Too Hot

109 with heat index of whatever it was today.  Just plain too hot to do much of anything really.  The girls (Julia and Riley) had a tough night of sleep.  Riley woke up Jeremy at 5am and just couldn't sleep - probably due to her massive mosquito bites.  Julia kept me up from 2-5am due to teething issues and being so incredibly hungry.  The girl ate two bowls - one of cheerios and one of these garden vegetable puffs.  We had run out of her food yesterday and so she ate pizza last night (two entire pieces herself), but apparently it wasn't enough as she just kept crying all night.  I finally realized after going through everything I could think of that she was hungry and finally she was able to eat and then sleep and so was I.

The girls and I took a few trips out today - Target, the Dentist (to pick up my whitening trays), and school. First thing the girls did today was take baths.  Madi had her bath in her bathroom while I did the girls in ours.  Then we went up to Ethridge.  She was able to meet a few teachers and the secretaries.  I took her down her hallway so she could see where her classroom will be.  Hopefully put her at ease a little more.  She's very, very excited for school.  We got her two lunch bags that are very hip today.  And finished school supply shopping as well.

Went to Target and then went home.  I've been feeling like I'm having to stay very on-top of Madi and her chores and study time and such.  I've been reading an amazing book called "Children: the Challenge."  Not sure if I mentioned it before.  Came recommended by Ed, my friend and counselor at school.  Gives some great insight into strategies in raising children to be independent, loving, caring, thoughtful, respectful, etc...  one of the things the book talks about is allowing children to do for themselves what they can do.  Not having to micromanage them, but giving them the confidence and freedom to do for themselves.  Gives some great examples of conversations that are commonly heard in homes.  We definitely relate to some of them - ha  :)  Kind of funny to read it and think "Oh!  That sounds like me!"

So I went about things differently today.  Rather than telling Madi "Now would be a great time to do your IXL math time.  Or you should really go make your bed.  Your towel is still on the floor.  Can you pick it up please?,"  I made a short list of things she needed to accomplish today before 5pm and talked to her and wrote it down at the same time at 10am.  So she had 7 hours to complete the tasks or she would lose $1 in allowance money.  Here was the list:

1 - Make bed
2 - Hang up towel and robe in bathroom
3 - Do 45 minutes of IXL on the computer.  Your choice of which topics you want to do.  And each time at the computer had to be 15 minutes in length - didn't want her doing five minutes at a time as she wouldn't get very far and 15 minutes would allow her to focus in short intervals.
4 - Write a "Thank You" note to Karen and Elizabeth to give them tomorrow (plans were changed so she's going to do this one tomorrow)

And then I left her to do them.  Her choice as to when to do them, but I would check at 5pm if they were all done.  It was interesting because I had a hard time not checking up on her.  Still asked two times through the day "How are you coming on stuff?"  But other than those times, I simply let her figure out her day.

She made a plan to do IXL at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm on the hour.  Though she tried several times to get me to only let her do 30 minutes or 40 minutes.  I didn't budge and held firm knowing she'd try to get out of more if I even gave her an inch.  It was fifteen minutes before 5pm when she needed to be finished.  Everything was done on her time except IXL and she only had 6 minutes left to finish the full 45 minutes on IXL.  She began trying to bargain and barter and asking if she could just do the last few minutes tomorrow.  I told her that she was told to do 45 minutes today and that it'd be awfully sad if she got to 5pm and missed out on a $1 of allowance money because she gave up and didn't want to do 6 more minutes.   She was frustrated I wouldn't give in, but she went in and did it and completed exactly 45 minutes.  So good for her!!

Was great letting her be responsible for the things she needed to accomplish and will serve her well to be able to finish tasks with motivation other than us watching over her or telling her exactly what to do.  She's really doing great!!

We ate dinner and then Madi and I went to Walmart just the two of us.  Was good times.  We got home, unloaded the car and she went up to get ready for bed.  After I put everything away, I went up and we finished the chapter of the "May Amelia" book.

She'll go to Kami's house tomorrow and then to Hawaiian Falls with Mason on Wednesday.  She's super excited about Wednesday!