A Marbelous Experiment

The marbelous experiment all started a few weeks ago when I was fed up with giving Cal candy for each successful bathroom attempt. Cal was high on dum dum lollipops; and, yet I was the one that felt like a dum dum. Cal's behavior was entirely motivated by whether or not he felt the reward was worth it at a particular moment. Even when I stepped up his challenge to go 2 -3 three times before getting a treat, it wasn't always worth it to him to make it to the bathroom. His lack of consistent motivation was driving me crazy.

About this same time I had been thinking about how to teach our kids about the value of work and the personal satisfaction that comes from really earning a reward. So, I decided to ditch the sugar for a marble jar, with the hope of consistently motivating good habits and instilling a basic connection in Cal's mind between work and reward.

Cal and I went to the craft store and got supplies to create his very own marble jar. We agreed that Cal would be able to earn marbles for doing a variety of things -- from going potty and dressing himself to helping mom and reading to Crewe. And when his jar was full, he would be able to get the reward of his choice, a trip to the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale. We made this little poster to highlight our marble deal:
It took a few days for the concept to kick-in, but when it did it was powerful. I've never seen someone so excited to earn a marble. He showed off his little poster to everyone who came over. He would regularly proclaim to complete strangers in places like the grocery store or the library "hey, I just got a marble in my jar." And at home he seemed to work "when I get lots of marbles in my jar, I get to go to the train park" into any conversation.

The marbelous expriement has been, well, marvelous! Cal is officially potty-trained now and on Monday, he earned enough marbles to go the train park. I've also noticed that he is nicer to Crewe and generally more happy. I wonder if it's that personal satisfaction thing.

We celebrated Cal's accomplishment by going to the train park for Family Night this week. Cal was intent on watching the wheels go along the track.


We just made a new poster to go along with round two of the marble jar. I hope it's just as marbelous.

Rain, Rain Come Again

It's been two weeks of humidity and temperatures of 110+... and we finally got our first rain of the summer the other night! Cal was so excited he grabbed his dusty rain boots and headed outside in his PJs. Crewe followed closely behind him. We didn't get more than a heavy sprinkle, but the boys made the most of it. Cal insists on keeping his boots by the backdoor just in case another storm comes soon. We can't wait for another summer monsoon.

That's Perfect!

Cal has taken it upon himself to try and "master" adult speak. I guess that's a requirement when you are an oldest child. For example, at a restaurant over the weekend he told the server who came to greet us that he'd like "a water with lemon, please." And would you believe that even though I ordered the same thing after him, he got his lemon and I didn't?

And then there's the "oh, mom, thank you for making ____, it was delicious!" But perhaps the phrase he likes to use most often is "oh, that's PERfect." I really wonder what he thinks "PERfect" means.

He proclaimed "oh, that's PERfect" after making this mess with his partner in perfection, Crewe.

He also declared Crewe's crib "PERfect" with the new addition of
"blue hot dogs" (aka Crewe's tubing for his mist collar machine).

Oh, and this one is great -- he added fringe to our alphabet "b" page and asked "Mom, isn't that PERfect? I love it!"
Funny thing is that this child probably knows more about perfection than I do. Cal, you're perfect for our family.

Blogging Again

I can't believe I let the entire month of April go by without a single post! Between lots of moonlighting, visitors, doing our taxes and being in a complete fog due to one of the worst allergy seasons on record, we had some fun family moments that I don't want miss documenting. So, please forgive me as I do a few catch-up posts.

Playing Favorites

A few of my favorites from the past week...

Favorite Morning Playtime: Cal and Crewe both fitting into the little tikes car made for one. It was Cal's idea after he saw Crewe inside the car. "I want to snuggle with Crewe in the car," he said.

Favorite holiday moment: Cal hanging the Easter eggs. After each one he proclaimed "Oh, that's wonderful!" I didn't even know that "wonderful" was in his vocabulary.

Favorite Kid Find: These bubbles from Gymboree are so cool. They contain a special ingredient that keeps the bubbles from popping when they land on your hair, your hand or the carpet. The boys chased these around forever last week.

Favorite Fascination of Crewe (for the week): the trains at the Train Park. He watched the trains go back and forth like they were the most important things on earth. Each time they came to the station he gave them a clapping ovation.

Favorite get-out-of-the-house-by-myself moment: Discovering the Carefree Farmer's Market and scoring all these delicious fruits and vegetables that were picked fresh that morning. Arizona grapefruit is to die for.

Getting Back to Normal

Crewe is bouncing back faster than we thought he would and we're finally getting back to a normal schedule again thanks to...

Dorene, Chad and Austin who flew in last week to hang with Cal while Chris and I traded off nights and days at the hospital.
By normal we mean...

Cal is wearing his boots anywhere we let him.

Crewe is making us smile with his contagious smile.

Chris is teaching the boys how to work in the yard.

Water, Boots and Nuts

We got drenched with rain last week and are getting another dose of it today. Rain in the desert is actually a very cool sight to behold. The washes, which normally are dry beds, turn into raging rivers of tan water and puddles develop everywhere.

