Capitalist Parenting--Why You Should Bribe Your Children

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cool rides

My sister, Becky, and her husband, Troy, live about 40 minutes away on the other side of Spring. They also have a ranch out in Brenham. When I told Harrison we were headed to the Ranch on Labor day, he started to jump up and down and flap his arms (standard in Harrison land for "I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!") "The ranch!" He said. "They have cool rides there!" ...referring to his uncle's crazy driving on the Polaris and the four wheelers.

On Labor day we added some more cool rides to Harrison's list when we spent the day on the lake. We all had a great time-Lincoln even fell asleep stuffed into a much-too-big life jacket. Harrison was so brave- he let us pull him alone on the knee board! And Asher kept insisting on being allowed to drive the boat- he was a man on a mission- kept going for the steering wheel and wanting to touch the controls. Uncle Troy fed his hopes a little on the way back to dock.

See Becky's sneaky thumbs up in the picture of she and I on the tube? That's how you tell whoever's driving to go faster. Thing is, from the moment she and I got on, Sean and Troy were already conniving as to how to spill us. Riding on the tube is mild enough for even Asher- except that time.

still shaking

I have to admit, I have a love-hate relationship with summer...

love that when the boys say, "Mom, let's spend the whole day together" we actually can.
hate bearing the full burden of keeping them busy with "something constructive" (as my mother would put it.)

love going swimming and water fights
hate the heat that makes us scurry to the pool- particularly Houston's humid- makes my skin break out like I'm 16 again- heat.

love the sounds of Harrison and Asher playing so sweetly it's like they're following a script from a PBS kids' show.
hate when they fight so much and so loudly in one day it's like the house is going to implode.

and so on.

Last week school began, and with it came some blissful moments of quiet when both boys were at school. Asher attends preK 1/2 days at the same elementary school where Harrison is a first grader.

The goal has been to have the boys come home on the bus together in the afternoons, but for some reason our address wouldn't register for us to get a correct bus #. The teachers sent home little slips to be filled out for transporation each day in the first week anyway, so I'd filled out everything for them to be picked up by me the first week.

After waiting 45 minutes in the pick up line last Wednesday- I'm at the front, Harrison's in his seat getting buckled, and I see Asher's teacher approach, furrow her brow, turn around and scan the sea of kids, and approach again. "I put Asher on the bus." She says flatly, then adding, "You can probably get home before him if you hurry." She apparently couldn't find his slip and had referred to his long term paperwork which said bus.

Wondering where that little slip that I so carefully placed in a see through pocket in Asher's bag could have possibly gone, I move onto praying that he's on a bus that actually stops near our house. The whole way home I'm thinking, "Asher's four- what if he gets off near a house that looks like ours- or what if he gets off near the neighborhood pool because that's what he recognizes? What if he starts wandering? What if some wierdo's out prowling?..." We pulled into the driveway.

Asher wasn't home yet.

I posted Harrison at the bus stop in front of the house and got on the phone with the school-requesting the principal. "Dr. ____'s helping with dismissal right now, I'll forward you to her voicemail," the receptionist began. I interrupted her in my-I'm trying really hard not to lose it- voice, and said, "My four year old was just placed on a bus by mistake. I have no idea where he is. I need to speak with her right now." Long story short, during the conversation with the Principal, Harrison flung open the front door and said, "Great news, Asher's home!"

Asher stepped off the bus and said, "this is the bestest day ever! I got to ride the bus for the first time!"

And, still in that little pocket was that little slip, which clearly showed he was to be picked up by mom that day-

We're so thankful he made it back to us okay and oblivious of any problem. My sweet, innocent little man- the what ifs made me shake for an hour. And, the whole experience made me think of the mountains of mommy mistakes I'd made in my four years with him. I'm just so glad I have more time... It made me wish for the simplicity of Summer again.

great people great fun

Our internet quit for a week right after I finished my last blog spurt. I didn't get to write about the great time we had with the Fowler family when they came to visit a month ago.
Such wonderful people- we know them from a Provo ward we lived in when we had Harrison. They interned in Dallas this summer, and Anna posted pictures on her blog a few months ago of the intern experience- makeshift furniture and living arrangements, that flooded Sean and I with memories of our three summers in three different states.
While they may not have loved every aspect of interning, we were so glad they were close enough to come to Houston for a weekend. Harrison and Asher had so much fun with their two terrific little boys, Jimmy and Johnny. And, Sean and I loved staying up late playing Ticket to Ride with James and Anna. Anna is so gracious, and such a patient mom. And, James braved all four boys at once in wrestling! We sure hope they end up in Texas!

linky-loo

I'm a big boy now.

The littlest little man is learning to sit. After sitting comes crawling, with crawling comes, "uh-oh, I gotta clean the carpets, and and put those plastic things in all the plugs, and do something about those cords, and buy cabinet locks, and maybe take down the drapes so he doesn't pull them on himself..."

More than that, when we enter this curious stage, I love the window into his emerging personality, and often feel a little sad that the 'little baby' days are almost over.

linky-loo

Lincoln is a little munchy mouth. It's super cute when they start watching every bite go in your mouth as you eat, and then they flap and squawk a little to let you know they'd like some too.

