Savannah Kate and Gage Martin: Motivation

Wikipedia definition: Motivation is the internal condition that activates behavior and gives it direction; energizes and directs goal-oriented behavior.

For at least the last 6 months, mornings from Monday through Friday consist of whining, crying, fits, temper tantrums, "No!"s, "umph"s, kicking, screaming, hiding under the covers, demands and anything short of spitting and biting. Did I mention we have a 3-year old? A wise person once told me that Threes are the Terrible Twos with an attitude. Mornings are dreaded in our house...and it's not my alarm clock that goes off at 5:30 am...in fact, I cherish that quiet time to myself between 5:30 and 6:15 when I get to shower and primp without interruption. But boy, when 6:15 rolls around, Hell breaks loose in our house. The daily grind is simple really: milk, potty, brush teeth, dress, hair and out the door. All can really be done in 20 minutes tops, but in our house, this routine can take upwards of 45 minutes to an hour...throw in a "time-out" and you see where I'm going with this.

My eyes were opened this past weekend to a truly amazing phenomenon...motivation. I think I finally learned what motivates my 3-year old...and I bet you all want to know the secret to my success. It's quite simple really. Three-year olds apparently like to win. We first tested this with eating green veggies. Now Savannah has always been a good eater, but as of late, she tends to turn her nose to the green veggies...they are not her "favorite". But if Stephen or I picks up a green veggie and challenges her to a race, she's very eager to shove green veggies down her throat as quickly as possible to "beat" us. Not sure why it took so long to sink into my thick skull to apply this concept to mornings, but this morning, I challenged Savannah to "beat Daddy". While Stephen showered, Savannah was to go potty and brush her teeth before Daddy could finish his shower...and was she ever up for the challenge! She finished her business, brushed her teeth and beat Daddy getting dressed. She was even eager to get her hair brushed and styled so that she could "beat Mommy" getting ready. Savannah was out of bed and ready to walk out the door in 20 minutes. She even got to "wake up Baby Gage" and kiss him good-bye. It's funny...as I type this, and without even knowing what I was doing, Stephen came in and said that Savannah commented on the way to school this morning, "Daddy, I didn't cry." So she KNOWS when things go smoothly and she's proud of herself when they do. So why the drama??? We're going to give this a try again tomorrow. Wish me luck!

We got to play outside a lot tonight with Sophie. The weather was actually pretty nice for August. And the sky looked really cool!