The Drywall is Done!

Today I hung the last piece of drywall in the basement (excluding the bathroom which will be a project for next year - due to plumbing issues)! I need to go pick up our third or fourth 60 pound bucket of mud and another roll of corner tape to finish the mudding and taping. Then I need to find out where to rent a machine to texture the walls for next week! I think that I will celebrate today by going to pick out paint colors. This has been such a long process for us, that I am still a little disbelieving that it is so close to being finished!

62.3 pounds

That is how heavy the boxes we recieved today for Mary's upcoming year of school were. She now has a stack of books and workbooks that is over a foot tall. I don't think the implications of that have sunk in yet, because she is super excited for school to start. Up until today she was often heard to point out that while Isaiah and Rebekah start next Thursday, on August 27th, she didn't have to start until September 8th. Today she was complaining that she had to wait longer to start school.

Books and more books weren't the only thing in all the boxes. She also recieved pictures of art, acrylic paints, paint brushes, modeling clay and oil pastels for art this year. For science she recieved a magnifying glass, an advanced rock and mineral collection, wall maps, pipe cleaners, more modeling clay, safety glasses, a large test tube, packets of sand and one of gravel, a magnet set and a thermometer. For American History, she was sent an inflatable globe and more wall maps. Combined with all the things that she will be doing on the computer, I am very satisfied that she is going to have a great year learning and doing new things.

In other news, today Isaiah is going out to a ranch to learn about and perhaps ride horses for his Cub Scout den meeting. He is so very excited and Mary and Rebekah (fervent lovers of all things horse) are very envious.

Brownie Points, Please

There is a new system of work and reward in our home. It started a couple of weeks ago when I asked one of the kids (Isaiah, I think) to please run upstairs and fetch the wipes and a diaper. Feeling his age, he asked what he would get for it, and I told him he could have a brownie point (to me a brownie point is when you don't get anything but goodwill from a person for doing something). He went and did what I asked right away and I gave it no more thought. Later, while I was upstairs making lunch, Mary rushes into the room, with Isaiah and Rebekah close behind wanting to know what she could do to earn a "donut point, too." Several days passed with the kids frequently asking what they could do to earn points and arguing over who would do the small something to earn a point. They kept a running tally and talked about it A LOT. I must admit, I found something for them to do every time they asked.

They were all approaching double digits, before they realized they didn't know what exactly brownie points are good for. Mary started grumbling that it was just another way to get them to help out at home, besides their daily chore (she is starting to catch on too quickly to some things). So I decided that they could redeem brownie points for various things, extra time on the computer or video games, staying up a little past their bedtime (that one won't work during school), or other special things. They can also lose brownie points, especially at bedtime if they don't go when they are told. Bedtimes have been much nicer, a good deal less wandering of the halls, and what not.

I just have to add this picture taken last Sunday. What a Cutie!