Strawberry Picking

Sam and I went strawberry picking today with a group of home schoolers. It was fun. We now have 2 baskets of strawberries to do something with...Dwight will make strawberry shortcake. I want to freeze some to eat like Sabrina suggested one time (just plain and eat while frozen). I think we'll make some strawberry milkshakes, too. Any suggestions?

A ten year old has a lot of power. This one has the power to make a single chore last FOREVER. He can make redoing a math problem last a week. Right now he is under the "no WOW until your math final is corrected," and he is willing to put it off tomorrow (playing something else must be on his mind). Do you think he'll be more willing tomorrow? The training of diligence isn't necessary for children who already have the quality. Sometimes I think my training consists too much of "Get back to work" instead of allowing him to waste his day and suffer the consequences. My annoyance gets in the way of good training and I succumb to the temptation to whine him into high gear. This does not teach him to work diligently, but only teaches him to dawdle until he hears the "mom whine" again.

Dwight turned 46 on Thursday. He picked out a gift that I was incapable of buying for him (for editing video on his computer), so he went and bought it himself. This didn't feel like a present from Sam and me, so we tried to give him a "Dwight Weekend." We did yard work and housework that he normally does on weekends and so he had time to go for a bike ride and play games on his computer. We also conspired with some friends of ours to give him a surprise cake. After church on Saturday night we went to their house to talk about something serious, but instead we had a Cold Stone Ice Cream Cake and played a party game. Dwight was totally surprised and it was lots of fun.

If you don't know what Cold Stone Ice Cream is, I'll take you there next time you visit. It is gourmet ice cream and they mix yummy stuff in while you watch.

Really looking forward to a lighter summer schedule (with mostly independent work).