Lists and Charts

Kev takes the car to work on Thursdays so that means the boys and I stay home all day. Sometimes I'm really motivated and I make a big list of things to clean--usually things I didn't do earlier in the week. As I was making my list Rylan said he needed to make a list, too. He told me what to write on his list:

1) Make a train city
2) Exercise
3) Play in the snow with Asher

(And, yes, 'exercise' was on my list, too. The boys love to bounce around me, run around, and climb all over me while I'm trying to do my pilates or whatever. Rylan asks repeatedly for me to watch what he's doing and asks "Is this exercise?" whether it's kicking his feet or trying a pushing or spinning in circles. Any type of movement is encouraged around here!)

So Rylan got busy with his list and immediately started working on the train city. Trees, people, tracks, and signs were all set up. Once I popped in my dvd he told Asher "I have to go exercise now" and they both joined me. Afterwards he asked if they could go outside and chop up the snow. They grabbed their coats and shoes, shovels and rakes, and started whacking at the snow. Rylan made a really cool maze out there. It was only ten o'clock and he was already done with all three things on his list. I had marked off one thing on my list (exercise)!!

Kevin had promised Rylan his very own itouch if he brushed his teeth with big boy toothpaste morning and night, without crying, for 30 days in a row. I was shocked, but I also felt that desperate! Kevin confessed later that he knew Rylan wouldn't be able to do it so he felt at ease to make a big promise. (Is that bad to have little faith in your son? But trust me, if you knew Rylan and big boy toothpaste you might understand. If we told him he could get an itouch if he ate his dinner for 30 days in a row, then I know we'd for sure he'd be sitting here by me playing his very own itouch.) Today the 30 days are up so we took his sticker chart, congratulated him, and headed to Toys R Us. He asked a few times throughout the month if he was going to get an itouch and we always told him 'no'. So he wasn't too disappointed to pick out a new toy! (I have to say that it is easier to brush Rylan's teeth. He still procrastinates and gags and won't do it on his own, but it's much better than the beginning of the month! Yea!)

At Toys R Us the boys always head straight for the trains. Silly. They play with our trains all day and then want to play with trains at the store. Rylan really wanted a portable train track and train carrier but Kevin felt it was worthless and we were determined to talk him into something else. He'd been wanting a big car transporter so I knew he'd be happy with that. Once we found one (and secretly set aside the train carrier) he was more than pleased and ready to go home to play.

Yeah for Rylan and clean teeth!!