My New Word

The hide-a-bed was still out from the boys play earlier in the day, so that is where Bryan and I sat. He watched a movie, while I sat close to him reading books about printing. I had my scratch paper next to me and a pen in my hand, ready to jot down ideas I loved. While writing one idea the pen ran out of ink. I began to shake it violently in my hand, using the whole right side of my body for momentum. I was not angry at the plastic pen, just annoyed at the though of having to get up from my comfy spot and grab a different one. So I was shaking it with passion, willing it to produce more ink! Bryan looked at me and said, "It seems like you are having some sort of writers block seizure or something."

"Well I just can't get this darn poople-doop to write!" I said.

Bryan's eyebrows raised inquisitively, "Did you just say poople-doop? Wow. You must be having writers block."

Poople-doop = a pen that has run out of ink. My new terminology for the day.

Our Chore Chart

We have a chore chart over here at our house. I think I have finally found a system that seems to work for us. At the beginning of each week I just draw a chart up free-hand. It is simpler for me that way, since we still don't have our printer hooked up (it has been nearly 4 yrs. without a printer here, yikes.) It is nothing fancy, just a 4 by 8 squared chart drawn with pen. I am not really a fancy person, and I find that if I keep things simple I am more likely to continue with them. So, here is what the chart looks like in all it's un-fancy glory.

In case you can't read my writing, the top chart is for Oscar and the bottom for Angus. Along the vertical side there are four categories; morning point, chore point, school point, bedtime point (I'll explain these in a minute).  Along the top are the initials for the seven days of the week. Monday through Saturday the kids can earn one sticker  for completing all the tasks that fall under each of the four categories. No points are awarded on Sunday. Even though they may still complete some of the regular tasks, I want to teach them that Sunday is a day we can choose to rest from our normal daily responsibilities.

Here are the tasks associated with each category:

Morning Point: Eat breakfast and bring those dishes to the sink, make beds, put clothes on, put dirty jammies in laundry basket, brush teeth.
Chore Point (some of these we do everyday, some we rotate days): Feed the dog AM and PM, help empty the dishwasher, put clean clothes away in drawers, help clean the chicken coop, help wash and put the fresh eggs away, set the table.
School Point (neither of my kids are in school yet, but we still do school-ish activities): Read books, draw or do art/craft activities, puzzles/legos, play any assortment of letter/number/shape/color games.
Bedtime Point: Clean up all toys out and put them away in the right spot, put jammies on, dirty clothes in laundry basket, brush and floss teeth, go to bed HAPPILY.

Nobody gets any points if the tasks are done with whining, or if multiple reminders need to be given. Also, a lot of these tasks require me to help and/or teach them as they are doing it. But the point of the chore chart to me is to help them learn skills and habits that will help them throughout their lives. So the extra work, and at times the extra frustration, will be worth it in the long run. There are plenty of times that jobs don't get done. I usually remind them once, and if after that it is still not done they don't earn a point. They can try better next time.

About every two weeks I grab the charts, our coin jar, add up the points and pay the kids. They get five cents per point. That may sound cheap to you, but for my 4 1/2 and 2 year old it is completely sufficient. It is more about principal anyway. Once they have their coins we separate them into 3 jars. 10% is put into the tithing jar, 15% is put into the save jar, and the rest is put in the spend jar. I let them take some money out of the save jar, and we head to a local thrift store where they can pick out a small toy that they can pay for. If they want to save up for something big, they have to save up using the money from their save jar. When the tithing jar is full, we will pay tithing. Once the save jar is full, we will put it in their savings accounts at the bank.

Like I said before. Fancy doesn't work for us.
Canning jars with a coin slot cut in the top
 and handwritten taped on labels will do just fine.

I hope I am not painting some rigid picture of how we live over here during the day. We are NOT a rigid family. We are inherently a "go with the flow" kind of family, but I have found that balancing the spontaneity with some organized consistency helps us all feel happier and helps are lives run smoother. Plus it is important to me that my kids learn to take care of themselves, take care of their home, and to work for what they want. This system seems to be a good step in beginning that cycle.

I would love to hear what techniques work for you and your family. Leave me a message or send me and email!

It Was Joyful

Christmas did find us this year! Don't be fooled by my lack of posts about it, because it really was terrific. From oodles of beloved time with family from near and far, to delicious food, and gift excitement, we were sad to see the holidays go. We always feel that way. I still find myself wanted to put on some Christmas music and the house still seems a bit naked without the Christmas tree in it's corner. But we can continually feel the spirit of Christmas in our hearts, (or some sappy crap like that) all year right? Huh, sure.

I want our family from out of town to know how much we appreciate their efforts to come home to spend the holidays with us. It meant a lot to have you all here, really, thank you (Julia, Waddells, Butlers...).

I am waiting to get some more pics from other family members, but here are the boys in their Christmas PJs from Grammy at her house.

On a Sunny Monday Morning

I really love sunny, chilly winter days. A lot more than I once thought I did.

Today my boys (including Reecie dog) and I went on a walk around our neighborhood. The sun was warm on our faces, and our backs. The air was crisp against our faces. Oscar and Angus' nose-tips were red and cute. They crunched through any icy puddle they could find. Angus tasted a piece of crunchy ice from nearly every puddle. He loves eating that stuff.

We explored a nearby property where nobody lives anymore. A quaint and dilapidated house sits on a corner surrounded by thick bushes as tall as trees. The bushes have lots their leaves for winter, but their woody stems are packed tightly together. We walked around and peeked in the old screened in porch, and (I) imagined what life was like when this cute house was in it's prime. Then we hollered into the pipes of the irrigation ditch to hear the echos of our unique voices. All three boys whizzed in the bushes, better that than in their pants I say, and we headed home for lunch and some Christmas goodies.

The capitol building.

Bryan has been working a ton over the last few months. One of the many projects Catapult3 (the company he works for) has been doing is the basement museum at the Boise Capitol building. Bryan was one of the main designers on the project, and also spent countless hours at the Idaho Historical Library researching the information and tracking down the photos that grace the exhibits walls. He, and Catapult3, did an AMAZING job!

We were able to go and see the museum, and the newly re-opened capitol building this past Thursday evening. It was really fun to have Bryan's mom, Gail, and our dear friends the Carringtons come with us. We had a great time peeking in all the different rooms, and looking out the windows at some great views of this lovely city that we live in. The food was tasty, and we just may have visited the food stations a few times...on each floor. But most importantly, it was really neat to see what Bryan has been working so hard on. Great job babe!

If you have a chance to check it out, do. It was really impressive.