Chores, Allowance, Budget

I am here to say that these three things; chores, allowance and learning to budget, can never start to early. I started a couple of years ago with the chore list. Then I added the allowance and recently I've taught them to budget (save) their money.
I came from a large family of six children. We definitely had chores to do. We use to complain and complain about washing the dishes! Now I look back and should be happy there were so many kids cause dishes only came around once maybe twice a week. We sure didn't think it was fair then!
My kids are on a year round school. Every three months they are off for one whole month. One track off session they were driving me crazy and I called my mom and asked her what to do. She said put them on a schedule and give them chores! What a great idea!
I jumped to the computer and started typing out their"Track Off Schedule, "Chore List" and "Budget Chart". I even have a "Good/Bad Chart", where they can earn points and buy items from my goodie bag.
I thought I would post them in case some of you are interested. This is the best thing I have started with them. It also relieves me of some house duties while keeping them busy!
So here they are, remember you can adapt this to your household and ages.
Track Off Schedule
8:00 Wake up (no sleeping in)
8:30 Eat breakfast
8:45 Get dressed, brush teeth
8:45-10:00 TV time
10:00 Chores
11:00 Snacks
11:00-12:00 Reading, journal time (quiet time)
12-1:00 Lunch time
1:00 Family errands
3-5:00 Free time (games, outside,etc)

Chore List (we pick #'s out of a hat)
1. Bathroom (wipe down sink, add toilet paper, sweep floor, etc.)
2. Dishes (empty dishwasher) (They didn't like the idea of loading)
3. Trash (gather all trash and take outside)
4. Vacuum
5. Laundry (yes, I taught them how to do laundry-wash and dry)
6. Dust

Budget Chart
I use a 4 column graph. They enter the amount they received, subtract 10% (goes to church), subtract 40%(they chose the amount-goes to savings), The rest they get to play with.

Good/Bad Chart
They each have their own chart with their name, three columns-one for good
points,badpoints and total points. Each day I start them with 5 good points. It's up to them to keep them. They lose points for not listening, arguing, not cleaning up, etc. They can also earn good points for doing things without be asked. We bring the points over to the total at the end of the night. They have to have at least 5 good points or they don't get any for that night. We use this for one month and then they get to use the points to buy stuff- toys, pencils for school, etc.

Well I hope you guys find this interesting! Good luck!

"Dadda"

September 8th
Christina said her first word! Dadda! Wouldn't you know it! I have been trying to get her to say Momma for weeks. There have been times when she's gotten really close, too.
Ken came home from work Friday and started playing with Christina. He kept saying "Dadda" over and over. Then all of the sudden you hear, "Dadda"!
No way! We couldn't believe it! That's all we heard ALL NIGHT!
No, I'm not jealous! I'm MAD! (joking)
Don't worry, I'm over it! Yeah, cause this morning (Sept. 9th) she said "Momma"!
I'm a happy Momma!

Have You Heard Of Freecycle?

I found this really cool site! Do you have anything you want to get rid of or are you in need of something specific? Well this site will help you with either. It's like going to a Garage sale but online! All you do is find your city and join. It's that easy! You can check it daily or just when you need something or want to get rid of stuff.
One weekend I had posted three items to give away. The stuff was gone within days! You should check it out!
http://freecycle.org

The Nosy Lady!

When to speak up and when to mind your own business!
I went shopping the other day and Christina is now sitting in the basket. She also loves to eat the basket. Gross! So I told the boys to keep her from licking the metal. They tried covering the metal with their arms but wasn't working so well. Then they just tried to hold her back. That's when the trouble started.
I was talking to the lady at the bakery and then I hear, "NO, don't do that"! I turn around and some lady is telling me that the boys were pushing her (Christina's) head back. I knew exactly what they were doing, hence, the paragraph before. I told the lady, "It's okay I know what's going on, thanks".
That wasn't good enough for her.
Now I know that she was concerned.
I know that there are times when I see stuff in stores.
Now most moms will turn around and teach, scold or correct their children.
(If you give them a chance)
So unless the child is crying, mind your business!
Not this lady. She got mad and copped an attitude. She demanded that I explain why I wasn't worried and why that was okay!
I thought I would ease her mind and explain what they were doing! That didn't even help! She continued with the attitude and finally I just got fed up.
"Lady, I've got it under control, You need to mind your business"!
That's just the short version! I was so mad!

