Accountable Kids Program Review

A few months ago I was at my end. I felt I had lost control. My children especially were showing signs that things in our family were just not functioning well. It has always been a struggle with my kids, their ages, their personalities and attitudes towards helping out around the house. When we homeschooled, I had activities built into our day to help teach responsibility. I felt, my oldest especially, did very well with these tasks. He acclimated back into public school doing much better than when I had to pull him out. Fast forward two years. With my mom's accident a year ago, much of the responsibility of raising our children fell onto my husband. I have filled that role and not allowed him much opportunity to step in. I spent almost six months off and on next to my mom's side in ICU's and rehabs leaving my family without a mom. As things changed yet again, I am now back and full time mom to my kids. However, the difference is too much. My children are older now and I feel like it is impossible to change or instill values that should have been more constant for them. A typical day in my house involved me asking and asking and asking and asking (you get the point right?)....my children to do very basic chores over and over again. My children are 10, 5 and 2. I really thought my 10 year old would be able to put his shoes in the shoe bin by now. My five year old should be able to remember to brush her teeth at night, right? Why do I feel and sound like a broken record player? The problem for me is that I feel like I am thinking for too many people. I really would like to get to a point where my kids just know what to do. I was feeling very overwhelmed and at a loss. My husband and I spent many nights wondering what we could change so that our kids would start to be more responsible on their own. In the past, we tried sticker charts, chore charts,stick jars, money jars, bead jars, fuzzy jars, stop signs, etc. I felt like they were all good concepts, but lacked something. That lacking made them not work for long in our house. One day I was on facebook and saw a posting by my friend. She claimed her kids did their own laundry and chores without her even having to tell them. I thought, her kids are really good. Maybe they were born with extra talents that my kids did not possess. I then went out to the website of the program she used, www.accountablekids.com. I read through some of the reviews and watched a few short clips on how the program worked. I instantly knew this is what I had been looking for. The program has everything. I could not see any holes. The program is geared towards a broad age range (which I have). The whole point of the program is to teach kids to be more responsible (which is what we don't have). The kits come with boards (see my picture below) and lots of responsibility cards. My children needed a way to see and mark daily habits they are working on, not just chores. The cards help remind my kids to brush their teeth in the morning. To be on time for school. To pack their backpacks and get their clothes ready at night. All things that I previously had to remind them each and every day to do. Now I just refer them to their boards. The other part I like about the program is it has helped teach my kids to do their responsibilities then have fun. My kids tend to gravitate towards the tv and their game systems without constant supervision. After almost two months of the Accountable Kids program and they are now going to their boards themselves. They bring me a ticket when they have done their chores for that time period and ask for their break time. The program has a built in reward system. Both of my kids are highly motivated to earn their tickets and date night stars. We will soon be adding on paid jobs, something my 10 year old has been looking forward to. I no longer feel like I am thinking for them. I know what a disservice that was for my kids. I want them to learn to recognize what they need to be doing and be responsible people. Things are not perfect, but there is so much less stress and yelling in our family! On a scale of 1-5, I give this program a 5. I have read the book, watched the dvd and been able to impliment the program even with the craziness of raising four kids (yes, we had another at Christmas). I feel like we can all step by step climb this ladder towards becoming more responisible. I also was very impressed that they have a section on their website to answer questions, if there are problems with the program, and they actually answer them. They are there for support. So, what is the program? Well, go out to their website and check it out. Several friends have come to my home and asked about the boards hanging on the wall. I was all too excited to share with them and decided to share with all of you as well. Go to: www.accountablekids.com to see if the program is something you have been looking for!

Cody's Blessing

Today was Cody's blessing. Michael gave him a wonderful blessing. We had all our local family there to witness the occassion. Cody was in a wonderful mood this morning when he woke up. He was full of smiles. He fell asleep in my arms right as church started and stayed asleep during the blessing. After sacrament, we came back to our house for a late lunch. We really enjoyed everyone's company and are so happy for opportunities to get together.

Cody is such a good baby who loves to be held and loved on. He sleeps so peacefully when he is being held or right next to me. I love to see him snuggle and fold his long legs and arms up like he was for so long in my tummy. I cannot wait to see more of his little spirit and personality as time goes on. I cannot believe he is already 4 weeks old!

