401

This is post number 401 for Bizzert! Wow, I didn’t think I had so much to say.

As I was vacuuming the other day, I was reminded of a statistic I heard somewhere. Have you ever heard that you’re never more than six feet away from a spider? I don’t remember where I got that from, or if it’s even true, but it got me thinking.

In our house, you are never more than six feet away from:

A plastic hair band – I will buy a package of 100 and somehow they always seem to be all over the house within minutes of walking through the door. I’ve gotten to the point where I can do the girls’ hair in any room. All I have to do is look around and there is sure to be a little rubber band on the floor, or on the dresser, or in a shoe…

Scotch tape – The kids use it for everything: Hanging their drawings on the walls, building inventions out of shoe boxes and toilet paper rolls, pulling off pieces and wadding them into a ball, or just letting them fall to the floor where they must be pulled up every time I vacuum.

A dirty sock – Why do kids like to take their socks off in strange places? I’m finding socks stuffed in the toy box, under the kitchen table, on top of a desk. Crazy!

Some sort of food wrapper – Hunter is an early riser, and not particularly interested in spending time making himself anything to eat before mom finally pulls herself out of bed. But as a growing boy, he wants to eat as soon as we wakes up. So I find granola bar wrappers, fruit snack wrappers, cheese stick wrappers, empty cereal bags etc. every day. (Will someone give me a clue how to get him to clean up after himself without me asking him?) Hunter is not the only offender on this, just the most active one.

Doll or princess related items – Between our three girls we have obsessions with Ariel, Jasmine, (all Disney princesses really), Barbie, and American Girl. At any given time you could do a 360 turn and find some sort of doll, clothing, picture, or book relating to the dolls.

A little green bingo chip – The kids have this nature bingo game that has little green marking chips. Somehow they turn up in the strangest places. We have been finding them pretty regularly for several years now and Rob likes to joke, “We’ll still be finding these things when we’re retired!”

Our Comfort Zone

Tonight Emma, Hunter and I took a big step outside of our comfort zones.  We went to audition for Pageant of the Masters. It is an annual show in Laguna Beach where they recreate famous works of art using actual people as the subjects, and a life size background and/or props. I have to admit that I was the most hesitant of the three of us, Rob convinced me to go, and I’m glad he did.  The process was pretty organized and fairly quick. We filled out a form with our general stats (oh and one important question: Are you willing to be nude? No! I know you are covered with paint and all, but that’s too far out of my comfort zone), then we were measured from head to toe, and had our picture taken next to a height chart. Then we turned in our cards, grabbed some treats, and that was it. I was lucky enough to win a t-shirt when I turned in my card too, which was super cool! Now we just wait to see if our dimensions fit into any of the pieces.  I think only one third of people that audition get parts, so we’ll see… There was a gallery of some of the artwork that will be featured in this year’s show. Here are just a few:

Morning by Maxfield Parrish

Le Dejeuner sur L’Herbe by Claude Monet

Summertime by Mary Cassatt

The Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur

Joan of Arc by Anna Hyatt Huntington

I couldn’t embed this video, but click here to see a good explanation of the pageant. Don’t bother watching past 1:50, it’s just random clips and no sound.

Family Dollars

I found an image of play money that I adopted and printed as our official “family dollar.” Family Dollars are earned by helping out the family. I try to give them out when I notice someone doing something nice or helpful without being asked, or doing chores without reminders. The kids can also earn them by doing little jobs to help out like watering the plants, or washing the sliding doors. Hunter and Emma also earn one family dollar for every paper they bring home from school with 100%.

We keep our family dollars in a binder that has a clear pocket (page protector with their name written on it) for each person. We used to keep them in envelopes, but the envelopes were too easy to lose. I have a “bank” (a jelly jar) of family dollars that I pay them from and they can either turn their family dollars in for cash, or use them to buy things at “Mom’s Store.”

Mom’s Store is in our coat closet. I have a little store of craft projects, notepads, stickers, boxes, little toys; anything that catches my eye as something the kids might like to have. When my store has a good selection, the kids are motivated to do more helpful and nice things so they can save up for something. There is also a list of privileges they can buy in the family dollar binder. Things like: a “date” with Mom or Dad, A family trip to Legoland (this one is a biggie and would require them all to pool their dollars to get it), $15.00 to spend at Toys R Us, a pass to stay up an hour past bedtime…

I have really enjoyed doing the family dollar store with the kids. They are learning how to make buying decisions and have to think, “would I rather have a princess notepad now for $2 or save up and get a date with Dad for $15?”

