Boo-ing, chores, and manicures....

- October 30, 2008

We 'boo-ed' our neighbors last night! We had so much fun hiding in the bushes and waiting for them to open the door. Unfortunately Mo got caught on the last house. She rang the doorbell and waited almost 3 minutes but no one came. She knew someone was home because the van was in the driveway and the dog was barking inside the house. Just as she approached the door to ring the bell again, the lady switched on her light and opened the door. Mo attempted, in her words, to "book it" from the entrance way but to no avail. The lady opened the door and said, "Hi Mo!" Mo was a bit bummed but still had a smile on her face. So now we have three more Boo's in the windows of our cul de sac...two from us and one from our other neighbor who was paying the Boo forward. This has been a really, really fun activity!! We got a lot of laughs from beginning to end.

For our goodie bags we bought a talking door bell that says a number of spooky phrases, and a box of Cadbury Finger cookies. I tried to turn them into Witch Fingers by adding a label. One of the girls was eating one of the cookies at school today and, very innocently, Mo asked her what they were. "Witch Finger cookies," she replied. Yeah! It worked!!

Since Zee's been a bit of a pain in my butt lately I decided to put define some parameters for good behaviour by making a chore chart for him. The tasks include dressing himself, brushing his teeth, not whining, and playing quietly by himself. The 'hard stuff' is off set by time with me doing a reading lesson from Hooked on Phonics, an activity he finds particularly enjoyable, AND the promise of $1.00 at the end of the week if he successfully performs each task. He is allowed three strikes and then he is 'out' (which means no loonie on Friday). Because today was the first day I gave him a number of reminders before taking away a point. I know it's early in the game but it worked like a charm! He did all the items without complaining and really limited his whining time! I'm learning that he's completely different than my girls. I never had to bribe them with rewards; they naturally obeyed...and they weren't as motivated by levels, stickers and achievements as he is. The girls were just happy to be responsible and obedient. So....as much as I am against the whole 'reward' system, I'm having to say that, right now, it's the best form of action for Zee and his struggle toward independence.

Here is a picture of the 'power station' he made with his Magnetix during his quiet play time.

Now...about me (my favorite subject lately)! I got a french manicure today! My first one ever! It's not perfect (it was cheap) but it's better than I managed to do last night. I'm having so much fun pampering myself. I could sooooo get used to this!!

Well...I guess it's time to sign off: