Wednesday, June 29, 2011

At Our House

I love books. I really really want my kids to love books. If Jansen or Natalie asks me to read to them, there is some sort of mothering mechanism triggered inside me and I can't say no. (I CAN say no to playing with their toys with them, pretending to be a doggy, and other really undesirable requests.) I try to read with them before bed each night. Recently, to make it more special, we decided to do our bedtime reading in my bed. Blankets, pillows, cuddles, and books. I hope they have memories of this when they are older.
Natalie particularly looks forward to it each night.
I have been fighting a battle for years now. The battle is this: what should the rules be concerning the family room couch? Can they jump on it? Can they take the cushions off? Can they build forts? Well, I'm done fighting, and for the most part, yes, they can. If you were to ask me the number one thing my kids play with, it would be the couch and its cushions. I would be doing myself a disservice to take that away from them. :) 

The other night Nate was wrestling and running with the kids. One of those roughhousing nights when you just wait for the tears.They came. Jansen hit his head on our bed and got a cut on his eyebrow. It really wasn't a bad one, but he got a little black eye, and we iced it and put a bandaid on it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That bandaid made that look like a scary horrible injury. I am so relieved. It seems like his little eyebrows always get it.

Todd and Rikki Smith said...

My kids love to read and at the library they have a summer reading program where the kids can earn prizes for each book they read! Great incentive for them and me! They just got Leid Museum passes!!

Kent and Leisy said...

the family room couches are free game at our place. every kid needs a couch to jump on! and build forts with!!

Annie said...

Jansen's eyebrows do always seem to get it don't they!?

So do you ever preview the books and if they are too long you send them elsewhere or is that just me? I mean I want my kids to love reading but I don't have ALL day. The shorter the better says I.

Fine. You're a better mother than me. I've accepted it. You're perfect, and I'm just social. At east I've got something going for myself.

Angie said...

Your post made me think of our read-a-thons we would have after school at your house. I miss those days of going to your house after school, reading a book, then going to the school to practice running so we could do well on physical fitness tests!