Ever issue a punishment and think....Huh?

Earlier this week Jonah threw a little tantrum when I called him for school. Tantrums are not allowed. Getting off schedule because of tantrums is not allowed. I remained calm and in control and issued the punishment.....for every minute he delayed schoolwork, he owed me a minute of extra chores. His extra chore was.....scrubbing the kitchen floor (if you see our floor, you can tell that I hate this job). Well, he was pleased - yes, pleased - with the chance to scrub the floor. And.....to make matters worse (better?) his sibs begged to help him. In the end our floor was scrubbed by four kids for about 20 minutes each. I'm not sure if I won the punishment battle or not, but I know my floor is much cleaner.

Mildly interesting Christmas pics

but first a pic of the kids with a lot of their cousins and their grandparents from Mark's side of the family. They have five cousins missing, and their older cousins' kids aren't in the picture. The oldest cousin is 25yo and the youngest is 2 months old. So far there are 11 boys and 9 girls. The next generation is currently at 4 boys and 1 girl.

The tree with treats for Santa.

Anna in her new pioneer costume. Isn't it adorable?

Christmas morning. What a mess. It was a Playmobil Christmas and those little parts were everywhere.

Just for fun

I caught the kids in action yesterday morning. Here they are doing what they do in a normal, quiet morning at 10:00.

Anna was playing Barbies in her very messy room.

Jonah was working on his math lesson.

Eli was taking a bath.

Sarah was playing trains in her very, very messy room. Her room wasn't ever messy until she moved in with the boys.

Simon was sleeping. You can see his one Christmas present in the crib with him. Sarah insists that his ball be with him. I love, love his swaddle blankets. I wish they came in my size.

Sleeping Irony and Agony

The kids sleep best next to someone, and their parents sleep best next to no one. Check out last night's bed hopping: Mark: my bed all night long (he's sick otherwise he would have been hopping) Jennifer: my bed, Jonah's bed (with Eli, not Jonah), then up at 4:00 for the day Anna: Sarah's bed all night long Jonah: my bed, his bed, my bed Eli: my bed, his bed, my bed, Jonah's bed Sarah: her bed all night long Simon: his bed all night long and then up at 4:00 for the day At least the girls stayed put! And I had four kids awake by 6:30 with two wet beds. I'm told we will miss these days.

For those of you in warmer climates....

Our little piece of the world is beautiful. The kids don't realize how lucky they are to have this right outside their front door.

Five In A Row

Fire & a 6yo Boy

What happens when you cross fire with a 6yo boy? You get a manly milestone! Jonah lit his first fire yesterday. He was so proud! He lit a candle and then immediately wanted to call Mark and tell him. It was an obvious boy thing. Working the lighter. Got a flame! Lighting the candle.

Did it!!! Jonah's first lit candle.

Throughout the rest of the day he asked to "practice his lighting." Makes me giggle. Up next? Well....bow & arrow, BB gun, pocketknife....he has all of it in his sights!