Ticket Saturday

I got this idea from a friends blog.  I planned to take pictures, and share our experience, but our movie night turned out to be so hectic, that I never got around to it.  (My friend has some great pictures if you want a visual.  :)

My kids struggle to get jobs done.  They act like I am torturing them if I ask them to do anything on the weekends, so we decided to try a Ticket Saturday.  Originally I was going to just start giving them tickets for the jobs they did, and then have them find out later what the tickets were for, but I ended up advertising the whole thing to get them motivated.  We made a list of all the jobs that needed to be done on our white board, and organized them into one ticket and two ticket jobs.  I let the kids know that for 6 tokens they could get a little of everything at the movie night.  It took a little while for a couple of my kids to get going, and I even heard from a couple of them that they would just pass on the movie night, but eventually they all worked very hard and helped to clean.

We set up a little concessions stand, and let the kids buy popcorn, soda, and candy bars with their tickets.  We turned off all the lights and watched "Despicable Me."  We had a great night, and I now have a new way to motivate my kids to get their jobs done.

Dr. Appt.

I'm almost 23 weeks.  At my doctor's appointment today, they suspected that I have a bladder infection.  They said that that could be the reason I am cramping.  The nurse sent a sample off for a 4 day test, so I should get the results later this week.  It would be great if that were the case!  Then hopefully I can get some medicine and the pain can go away.

The doctor also said that I am dehydrated, and my calorie intake is too low.  Both of these causes also can cause cramping.  Hopefully, I can take care of myself, and things can go better.

Uneventful Hospital Visit

Just a quick update.

After being in quite a bit of pain for several days, I finally went into the hospital today to get everything checked out.  All the tests came back fine. 

They basically told me that I will probably feel like this for the rest of my pregnancy.  It hurts, but it is nothing to worry about.

Good to know!

Genes

There are many traits that are passed along through family lines.  In my family, we are lucky enough to have detached earlobes, autism, dimples, red hair, color blindness, and celiac disease.  Another trait that my dad, and many of my siblings have is the "hold your tongue just right" syndrome.  (Unfortunately, this can be viewed most easily when I am playing the piano in public.)  Apparently, I have passed it on.  This afternoon, as Morgan was working on his homework, I decided to catch this trait in action (with my new lens :)    

Man, I love my kids!!