A "Heather" Moment

My Mom likes to tell the story that when she would pick us up from school and say, "How was your day?", my sister, Heather, would always jump right in and give detailed information about every moment of the day. By the time we were pulling in the driveway, Heather had only made it to first recess in her story.

It seems strange to me, but my daughter is not my talker. My boys all talk. The two older ones talk A LOT (and that is an understatement). Mollee starting talking at a very early age, but she doesn't talk incessantly. It just isn't her nature. She is an observer and knows a lot more about what is going on then I'm sure we ever know.

Tonight, like we do most every night, the kids were giving a highlight of their day. We don't go in age order, just around the table however they may be sitting that night. When we got to Mollee she said come back to her because she had a lot to say.

Capps got to play with Keegan on the playground (a common highlight), Daegan had computer class, Tavis had stayed home because of some sinus trouble so he didn't have much to report, Mac complained that David pulled his hair (tragic!) and then Mollee gave a full blown description, starting with a detailed review of Mr. Bel's "Bully" chapel talk.

As we were clearing the table and she was still going it made me smile. For once, it was her doing the jabbering.

Allowance

I mentioned this might be my next post and, well, it is!

We have toyed with the idea of allowance before and we've done the chore charts, etc, but nothing really worked for us enough to stick with it. Or, shall I say, worked for me. Here are the two arguments in my head. I want the kids to get an allowance and learn to manage money, but we don't necessarily have extra money to give them. I want them to do chores because they are part of this family. I don't want allowance to seem like they are getting paid for their chores, but should they get a full allowance if they don't get their jobs done? I also don't like for one job to be for one person. I just want the kids to do what I ask of them, no matter what.

So, there are certain chores the kids do - dishwasher, set table, empty little garbage cans in big garbage, take main garbage out, take recycle out, water flowers, get clothes from the dryer, etc. If I ask you to do a certain job, you just do it, no questions asked. I don't care if you did it last time and I don't care if someone hasn't been asked to do a job lately. I'm the mom, just do it! They all have their own jobs that they have to do also - clear their place setting after dinner, homework without complaint, PJs under pillow so they can be found that evening, pick up toys each night at bedtime, laundry in basket, etc.

This has worked much better than me hearing, "It isn't my turn"!!

At some point in the summer I decided we needed to do allowance so the kids could see how they should take care of their money. I don't know how this rates on the scale of others, but for each kid we do 10 cents per year each week. For example, Mollee is 9, so each week she gets 90 cents. Capps is 6, so each week he gets 60 cents. It only costs us $3.30 each week. We have a box that the kids keep their money in and we have an envelope that we put their tithe in (and we take that church once a month rather than trying to remember every one's change each week). We also have a separate container (McDonald's Happy Meal milk jugs) that they put their savings in.

It has been fun and has been good for them to see that you give back some to the Lord, you save some - every time! - and then you can spend the rest on whatever you want, no questions asked. It is really nice because when they ask me for something I'll say, "just save your money and you can get it".

What are your thoughts on allowance?

No Work Labor Day

Ironic, isn't it?

It has been a long time since Jason hasn't worked on Labor Day. When you are self-employed, if you don't work, you don't get paid. Usually he takes off Christmas, Thanksgiving and 4th of July (maybe). After last week, working six long days, he took today off. Yeah!!

We've had a 'do nothing busy day'. The kids actually let us sleep in until 9:00, I could hear they were up and playing downstairs, but stayed in bed until they got restless for breakfast. Note to self: move cereal and bowls to different cabinets so kids can get breakfast themselves. Jason cut the grass and the kids played outside in the morning. Tavis got to go play frisbee golf with some cousins and we all ended up with a really late lunch.

This afternoon I took Tavis, Daegan and Capps shopping. We have started an allowance (another post) for the kids and they wanted to buy something. Of course, we went to Target. Tavis got a Yo-Yo that automatically comes back to you, Daegan got some Star Wars something off the $1 rack, he is always spending so he didn't have much to spend and Capps got an airplane fan that spins and lights up when you press a button and he also got a Yo-Yo (he still had his birthday money from July).

The kids watched a Scooby Doo Movie (thanks instant Netflix) downstairs, while Jason and I watched a movie upstairs (thanks again Netflix, even though the movie was 'Informant' and we didn't finish it because it wasn't worth our time)

We grilled hot dogs for dinner and then went and got free ice cream at Chik-fil-A with all the Kid's Meals toys we had left over from our Kids Eat Free Tuesdays over the summer.

Now I'm going to be confused all week because tomorrow is Tuesday, but it is going to feel like Monday!

A Picnic

If you live where we live you know that today was absolutely beautiful. We've been suffering in 95+ degree weather for at least three months. Today we got a break of a glorious 81 degrees.

