Quotes That Resonate

"Something that irritates you and won't let you go. That's the anguish of it. Do this book, or die. You have to go through that. Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but, most of all, endurance." - Author Unknown

Auburn's Biggest Loser!

CONGRATULATIONS! To Debbie Crow for winning Auburn's Biggest Loser weight loss challenge! 22 lbs, 15 inches, and over 12% of her body weight! I knew you were gonna do it. So proud of you! Oh, and did I mention over $350 in prize money? YES!

Truckee!

It's Friday and I'm loading the car with all our snow stuff, two boys, and the dog to spend the week in Truckee. I'm so excited because Dave will be meeting us there and having not seen him for more than two weeks, it will be a bit of a romantic reunion. Intentional Winning in Life is about being present and making the most of every moment. I plan to do just that this weekend! Happy Weekend!

It's Getting Worse...

I'm holding firm on this "Acquisition Time Out" with Mason, but he is not letting up on me. Since he knows I'm going to say no, he has upped the anti on requests. We went to the grocery store to get egg colors and a donut. We picked out the colors, each got a donut, and as we waited in line to pay for our items, he picked up darn near everything in the check-out isle and said, "Can I have this?" "What about this?" And on and on. I finally just ingnored him and when we finally left the store, he asked about his donut. The donut that he'd been looking forward to for hours before we actually got it. And for the record, the donut was something I rewarded him with for behaving without having a reward on the line.

I want him to realize that good things come to him when he's good, for goodness sake. Not that he has to be good to get something. So I'll keep reinforcing the good in Mason (and there is lots!), and keep correcting the behaviors I feel will set him up for failure later in life. I have way more stick-to-it abilty than he will ever know!

Quotes That Resonate

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing. - George Bernard Shaw

Times are tough right now and I think it's so important to remember that we are not our choices. We certainly are responsible for where we are, but events do not define who we are as people. It is our actions, the way we treat others, and what we give that makes us who we are this very minute, nothing else matters!

Still Wanting, Not Getting.

Mason is still wanting, wanting, wanting. I explained to him that he is not getting all the frivolous stuff he is asking for, yet he still asks. Not only does he continue to ask, he is so frustrated when I say no and he'll go on to say, "Mom, you always say no!" I don't always say no, however when you look at the shear number of times Mason asks for something, it must feel to him like I always say no.

My problem is that I do not want to indulge Mason, but by not buying or giving him what he wants, he feels like it's a punishment. I don't want this to be about him being "bad," he's not bad, he's wonderful, he just needs to realize that he doesn't need to constantly be acquiring things to be happy. I'll keep on the loving lesson and let you know how it pans out!

To Want

I'm concerned about Mason. I'm sure it's completely normal for a child to want the latest and greatest gizmo and gadget, but when is it that it's not about the thing, as much as it is about wanting it? I see more and more that when Mason wants something and he gets it, he doesn't take even a moment to enjoy whatever it is...he is immediately on to wanting the next thing. This became very apparent to me over the weekend while we were running errands. Mason asked if we could get a drink, a hot chocolate. I hadn't had any coffee so I pulled into the drive through and purchased a coffee and a hot chocolate. As I handed Mason his drink, before he could even really acknowledge that he got what he wanted, he said, "I wish I had ice cream."

This is not the first time I've witnessed this in Mason, but it really struck me that Mason is forming an early addiction to acquisition. He has a room full of toys that he doesn't want to play with and even when he gets a new game, his interest in playing it is minimal. It's time for an intervention. I'm going to go a full 30 days without buying Mason anything, no toys, gum, candy, nothing that is an impulse purchase. He will have what he needs and we will use what we have. I don't know if 30 days is enough time to make a difference, but it's a good starting point to see what happens. I'll post a weekly update and let you know what I learn.