Hello Old Blog!

I have sat here for 9 months wanting to update my blog, but for one reason or another have not done so. My pictures are on an external hard drive that I don't have hooked up to my laptop. So, my goal is to get this thing updated and figure out how to get my pictures to this computer! I will start with Cody's blessing that happened today. I will then try to put things in order from back at Halloween until now. Wish me luck!

Big Sister Attacks!!

So, we knew this day would come. Katie has been eyeing the baby ever since he entered our home. She has become obsessed with her baby dolls and making sure that they get to do everything Cody does. Everytime I go to put Cody in his swing, we have to first remove a well buckled and swaddled baby doll. Katie also gets worried when Cody cries. She lets us know that he does not want to be doing what we are doing or going where we are going. When he cries, she runs to tell me. So, here is the story. Cody was taking a nap on my bed and Michael said he would watch Katie so I could take a shower. I hope out of the shower to a sreaming baby. I jump out to see what is the matter and I see Katie on my bed burping him. Luckily she was holding him well and was a safe distance from the edge of the bed. I ran to get my camera. She was being so good with him. What you cannot see in the picture is the screaming baby! He wanted to sleep, not be burped. He went right back to sleep as soon as she put him down.

Schlitterbaun Fun

Last summer we decided it would be fun to get season passes to a huge waterpark that is not too far from our house. We went many times late last summer and had planned to spend this summer there as well. My kids are both old enough to enjoy the park. This was all before we found out I was pregnant. I did brave the waterpark a few times early this summer in my very pregnant state. I had to make sure we still got our money's worth out of those passes! Now that Cody is here, we thought we should try to go another time or two before the end of summer. We decided to go late in the afternoon hoping to beat the 108 degree heat of the summer. Luckily we found lots of shade and water to splash in. Keldon loves just about all the water slides, even the ones that are too scary for me. Katie likes to play on the smaller slides and the splash pads. Cody slept half the time we were there. When he woke up, I put his little swimsuit on and we stuck our feet in the water. He did not like it at first, but enjoyed it after a bit. It was a good afternoon and I cannot wait to take the kids again.

Ward Trunk-R-Treat

Our ward Halloween party was the week before Halloween this year. I actually am really glad it was. It keeps things not so busy the weekend of Halloween. The kids wore their homemade costumes. Keldon wanted to be a three musketeer and Katie was a fairy. I am proud of the costumes this year! I was worried they would not be so great. At the party, we ate some great chili, played lots of games and trick or treated. This year Halloween is on a Sunday. We have decided as a family that we will not trick or treat on Sunday. Keldon was a little worried until I told him of all the other things we would be doing. I figure I only have once every seven years to make this decision and be the example for my kids. We don't need more candy anyways. We will be spending the weekend with family. Michael and Keldon are taking a Saturday drive out the Hallettsville to visit Granny and Papa. On Sunday, we are heading out the Dripping Springs to visit with Grandpa, Grandma, Dan and Anna, and the Martins. I will post pictures of that event after it happens! For now, here are pictures from the trunk or treat.

Cubscout Keldon

Keldon is a proud Tiger Cub this year. He loves scouting so far. He got some awards at his first pack meeting. We also attending the annual ScoutJam in Austin. There were so many people. Keldon did as many activities as he could before we all wore out! I am so happy to share these memories with him. This weekend we got to spend the night at the Jumpy Place here in Kyle. Keldon was the envy of all his friends! This program is giving us some good opportunities that we would not otherwise have. I hope he continues on with the program and earns his Eagle Scout. I think it is so important to learn and grow into that honor and award.


Pictures to come soon.

Last Days of Summer. . . Almost

Summer lasts so long in Texas. My kids swam a few days ago. It is crazy! I really hope we get to live somewhere with four seasons sometime soon. We are living it up with our outside time though. It is finally not "Dying hot" as Keldon would say, so we spend most of our days outside riding bikes, eating popsicles, playing at the park, taking walks, etc. One thing I did learn this summer is generic popsicles really do stain their skin. Next year we will flip for the good ones. Here are are just a few pictures of my biker babe. She loves riding her scooter and insists on wearing a helmet.

