My quest for consistency...the saga continues

Me (at 6:50 am): Ok, time to get ready to go.
Her: (still staring at the tv)
Me (6:55 am): Let's go, I don't want to get stuck in all that traffic.
Her: Where's my blue karate shirt? I gotta brush my teeth. I don't wanna wear these shoes.

Ok, this isn't what I want, so to get a head start on the upcoming school year, I decided to give an old friend another try. Months ago, Hummingbird and I made a to do list door hanger. It was cute and all but I've learned that if there is no consistency, cute eventually wears off. You've heard me talk about being consistent, using this time before school starts back, gives me the opportunity to practice.

I want her to be a bit more task oriented (Oh, no, am I feeding a mini me, future A type personality?). She's going into the 2nd grade, so there are things I should no longer have to keep repeating. Ok, I gotta laugh at myself with that one. Yogli is 17 and I am still repeating things to him. Anyway, so I decided to remake the to do list door hanger.

My quest for consistency is in combination with Pinterest. **Side not here: Pinterest gets a bad rap sometimes because people get so caught up not being able to make the Pin exactly like the person who pinned it. Why not tweak it for yourself and Pin your version? Ok, back to the Pin at hand.

Here's the Pin I am gonna nail:

We started with a foam sign from Dollar Tree (this place is awesome for simple crafts). They usually carry the foam door hangers but after visiting 3 different locations and not finding any, I settled for a regular foam sign. I attached a piece of ribbon at the top so that it could hang from a door, a door that's frequently used so that you're always seeing it. Cause you know, out of sight, out of mind. I used things I already had on hand:

• Deco color paint markers (Hobby Lobby)
• clothes pins (Dollar Tree)
• Black Sharpie, fine point
• glitter glue (Dollar Tree)
• stickers, embellishments (Wal-Mart)

Hummingbird helped me paint the clothes pins and make the list of her to-do's. Once the clothes pins dried, I took her list and wrote each to do on a clothes pin, indicating whether it's something for her to do in the morning (AM) or night (PM). I wrote each task on the front and back of the clothes pins so that either way you flip them, you see the task. Think we got one weekend thing on there, so we just indicated what day she would put away all of her own laundry (that is one thing I am soooo tired of....laundry.). Ok, back to the pin at hand...

Next, I decorated the foam sign with stickers and embellishments I found in the $1 section of Wal-Mart, who knew? I used the glitter glue to draw a line down the middle of the sign (could have done a better job there but dealing with consistency here not so much beauty), distinguishing between tasks that need to be done versus those that have been done.


Here's our version in pics:



Once Hummingbird completes a task from the "to do"side, she will move the task (clothes pin) to the "done" side. After she's in bed, I will move everything back over to the "to do" side.














Think that's gonna work for us. My consistency with Yogli and Hummingbird is dependent upon me being more action oriented with less talking (as in barking out orders and nagging). You know what that sounds like, right? "I'm only gonna tell you one more time..." "If you don't go brush your teeth then I'm gonna..."

You know this story is not over, to be continued...

The case of the missing RSVPs

Anyone know the definition of RSVP? Anyone? Maybe it's changed over the years. Case in point, Hummingbird's birthday is next week. We decided to celebrate on the Saturday before the actual birthday. She's really into arts and crafts, so we booked the Remember This paint studio. Cool concept, bring the kids in to paint pottery, you get the party room and an attendant for 2 hours. The price was simply irresistible. I really got into this, everything associated with this party is paint themed. Party favors are in mini paint cans, cupcakes are in primary colors and arranged on a paint palette. I am excited, Hummingbird is beside herself with excitement. 

TODAY is that day and no RSVPs! As far as I know, the only attendants are her 4 male cousins. No girls. Invited 4 of her girl friends from school, nothing. No response from the parents. 

Let me define RSVP for you: according to Webster (you know, the dictionary people), "to respond to an invitation", French origin "répondez s'il vous plaît", first used in 1953. Ok, so you know that last part got me, 1953! What year are we in? 

I am starting to try and find meaning in things, lessons that I can learn from in certain situations. I have learned that whenever my kids are invited to parties, I will RSVP. 

Fast forward a few hours after I started writing this post. Approximately, 4 hours before the start of the party, we got an RSVP! Somehow everything was right in the world again. Party got underway, kids had an awesome time. They painted, they ate food, tossed balloons, sang Happy Birthday, and laughed. At the end of the day, I think that is what mattered most. Hummingbird was happy, serving her guests and sneakingly (not sure if that's a word) eating potato chips in between. 

Just call me Picasso, gotta enhance my cutting skills!

Your turn: When you or your kids are invited to a party, do you make it a point to RSVP? Is it still relevant to RSVP in today's world?