8 years and a couple weeks ago...

We now have an 8 year old. Wow, the time sure blurs by!

We had an insanely fun time at Chuck E. Cheese for the big day and K got toooooooons of wonderful fun gifts. She's used/played with everything a bunch already with one exception...the Easy-Bake Oven.

She wasn't really sure about it, but we (her loving 'rents) were positive this would be a great gift, so we got it for her in spite of her less than stellar enthusiasm when introduced to the idea of a kid's oven a few months back. I finally remembered to get all the extra stuff needed for the oven, like a light bulb (I'm sure it said it came with one, maybe it was a sticker that fell off?) since all we have in the house are the high efficiency bulbs that don't put out much heat. I also needed some non-stick spray.

So...last night after dinner I suggest for dessert that K make her own little cake instead of having ice cream or some other treat. I have never...ever...seen anyone glued to a kitchen timer like that little girl was last night.

I helped some since she is unsure of techniques for "real" cooking, but she tried everything after I demonstrated and even surprised me by already knowing how to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl already. That sneak's been actually paying attention when she chats with me while I cook! I give her a week before she only needs marginal supervision and starts inventing her own stuff. Seriously.

So today I'm looking around for some recipe options. She likes the mixes but they're so...well...someone else's idea. K's always been a blaze-my-own-gosh-darn-trail sort of girl, so the idea that we could make stuff entirely from scratch instead of opening a couple envelopes and adding water was very keen. I could see the gears already starting to turn when I mentioned it.

So I found this site filled with a mind-boggling range of recipes and am greatly anticipating my mini-chef arriving home from school to approve some things so I can add them to the grocery list.

After a week of doing awesome at working on homework due tomorrow, I've successfully torpedoed myself with surfing on Ravelry and searching for Easy-Bake Oven recipes. I did manage at least to descum my coffee maker, fling water all over the master bath in the process, and throw some random fabric items into the washing machine. I'd say so far today is a push in regards to productivity.

Multitasking

This morning I knit 10 rows on the scarf I'm working on...
while walking Krash to school...
and chewing gum.

All at the same time!

Now all I need is an MP3 player and some audio books and I'll be one more step to fulfilling my plot to take over the world!

Feels like Friday!

Well, Krash has been having quite a year this year. The adjustment to her new school hasn't been without problems. The main one being the amount of homework she gets each week. In her other class, she got two pages a day. One side for math, the other for English practice.

Now she gets, on average, three to four pages a day and a weekly spelling list to write sentences for (14 words, 12 sentences). It comes in a packet on Monday to work on through the week. Getting that much work done in time has been...not fun. For any of us. I would estimate that she has turned in maybe half of her homework packets 100% done. Le sigh.

We've tried various carrots and sticks to try and get her to do her work. If she's unmotivated, it's easier to get blood from a stone than pencil applied to paper. Past attempts at rewards for achievement or punishment for slacking have been about as futile as digging a hole in the ocean. She invariably decides that whatever is the activity/item being offered/taken away holds no more interest for her. It's maddening.

Since I'm every bit as stubborn as my daughter (I can't imagine where she gets it from), I am constantly trying to think of new motivators to try. She has to have something that will get her willing to do her homework. She's so crazy smart, she could get it done in a single afternoon if she applied herself, but convincing her she can is a whole 'nother animal.

So after the latest round of drama a couple weeks ago, I decided to try yet again with something new.... We haven't been eating out much at all and generally avoid fast food even when we do go out. Naturally, being 7, Krash's all-time favorite dinner is...you guessed it...a Happy Meal.

So I made her a deal (1 and 2 were already in place)...

1. Homework is not done on time: loss of some minor privileges.
2. Homework is done for Friday morning turn in. No special rewards, but she gets dessert (if all other standards apply) and all her other normal extras through the weekend.
   
3. Homework is done early so it can be turned in no later than Thursday: She gets a Happy Meal for dinner some time that week.

Naturally, last week she was all for this and worked really hard until Wednesday night and decided she "wasn't doing the Happy Meal thing this week." No skin off my teeth, and I let her go after getting enough done that she would be able to finish the next night. Come Thursday afternoon though, she started asking about her Happy Meal.

Oh, no, she was told, you didn't get the homework done early. That was the deal, we went over it 5 different ways to make sure she absolutely understood what the offer was. Somehow she had convinced herself that as long as she got her homework finished she still got the extra reward. My whole point was that you don't get extras if you are only doing what is already expected of you.

So, we went over it again.
Aaaaaaaand again.
Tears were shed; it was really quite dramatic.
There was no Happy Meal.

So this week...wouldn't you know it...Krash is turning in her homework a day early! She's terribly excited about getting a Happy Meal for dinner tonight (she was dancing this morning in fact). I'm terribly happy I don't have to ride herd this afternoon to get her to stay focused, so I get a break, too. It's a win-win!

So...it feels like Friday now....