Thursday, May 29, 2008

can I get a little consistency?

You know the mantra... Kids need consistency.
I give my kids plenty of consistency. They have consistent rules, boundaries, consequences... they have a mostly predictable schedule and routine. Consistency is something I feel I am good at providing my kids.

And yet, what do us parents of small children get in return?
Pretty much the furthest thing from consistency... Your kid's a good napper? Just wait two weeks. You think you have a behavior nipped in the bud? Just wait a day. You think they like grilled cheese and carrot sticks? Just wait till dinnertime. Absolutely the opposite of consistent.

Yesterday?... My kids, in one sitting, each ate three Bran Applesauce Muffins. Three! Each!
Today?... I can't get either one of them to eat even half of one. They act like it's the most horrible food on the planet.

Obviously the only thing consistent about these kids is that they are in fact inconsistent.

*****
Friday Questions!
Tell me please, what do you set your thermostat (if you have central air) at in the summer? How about in the winter too, just for kicks.

Wintertime; we set it at 68*, going down to 65-66 at night.
In the summer we set the ac at 78*. I knock it down to 76 if we have a lot of people over or sometimes just before bedtime for a bit because it gets so much hotter upstairs. Or if I'm just miserable. I have to sneak it though, because Ryan's a 78* stickler.
Is that not a common setting? I remember at the end of last summer (well into the fall, actually) mentioning something about it being so nice that it was finally cooler... about it being the first time (probably since we had moved in) that our thermostat had read that it was cooler than 76 degrees in our house...
And someone said they wondered if maybe our thermostat was not working well. I'd love to keep the house cooler than that... but we have a big house and can't afford to pump up the ac more than we do. How do you run the ac in the summer?

11 comments:

Ferris Family said...

winter: 67, Travis would love it at 70, but I would die. At night it goes down to 65.
summer: 78, this summer might be different since I'm pregnant, but I am hoping to keep it around that.

Anonymous said...

we're the same as you in the winter. we don't have a/c though. so we roast. :) i have a feeling it's going to be bad in our new house... lots of windows for the sun to come in and warm the place up.

AndreAnna said...

I'd die if it were 77 in here in the summer! D-I-E!

We set it to 70 year round when it is on, but we try and keep the windows open and fans on on the days it's nice enough out.

I work damn hard. I want to be comfortable and happy in my house and see it as one of those things I'm willing to pay for.

Anonymous said...

We are the exact same as you guys. If we lower it, or raise it even one degree the bill really shows it...so that's the cheapest settings for us. It's horrible here in the summer keeping it at 78, but we have ceiling fans in every room so that helps a lot.

jenny said...

in the winter i could do 67* but matt wants it at 70*.

in the summer we don't have air, so we roast - but i love to have the windows open with the breeze coming through. matt wants to get central air this summer - whooo!

Kristi @ Mi Vida Ocupada said...

66 in the winter, 68 in the summer

Anonymous said...

winter: 70; summer: 78 usually. just started up the a/c today for the first time! it feels goooood.

my kids are the same way about muffins...the first time they'll devour them and then not want to touch one.

Heather S. said...

Winter - 70 (68 sometimes at night), Summer - 78 (I'd like 76).

K.M.L said...

Winter 72* (at night Mike changes it to 65* which I don't like)
and Summer 78* (again, I would like this to be cooler).

Zoe said...

we don't have ac. but in the winter it is set at about 68-70. if we had ac mark would like it about 50!!!

jessica said...

oh man, 78 would boil me! we keep ours at 72 in the summer and 68 in the winter.

About Me

everyday life © 2008. Template by Dicas Blogger.

TOP