I decided that such wonderful weather called for a picnic. So we packed up a lunch and went out to the front yard (real adventurous, I know!). Have I ever mentioned how Tavis like to ruin pictures?To prove that I was there -

Tavis giving a thumbs down because of my shirt (he has been brainwashed into being a Tennessee fan by my brother-in-law)Mollee enjoying her favorite past time, reading Calvin and HobbesDaegan getting every last drop of his Capri SunCapps taking it all inMac enjoying J-E-L-L-O and not sitting?Tavis in a tree

Before we started eating I asked the kids to say a Thanksgiving prayer, I always enjoy hearing what they pick to be thankful for. Mollee was thankful that she could go to a Christian School and have such great friends. Tavis was thankful for a Mommy that would let them have a picnic. Daegan was thankful for the cooler weather (I think I just heard Moriah snicker). Capps was thankful for Keegan. Mac was thankful for Jello. I was thankful for Daddy's job that he loves, even if he had to work today and miss our picnic.

Whoa!

I feel like I got a little taste this week of the true meaning of "running around like a chicken with their head cut off". It has been a very busy week. (Jason would like to remind me I did it to myself) Let me try to give you a brief recap.


Actually, Monday and Tuesday weren't too bad. I had David those days and keeping up with him is hectic enough. I think I threw in a few errands where I could and then picked up the kids at 3, playtime, homework, dinner/pack lunches, playtime, bedtime.


Wednesday started with negative strep test for Daeg, take him to school, back home to pack lunches, back to school for lunch duty for Tavis' class, recess duty, quick grocery shopping trip, carpool, playtime, homework, dinner at church, Wednesday night classes.


Thursday started off low key for Mac and I as we did a little bit of nothing that morning. Lunch with Daegan and Capps, lunch duty for Mollee's class, recess, a quick hello to my niece Emma in the high school, recess with Capps' class (just for fun), story time at the library (just Mac and I at the school library off in a corner reading books for 30 minutes), PTL meeting, carpool, homework, allergy shots, dinner, homework/flashcards, and crashing into bed.


Friday I did my regular morning grocery shopping (the disadvantage of coupon/sale shopping is having to go multiple places in one week), lunch at home with Mac, Math Centers with Daeg's class, Dr. appt. for Mollee to have procedure done for moluscum virus on her face (more traumatic than we anticipated), dinner with the Browns.

Unfortunately, Saturday morning has come too soon. Jason is working today -Ugh! He had to get up at 5:40 to meet someone 40 minutes south of here to pick up a tool he needed. Then he had to drive to work, which is about 35 minutes north of here. I have a hard time going back to sleep, so I'm blogging.

Hoping today is a low key Saturday. I've done my grocery shopping and I'm caught up on laundry, but I know I have two boys that need to go shoe shopping and it is Amish Bread baking day and it is going to be a beautiful day, maybe I need to take the kids for a picnic or something....

A Best Friend

Capps is loving school. Absolutely loving it.

He told me the other day that he knew he was going to like school, but he didn't know he was going to get a Best Friend! Keegan was at school last year in kindergarten but because of his medical issues he is doing kindergarten again.

These two are adorable and are inseperable! They even get their mommy's to pack extras in their lunches so they can share.

What fun it is to get a Best Friend!

Flashcards

If you've been with me lately, you may have heard me complain about flashcards. I think part of the problem is that, as a 3rd and 4th grader, they caused me a lot of anguish and many, many stomach aches. I really struggled with the multiplication table and I think part of it was because I struggled so much with memory work.

At CCS they teach 'Math Their Way'. It emphasizes concepts and manipulations in kindergarten and 1st grade before they start timed tests and math worksheets in 2nd grade. It is to help the kids see why 2+2=4 instead of just getting them to memorize it. I think this would have helped me immensely.

After all my frustration and tears, I ended up in summer school for math and was taught all these concepts. Then I was able to do the math and I ended up loving my high school math classes. I only went to college for two years, but my favorite classes were the ones that had to do with Calculus.

I even was a math tutor for many years. This was fun for me, but was a little bit of a struggle because my mind works in a different pattern then others. Since I don't memorize stats very well (but I can remember birthdays, addresses and phone numbers???) I came up with my own system for the multiplication table.

Tonight Mollee and I were doing flashcards. She is doing much better, but she struggles with the same ones each time. She also freezes at the 'timed' aspect, don't ask her to do math facts because you read this entry, Please! I tried to explain to her my system, but I don't know if they were more confusing than helpful.

Let me try to give you some examples.

We all like the 11 x ?? because you know it is just the number doubled. 11 x 9 = 99, 11 x 6 = 66, 11 x 4 = 44. For 12's I take that answer and just add one more. Jason said it doesn't work for people that can't see math problems in their head?? So, 12 x 6 = 66 + 6, does that make sense?

For 8's I do double, double, double. It just works for me. 8 x 7 = 7, 14, 28, 56

For 9's I do the 10 x answer minus itself. 9 x 6 = 60 - 6 = 54

OK, this sounds crazier and crazier as I try to type it out, but it is what works for me. Any tips that work for you?

I know my brother, Philip, understands!