Love and Logic

So my friend Brandi and I started this new parenting program that was offered at my church. It's called Love and Logic. And I hadn't really ever heard of it. But as I've continued to go through the program, it is amazing to me just how many people use it. It's a tool that teacher's use, it's a training that all of the headstart therapists and counselors use, and now it's what the Warkentins use.

I must admit, I was skeptical. I am not a huge fan of being told I'm doing things wrong. But as I listened and put things into practice each week, I started to realize that this system really works.

Basically the gist of it is teaching kids how to make their own choices. Choices that won't affect the state of the union, but still allow THEM to be in control of their decisions. And it let's empathy and consequences from those choices do the teaching. It's a really interesting method and I have to say, it really works.

Of course there are a lot of methods that are for older children, and most of the reasoning is completely lost on my 2-year-old but I AM teaching him to make his own decisions. Which, to my surprise, he is having so much trouble with.

I really like this method of parenting because it weighs very heavily on MY attitude, the tone that I set, and it forces me to be calm and rational. Ofcourse sometimes I am not very calm, Love and Logic has an answer for that too: When you don't know what to say.... delay.
Delaying a punishment and making your kid wait it out not only helps you calm down, but it also makes them think about the consequences of their actions. What? Why didn't I think of that?

If you're looking for an affective way to discipline but also to help your children be decisive and understand consequences, I highly reccomend this program. For more information go to:
http://www.loveandlogic.com/

Bad Things happen in sixes?

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. I would have to say that a huge contribution to that has been the amount of things that have fallen apart in my home in the last 2 weeks. I have a february theory, and so far it has held up for 5 years. Every year in February, enevitably something comes up that costs a lot of money, and my birthday gets overlooked due to insufficient funds. This year, Tim was determined not to let that happen so he bought my present early. Which, I totally love, but unfortunately... February still came with hardships.

First, our computer pretty much shut down. It now only works for 10 minutes at a time, so writing blogs can be infuriating.

Then our vaccuum cleaner broke, that sucked....or actually it didn't.

Then our dryer broke. Let me tell you, committing to putting things out on a line when it is pouring down rain is difficult. Laundry takes like 4 times as long and I am feeling like a settler on the Oregon trail.

Then our dishwasher broke. Great, because I SOOOO have time to wash every dish by hand. You can imagine how clean my house looks right now.

Lastly, both our cars went caput. The Nissan we were given this summer continues to fail smog tests, and the only way it'll pass is if we drop $800 on a new air filter. Awesome, I so had $800 to spare. The Saturn has had issues forever, but we simply can't afford to fix both cars at the same time. So now we're back to one, not-working-that-well car.

I dunno, what I do know is I am out of patience, out of money, and out of energy.

Be Mine, Valentine

Call me sentimental, but Valentine's Day has a very special meaning to me. It marks the anniversary of our first date. 9 years ago we were getting done with worship practice, when Tim asked me out to coffee. We sat in Starbucks for 3 hours and talked about everything. It was there that I realized how great of a guy he really was, and how much I really liked him.


Don't ask me how in the world we ended up randomly going out like that on Valentine's Day, but I'm so glad that on a day we celebrate love, I have a lovestory to celebrate.

Survival Lessons from Lost

In honor of the premier this week, Tim and I thought we would share survival tips we have learned from Lost. They are as follows:

1.Sex =Death. When you don't have birth control and pregnancy kills you, it's a good idea to just say no.

2.If you get on an airplane... chances are, other passengers will be con-artists, prisoners, and interrogators.

3.Live together, die alone.

4.Use of guns inevitably leads to someone dying.

5.If you’re stranded on an island with a dog, there's a good chance the dog will outlive you.

6.The only numbers that matter are 4 8 15 16 23 42.

7.If someone asks you to press a button every 108 minutes or the world will end, don't be a skeptic.

8. Sometimes a brother/sister relationship can be too close.

9. Don’t play with dynamite; it’s very, very…

10.Only very pretty people are allowed to crash on deserted islands.

11.Label everyone who is not you an "Other".

12.Whatever you do, don’t listen to “You All Everybody” by Drive Shaft, because it will be stuck in your head for days on end.

13.If your dad ignores you most of your life, steals your kidney and pushes you out of a 3-story building, he probably doesn’t love you.

14.Don’t fly in a plane unless you are ready to time travel.

15.Smashing a hydrogen bomb will fix everything

16.When someone asks you a question about your life, it’s ok to stare off into space for 5 minutes whileyou flashback.

17.DON’T TELL ME WHAT I CAN’T DO!!

18.You can’t trust an Other, even if they are blonde and look really hot in a tank-top.

19.If people suddenly disappear into the jungle, don’t worry about it. Just go about your business like nothing is wrong.

20.Statues of the Virgin Mary carry dark secrets.