Works Like a charm Listening Board

I combined a few ideas from pintrest for this Listening Board.  They start at the top and during the day if they are caught miss behaving, not listening and doing their chores the first time I ask they are moved down the chart.  Pretty simple.

After I made this my daughter asked me if we could make a chart that moved up when they were listening well.  So, that got me thinking...I thought yes we should have a reward attached to being good.  So, if they stay at the top they get a reward buck.  They get to choose how to spend them.  Some ideas are:

• Ice Cream before bed
• Redbox night with popcorn
• Pick a prize out of the prize basket(filled with dollar store items)
• Skip a day of chores
• Extra computer time or WII time

They have to save up for these.  For instance ice cream is 5 reward bucks and redbox night is 10.

Also if the stay at the top they get two warm fuzzies into their jar.  When their jar is full they get to go out to ice cream with Mom and Dad.

This has worked so well for me and my girls.  I don't have to yell at them to do their chores in the morning and they get more fun with Mom and Dad.

Here are the jars I made for them to put the warm fuzzies.  I just used modpodge to glue the scrapbook paper on and then used stamp letters for their names.

What are some ways you help your kids learn to listen and obey?

My Girls 1st Dance Recital

Stephanie's Fancy Nancy Birthday Party

We just love the Fancy Nancy Book Series.  So, we decided to do something fancy for Stephanie's Birthday.

She just loved dressing up for the occasion and so did her friends.

Here is all of them dressed up.  We provided the necklaces, bracelets, glasses and rings as there after party gift. 

 We started with reading a Fancy Nancy book. Then we sang happy birthday and had cake and ice cream.  They all decorated their own cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles.

I didn't get a picture, but we played a game with popping balloons to get prizes and candy.  All the girls loved it.

After that we opened presents and played some more games.

This is the thank you card we sent with their goody bags.

Jeffrey in the Kitchen

 Jeffrey is so close to walking and with that comes more messes.

He just loves to get into the Tupperware, and make big messes for me in the kitchen, but he is learning so I don't do too much about it.  The only bad thing is when he closes the the draw on his fingers.

And that is what happened here.  It makes me happy when I can kiss his ouchies away.  Luckily he is a boy and gets over things really fast, unlike my two girls who could cry for a whole day without stopping.

Entering A New Phase Of Life

This was the first day of school.  Little did I know how my life would change.

I went from STAY at HOME mom to DRIVE everywhere MOM.  No more "What's a Schedule?"

 I have now come to terms that there will never be a day that I can just decide that I don't want to go anywhere.  Or on rainy or snowy days snuggle in pj's with my girls all day and watch movies with popcorn and hot cocoa.  I will always have to be picking up or dropping off everyday.  I used to not know what day it was.  Now I find myself wondering when it will be Saturday and we can just relax at home to enjoy each other.  Rather than "hurry and get ready because we have to go to school."

Although, I will add that I do love seeing Stephanie and Mercede's face when I come to pick them up. Seeing how much they missed me makes it all worth it.  For instance Stephanie is not a hugger.  Rarely does she choose to hug on any given day because that is just how she is.  She saves her hugs and kisses for special occasions and bed time.  But on the first day of school and everyday since then she runs to hug me when I pick her up.  I treasure that time each day. 

Another things I love is talking about school, friends, activities and helping with homework.  

One more thing that I am looking forward to is helping in the classroom and seeing her experience new things with all her new friends.

Here's to a new, exciting, beginning.

Well, things have been crazy since I last posted.  We are back in Cedar City, UT and Jake is working at the High School.  We had another bundle of joy enter our family.  His name is Jeffrey.  He is now 9 months old.  Wow, how time flies.  I love being home with my kiddos.  They are going up so fast. Stephanie is going to Kindergarten this year and Mercede is going to preschool.  It will be so weird to have two days a week for three hours with just me and my little boy.  Here are a few recent pictures since I haven't posted in a while.

What's new!

Stephanie is finfally potty trained with #1 and #2. Yeah, no more diapers. Here's to saving $25.00 a month. Now on to the next daughter.

Jake has started his student teaching and will be applying for jobs in about 2 months. I can't believe it is so close. So, far he loves teaching the high school students. He seems to have greast kids in his classes.

On a more sad note. My mom was in an accident on the cruise my family went on. She broke her Thorax and her pelvis. She had back surgery last Thursday and is still in Miami. She will hopefully be home this coming Monday. I think she is being released from the hospital today, but she can't leave Miami till Monday. She is doing lots better, but still in a lot of pain.

I have finally finished my first rag quilts today, and did all the mending that has been stacking up over the last year. Now on to all the other projects I have been planning. I can't wait.

Life is Great

So, just an update ,which it feels like I am always doing. I can't seen to keep up.
We have moved into Jake's parents house. I love it. Eileen and I take turns making dinner, their house is always clean. I don't hav eto go any where for a baby sitter. They live in the same house. The girls have adjusted. The first week was rough, but we got through it. Stephanie would keep asking if we could go home, and we would say that we were home. She would reply with, "NO, Grandma's House!"

Jake has only a few weeks left of school, and then on to student teaching. Yeah. He just took one of the big tests to graduate and only one more to go. I am so excited to find out where we will be this summer.

As for me I am still a stay at home mom with a day or two at work so I can keep my sanity. I am reading the last book of the Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series. It is way intense. I hope it doesn't leave a cliffhanger like the last book did. Next I am going to start the Hunger Games.

The girls are growing fast. They wore their snow boots for the first time today and Mercede was having a hard time keeping her balance since she couldn't bend her ancles. They love being at Grandma's house all the time now. I hope they do ok when we leave.

Well, that is all. I will post some pictures when I take some. Like I said way behind.

Closer to the End!

Wow, how time flys. Jake only has one more semester left of school. It is so crazy that he will be applying for jobs in March. We have started looking at houses to see what is out there. Although, doing so is making me way too excited.

We are moving into Jake's parents house in two weeks to save some money for when he is done. I am excited for that because it means we are getting so close. Only 6 months till we know where we will be for the rest of our lives.

Just for fun here is a picture of a house that we like in St. George and we love the price, only 85,000. Yeah, our house payment will only be as much as we are paying rent. Now that is something were shouting for joy over. It is small, but it will do the job.