If you can read this, thank your mother.

It rained today. All day. Which means we were inside. All day.

Meredith and I did go to my Mom’s In Touch group this morning, which pretty much became a gab fest and a playdate. Before we walked out the door, Meredith asked to wear one of my rings. I told her no. She cried and yelled that she “wouldn’t look good without a ring.” I told her she’d live. Allow me to quote Meredith: “Well, Jesus would want you to share your rings with me.” I should have spent my time praying instead of gabbing.

We did get the playroom picked up, but only because I bribed them with candy. I really need to move the kids towards more personal responsibility. It’s hard. I would rather pick up the toys myself and put them into their proper bins. If the kids do it, it takes two hours. Things that should be thrown out---i.e. broken crayons, scraps of paper, bent swords-- wind up stuffed in a toy drawer. Trucks land in the dress up box. Maracas in the tool bench. I can’t stand it. It’s time. They need to learn to be more responsible for their belongings and I need to learn to live with Barbie’s shoes in the block bin.

We struggled with Alex’s reading homework tonight. He has Kindergarten Connection homework every night. It’s mainly reading worksheets, which contain sight words and a small book to read. I have a sneaking suspicion we’re one of the few still reading the two-sentences-per-page-books, and I’m fine with that. What I’m not fine with, is Alex fiddling around and doing just enough to get by.

I wish I was the type of mom who didn’t want to run screaming from the room after their child repeatedly confuses words like “Gus” and “sub.” Alex goes to great lengths to avoid actually reading the words on the page. He’d rather guess. He sees a picture of a boat on the page and from then on, any word with a “b” becomes “boat.” Maybe this is why so many mothers I know are on some sort of anti-anxiety medication. I thought it was the economy or gas prices, but it turns out it’s phonics.