An Introduction

This is my first post and first blogging experience, so I'm not quite sure where to begin. Perhaps a little background would be useful? I am 35 years old, have been married for six years and have three kids and a dog. Sounds pretty typical and boring, but let me break down the kid and dog situation: I have fraternal twin boys who are 3.5 years old, a daughter who is 2 years old and a 90-lb chocolate lab who is 4 years old ... it is total insanity. Maybe not as insane as Jon & Kate Plus 8, but pretty insane as far as I'm concerned. Plus, Jon & Kate don't have a dog, so I have them beat in that regard!



I have many, many stories I'd like to tell ... funny ones, scary ones, annoying ones ... you name it, I have it. I would love to start writing about all of them right now, but would obviously never manage to catch up to the present day with that approach. So, I hope to do some "recalling" here and there as I blog about daily life with my crazy kids. I hope, if nothing else, to have a record of this time in my life ... of the days that I thought would never end!

Of course, all that being said, I don't really have too much to report today. The kids were in daycare most of the day, which is always a REALLY nice break for me. I did have a meeting today with a woman who comes to my house twice a month to help me figure out ways to deal with my insane children. She's called a "family trainer," but it is a bit of a misnomer, unfortunately. I had hoped that she would actually train my family instead of trying to train me to train my family. Doesn't she realize that no one in my family listens to me? However, at her suggestion, I have been trying to do a sticker reward chart to whip the kids into shape, which worked for awhile but has recently lost its appeal. Actually, Michael is still kind of into it, but Peter could care less and Emily just peels all her stickers off and sticks them all over herself and the rest of the house.

So today my "trainer" suggested that I get a clear jar and tell the kids that every time they do something good a marble will go in the jar and when it is all filled up they'll get a trip to Ben & Jerry's. Ok, so I've never taken my kids to Ben & Jerry's, or really any place where they would be expected to act like normal children, as opposed to wild animals. But I liked the general idea and figured I could just change the reward to something that wouldn't feel like a punishment to myself, like a lolly pop at home, perhaps? When I got the kids home from school today, I sat them down and tried to explain the new game to them. Here's what happened: Michael wanted me to dump out all the marbles so he could play with them, Peter wanted to know if he'd get to eat the marbles and Emily wanted to know if she could have a lolly pop for dinner. Nice, right? So I think the new game will have to be put on hold for awhile ... planning to resort to old-fashioned time-outs till my "trainer" returns with another idea for me to try.

Ok, first blog accomplished! Stay tuned for more soon!