Earning Money Through Extra Chores

I mentioned a few months ago that I was struggling with the idea of paying Ryan to do extra chores around the house. I'm a big believer in doing what you're told with a happy heart, whether you get paid or not.

But just before Halloween, Ryan was determined to earn extra money for his Darth Vader mask, so I came up with a few things for him to do. 

I paid him $1 to sweep the patio and watched, with pride, as he dragged each item to the grass, swept the concrete diligently, then put everything back even more orderly than he found it. The job took him quite a while and he was very proud of his work.

It was at that moment that I saw the value in paying him for chores above and beyond what is currently expected of him. I also decided to add the disclaimer that jobs done incorrectly will not be paid in full. I can foresee this becoming a problem in the future and just want to nip that in the bud right away.

Here's the list I put together:

$.50 Fold Laundry

$.50 Clean Back Glass Door

$.50 Sweep Front Porch

$1 Sweep Back Porch

$1 Sweep Garage

$5 Mow the Lawn

$.50 Help someone with their chores (without being asked)

$.25 Bring Laundry Downstairs

$.25 Read 15 Minutes Extra

$1 Mop Kitchen

$.25 Pick Up Toys (without being asked)

$.25 per chair - Wipe Down Kitchen Chairs

$1 Wipe One Room's Baseboards

$.25 per room - Vacuum

$.50 Loading Dishwasher (without being asked)

$.50 Empty Dishwasher (without being asked)

It took me a while to come up with this list, considering the fact that we pretty much have the daily and weekly chores taken care of around here. I looked online for some inspiration, then typed the list up with cute graphics, laminated them and put them on a jump ring to hang for easy access. 

When the kids want to earn some extra money, why wouldn't I allow them to take a little work off my plate??? These are all tasks that I am overwhelmed with (constant dishes and laundry) or that I avoid (exterior sweeping and wiping kitchen chairs or baseboards).

I think this system is gonna work out just fine.

My Mommy Mantras

Do you ever feel like you say the same things to you kids over...and over...and over? All the live-long day? After chanting, "Don't touch each other at the dinner table" 200 meals in a row, you'd think they'd learn a little self control, but alas, this is not the case. 

I was thinking about some of the other mommy mantras that keep me from slowly slipping into insanity; I thought I'd share to see if these might help you in your everyday life. We have our list of House Rules that are posted on our fridge and we still review occasionally (even though they haven't changed in 4 years) - if you don't have a set of House Rules, I'd start there. Having a quick, consistent phrase like, "Treat others how you want to be treated," instead of saying that same concept in a dozen different ways throughout the week, well, it just creates a more stable mantra that repeats in your child's head when you're not around.

"You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." Translation: life's not fair, get over it. This settles disputes from "He's sitting where I want to sit!" to "She got more than I did!!!" 

"Please do your chores." I love having a set list of expectations that my kids know about instead of asking them to separately pick up their toys, brush their teeth, unload the dishwasher, etc. It feels like I'm barking at them less and giving them more responsibility to check off their own to-do list without me micro-managing them.

"Make sure your chores are done/schoolwork is done before asking for free time." As soon as someone asks to play with a friend or go outside or watch a show, I ask if their chores are done. This is just a good overall principle in life, period. Work first, play later. Then you can relax more during your play without things nagging at you that need to be done. Okay, that isn't true for kids like it is for adults, but it's good to start early to avoid creating procrastinators. 

"Is it a safety issue?" Tattling drives me crazy, but if someone might get hurt, I definitely need to know. So my kids {theoretically} know that they can only "tell" if it's an issue of blood or safety.

"Who's in charge?" My overly responsible (read: bossy) older children have a tendency to, um, "help" each other and their baby brother a little too assertively sometimes. This is most unnecessary when I am literally sitting right. there. 

"Inside voices, please." My kids are loud. Very loud. All the time. I am confident that, even when our windows and doors are shut, our neighbors hear them speak to each other when they're inside the house. There's just no volume button on them!

"Use your words, not your hands." Most boys are naturally rough, mine are no exception. Jason has even taken to hitting people when he is happy and excited...I don't understand it. When he comes out of his room from a nap, I'll welcome him cheerfully and he'll give me a giant smile and proceed to body slam into me. (???) I feel like I'm constantly reminding both boys to be gentle with others and their belongings. Baby dolls were not meant to be rammed into the wall like a monster truck and not every hug needs to turn into WWF wrestling.

(on our way in the house from the van) "Please grab as much as you can carry from around your seat and bring it into the house." This keeps my van from looking like a pigsty and avoids, "I can't find my..." when they decide to bring schoolwork/a book/a toy on a car ride.

