Quiet night
D's gone off to work and the kids are asleep. We've had Pan until today, so I've had someone up with me since we've moved in here. Now, it's just me that's up. It's really quiet. I like it. I'm not used to it, really. At the other house, I had mom up with me usually - or another adult there at night.
The kids were supposed to go to a block party this evening at mom's, but they didn't. Instead, they argued and didn't listen when it was time to do chores. Garrett did the vacuuming without an issue, but when it came to making his bed area and stacking his clothes neatly, he argued with his sister and then with me. Jae filled the dishwasher and swept the kitchen floor without too much complaint, but had a melt down when it came to the room. So, I told them simply that if they weren't going to listen, I wasn't going to take them on the bus to go see grandma. Mom of course had the perfect solution - take them outside and get them out of the house! Because, *rewarding* them for bad behavior is an excellent idea.
We did go outside though. We went for a walk on the Interurban trail, up to just past the Shari's and that area. Very nice walk. We got back and had an early dinner, then a little while later went out to the playground on the property. There were a couple other kids out there that they got to play with. The mom was telling me about Bitterlake Park, which is down the street a bit from us. Apparently, they have a wading pool there that's open when it gets to about 80 degrees. We'll have to walk down and check it out.
I mopped the kitchen floor today, with some simple green and a sponge. It's a small enough floor that I can do that. I'm contemplating doing the same with the bathroom floor tomorrow, but that's a bigger floor. Not sure I want to do that. I don't have a mop though, so, I may have to break down and do it.
We have a futon in here now for a sofa. Found it curbside a few blocks away. The living room has been rearranged to make room for the couch. The computers have been moved over to the other corner by the kitchen, the tv in the middle and the couch by the door of the kids' room, along the wall. The tv can be swiveled for either the couch or the computers, which is nice.
On the to do list tomorrow:
Clean the bathroom
Laundry
Rearrange entry hall
Move movie shelf
The kids were supposed to go to a block party this evening at mom's, but they didn't. Instead, they argued and didn't listen when it was time to do chores. Garrett did the vacuuming without an issue, but when it came to making his bed area and stacking his clothes neatly, he argued with his sister and then with me. Jae filled the dishwasher and swept the kitchen floor without too much complaint, but had a melt down when it came to the room. So, I told them simply that if they weren't going to listen, I wasn't going to take them on the bus to go see grandma. Mom of course had the perfect solution - take them outside and get them out of the house! Because, *rewarding* them for bad behavior is an excellent idea.
We did go outside though. We went for a walk on the Interurban trail, up to just past the Shari's and that area. Very nice walk. We got back and had an early dinner, then a little while later went out to the playground on the property. There were a couple other kids out there that they got to play with. The mom was telling me about Bitterlake Park, which is down the street a bit from us. Apparently, they have a wading pool there that's open when it gets to about 80 degrees. We'll have to walk down and check it out.
I mopped the kitchen floor today, with some simple green and a sponge. It's a small enough floor that I can do that. I'm contemplating doing the same with the bathroom floor tomorrow, but that's a bigger floor. Not sure I want to do that. I don't have a mop though, so, I may have to break down and do it.
We have a futon in here now for a sofa. Found it curbside a few blocks away. The living room has been rearranged to make room for the couch. The computers have been moved over to the other corner by the kitchen, the tv in the middle and the couch by the door of the kids' room, along the wall. The tv can be swiveled for either the couch or the computers, which is nice.
On the to do list tomorrow:
Clean the bathroom
Laundry
Rearrange entry hall
Move movie shelf