Cal couldn't resist the appeal of the puddles while he was with me at a YW presidency meeting last week. He and his two-year old partner in crime decided to sneak out of the house while we were meeting. By the time we discovered the boys had escaped, Cal had soaked his jeans and was having the time of his life. He was literally dancing in the biggest puddle he could find. No coat, no boots, just his little converse shoes.

So with Cal shoeless and wearing borrowed pants and socks we left the meeting to pick up a few necessary items (like diapers) at Target before the roads flooded. While in the diaper aisle, Cal began pointing while saying "cute boots, cute boots, mama." When I looked up I was sure he was pointing to these beauties:

But, alas, he was talking about these Transfomer things.
He was so excited about the boots and just giggled when I let him check them out. After he looked at me with his big blue eyes and asked for them, I noticed they were on clearance (imagine those cute boots, on clearance?). And so, Cal got his "cute boots." And now, he wears them everywhere. I don't mind a bit because he can put them on and take them off himself!

As if Cal didn't get enough of the water during the storms, he screamed out "I WANT water" at the top of his lungs during church on Sunday. And then he shouted it again. And again. Talk about embarrassing. His nursery leader mentioned that she was glad to hear that he stands up for himself because he's always so polite and sweet during nursery. Really? If I didn't know her better, I'd swear she was confusing Cal with another boy. Our little Cal can be a sweetheart for sure, but we don't see much of his quiet, unquestioning side. Maybe we'll sit next to Sister G. next Sunday so we can see the angel Cal...

This week another food was added to Crewe's growing list of allergies - nuts. There was no blood or muscle test this time - just big brother sharing his snack of cashews. It took only a piece to do him in. All of the usual reactions kicked-in: swelling, hives all over his body, itchy face and airway and several rounds of vomiting. At times like this I am SO grateful for the trach because I know he has an open airway as long as the trach is clear. This guy is such a trooper.

This is the way the boys stay quiet at a restaurant...

...at least until the episode of Signing Time or Bob the Builder ends. Thank you, Apple!

Giggles

This morning I heard lots of giggles coming from the pantry. I could tell Crewe was giggling too. This is what I found: the boys playing windshield wiper with a brand new jumbo bag of Epic mints (or Uncle Donald mints as we call them). The pantry now smells minty fresh. Uncle Donald, maybe you can bring us some more when you come for Thanksgiving?!

Fall is in the Air {finally}

After five days in a row under 100, I think it's finally safe to say that Fall is in the air. October is definitely one of my most favorite months. The weekend was a great start to the season: lots of playtime outside, our town's 25th Anniversary Celebration, and General Conference.

Hitting golf balls into the wash by our house has become an evening tradition
Mostly a spectator sport for Creweton
Mr. Social makes himself at home with the freshman boys hanging out next door. He now wants a skateboard.
Carefree celebrated their 25th anniversary on Saturday with a bunch of fun events like a car show and tour of the new fire station. I took the photo above at the car show for my brother Brian, connoisseur of fine automobiles.
Cal went straight for the driver's seat.
He had to see how it all works. He's just like his dad.
Again, going for the driver's seat.
Checking out the ambulance.

There's something wonderful about watching conference together in our PJs. I always look forward to conference as my "battery recharge" and this fall's conference was just what I needed. One of my favorite family moments during conference was hearing Cal spontaneously and proudly announce "da proffet, Prezdnt Mausun" upon seeing him at the pulpit for the first time on Saturday.

Sunday, a Good Day

Sunday used to be a day I looked forward to. Recently, I have dreaded Sundays. Sundays have turned into a power struggle between Calahan and me. He doesn't like to sit in church and has discovered that if he screams at the top of his lungs (and he's got some serious lung power), I will take him out of the chapel. And so he screams and screams and screams. Disruptive and embarrassing screams.

No dreading today. Today was a great day.

Cal and I started out the morning by making treats for Chris' EQ lesson.

(In the unlikely case that some from the EQ is reading this, know that Calahan did not contaminate your treat; this photo was taken after your treat was already in the oven)

Then, Cal actually behaved most of the first hour. A few squirms and attempted escapes, but no screaming or running. As a matter of fact, we even heard the talks today. Cal and I spent some time last week selecting pages from the Friend magazine to color and then made the Reverent Book we found in last August's issue. These and some fruit snacks seemed to help this time.


The day got better. Everyone in the family went down for a nap at the same time after church!

Still better. Chris got up when Crewe woke up and fixed a scrumptious homemade dinner all on his own. I didn't lift a finger except to pick up my fork and enjoy. Wow, I love that guy.


For our dessert, we had yummy, guilt-free ice cream sandwiches. Not bad for a low-cal, low-fat treat.

Afterwords we just hung out and enjoyed being together. Chris read the boys books and Cal dragged us all into the living room to play the piano and sing.

More Sundays like this and I'll be looking forward to them again.