Storms, Job Joggas and Noah in the big bed.
I spoke too soon. About storms.
While the hurricane babies were whirring through my house the storms outside were brewing. On Friday it started raining. It was cold and wet and gusty winds whipped around the bus as I drove the kids to school that morning. It was just the beginning of a VERY long weekend. By the afternoon the electricity had gone out and my sausage casserole was doomed. The wind was so strong that it upturned our gazebo which flew into the air and lodged itself between the fence and the cubby house.
We had power again briefly but at 9pm the lights went out for good.
We all went to bed but sleep was scant. The kids were scared, the babies were scared, heck, I was scared! The wind had increased to up to 90 kms and there were odd noises coming from outside as the storm lashed at our doors.
Ivy and Noah, not fairing too well with their colds, were restless and miserable.
By morning we could see the damage that had occured during the night. We had three trees down, one on our shed and on our fence and one on our garage. Our back yard was flooded and under our house flooded too. The farm at the end of our street was no longer a farm but a lake. Our neighbours and David all rallied to cut down the trees in the street that had fallen. In the mean time, I was left to tend to sick babies and feed tired, wild eyed children with no electricity, no hot water and a limited amount of supplies. When news of the next storm made its way to my ears my first instinct was to run! So, we packed up and made our way down to David’s parent’s house when the main road out opened briefly.
By Sunday evening the storms and winds had settled down, although many people in the area were still being evacuated and their homes flooded, ours was ok.
When the power came back on, my first task was to wash all my cloth nappies. I had gone to the shops to get some disposables but when it came time to make the purchase, I couldn’t do it.
I reasoned that I could make the nappies last and they would be first in line for the washing machine. I balked at the papery feel of the ’sposies’ when I did put one on earlier that morning and missed the roundness of the cloth bottomed babies. So I put the packet back and spent my money on clothes for the kids.
We went to the Parenting Expo two weekends ago, with my good friend, Trish and her beautiful boys. It was a great day for shop - a- holics like me (not so good for David, who hates crowds and spending money). We bought these little magnets called Job Joggas. The idea is for the kids to take responsibility for their…responsibilities. They do their chores and move the completed tasks across to the ‘jobs done’ side. It is supposed to save me from having to nag and save the kids from my nagging!
So far it has worked! I have (hardly) had to nag at all. We decided that at the end of each week there would be a master Job jogga. This week it was AJ. THe boy who hates discipline and rules took the joggas to heart and completed all his tasks without me having to ask. What’s more, he went above and beyond his chores. They all have really. Maddy vacuumed and cleaned, Lily helped Mal with the recycling. Immy has been invaluable with the sick babies. For his trouble AJ has chosen a mini football with his favourite football team on it.
I love the Job Joggas. I hope it lasts. Here’s to the possibility of a nag free year!
Since the storm, Noah has not settled in his cot. He has cried and trembled and sobbed. Two nights ago I tried him in his big bed and he slept! Today he had his morning nap in his big bed and settled very well. So it looks as though the cot is on the way out.
It’s sad in a way to know that this cot is retiring for good. There will be no more babies for me and so, if we were to store Noah’s cot (which was originally bought for William) the next babies to use it would be grandchildren.
I guess it is time to let go of the baby days and relish in the little boy that Noah is becoming and the girl - child that is Ivy
Hi,
I was just surfing the net while updating our Job Jogga’s website and stumbled upon your blog. We are happy to hear Job Jogga’s are working so well in your home. We certainly wouldn’t be without them in our home. Would you mind if we included your comments on our website testimonials page. We would also love a photo of AJ with his Job Jogga’s if possible. We would also welcome any additional feedback or suggestions you can offer us in relation to our chore system.
Look forward to your reply.
Kind Regards
Konnie - Job Jogga’s Director of Marketing
Comment by Konnie — July 5, 2007 @ 5:03 pm
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