Again, pictures to come in the next few days. I cannot upload for some reason right now.

Katie Turns Two

Katie turned two this year. I cannot believe how fast time has gone, yet she seems to have always been a part of our family. She is such a happy girl. She talks all the time. She can even dress herself already. She is also very particular about what she wears. Usually she says to us "Katie pick it, Katie pick it". It is so cute! Of course her favorite outfits are her Elmo pj's and the Princess outfit Grandma and Grandpa gave her for her birthday. She does not care where we are going, either of those outfits should work out, right!?! She can almost sing the ABC's and loves to sing first verses of songs. Today she sang "Row, Row, Row your boat. . . row, row, row your boat" pretty much over and over. She is very independant already and we hear alot during the day "Katie do it. Katie doe it." Okay, for some reason she has to tell us twice before we listen! We love you so much Katie Bug.

Oh, so we were going to have a party at home for her this year. There were only a handful of people that we would invite. It turns out though that Katie won a free party at the Jumpy Place here in Kyle. Also, Dan and Anna moved back just in time to come! We had a great party for her. Here are some pictures from the event.

Hat Day

Katie loves hats. She especially loves this hat Uncle Matt made for Keldon when he was a baby. She wears it around on really hot days (like 100 degrees) and is so happy! I don't have the heart to tell her it is a winter hat and it just is not going to be winter anytime soon.

Pioneer Day 2010 at Texas Old Town

We love celebrating Pioneer Day here in Texas. We all go out to this wonderful replica of an old town and celebrate with many long time friends that we don't get to see often. The kids always enjoy the horse rides and all you can eat cotton candy, snow cones, bbq and dancing. Keldon was such a little gentleman this year. He found a new friend on the dance floor and had some pretty great dance moves for a 6 year old. I was so proud!

July 23, 2010

Texas Cowgirl

Katie still loves wearing boots. Since we are in Texas, she had to get her first pair of cowgirl boots! I bought them 2 sizes too big to ensure she will get to enjoy them for awhile. I absolutely loved these. I wish they had them in my size.

July 18, 2010

Girly Girl

I am so happy that I have a little girl that loves dolls and purses, shoes and clothes. These are some of my favorite pictures from a trip to the New Braunfels Children's Museum on May 28, 2010.

Keldon's Kindergarten Field Day

Keldon had a very exciting field day this year. His kindergarten class got to participate in many outside, water games. He had so much fun. I am so glad I got to be there to snap a few pictures and watch him having fun with his classmates. I cannot believe kindergarten is almost over. I feel like it went by so quickly. I spent most of the year watching two little boys. It prevented me from being able to help out or spend much time at Keldon's school (a 3, almost 2 and almost 1 year old are just hard to handle in a school setting). I love that he had such a great year though. His teacher, Mrs. Delarosa, was amazing. She really connected with Keldon and that really helped him have a great year.

Fun in the Sun

Just some random pictures of our water play this past summer.

Well, only one random summer fun picture! Sorry. Since this is a short post let me tell you about my lack of posting this summer. First my big camera stopped working. Luckily it was still under warranty. We took it in and it took about two weeks to fix. During this time, I busted out my small camera. It also decided to stop working. Well, with no camera it was hard to get pictures. I soon got my camera back from the shop (with all the custom settings messed up) and my computer decided to not turn on one day. Long story not too much longer, I now have a camera and a laptop that has an adaptor for my larger than normal memory card. I am playing catch up from Easter. . . more to come like right now!

Snuggle Bug

Both my kids are (thankfully) such good sleepers. At night, Katie puts that finger in her mouth and snuggles down for sleep. It is a blessing for our family seeing how mommy needs 8 hours of sleep to function.

These Boots Were Made For Walking. . .

So, Katie decided that boots were just the neates thing last spring and into summer. She just could not give up her new love. Several times she would bring them to me and insist that i put them on her. She did not care that knee high boots really are not the in thing. I finally snapped a few pictures one day so I can remember my baby in her tall boots and shorts.