Friday, September 11, 2009

The Solution?

I'm going to copy mommy~dearest at The Quirk Factor: Resistance if Futile and whisper to you that I think my husband and I have tumbled upon the solution for the morning routine. I hope I don't jinx it by sharing this early.

First of all, yesterday was another difficult morning. Faith's daddy showed her how to tie her shoes the night before. She managed to get one tied but not the other. Tears. I tied the other. More tears. Apparently the way I tied the shoe wasn't the same as daddy. "I want my shoes to look the same," she wailed when I asked her the reason for the silent tears. So I untied and retied both shoes so they'd look the same. Then I suggested that she and daddy practice again that night. Solution?

As I sat in Jonathan's room yesterday morning repeating every thirty seconds, "If you stand up, getting dressed will go a lot faster," I also asked him (in between my mantra) "What will get you up and moving in the morning?"

"Breakfast in bed!" he said excitedly.

"I don't think so. I can't even get you moving before you get out of bed."

However, Jonathan liked his idea, so for the rest of the day it became his new mantra. "Breakfast in bed."

Finally, at 9:30 p.m. (thirty minutes past when he was supposed to be in bed with the lights out), we came up with a compromise. I suggested that daddy will wake him up and give him a CapriSun with his ADHD medications. Then an hour later, if he was still asleep when I came in, I'd bring in another CapriSun.

That's what we did this morning. Although he was back asleep when I came in, he did wake up quickly, dressed quickly, and ate his breakfast quickly. In fact, he had 30 minutes to play on his computer. Solution?

So far no tears from Faith. The most difficult thing she asked of me was to hunt down the "poop wipes." (I'll have to share a blog entry just on "poop wipes.") Could it be Faith's mood was dictated by Jonathan's and mine. Solution?


Everyone was so calm and ready, I was able to write this entry before putting them on the bus.
I guess next week will tell.

3 comments:

  1. So glad you found a solution. SOmetimes it is just trial and error but eventually you find just the right thing that works. Have a great weekend:)

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  2. You are creative and patient looking for solutions. I'm glad that it worked out. I know my young children's moods sometimes vary depending on mine. Enjoy your weekend!

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  3. I love the solution! Very creative way to get the job done! Glad it's going well. =)

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