Long Overdue Update

Well, since I posted last, we have moved once more!  The owner of the condo we were leasing lost it to foreclosure.  Truth is, as it all turns out, he was losing it since the time we began leasing it!  We leased through a property management company so we felt safe and in the end, other than the inconvenience of moving again, we were safe.  Our deposit and last month's rent had been held in an escrow account so we got it all back which enabled us to walk away without losing any money.  That was a blessing!

So we are replanted in Long Beach just about a mile from the ocean!  Such an awesome place to live!  We're looking forward to taking part in the many festivities around here!  We are enjoying our new house, and the kids are looking forward to starting school which is right around the corner! :)   I did my homework on the schools in the area and this is one of the better ones.  Amazing how decisions are made once kids are in the picture.  They have been troopers during the move and feel incredibly secure and loved.  

Zack, as of late, is working on paying more attention to listening to instructions.  He often times seems to get lost in his head...always thinking, but not always thinking about the here and now task at hand.  Any parent out there have a trick to helping bridge this gap? 

Sophia is working on preparing for 1st grade!  She is reading now and also grasping the concept of addition.  She says things are easy that use to be hard so that is a sign of progress!  As far as behavioral training, we keep working on her sassy attitude that comes out now and again and her bossy tendency.

I have a friend whose young adult daughter is so incredibly rude, and my friend claims that is just how she always has been.  My friend thought it was important to let her be herself.  I disagree with this reasoning and the outcome is enough reason to get me to help Sophia to manage her drive.  She is not rude, but gone untrained she certainly would grow up with that bend.  I am a firm believer in breaking the will while preserving the spirit.  Gentle reminders of kindness and appropriateness will serve any kid well...and sometimes not so gentle.

I am so fortunate because Zack and Sophia both have teachable spirits.  Sometimes I catch myself thinking that if I've told them something once, they should never make that same mistake again, but that isn't realistic.  A great friend of mine reminds me often that this is what parenting is all about - repeating yourself and never stopping the repeats until they get it. Surprisingly, they do pick up great habits and then those habits make me realize I have some bad ones myself.  I realize kids should never correct adults, but I do find it humorous that when I cross a line, they know I've crossed it.  I just need to be careful not to raise little ones who expect others to tow the line 24/7.  That would make for tough marriages, huh? 

Life is a sum of the little things...the little moments in time that when added together make for a childhood worth remembering.