Little Friends

Sand Castles at The Magic House

The Magic House has brought in a ton of sand for "Sandcastle Beach" for part of the summer.  Since we are members, we got to go for a little sneak peek one morning and watch the sand castle sculptor work on a humongous sand castle!!! 

They had big umbrellas and Adirondack chairs out.  The weather was awesome and the kids (and us) could have stayed there forever. 

No ocean involved, but it felt like we were at the beach.  Made me want to make a trip to the beach in the near future!

Afterwards, we went out to eat and the kids got ice cream and got to go to the "Make Your Own Sundae" bar. Every kid's dream.

Something New

We are trying a new strategy around here and it's actually working!

This is very similar to a behavior plan I would use in the classroom... I don't know why I never thought of using something like this at home.

I was browsing incentive, behavior, and chore charts on pinterest and came across this idea.

I explained it to Kate before I even made it and she was so excited. She is VERY motivated by stuff like this.

We've been using it for a little over two weeks and she LOVES it!! Jack is even getting into it.

The idea is this: Kate and Jack each have a clothespin with their name on it. Each day, they start on "Good Job". All day long, they have the opportunity to "clip up" or (yikes!) "clip down".

At first, I was worried that Kate would start doing jobs or being extra sweet just so she could "clip up". But, so far, it hasn't worked like that. She will voluntarily offer to help or use really good manners, and she is always surprised when I compliment her and tell her she can move her clip. She gets so excited. (I have yet to hang the chart on the laundry room door, but she can still reach it to move her clothespin on her own. I love that they have ownership of the plan.)

And of course on the other hand, not listening, being disrespectful, not cooperating, arguing with each other, all cause them to clip down.

Just the other night, both kids helped Mark make our bed and pick up some dirty clothes. I heard him say, "Great job! Both of you guys can clip up." Jack was the first one that came running into the kitchen and waited by the chart. Maybe he's understanding.

The best part of the day is getting rewarded for good behavior. Each kid has a little cup and at the end of the night they get little pom poms based on where they are on the chart. One for "Good job". Two for "Super". Three for "Awesome".

There have been a few times where none were earned and I think it actually made an impact on Kate.

When the cup is full, they get to pick out of a little treasure box I keep hidden in my closet. Kate had just filled hers when this picture was taken, so she started over. I think we will need to switch to marbles, or use bigger jars soon. I just wanted little ones at first to get some momentum and get them excited about it.

Now, we'll see how long this lasts. But, so far it has really caused a decrease in the amount of arguments around here.  I haven't had to raise my voice, and Kate really seems to be cooperating a lot more. It's so easy to just say, "Go move your clip down" instead of getting angry.  It's a quick little warning that has corrected a lot of misbehavior. 

 Jack doesn't quite grasp the whole concept. He just likes moving his clip and putting pom poms in the cup. Ha!

I love when a plan works out! :)

After the Shower

We had Brad and Victoria's shower at a little winery/restaurant in downtown St. Charles. It is so stinking cute down there.



After the shower when shirts were stained and Kate's sweater was balled up in my purse, Mark snapped some pictures.

The pictures of Jack make me swoon. I just love my Jack Man so much. I could just eat him up, and he knows it!








(I wish I would've fixed his shirt, so it didn't look like it was buttoned wrong! I just noticed that.)

Our Sweet Babies

Mark took these pictures at the pumpkin patch as the sun was setting. I love them. In true Roskowske kid fashion, Jack would hardly cooperate for any "posed" pictures and Kate was dragging him all around. These candid shots turn out to be the best anyway.

It's pictures like this that I know I will look back on when they are older and wonder where the time went.

Beware of picture overload, by the way.


































(Ah, this picture is so classic Kate and Jack.)














(Everybody loves Jack Man!)

The Little People in our Life

We love these little people!

Check out the Jack Man's hair!!