Maximizing the Chaos

We've hit the busy season.  The time of year that makes Christmastime look rather unbusy and not at all stressful.  It used to be just May that killed me, but much like Christmastime now bleeding over into October, the end of the school year crazy schedule now includes the last two weeks in April in addition to the month of May.

Preschool open house where kids showcase what they've done all year, 3rd grade musical, 1st grade musical, science fair, recycled materials project, 1st grade gifted and talented expo, 3rd grade gifted and talented expo, 2 different school field trips, preschool outdoor/water day, elementary school field day, a birthday party to celebrate the 4 year old turning 5, the end of soccer season for my youngest and beginning of swim team season for my oldest ones!  Wow, I'm so glad I didn't let my 6 year old do dance so at least there's no dance recital/rehearsal/pictures crazy to go along with the other madness!

I'm soooooo ready for summer!  And to all my friends that have asked me if I'm signing my child up for whatever summer class/camp/activity the answer is "NO!"  We have a few things planned for the summer and swim team does run through June, but other than that, we are going to enjoy a lot of downtime and a much easier schedule!

_________________________

In other news, our 3 year old daughter adopted from Ethiopia just 4 months ago, is still making amazing progress with her English speaking.  She's added, "It's not fair!" to her repertoire, which is lovely.  Then recently when my 6 year old daughter was doing her homework, Little Girl loudly asked, "Where's my homework?!!"  Everyone that meets her is really surprised she's only been in this country a few months!

_________________________ 

This week there's also been this excitement:

Little Girl figured out how to pump herself on the swing.

But do you see what else is going on in that picture?

How 'bout this one, notice it now?

My 4 year old son had not quite mastered pumping although he's been working at it for a while now.  So as his little sister pumped higher and higher, hollering, "Mom!  Look at me!  Look at me!", all he could do was sit on the swing and fuss, "I wish I could pump.  I try and it doesn't work.  I can't go high."

Of course what was really going on was that he'd pump himself two or three times and then get impatient and discouraged that he was not yet going high, so he'd quit moving his legs and pulling with his arms and then all of his momentum was lost.

I coached him through all kinds of whining and "I can't do it"s and finally I decided he wasn't really trying and gave up.  No amount of instruction was getting through.

But, where adult teaching falls short, the prodding power of a sibling doing something you can't (a younger sibling no less) produces amazing results!  By late afternoon, my 4 year old son was also pumping his own self on the swing!

_________________________

Two different posts from this little blog were featured in the e-book That Works for Me! 

The e-book shares in an organized, categorized fashion, 800 practical tips to make your life run smoother.  These are tips that have been shared over the years in the Works for Me Wednesday blog carnival, so they are tried and true, the harnessed wisdom of so many bloggers!  Oh the excitement!  (And late nights spent reading up on how to remove permanent marker, organize your grocery list, make homemade ketchup, get rid of poop smells, maximize your closet space, store wet swimsuits, etc., etc.)

Keep in mind this is an e-book, the little "e" stands for "electronic" so this is not a hard or soft-backed book you will hold in your hands and thumb through the old fashioned way.  No, this is a book you download to your computer or kindle or whatever electronic reader you prefer and then you can click and instantly move from page 27 to page 142!  Really, I'm not sure how I feel about e-books because I'm old school and like to actually hold a book in my hands, but for this it works being an e-book and judging by my overflowing bookshelves, I could probably use more adventures into the e-book world!

The regular price of the book is $8 but I have a little coupon code I have permission to share with you guys.  For $1 off use code: SAVE1.  To purchase the book go to the website:  http://thatworksfor.me  

_________________________

Happy Friday, Friends!

Find more Finer Things Friday and  Friday Fragments.