One of my goals was to better utilize my time in the hotel with the boys for fun and learning. I’m reading a great book by the entertaining LDS self-help author Merrilee Browne Boyack, entitled The Parenting Breakthrough: A real-life plan to teach your kids to work, save money, and be truly independent. Totally worth the read!!! I hear her other book Strangling Your Husband Is Not an Option is pretty good too and we enjoyed hearing her discuss this topic at a couple’s conference a few years ago.
Essentially, Merrilee and her husband have created a master list of things they want their kids to learn and know for each year of their life. It includes personal care, spiritual goals, household indoor and outdoor chores, financial skills and so on. Lots of great examples and she keeps it entertaining.
My post last week about hotel life with young kids helped me visualize our days here differently. This morning, even though I’d been up way too late catching up on emails and posting here, I was determined to make a better effort. I staved off game time and after I fed Morgan, I put her in the sling while I had the boys help me tidy up. Morgan fell asleep as I buzzed around and I actually ate breakfast before 10am! I said to myself, “Self! Great Day!” (If you’ve had Dr. Kearl at BYU for Econ 110 or are a Copa Cabana gal, you’ll totally smile at that!)
Next, I pulled out the Hooked on Phonics box and had both boys doing it with me. We reviewed all Easton’s letters and sounds which he thought was rather boring – old hat you understand. We did have a lot of fun a bit later acting out each word that Easton read – hat, sat, pat, tap, cap . . . Easton was whizzing through these but it was something to do and fun to start at the beginning of the book so I could see where he’s really at. McKay was with us for about 1 minute and then I had him coloring his book. That lasted maybe two minutes for him until he decided his crayons made good rockets and away he went!
Easton finally got his game time while I fed Morgan again and finally got McKay in the shower again by letting him hold the shower sprayer. Last week he suddenly began defiantly refusing all coaxings into the shower and this was NOT good on so many levels! But today he had a fabulous time spraying everything in the shower!
I started lunch – their favorite mac’n’cheese with hotdogs and even got them to eat some fresh broccoli first! VICTORY!!! I got a kick out of finding McKay reading his favorite book in the hallway while he waited for lunch.
Now Morgan’s napping, Easton’s playing a bit more games, and McKay is racing his hummers as he tries out the various surfaces in the room (tile, carpet, beds). Soon we’ll go for a walk around the hotel so the boys can run and I can check out the gym and sauna. And yes, we’ve been here three weeks and I’m just now swinging by the gym not even to work out! It’s pathetic but good I’ve never paid for a gym membership in my life because it just wouldn’t get used!
We’ve also got to track down a screwdriver to get their new cars out of their boxes from Christmas! We’d called down to the front desk to see if a screwdriver was available on Christmas day. A minute later, the receptionist asked if we meant the screwdriver alcoholic drink! We had a good laugh over that, us sober Mormons! Finally we were able to help her find out what we really meant and she said the maintenance guy wasn’t in. I hope we have better luck today!
And I need to wish my Nana a Happy Birthday! The picture above from my sister Lorry's bridal shower aptly shows her funny ways. She loves to sing little ditties and playfully banter back and forth with my Dad, her baby. My favorite memories of her are from when I would stop between jobs one summer at her house for dinner. She’d make me my favorite ham and cheese sandwich and we’d chat and laugh. Then she’d always make me eat a Klondike bar and Papa would try to make me drink a soda which has never been my thing. It was so fun to have their full attention all to myself, but Nana seemed to really enjoy doting on me and I ate it up!
