heart sticker for the day. At the end of the week if she has 5 red hearts she will be able to pick a prize from a box. (dollar tree items)
So far she's doing great! She is proud of her stickers and enjoys putting them on her chart. We've had 2 melt downs in 24 hours. I'll take it!!! We went to the bank, pet store and Payless today and she listened, she used her manners and was polite. She even commented to me several times that I was proud of her because she was being good. I must have told her 100 times in the course of an hour how proud I was of her and how good she was being.
By all means, I don't think this will be the end all cure all, but if it works for awhile I think it will be worth it. I'm not much one to read parenting books, but I'm thinking this is probably in a book somewhere.
I hope the next time I post about this I will have a good report!! (in the mean time, pray for me!!)
Monday, January 3, 2011
Give Away!!!
Here
Check out the above link for chance to win some really cool stuff!!!
Happy Girl Hair is a site I "borrow" a lot of Aliya's hair styles from. I say borrow because she is AWESOME! Check it out!
Check out the above link for chance to win some really cool stuff!!!
Happy Girl Hair is a site I "borrow" a lot of Aliya's hair styles from. I say borrow because she is AWESOME! Check it out!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Top 10 in 2010
10. Joel started 6th grade
9. Aliya turned 3
8. My best friend moved back to Dayton
7. Jon's parents were here 3x
6. Aliya's potty trained
5. I lost a bunch of weight (then gained it all back)
4. Donated my hair to Locks of Love
3. Fell in love with my husband all over again
2. Started "While We Wait"
1. Was reminded (over and over) that God is truly faithful
Happy New Year!! I pray that 2011 is even better than 2010!
9. Aliya turned 3
8. My best friend moved back to Dayton
7. Jon's parents were here 3x
6. Aliya's potty trained
5. I lost a bunch of weight (then gained it all back)
4. Donated my hair to Locks of Love
3. Fell in love with my husband all over again
2. Started "While We Wait"
1. Was reminded (over and over) that God is truly faithful
Happy New Year!! I pray that 2011 is even better than 2010!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
She Turns Three!
Drum roll please...I finally have birthday pictures to share!!!
So Aliya chose to have a Shrek themed party this year. She watches Shrek 2 almost every day and can quote most of it. (I'm not saying I'm proud of this at all, just noting it)
Anyway. This is also the first year that she was excited to invite friends to her party. As her guests started to arrive she disappointingly said, "you're not my friend, your family, when are my friends coming?" It was super cute!
We had shredded chicken and beef sandwiches, chips, veggies, hummus and crackers, and home made mac-in-cheese. Simple, yet good. All of Aliya's favorites! We had a house full of people again this year and lots of help with set up and clean up.
Self photo of Aliya and Grandma Brenda after the party
My mom got Aliya this super cool Dora book from Shutterfly that had her picture in it and her name. Aliya went through it page by page. It's super cute!
Jon's mom and step dad were up for the party this year! Since Aliya had asked Santa for a baby brother, Jon's mom got Aliya a new baby doll for her birthday, hoping this would be a good trade off for the real thing.
A quick shot with my friend Maria
Me and the ladybug
My little sister Sheri, me and stepmom Kris
Aliya and her cousin Izzy
Proud big brother!
Emerson, Mia, Aliya, Ainsley...great friends!!
Mia, Emerson and Aliya
She ate her weight in Mac-in-Cheese!
Aliya was so excited to have all four of her papa's at her party!
Papaw Tom, Papa Mike, Papa Steve and Poppy
Joel and Grandma Brenda
each year my step mom makes Aliya's cake and my brother, Greg, and his girlfriend, Megan, make coordinating cupcakes. Here's a shot of the cupcakes. Puss in Boots, Donkey, Princess Fiona...they were really cute!
And the Shrek cake made by Grandma Kris
My sister Sheri came in early the evening before the party to help set up and get the house ready. We made gingerbread cookies for the first time. They were fun to make (actually they were kind of a pain in the butt until we got the hang of it) and they tasted okay too! We had a friendly competition going with Greg and Megan to see who's desserts were better, the cupcakes or the cookies.
It was a great day! I had a staff call off earlier that morning and spent a good portion of the party on my work phone trying to find coverage for the shift. I ended up having to leave the party before it was over to go into work. Needless to say I was BEYOND ticked off. But, it is what it is. Thankfully I ended up only having to work a few hours and there were still a few family members at the house when I got back!
So Aliya chose to have a Shrek themed party this year. She watches Shrek 2 almost every day and can quote most of it. (I'm not saying I'm proud of this at all, just noting it)
Anyway. This is also the first year that she was excited to invite friends to her party. As her guests started to arrive she disappointingly said, "you're not my friend, your family, when are my friends coming?" It was super cute!
We had shredded chicken and beef sandwiches, chips, veggies, hummus and crackers, and home made mac-in-cheese. Simple, yet good. All of Aliya's favorites! We had a house full of people again this year and lots of help with set up and clean up.
Self photo of Aliya and Grandma Brenda after the party
My mom got Aliya this super cool Dora book from Shutterfly that had her picture in it and her name. Aliya went through it page by page. It's super cute!
Jon's mom and step dad were up for the party this year! Since Aliya had asked Santa for a baby brother, Jon's mom got Aliya a new baby doll for her birthday, hoping this would be a good trade off for the real thing.
A quick shot with my friend Maria
Me and the ladybug
My little sister Sheri, me and stepmom Kris
Aliya and her cousin Izzy
Proud big brother!
Emerson, Mia, Aliya, Ainsley...great friends!!
Mia, Emerson and Aliya
She ate her weight in Mac-in-Cheese!
Aliya was so excited to have all four of her papa's at her party!
Papaw Tom, Papa Mike, Papa Steve and Poppy
Joel and Grandma Brenda
each year my step mom makes Aliya's cake and my brother, Greg, and his girlfriend, Megan, make coordinating cupcakes. Here's a shot of the cupcakes. Puss in Boots, Donkey, Princess Fiona...they were really cute!
And the Shrek cake made by Grandma Kris
My sister Sheri came in early the evening before the party to help set up and get the house ready. We made gingerbread cookies for the first time. They were fun to make (actually they were kind of a pain in the butt until we got the hang of it) and they tasted okay too! We had a friendly competition going with Greg and Megan to see who's desserts were better, the cupcakes or the cookies.
It was a great day! I had a staff call off earlier that morning and spent a good portion of the party on my work phone trying to find coverage for the shift. I ended up having to leave the party before it was over to go into work. Needless to say I was BEYOND ticked off. But, it is what it is. Thankfully I ended up only having to work a few hours and there were still a few family members at the house when I got back!
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