The Christmas Story All Over Again!

You know the story, where the boy gets "triple dog dared" to stick his tongue to the pole! Well there was no dare but there was a tongue and ice! The boys figured out that the freezer is like the pole. First it started with there fingers getting stuck to the door shelf. Then they wondered if they could use their tongue. Now you think Mateo would've been the one to try it? Nope, Kenny!
He went all out, no dare, and put his tongue on the door. He was stuck! It was just like the movie! Your tongue really can get stuck!
I was getting ready to help him but he couldn't wait. He just pulled his tongue right off. Oh yeah, it hurt and there was blood! I told him to wash out his mouth and go look in the mirror. He ripped it good!
It was the funniest thing but at the same time it wasn't! I think they both learned their lesson!

Cooling Off!

Big Brother to the Rescue-pic

What A Heat Wave!

I can not believe this heat wave! I havn't felt anything like this since I lived in Louisiana! My Dad was in the Air Force and we spent five years there. Great place to live. Although I could've done without the cockroaches! Gross!
101, 108, 110 degrees, NO WAY! Well the boys spent every moment in the pool. It was too hot for Christina and me so we stayed by the A/C. As soon as the temperature dropped some we got out there, too. We even made Ken/Daddy go swimming. Christina had tons of fun. She was splashing and kicking! She definitley loves the water!
(I'll try to post pic soon)

Big Brother to the Rescue!

I could not put Christina to sleep for nothin'. So I told Kenny, "I need to take a shower, your going to have to watch her"! I guess some 10 yr olds might not be able to handle this responsibility but no worries here. So I took my shower and to my amazement...she was sound asleep in her big brother's arms!
How cute I just had to take a picture! I remember being able to do the same thing to my brothers for my mom!

Miss Fuss!

Miss Fuss, that's what I call her when I can't make her happy! Poor baby, I think she's teething. No fun for baby, no fun for me! One day my husband said, " I don't know how you do this?" Yeah, exactly! God just made Mommies special that way. We can do anything on; no sleep, pounding headache, three kids coming at ya, phone ringing, errands, making dinner, laundry, carpool, etc. You get the idea!
Sometimes, we (Moms) feel invisible. No one notices the many things we do.
I came across some scriptures today that helped. Just a little word for thought!
D&C 93:43, 50: "Set in order your own house. . . . See that [you] are more diligent and concerned at home."
Proverbs 31:10, 13, 25, 27: "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. . . .
"She . . . worketh willingly with her hands. . . .
"Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. . . .
"She looketh well to the ways of her household."

Christina @ 7 Months

I took Christina (finally) to take some pictures! These are suppose to be her 6 mth. pics. We took about 30 shots and these 2 came out the best! Wow, once they start crawling it is so hard to get pictures! It was a workout! Kenny is out of school right now so he was there to help. Even with all that help she still gave us a work out. But I think it was worth it!

Pet Update

Okay, I'll try to make this story short. We did some research and decided that gerbils were the way to go. Why you ask? Well, I had to find a little critter to put in a cage for the boys. I knew hamsters were out of the question; they bite way too much! I knew a guinea pig would get to big! So we went with the gerbil. They're small, a much cuter rodent and (research said they) don't bite as much as hamsters. We scoped out the pet stores and we didn't find any gerbils. "Where are all the gerbils?", I asked. "Gerbils are illegal in California.", he said.
What! Are you kidding! But we did all this research and mentally got ready for this pet. I told the boys to just look around while I thought about it. "What am I going to do?" So I start talking to this lady who was buying "guinea pig" stuff. She tells me that I wouldn't want a gerbil anyways, because they bite just as much as hamsters. It's also highly recommended to get two.
Long story short, we got a guinea pig! His name is Peanut Butter! Peanut for short!

