Chores Galore..........

I've tried several different chore systems and then my friend in CO, Tiffany, shared this one. It's great and the girls are so excited about doing it so far. So I went to Walmart and bought these magnetic, dry erase boards for $5 and a pack of magnets for $1.50. I printed off some play dollars off the internet and then took pictures of their chores. Tiffany laminated her dollars and pics but I don't have a laminator so I bought a roll of clear laminate instead. Clear contact paper would work too I imagine. Which, by the way, did you know that if you try to scan in real money, it has some sort of security thingy in it that prompts a warning on your printer to refer to the US treasury to review the rules. Had no idea. Anyway, read on to hear how it works......

So, the pictures have magnets on the back (or mine will but I haven't done this part yet). You pick what chores you want them to do and place it on their boards. Once they have completed the chore, they place one of those circle magnets on top to indicate its done. Some of our chores include watering plants, emptying the dishwasher, sweeping the floor after dinner, wiping down the bathroom sink, cleaning the glass on the french doors, cleaning up the pool toys, and feeding the dog. Cleaning their room every day is a given. So, if they complete ALL the chores, they earn a dollar. But its ALL or nothing. The idea is that there wouldn't be any discussion but this first week has been about training and instruction so we'll move in that direction. They can earn up to $7 a week. We may consider having a day off so this might change.

So this is the Treasure Basket, basically a bunch of dollar items from Michaels. I have priced the items higher to avoid them getting 7 items each each week. Otherwise, I'd be refilling it too often. So most things are $3 or $4 with a few $2 items and some as high as $7. They can spend it all or save it. I was very excited about the cute basket I put together. If only I had a basket to pick from when my chores were done..........

So here they are with there money. They each had $5 to spend since we only did it 5 days this week. They have been ready and willing to check their boards in the morning and get started.

Considering their options.....

Working out the finances.........

Do I want this or that? Notice the lollipop stick hanging out, she cracks me up.

She's made her selection, some play money and a wooden doll to color....all for $4 with $1 to put towards next weeks loot.

Kenzie chose a pony and she has $2 to forward onto next week.

Honestly, I was surprised they saved any at all. They both have their eyes set on a hula skirt complete with a lei and coconut bra but that's more than they could afford this week.

So thanks, Tif for the idea. We love it. It does seem to be the easiest system I've had so far. It doesn't require much work from me after the initial set up. So go get organized Moms, schools starting soon................

My Sweet Petite.....

So this is my almost seven year old in my almost two year old's pj's. Oh, and did I mention that they are a size "12 months"? Other than being a tad short, they fit just fine...........good grief. :o)

All American Kids....sorta

We decided to spend July 4th at Disney. We stayed at Pop Century, one of their "value" hotels which is actually quite nice. We've stayed there several times. My parents joined us for one of those nights and we had a great time. We have park passes but they are seasonal passes which include various blackout dates, like July and August, so we just got to enjoy the pool and other things around the property. There was an arcade which is always a big hit. For the actual 4th, we went to the Grand Floridian hotel to watch the fireworks over Magic Kingdom. This was the first time we had been at Disney for the 4th and they were very artistic (this was the same night btw that the monorail driver was killed but we had been on the monorail much earlier in the night so we didn't hear about it until morning).

On Sunday, my parents left and we ate dinner at a restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge. When you are on Disney property, you can visit any of the resorts you'd like. After dinner, we went to the Chip and Dale Campfire Sing Along. There are a lot of horses on property for riding but we just said hi to a few. This was a big weekend so there are lots of pics........

Pop Century is themed from the 50's to the 90's. The main pool is called the Hippy Dippy pool complete with "flower showers" like this one.

We hit the arcade and my mom helped the kids score lots of tickets.

My dad is helping the kids cash in their tickets.

Mason caught on quick and made his "purchases".

The girls with their loot. The back story here is that when Madalyn was 2.5, we stayed here for the first time and played a lot of skee ball. She was so excited about what she picked out. Her stuff was placed in a big similar to these and she called them her "special things". She would not put down her special things for anything. She carried them the rest of that night on to dinner and into bed. She would not let go of her special things which included a goofy keychain, fake stick on earrings, tattoos, and a pencil I think. Here are a couple of pics from that weekend:

Do you see her little red bag of "special things"? BTW, where did my baby go?

You can't tell in the pic but Cinderella's castle is in the background.

My All American Kids (from China and Ethiopia)

Gigi and Pap-pa with my bugs....

