to follow up

So I have to be honest, I know that my family is blessed.  While money might be tight, at least we can have a conversation about private school, and pay our bills, while I am staying home with our kiddo's.  We both came from families, where both parents worked.  They did the opposite shift thing.  In my family, we were fortunate enough to have education as an expectation for us.  My mum earned an M.B.A. while she raised us; my dad earned his associates at the same time.  Both my sister and I have a masters degree, and my brother is working on a Ph.D.  I get now (as an adult) we were lucky; and that isn't the norm. 
  I cannot have a blog that other parents might be reading, and simply spew my opinions without offering something up for my audience.  Fortunately, my educational and professional experience, and now my personal experience, can back that up. 
  I have, for as long as I can remember always given my kids warnings when an activity is about to end.  Always 5 minutes, maybe a 2 minute warning if the activity is highly preferred, always 1 minute, and counting down from 5 (4,3,2,1...) to clean up or moving onto another activity.  I know it is ideal to actually have the times be accurate, but really, that just can't always happen.  But they know a transition is about to occur.  I figured this was a pretty common tool, but a few parent/nanny friends have commented that they like this and have adopted it themselves. 
  I also, but this has always been the case, made a point to only say what I mean.  And of course I screw it up and make exceptions, but knowing it's an exception (and what the fall out may be) makes it easier.  I can say this: I do not threaten that Santa won't come, because there's no way I could fulfill on that.  But think about the impact you would have if you did have the will to follow through.  I mean really, aside from seeing a small pile of black dust in a nearly empty stocking, that is as close as I have come. 
  Tomorrow we expect a lot of snow...I will of course being AIM-ing for peace throughout my day; I even saved bath time for tomorrow.
  Until next time...AIM4Peas