This 'n that...

Time for a bulleted update!

* R was giving us a fair bit of sass and drama lately and we were at our wit's end with her. So, from our parenting bag of tricks we pulled the "Chore Chart Incentive Program" and it has actually worked WONDERS. Amazing what a little bribery will do. The way it works is this: she has specific chores to do each day (actually we are using it for both R and A since they were both interested in getting some cold hard cash) for which she can earn stickers on her chart. Some of the stuff they do is already part of our routine such as clearing their dishes from the table and helping with the trash and recycling. They can also earn extra stickers for helping with chores that are not generally part of their routine - like helping me vacuum or weeding in the garden - or for having particularly good behavior during the day. Each sticker earned gets them a nickel at the end of the week. This week R has done a complete 180 and has willingly done various chores and has behaved so well. I keep checking the cabinets and under beds to see if I can find the pods... This week R earned herself $2.05 and A earned $1.75. The way I figure, it's a bargain for regaining some level of peace and sanity in the house!

* I was recently invited by R's school to sit on a search committee for a new second grade teacher. I immediately agreed to do it and then second-guessed myself and wondered what the hell I was getting myself into. I have not had to do something like that in a very long time and I was extremely nervous. In the end, it all went well and I found it a valuable experience, even if I was completely brain dead after a 7-interview day that went from 8:00am to 4:00pm! Perhaps some day I will share more on that experience but for now the search committee is still "in process" with no formal decision on hires so "mums the word"...just in case someone were to stumble across this blog. Unlikely, yes...but even so...

* I'm getting back in the groove with my morning walks - the mornings have been brisk/cold but otherwise beautiful - so that's good. My basement workouts have fallen by the wayside over the last week or so because of a cold (or possible allergy...??) that has had me sniffling for a couple of weeks and now with a lovely, phlegmy cough to add to the misery. I can't seem to bring myself to doing the heavy-duty sweat-fest videos when I'm feeling this way so I'm glad I'm at least able to get in the walks most mornings. I'm now down 22 pounds and holding steady for the time being. I've been pretty good about food intake of late. Not perfect -- I could probably see faster progress if I were more strict. But, I'll take what I can get and enjoy the rest. Slow but steady wins the race, right?

* Rick has been working hard on our garden for the past couple of months and we have a nice little crop growing already. He decided to start a bunch of stuff from seed this year and set up some lights in the basement so he could get them started nice and early. He even set up programmable lights that would turn on and off at the appropriate times. Yeah, he's a geek...and I love him dearly. (It makes me want to go and order one of these.) So far, we have the following growing in our raised-bed garden (with cold frame to keep in the heat at night because we still have lows near freezing some nights): broccoli, lettuce, turnips, spinach, bush beans, and green onions. Everything planted in there, with the exception of the carrots, really took off and is growing great! Rick also started cucumber and yellow squash from seed and has those growing in separate pots that can be moved indoors if we suspect and overnight frost. Those have yet to start sprouting. And lastly, he started basil, Anaheim peppers, tomatoes, and a couple of different flowers from seed and those just recently came out from under the grow lights and he is starting to put them outside during the daytime to harden them off a bit before planting them in the ground. We are going to have a kick-ass garden this year -- all thanks to the green thumb of dear, wonderful Rick. 'Cuz left up to me we'd be doing our 'harvesting' at the local grocer every week...

I guess those are the major highlights for now.