Princess Rewards

"I'm Cinderella!" Anounced Eliza as she ran into the dining room and did a twirl to show everyone her new dress.

We played with one of her friends who had princess dress-up dresses for the Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella. Eliza sobbed when it was time to take the Cinderella dress off and go home.

So, I started a behavior modification chart- aka sticker chart- last week for Eliza, and it's been working wonderfully! I had been having trouble motivating Eliza to brush her teeth, share with her cousin, clean up her toys, and get her hair done. So I made this chart while Eliza was drawing one night, and it's done wonders for her behavior!

(Legend- lips are for brushing teeth, 2nd row is cleaning up, heart is for sharing, and star is miscellaneous-- usually for not fighting when she gets her hair done or being nice to the pets. A few of her stickers have fall off.)

And when she gets seven stickers, she gets a toy! Hence, the cinderella dress.

This chart has made discipline around here a LOT more fun. I know some people are morally opposed to the reward system, but for now, it's working for us!

Grad School Snapshot

Before I cleaned up, I thought I'd snap a picture of what my desk usually looks like during these grad school days!
It could and probably will be much worse as the semester load thickens! Yippee!

Looking forward

I hope that 2010 will be a year of new beginnings for me. And not just because I'm the new Laurel Advisor (hehe, YW allusions are the funniest- not really).

I was just thinking about what I look forward to accomplishing this year, and it got me excited instead of filled with horrible anxiety and panic!

So I thought I'd savor that train of thought while I can by publishing it via the BLOG.

I am looking forward to Beginning New by...

1. Graduating! The biggest one, definitely! I cannot WAIT to walk across the stage on May 8th to be awarded with my Masters of Social Work degree. That will be FAN-freakin-tastic. It's still going to take a lot of work between now and May 8th to get to that point, but I know I can do it! (right?) Although, I am procrastinating writing my first paper right now by blogging...


2. Passing my Licensure Exam! I just mailed in my application to sit for my exam in February!! I, obviously, really hope that I can pass the first time I take it, but if not, I'll take it again in May and pass!!! Then I will be Amy Meldau, LMSW! SWE-EET!


3. Get my first job as an LMSW and my first FULL-Time job since having Eliza. I'm not excited about thinking of being gone from Eliza, but I am really excited about getting a job to be able to SUPPORT Eliza and myself!!! And getting a job in this economy will truly be something to celebrate.


4. Finalizing my Divorce. I'm not looking forward to that because I think divorce is a great thing or whatever, but more because getting through the big pile of legal crap will be quite the accomplishment... AND because it represents a huge new beginning for myself, and I am FINALLY in a place in my life where I can look forward to that. So anyone who is cynical/crazy enough to have a "you're offically divorced party!" with my in July-- here's your official invite. just kidding... Oh, and another part of this is getting to change my hyphenated name back to the original and glorious, Amy Meldau. (That is what I am already going by for anyone interested in calling me by my first and last name).


5. Eliza's 3rd birthday!! I can't believe that I'll have a THREE year old! Ahh! It's insane! I love Eliza to death and am so excited to start another year with MY GIRL! Plus, at age 3, Eliza will be able to start at the Montessori preschool!!! That will be awesome!


6. Generally, I am excited to be living life with the new zest, freedom, and peace of mind that I've been able to restore in my soul recently with the help of my Savior, my Heavenly Father, a great therapist, my family, and my routines from zenhabits.net!

So now, I'll leave these hopes and dreams here and in the future where they belong, and go back to living in the present and learning to ENJOY where I am right now, this minute, in my life!

Funny Eliza Quotables

When we turned the lights out in the room, Eliza yelled, "I can't see my blue eyes!"

Some of you have already heard this one, but Eliza and I were talking about how there were germs in the toilet, and with great concern in her voice, Eliza said, "Mommy, you fell in the toilet when you were a little girl?" Apparently she was ready to comfort me for my past trauma!

Eliza: "I need something."

Me: "What do you need?"

Eliza: "Something PERFECT!"

When I tell Eliza it's time to go to bed, she says to me, "Mommy, I a little bit hungry! I need icecream."

Eliza still asks what everyone and everything is think or saying. Today she was asking me what the car was saying. So she said...

Eliza: "Mommy, you be the car."

Me: "Okay."

Eliza: "Hey car! I Eliza! You want to go to the library?"

We were playing a drawing game on the computer that had a bomb sticker that you can put on it. Eliza asked me what it was and I told her it was a bomb.

Eliza said, "It's a bum?"

Me: "A bomb, baahhhm."

Eliza: "A bum," as she pats herself in the bum.

Me: "No, a bomb. Bombs blow up when you set them on fire."

Eliza: "I want to play with fire."

Beautiful Oma

Photo Shoot: In front of the Christmas Tree

Adorable!

Still waking up!

All of The Four dedicated to Mom:

I said, "Let's do a crazy one!"
Apparently that equals violence for Kate and Robby...

Our Solemn Reuben Faces:

One place I'd shop at if I had any money!

(Easel on the Eyes Dress)

Modcloth is an online shop with "Mod Retro Indie Clothing."

(Britannica Dress)

So I'm enjoying some window shopping! (Southwestern Spa Dress)

(Mission Street Dress)

(Beyond Every Grey-T Dress)

Sometimes just pressing the "Add to Bag" button is fulfilling enough to get a shopping fix! Plus they have really cute, fun names for each dress.

(Not that I would wear the dresses sleeveless, but there are ways around that--just to reassure you, Mom.)