Mmm, Book Pizza

Cooper and Phoebe finally got to redeem some well-earned Book It coupons on Saturday. I have happy memories of earning those same coupons when I was a kid. There's something about that personal pan pizza that tastes better than the full-size stuff. Is it the hard work involved? The rule that says you can't share? The novelty of pizza that makes you feel like a giant? Whatever the reason, it's a fun tradition to carry on.

The Early Bird Gets A Lot Done

The last week and a half have been really peaceful for our little family. We've still had regular sibling disagreements and kerfuffles, but we've had more calm amongst ourselves than we have in months. Bryan and I were trying to figure out what magic force was at work and how to keep it going.

I have two theories, today I'll write about the first. At the beginning of the year I instituted a new chore chart system. Each chart only has eleven items and includes things like get dressed, make your bed, tidy your room, read your scriptures, practice piano, stuff that should be happening everyday anyway. The last three items simply say Parent Choice, which means Bryan and I look around the house and see what needs to be done, then we assign tasks accordingly. The whole list needs to be completed in order to get screen time. The first week went great, then it slowly dropped off until not much was getting marked off.

A few weeks ago Peter had a renewed interest in playing on the computer, which meant he started paying more attention to his chore list. He discovered that if he got up just a little earlier each day he could get more accomplished before he left for school, which then led to more time for playing after school. So he started setting his alarm for 6:15, then 6, then 5:45. By the time we need to leave for school, Peter usually has everything done on his list except for his homework, his parent choice chores, and his trumpet practice, because I don't want our neighbors to call the police due to loud horn sounds too early in the morning.

Phoebe noticed his shift and decided she wanted to do everything on her list for the whole week, just as a challenge to herself. She did it, without much parental prodding and reminding. They were both self-motivated, which meant less stress for me. The house was cleaner, which meant happier dispositions for all. And, bonus, a few of the kids earned some screen time, which made them want to repeat the process again the next day.

Cooper has been motivated this week to follow their examples. Even Sophie has been playing along. General tidiness goes a long way to maintaining peace in our household, and tidiness that does not result from obsessive parental nagging is even better.

Sister Selfie

Sartorial Splendor of a Three-Year-Old

Like Father, Like Son, Part 3*

Cooper brought home a project from school last week that had his picture on it. I saw it and immediately thought of a picture I probably spent a little too much time looking at about sixteen years ago.

This is Bryan's picture from our singles ward directory during the 2000-2001 school year.

Looking at these two handsome young men, there appears to be a family resemblance.

*Curious about part one and part two?

Additional Information

Remember last month when I did all the birthday posts in one week? And remember that I couldn't find the paper that I had written all of Cooper's favorites on so I said I would add it later when it was found?

I found it!

I went back and added the list to the beginning of the post. If you're curious about Cooper's favorites on his eighth birthday, you can read them here.

G'Day Mate

Last night our ward had the annual Blue and Gold dinner for our cub scout pack. Our Around the World theme was really fun and we all learned new things from the presentations the scouts gave. Cooper was assigned Australia and he studied for two days in anticipation. All the other boys had a single sheet of paper they read to teach us about their assigned country. Cooper had five pages of handwritten notes. He had to quickly edit his presentation down for length. It was clear he knew what he was talking about.

In addition to becoming an Australia expert, he received several awards. The boys string the belt loops they earn onto walking sticks they made as a pack. He looks pleased, don't you think?

One Ring

There's nothing like a missing wedding ring to spur one to clean their room.

Found it.

One Fine Day

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