Baby Update

So much has happened this month. Christina is a brave little girl! Some of us call her a little crazy! About a month ago she started climbing down from the couch. Oh, yeah! She hangs her feet over the edge and slides down - till they touch the ground. Of course we're right there to catch her if she falls. I've got the pics to prove it!
Then the first week of July she started crawling! Yep, she's all over the place. You turn around and she's gone! We have to chase after her all day. We even put up blockades to slow her down, pretty funny! I just know walking is around the corner. Wow, it's all happening so fast! Before you know it she'll be talking!
The first year is just full of accomplishments, learning and growing. Rolling over, sitting, crawling, walking and talking. What a busy year! For any first time mom's out there; they don't always happen in that order. Usually, but not always!
It's funny how we always hope/wait for the next milestone, but as soon as it happens we wish we could go back.

Where Have I Been?

Well, I've had plenty of stories to tell but my site is having a problem loading my pics. I didn't want to tell the story with out the pics. So I've been frustrated and trying to wait. Now July is almost over and I still can't get my pics loaded. So I've decided to post the stories without the pics. I'll just post them later when it is working.

Christina and Mommy

Sorry so blurry! Kenny took the pic.

I'm an Auntie, again!

The baby is here! My brother and sister in-law, who are currently living in Texas, had their third baby. It's a boy! Another boy, that makes three for them, lucky them! I'm just glad I got my girl! Now, don't think I'm being mean, they've just got plenty of time to have more.
My poor sister in-law, she had a long labor this time around. I know that wasn't fun! They say it gets easier with each child. Not the case for this one. I hope she has a quick recovery.
Well Congratulations!

You've got Questions? I've got Answers!

1.One of the boys has decided to not play fall ball this year. Maybe because he's had a very busy season. I told him he deserved a break!
2. We've been doing some google research (love that site) and we might be leaning towards gerbils. They suggest that two are better than one. Tonight we went to Petco and looked at everything. In about a month we should have a new member of the family!

The BET!

The boys informed us one day that they had a great idea! They came up with a contract to keep their room clean for a month. If they kept it up they would finally get a real live pet! We've told them for years to keep their room clean. Never happens!
Now, we've had pets before. We've had fish (many fish), two dogs (at Grandmas') and a tamagatchi (virtual pet).
They all count, don't they?
Well you wouldn't believe it? They are actually going to win this bet. We thought for sure they were going to forget like they always do. Not this time. They're getting too smart! What am I going to do with a furry, smelly, noise making pet? Oh, I forgot to mention, they want a hamster. Those little critters bite, too.
Well, I better go, we're heading to the pet store! Yag! (Dragging feet)

I knew he should be an actor!

Mateo's class just put on a play for school, parents and the elderly. It was a cute play called "Really Rosie". It was written by Carol King. It has a bunch of cute songs that I know by heart, now. We played it in the van for weeks before the play! I also had the oppurtunity to watch the play three times.
Mateo's teacher told me that he brought the character to life! Mateo played "Alligator". He had a solo and did a great job! He was very dramatic! What a shock! NOT!

6th Grade, are you kidding?

Kenny has graduated 5th grade. I really can't believe this day is here! My oldest is going on to "Middle School"! What am I going to do? Will he stay the same? My sweet,caring, hard-working child that we all know? Yeah, I don't think I have to worry too much. He's learned that working hard and achieving goals is more important.
I also believe that if you keep your children busy and interested in activities, you'll have less worries. Kenny is involved in band, cub scouts and baseball (of course). The middle school he'll be attending even has a marching and jazz band. I know he's interested in trying that out.
wow, can I just take a moment to ponder........okay, CRY! My baby, my first born is growing up!
My mom told me once, when I was rebelling, that letting go of your children is hard to do. Of course, I didn't believe her then. It's probably the hardest thing to do. Let them grow up and move on without your help.
What am I talking about, he's only 10 1/2 he still needs me. Sorry, I'll save this pitty story for ten years down the road.