Taking a rest at the Grand Floridian before making the trek back to our hotel.

My dad sportin' his new hip Tommy Bahama hat Tim and Jen bought him for Father's Day.

Let me introduce you to Hip and Happening!

Kenzie with mama's hat.

This was at the Wilderness Campground. Mason wanted nothing to do with this hat.

Visiting the ponies after dinner.

Chip coming to say hi. BTW, you know its Chip and not Dale because Chip has a black nose like a chocolate chip.

Mason clearly saying "no thank you". Then as Chip walks away, he's walking after him saying "hi, hi".

The Girls....

A family affair....

The past couple of weeks have been quite busy, adjusting to summer, celebrating my birthday with friends, etc. But most of our time has been spent helping Brad and Becky pack their house and get ready to host their going away party at our house. We had a great time, good friends, and lots of good food. So the weekend before the party Matt and I updated the exterior of the house. When we moved in two years ago, it was "move-in ready". But we hadn't really done anything outside till now. I forgot to take before pictures but it was generally weedy, sandy' since most of our mulch had disappeared, and void of color. A few dozen plants and 42 bags of red mulch later, oh and a ton of sweat, we were done. We made it a family project but they mostly just dug and got dirty.........


Determined....



Mackenzie enjoys the gardening process a bit more than her sister.


Initially, Mason just enjoyed stacking the pots.


Our three goofballs working on something good.

The girls would have never been willing to get this messy. I just love that about Mason....all boy.

A bit hard to tell but the color is nice.

Our house.

Turning 40

So, two days ago on 6/26 at 7:22 am, I welcomed the big "40". A new decade ahead while I close the chapter of my thirties, which was the best decade so far I might add. I finished my Master's that allows me to do the work I love, married the man God hand picked for me, began working through my "crap", welcomed my three beautiful kids from other parts of the world, loved hard, and played hard. I've had a lot of time to reflect on this milestone. A few months ago, I wasn't sure how I would feel but as it got closer, it just started to feel more right, ok even. My girlfriends and I have been talking about how we would like to enter into and move through this decade graciously. Day 2....so far, so good! It is, however, hard for me to believe that I am 40. I still feel like I'm in my very early 30's. Having young children contributes to this I'm sure. I definitely don't feel "old" by any means. Of course, I am feeling the age of my body like most and my friend Monica and I have noticed how the skin on our hands isn't as elastic and tight as it once was. Eye make-up just doesn't go on quite the same these days and in the last year or so I've bought those fancy reading glasses from the local Walgreens for $14.99. What can you do really? It is what it is.

But life is full. I feel good about where I'm at in regards to most areas. Oh, there's always room for improvement but I'm ok with who I am. I think that women begin to really come into themselves in their late 30's and early 40's. I've done a lot of my own work in counseling over the years and have learned to accept the parts of me that brought me shame in previous phases of my life and have allowed myself to be vulnerable with others in a way that has led me to greater freedom and feeling truly loved. I hope that I am beginning to learn what is really important while being here on this side of heaven. My kids keep me honest by offering reflections of myself, some beautiful, some down right ugly. So you take the ugly parts to the cross and try again tomorrow.

I've learned to not be so hard on myself, to laugh, to be ok when relationships are messy, to be picky with my time, to trust God more and rely on myself less, that marker on your child's "way over-priced but had to have the perfect dresser" is not the end of the world, to embrace my insecurities (we all have them), to work hard at my marriage, and that its ok if people see my incompetence.

So there you have it......reflections of a newly turned 40 year old "girl". Check back in 10 years....

oops

So I wrote two posts on the same day and saved one to be published today. When I went to post it, it showed up as older than the last one so it was placed below "Gigi and Pap-pa Packages" so scroll down for the latest. Still new to blogger.........

GiGi and Pap-pa Packages

These are often the long anticipated deliveries, the kind that drive a parent nuts...."when's my package gonna get here"? Anyway, my parents love sending the kids little care packages. Sometimes they're filled with a bit of candy, notepads, pez dispensers, play jewelry, crafty things, etc. Its like the jackpot around here. They couldn't be more excited if it were Christmas morning really. My parents love that my kids expect packages from time to time. Part of being a grandparent :o).


The big box for the girls and the little one just for Mason....his first!


Oh boy


A hippo water squirter... The girls also received puzzles and hair bows!

He's not sure what to expect

"But boy, do I like it". There's a shirt to match but he didn't feel like putting that on.

"And a cell phone!!"