"Do the job right the first time or I'll double your workload." I'm trying to teach my kids to do things well and with pride, so if something is only half-done, not only do they need to finish the task, but I'll give them more work to do, too. It didn't take Ryan long to realize that his life would be easier if he spent an extra 2 minutes doing something properly the first time around.

I know I'm missing a few...what are some of your mommy mantras?

Lots of Heart-Shaped Fun

Do you ever feel like you go overboard on holidays? Anyone...? No??? Hmmm.  Must just be me. :)

I wasn't very prepared with the heart-shaped ideas this year for Valentine's Day, but Pinterest helped me whip together some fun, last minute ideas that made me appear like the on-top-of-it mom that I once was and long to be again someday. 

We had exactly 13 Candy Cane Kisses leftover from Christmas...just enough for a fun morning activity with Jason and a sugar-filled snack for the kids.

Without any structure today, the kids were off the wall crazy a little rowdy, so I threw together a quick counting activity. Clearly, "colors" needs to be on Ryan's spelling list next week!

We only had a few hotdogs leftover from Mike's Super Bowl cookout while I was in Vegas, but I found an idea for a fun addition to our Valentine lunch.

...and for those who were still hungry, I made heart-shaped sandwiches.

I texted all of my neighbors begging for marbles when I remembered this idea for how to make heart-shaped muffins. 

The muffins {that I didn't accidentally over-fill} looked like lovely little beer bread hearts to go along with our red pasta dinner.

We ended our day with a chocolate fondue dessert...sort of a tradition in our house. Strawberries, bananas, pretzels, almonds, Rice Krispie Treats and heart shaped cookies. (those tulips were from my Valentine)

A chocolatey time was had by all

Although I gave up sugar for Lent, I allowed myself a cheat and dipped some fruit...because chocolate covered bananas and strawberries are the BEST!!!

Someone had a little too much fun with unrestricted access to a bowl of melted chocolate.

An hour before Mike came home from work, I realized that the big kids were outside playing and Jason was occupied with the iPad. I was tempted to do a quick workout video, but changed my mind at the last minute. I scattered red paper hearts all over the kitchen, set the table with fancy glasses and fun drinks for everyone, then I threw on a nice outfit, some make up and my uncomfortable, adorable, hooker heels to greet Mike at the door. This whole day felt thrown together, while it appeared planned and calculated.  I love it when it works out like that!

No Wolves in the Closet

We had a rough day around here yesterday.

I think Jason might be getting sick. I had to carry him out of Kaylin's gymnastics lobby {quite literally} kicking and screaming because 1. I had woken him up from his nap to make it to her class on time and 2. I tried to wipe his suddenly runny nose with a tissue. 

I have some nerve, right? 

20 minutes after that picture was taken, he tumbled down the stairs. Clearly there's something going on in his head...or inner ear. My poor boy!

That caused ALL of us to have a tough day yesterday. Sometimes it just has a domino effect! So today, we began our day with prayer. He started: "Dear God...thank you for this day. Thank you that we have happy hearts and that we be kind to each other. And thank you that there are no wolves in my room. Or in my closet...because I checked and there aren't any. In Jesus name I pray. Amen."

I've been sick, our routine has been off, the weather has been funky, now Jason's getting sick...I just need to hit the "reset" button to get us all back on track. 

And maybe take the rest of this week off school. Because I seriously need to put my house back together after being down and out last week!

Tip of the Day: Don't Boil Over on Your Stove!

I learned the BEST tip a couple of weeks ago and I keep forgetting to share. Do you ever boil-over on your stove? Pasta water? Oatmeal? Rice?  

No more!  Place a wooden spoon across the top of the pot and it will stop the liquid at the rim. In my attempt to multi-task, I tend to boil my pots overboard a LOT. Nothing annoys me more than oatmeal boiled over and baked onto my stovetop. Never again.

Meal Plan - 2/11/13

Monday - Bean and Spinach Soup * with Whole Wheat Bread
Tuesday - Happy 13th Anniversary to us - dinner out and a movie.
Wednesday - Elk Roast with potatoes and carrots (a gift from my cousin's hunter husband)
Thursday - Happy Valentine's Day!  Past with RED sauce and Chocolate Fondue dessert with dippers like bananas, strawberries, pound cake, Rice Krispie Treats and brownies.
Friday - Kaylin's 1/2 birthday - her choice (which probably means pizza)
Saturday - Steak on the grill with baked potatoes and salad
Sunday - Pioneer Woman's Beef Stew