They are also learning to delay gratification. Sometimes they will see something in the store that they just have to have. If it isn’t too spendy I’ll tell them, “I’ll put it in my store, and you can buy it with your family dollars.”

They have to problem solve. If they don’t have enough to buy something they need to think of something they can do to earn more family dollars. It’s cute to see Hannah run to get one of her dolls that she knows Brina likes to play with, and offer to share it. Of course she’ll give it to her and then turn immediately to me and say, “Can I get a family dollar for that?” I think it’s ok that they are getting immediate rewards for little things. There are other opportunities to teach the idea of service, or doing something good without expecting anything in return. For now, I’m just glad that the younger girls are sharing, and that the older two are thinking about what might make Mom, Dad or one of their siblings feel happier.

We have our ups and downs with the program. Sometimes I forget to give out any family dollars or there are tantrums when someone buys something another person also wanted. And sometimes it takes getting new inventory in my store to motivate the kids to earn dollars, but I think it’s a good start.

Lately

1- I’ve been using real dinnerware since the beginning of 2009, and so far so good.  I moved all of my paper plates, cups, and bowls into storage and we have been washing our dishes.  I have had to make a conscious effort to be on top of getting the dishes loaded and unloaded, but the transition has not been as awful as I had feared.

2- We still have not decided on the right place to hang the amazing artwork of the kids. As soon as we do, I’ll post a picture.

3- Hannah is doing preschool three days a week now and is doing well there.  I think she’s right on track for starting kindergarten this fall.

4- Emma saved her family dollars up for a special outing to American Girl Place with Mom. She brought her two dolls Emily and Mia, and we browsed through little girl heaven with them. We spent the afternoon eating, driving, talking, and shopping. It was a lot of fun for both of us!

5- Hunter went on a four mile scout hike yesterday.  He loaded his backpack with a first aid kit, water and a few other supplies.  When he explained the trail to me he said they hiked along a dirt path that was right next to a bike path, that was right next to a road.  I guess the emergency supplies weren’t really necessary.  Maybe they’re saving the roughing it for the next hike!

6- Rob has fallen head over heals for family history. I am trying not to be jealous of how much time he spends with his new best friends, ancestry.com and familysearch.org.  However, he has found a lot of new information about his side of the family, and even some about my side too.  If you’re interested in details let us know and we’ll pass along the family info.

7- Sabrina has discovered her true personality.  It seemed to happen just before Thanksgiving, and I have been waiting for her to be her “old” self, but it seems that the new Brina is here to stay.  Where she was once shy and introverted to the point of curling up in a little ball, she is now singing at the top of her voice and talking a mile a minute about everything she can think of.  We had worried that she might be the family brooder, but she is all sunshine and smiles now.  I hope she keeps it up because my heart leaps with happiness when I see her skipping down the hallway or putting on little shows.

8- Rob and I teach the CTR 7 class in our church primary.  Last year we taught the 10 year olds and we loved that class! We were so sad when we were not able to move up with them this year.  But we are loving our new class just as much already.  They are so full of energy and happiness that it is truly a joy to be with them.  We have a reward system set up so they are earning pennies throughout class for good behavior and participation.  At the end of class they turn in their pennies for a special treat or prize.  It has been fabulous.  The kids all pay close attention and spend most of the class with their hand in the air ready to answer a question.  So fun!

72 Hour Kit Giveaway

January 2009 Give Away at Totally Ready

If your resolution is to get your family prepared, go enter to win this Adult 72 Hour Kit! Super cool.

Happy New Year!

One of my New Years Resolutions: to go back to using real dinnerware and save the paper plates for group gatherings. I went to IKEA and got some matching glasses, plates and bowls figuring that I’ll be more motivated to use “real” dishes if they aren’t the mismatched restaurant kids cups and plates I put in my hopechest in high school. I’m nervous…

Christmas Surprise

Earlier this year, Rob and I went to a charity auction for the Boy Scouts. Our friend, and artist, Justin Kunz put up for bid a customized portrait and we were the lucky winners of his work. We got together with him and discussed what he does and the type of thing we were thinking, and left the rest to him. He agreed to include all four children in the portrait, which was so exciting to me! He came to our home and took pictures, and then he worked on it when he could squeeze it in to his busy schedule. I had not seen any of the progress on the portrait, but Rob and Justin sneakily worked together so Rob could surprise me on Christmas:

For an image of the portrait, click here.