I Used Love & Logic to Parent My Children and All I Got Was This Lousy Therapy Bill!

One of the best parent retorts used by friends of ours using Love and Logic happened after their son exploded and told his dad "I HATE YOU!!!" The dad calmly looked at his son and said, "I know just how you feel." Oh, snap!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend filled with firearms and ice-boats! With the ice on the lake being thick enough to support us and the boats, but thin enough to crack ominously and make people in groups scatter instantaneously, there were lots of opportunities for "real-life" teaching moments with the kids. For example, if you keep throwing large rocks at the ice and stamping your feet to crack it up--you will eventually fall in the icy water. Or, if you "accidentally" shoot your brother with the gun, ... he could die. The boys took the opportunities we gave them and ran with 'em! They did not hurt each other or anybody else with the gun (and of course were supervised closely by an adult while operating it), but the ice issue was a little trickier. You see, ice is just so much fun to smash!!!! Unbearable, impossibly fun to break up into as many pieces as you can. So the boys went hog wild on it. Throwing small boulders at it, kicking it, getting down on their knees and pounding it with a rock, SHOOTING it... They tried everything. And Coops won the prize and fell in first. And then fell in again the next day. God love him, because nothing but a guardian angel (or ten) are going to help that boy through life. He was great about it, though, not a tear was shed, just a quiet, "I think I better go in and change now." Sweet boy! This is one of the reasons I love him so much! He always owns up to the consequences.

I took some fun pictures of the kids in various fun and games.... They'll almost make you think you were there!
"MUST DESTROY THE ICE!!!!"
"Rats! Mom was right, you do get really cold when you fall through!"
Carefully navigating the board over open water to the ice.
Gearing up for a sail on the ice boat. Please obey the 60 mph speed limit, boys!
Run, jump in and then they're off!