Smarty Pants, Busy Bees and The Helper Fairy

Once again I find myself playing catch up. Our lives have been verging on the insanely out of control. As the school year draws to a close (14 days and counting) it seems that the the kids have more activities, plays, assemblies, and field trips planned than they have had the entire year! So with that I begin this entry. Kalysta has been learning about insects for the last month. They had a cute little play last week in which Kalysta played a bee. I would argue that you have never seen a cuter little busy bee!
After the play they sang a few songs....the classic "Ants Go Marching" and "Here Comes the Sun" ...her Papa would've been proud to hear her belt out the great Beatles tune so well ;-).


As most of you know (because I tend to brag a bit too much) Brooklyn is in the G.A.T.E program at her school. Canyon Ridge's gate program is self contained and there are only 4 4th graders in the entire school district who have been able to pass the test which allows them to be a part of this program, Brooklyn is one of them. On a side note, the tests should be a little less stringent as I believe there are many more kids who can benefit from this program. Personally I think they are trying to get rid of the program and therefore make the test nearly impossible to pass to show that the funding could be put to better use, i.e. football, basketball, after school programs. And here I thought the primary function of the schools was to "educate". What foolish thinking. Sorry, that is a topic for another day. To the point...Brooklyn is not only in the gifted program, but at the beginning of the year set a goal to get straight A's. So far so good. Here are a couple pictures of her at the last honors assembly. Brooklyn has been on the "Principle's List" all 3 quarters so far. We are so proud of you Brooklyn!

We are so lucky to have such amazing kids! Which brings me to my final post for today. Over the last couple months I have noticed a "disturbing trend". Our children, as fabulous as they are, seem to have it in their cute little heads that mom and dad have the sole responsibility to make them happy. To be there at each and every beck and call. To clean up after them and make a 5 course meal every evening. HA! Poor souls. Last week we decided to sit them all down and have a discussion about each of our roles as members of this family. We told them how much we loved them and that we are proud of each of them. Then we told them that it was time for a change. No more will mom pick up after you. No more will I have wining at the dinner table. No more making demands. No more fits when things aren't done the way you think they should be. No more snotty remarks. We told them that it was fine to make a mess. They're kids, they can make messes. However, I will not be cleaning them up anymore. They can choose to leave them but if they do so I will put the toys in a garbage bag and it will be donated to the church nursery or D.I. or Goodwill. You get the point. Well that night after going to bed we had a little visit. When James and I awoke there was a note on the dresser.
Not only was there a note but the ENTIRE house had been cleaned. Turns out our "Helper Fairies" set their alarm and awoke at 2 am to clean the entire house. I'm still amazed. Not only that the next day we were doing the rock in our yard and they all came out to help. Grabbing a shovel and working for a couple hours. They have been helping around the house. When I ask them to do something they get up and do it. I know that I will have to work diligently to help encourage this behavior, but I have to say I couldn't be happier with our children. Not sure how long this will last but so far they have done a fantastic job. That concludes this entry. Check back tomorrow for more. I have to go paint....and do laundry...and make the bed....and dust....