Here's some pictures of his first meal several weeks ago.

linky-loo

I don't remember either of the older boys adopting a toy as their favorite until they were much older, but this little rattle was Lincoln's favorite for a few months. He would shake it like a madman, and then pause to stare at the little beads inside- so sweet. He loved this little toy from about 2-5 months.

linky-loo

two to three months

The Janis family

We had some great friends visit us in July: the Janis family. We know the Janis family from the work Sean did with the J. Rueben Clark Law Society in law school. Daron attended William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, and they were amazing hosts when we visited them there our last year at Duke. They live in Dallas now, and stopped in for a day in July. They have sweet little ones, Esther and Nathan, and we loved having them here! Their pictures turned out way better than ours. Go to their blog to check them out!

keeping busy

When I was a little girl, I remember looking forward longingly to the lazy days of Summer...warm weather, the smell of freshly cut-lawns (to this day still my favorite smell ever), splash contests in our little plastic pools in the backyard, and the crowning glory of it all, sleeping in.
Funny thing though, after about two weeks, I'd feel super bored, miss having a sense of routine, and want school to start again.
And, the cycle never changed. I thought it would likely be the same for my boys this summer, so I decided to schedule the days, and do "school" in the mornings. So, we've had a summer filled with themed days, oodles of crafts, cool outings, and yes- even a bit of learning. As we cycled through some simple centers in the mornings, it was fun to see them using toys, games, and puzzles that would have otherwise been neglected.
And, no worries, they had "recess" every afternoon. Ironically, that was actually the part I had to force them to do with the crazy Houston heat!
Here's some pictures from the days we learned about policemen, ocean creatures, rockets, soccer, and turtles. I found tons cool videos on youtube- like of rocket launches and butterfly metamorphosis. For my other favorite video site, click here . For favorite coloring/craft sites, click here , here, and here. For super cool facts on snakes and other critters, click here.

Have to write it so I don't forget it

So, every night, we share a scripture story with the boys. Last night, I talked about Hannah. We talked about how she prayed and prayed to have a baby. I explained that she was blessed with Samuel, and that Harrison (Samuel Harrison) is named after him because I love this story. I shared a quick testimony about prayers and reminded the boys that we'd prayed alot as a family to have another baby- and now are blessed with Lincoln.
All was well... After family prayer, brushing teeth, going potty, and songs, it was time for individual prayers. Sometimes we wonder what our kids get from our efforts to teach, right? Here's what that story prompted Asher to request in his prayer:

"Please bless Mommy that she will have one hundred and sixty, eighty babies.... and that they will all be boys... tomorrow."

Whoa!

Happy Birthday, Harrison!!!

May 31, 2003 was the day our first baby came to live with us. One moment you're a couple, the next moment, you're a family. Thank you, Harrison, for all you are and do to keep making us a family. We love you. And we're happy you think your remote control helicopter is the "best birthday present ever!"

And, for those who know, that's a french chocolate fudge football cake. Yummy!

Can you believe it? I dressed myself to go to my friend's house.

How to get Asher's look:

1. blue and white striped socks
2. red soccer socks
3. rain boots

be sure to pair with shorts!

Perfect!

Congratulations on graduation from Kindergarten, Harrison! We love you and are so proud of you. Mrs. Hadland was the best teacher ever!

Guardasaurus

When Lincoln was just a few days old, Harrison came into our room with a favorite stuffed animal, Dino. Dino was armed to the teeth- literally. Harrison's explanation was that now he was all ready "to protect baby Lincoln."

Notice the sword, the helmet, the shield, the spear, the bow, and the quiver- which used to be full of arrows...

Dino still sits on the dresser by the crib.

Watching.

Two goals for Harrison. Two goals for Asher. Soccer's done and Summer's begun!

The Bear Cave

Last Fall, Asher learned about bears at preschool. Since then, Harrison, Mom, and Dad have all tasted thousands of pretend berries (you use your paws for those) and fish (these you must snatch directly in your jaws). We've also consumed thousands of pints of imaginary honey- watch out for the bees!

What's the best part about being a bear? Making cool bear caves... Though Mommy has to admit that playing bears sometimes includes convincing Asher it's time for a little hibernation.

Asher's Birthday

Fishies, Fishies, Everywhere! Asher's birthday was in March, but because of baby Lincoln's arrival, we had his belated b-day party recently. We all especially liked the water pinata-- a fun idea I found online. We filled a blue trash bag with water and water toys for some splash and scramble fun.

5 a.m. Easter

The boys were super excited for Easter. 5 a.m. excited. We said goodbye to good sleep March 1st anyway...

COMFORT

Asher and Harrison love to amass whatever the favorite toys or books of the day are and sleep with them. They've even been wearing their Spiderman and Tiger costumes to bed OVER their pjs and with their boots.

They don't seem to mind being surrounded by pointy pokiness. In fact, the uncomfortableness issue isn't an issue. They prefer the comforting sense of being surrounded by what gives them happiness.

Not so wierd after all.