Little Angel is at school. FOURTH GRADE and almost 11 years old. My husband is at the dentist. YUCK. and Lil Buckaroo is sleeping for the moment. I should be out back cleaning up the "dog mess" because my dad could stop by any minute. One morning I walked into the living room and there he and my mom were installing a fan. Lol.

Thankfully Little Buckaroo has been going to bed early enough to allow me and Little Angel some alone. She gets to pick two extra things to do aside from the tuck-in, devotion, and part of a story with a moral. (my sister came up with this idea to ensure she gets special time.) So at the beginning of the week she picks two night to do something "extra"
here are the options she came up with:
1. Scratch back (this girl LOVES her back scratched)
2. Baskin Robins
3. Paint nails
4. read
5. craft
6. game
7. karaoke
8. bubble bath in our swim suits
9. play station
10. hair
11. makeover
12. sleep with
13. fireflies
14. dress up and pictures
15. extra time on movie
16. 2 colors at Baskin Robins
17. yogurt place

Most weeks she wants ice cream and nails. Now granted, some weeks we do more than those two activities but at least she feels like she is reserving my time. We do a good deal of coloring and drawing. We found some good coloring books: Easter pictures, Strawberry Shortcake, and my Little Pony. When we draw we usually design clothes or decorate a name. She has never picked playing a video game and has only once picked getting to watch more of a movie. Lol. We chased fireflies when we went to my grandparent's house in July but unfortunately don't see them here. I make a real point to put her to bed every night with a devotional, part of a story with a moral, and prayer. She even gets a free back scratch most nights. ;)

I also tired of asking and reminding her about things she needed to do in the morning and evening and when to go to bed. Now I leave it entirely up to her. I told her to type up what she needs to do in the morning and what she needs to do at night. She pulls off the clothes pins when she has done each task. However, if I see that she has not, say, hung up her towel or rinsed out sink, I put the clothes pin on so she know what she needs to get ready for bed earlier. She has a timer that she carries around so she can stay on track. And boy is it nice to not have to follow her around and remind her! The only parameters I put in were: in bed (completely ready) by 8:45 and at breakfast table at 6:40 and out front door at 6:50. It makes such a difference that she has taken responsibility and will actually tell ME when she did not do what she was supposed to.

*tear tear* She now is completely doing her clothes and hair herself. I used to pick out her clothes and fix her hair. :( However, if she has not laid out her clothes the night before I get to pick them out. lol. :) (she rarely forgets) I have only had to tell her to change a few times and the only requirement I have for her hair is that her bangs are clipped or head banded out of her eyes. She now washes and blow dries her hair every morning! Getting to get up early to wash her hair is a huge modivator. She makes sure she does what she is supposed to (on her list) so she can get up early!

Raising a pre-teen is tough. lol. She is on one day and off another. She is sweet, she is sour. She is silly, she is not-crack-a-smile. She is affectionate, she is stay-a-way. She is obedient, she is manipulative. She likes what I like, she likes what I don't like. She wants to be with me (stuck to my butt as my husband says), she wants to be alone. She wants to be a big sister, she wants to be an only child. She does everything I ask, she questions everything I ask. She can be so sensitive to any kind of correction, she can be receptive to any kind of correction. Everyday is a new challenge but I am glad she is mine.

When she first moved in with my husband, right before she turned eight, she was a very needy little girl who needed had everything I could give. Just like my husband, no one had ever spent the time and loved on her the way I did.