New Year, New Leaf

Greetings, friends!

Here we are, at the beginning of a new year, and approaching the season of rebirth and renewal. It finds me wanting to press the re-set button on my life; re-establishing good habits, and establishing new ones.

I find that I really enjoy blogging, but I have allowed life to carry me away with it, and many things I enjoy have fallen by the wayside. So on this, my first day of building new routines, I am committing to work on my blog three times a week, and posting once every 7-10 days. If I break it down into 15 minutes at a time, I think that I'll find the process easier and more pleasant.

So, if you want to come along for the ride, read on!


Today is the first day back from Christmas Break, and despite our best efforts, we ended up getting out the door late. We began using some new routines (and continuing with some established routines) yesterday, including ensuring that the kids' lunches were made, backpacks ready and in a location convenient to the front door, clothes were laid out, keys were at the ready, etc. The goal is to prevent the bottlenecks at the top of the stairs and at the front door, and to get out of the house on time and without yelling or stress. But it went off the rails, and fast. And her name is Quarta.

Hubby wanted to be at work a little early to do some prep, so getting him out the door went seamlessly. Primus, who is 13, was left in charge while I drove Hubby, and all of the kids were awake, most of them dressed. The round trip took a total of 12 minutes, and when I returned, Quarta had not done a SINGLE THING since I had left. She wasn't listening to the instructions of her older siblings, despite being told by me that they were in charge while I was gone, and that she was to get dressed first.

I have never met a child who is equal parts intelligent and stubborn. Quarta is really testing my parenting abilities, and I am left scratching my head, wondering what to do to get compliance. But I think I may have hit on something.

We just recently were gifted with a first generation iPad (Thanks, BioDad!), and she and Tertius LOVE playing on it. So tonight, I will explain the new system to her: her access to the iPad after school hinges on her getting up and ready without complaint or delay. I imagine that a few days of no iPad will cure her of her intractability.

I'll keep you updated.