The Money Jars

We implemented Money Jars at our house a few weeks ago. My boys do chores daily, but until recently they haven't been receiving an allowance. I have no problems paying the boys to help around the house, but I do have issues with paying them to help but still having to hear constant arguments and name calling..especially from my teenagers....So I the made money jars...Keep in mind also that my boys are 7,12, and 14...This could easily be modified for younger children though.

The boys will be getting $10 a week for their allowance. I will be putting their $10 in their jars at the beginning of the week in all quarters...As the week progresses every time I hear "Dude you are so freaking gay", or whatever the cut down of the day is, the boy looses a quarter out of his jar...Same goes if I get arguments over them doing their daily chores or homework... If they loose more than their $10 a tab will be kept and deducted from the following weeks allowance.

At the same time I didn't want to make it an all negative thing so if they do something genuinely nice for someone they can earn extra quarters. They can also earn extra quarters by doing extra side chores that I post on the board weekly, or by memorizing bible verses. Also any kid who has their original amount of quarters or more gets a $2 bonus at the end of the week.

 I have to admit so far this has worked pretty good...It's been a lot quieter around our house lately! lol...It's amazing the results you get when they realize their actions have consequences on their spending money 

P.S...excuse the bad photography...lol..I'm not great at taking pics anyways, but have you ever tried to take pics of glass jars??? It was not as easy as I had expected! The jars will be getting a makeover soon. They are certainly ugly, but for now they work. :0)

Bible Cover

As I've posted previously, We are finally getting back into church. I love the bible I have, but I've had it for years and it's getting a little worn, but I really didn't want to purchase a new one.

So I made a cover/case for it...

I love it, and it works great to not only hold my bible, but also my Sunday school book so I don't manage to misplace it :0)

I used a tutorial that I found online here.

I also bought this adorable robot material and decided to make my youngest son a case too...My older boys think they are to old for one, but my youngest son is the one who LOVES accessories...lol..It doesn't matter what kind...I found the time to make his case last night, and he loved it....

I wish I had got a picture of his face when I gave it to him this morning, but unfortunately we were in a hurry to get on the bus so I didnt have time to dig out my camera... Hope everyone is having a great week!  :0)

Catch up

I have blogged one time this year!...ONE...That's crazy considering it's the end of August! So I'm making a commitment right now to start blogging more regularly.

This past year has been one a crazy, stressful year, but I'm really hoping that things are finally starting down the right path. Let's see...to get caught up...

We have had 4 family members pass away since last September. My grandfather, my step grandma, my step dad, and one of my aunts. They are all greatly missed!

I started working as a caregiver for an elderly woman a few months ago. I love the job. It does mean that it has seriously cut into my crafting and sewing time though :0)

 School started here on Aug 10..I swear it seems to get earlier and earlier each year! I home schooled my oldest son last year, but this year he decided he wanted to try public school again for the 8th grade. He's on medicine this year for his ADD and so far he's doing excellent!!! I'm so proud of him! Here's their pics from the first day of school...

Being silly

Even more silly..they were a little excited..lol

Finally a serious one!

First day of 2nd grade

Had to show off his 2, soon to be 3, missing front teeth..lol

 As for myself lately there's been a lot of changes...I recently got diagnosed with adult ADD..I never would have thought it was a problem for me because I associate it with hyperactivity and not listening. Any of you who know me know I'm an extremely laid back person most of the time. But I have a huge problem being anywhere on time, finishing projects that I start (you should see my craft closet!) and just being motivated and focusing in general. So my doctor started me on Vyvanse and the difference in how I feel has been amazing! My head is no longer "foggy"...I can concentrate, and I've finished every project that I've started...I really had no idea how much I was spinning my wheels and not being productive until I got productive!

I can't say I'm the most popular person at my house right now..lol..but my kids will get over it...I've implemented money jars, house rules, and a cleaning chart these past few weeks. My kids might not like it, but I think my husband does...We've had some serious issues come up between us this year also that we are having to work through, but I do think they (hopefully) seem to be slowly getting a little better.

I think my favorite thing that I have changed is that we are back in church...or at least most of us are...(still need to get the hubby going again.) I promised my grandpa right before he passed away that I would get me and the boys back in church, and I am thrilled to be able to say that I've done that.

I was raised in small southern baptist churches my whole life and that was the kind of church I wanted to belong to again. I wanted a small church with a good size youth group to get the kids involved in, and that's not always easy to find. I wanted a church where they still sang the old hymns, where everyone knows everyone, where I could get involved, but that was still big enough to have activities for the boys...and I found that I think in Keck Avenue Baptist Church...We've only been going for a little bit, but so far I love it! Everyone is so welcoming! I'm pretty sure we'll be joining the church very soon.

I think that gets me pretty much caught up...I'll post more later about the money jars and the house rules :0)

Don't waste another Marble!

I was listening to the Scott and Kelli show on my favorite radio station KLove on my way home from work yesterday. Scott was telling this story and it really hit home and I felt like I needed to share it also. It really helps put life into perspective I think if you can see it dwindling down in front of you every week...I know there's a lot of Saturdays I've wasted...So new goal for myself is to try not to waste anymore! I did my own math and I've had 1655 Saturdays as of tomorrow. That leaves me with hopefully at least 2245.

Don't waste another Marble! 

by Scott from KLove
 

I have been reading John Maxwell's  book, The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player.  It is a great read and a book that is so applicable to everyone!  We are all apart of a team in one way or another.  In the chapter on living life intentionally John shared a story that friend had shared with him.  His friend Dwight Bain overheard a Ham radio broadcast one morning and what he overheard was some an advise an older gentleman was sharing:

"It's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much," he said, "Let me tell you something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.  You see, one day I sat down and did a little arithmetic.  The average person lives 75 years, so I multiplied 75 times 52 and came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays the average person has in a lifetime.
"it took me fifty-five years to think about this in any detail." he continued, "and by that time I had lived through 2,800 Saturdays.  I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of those left to enjoy."
He went on to explain that he had bought 1,000 marbles and put them in a clear container in his favorite work area at home.  "Every Saturday since then," he said, "I have taken one of the marbles out of the jar and thown it away.  I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.  There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help you get your priorities straight."
The older gentleman finished, "Now let me tell you one more thing before I sign off and take my lovely wife to breakfast.  This morning, I took my last marble out of the container.  I figure if I make it until next Saturday, then I have been given a little extra time."
We can't choose whether we will get any more time, but we can choose what we do with it.  If you are intentional with what with what you have, then you will make the most out of the time and talent that God gives you.

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful day filled with lots of love, family, and good food!

We were missing quite a few people this year so we had a small but good Thanksgiving. I wasn't sure how it would be this year with us having lost Grandpa two months ago. We sure did miss him, but it went so much better than I had expected it to. I think it helped a lot that Grandma had the table set out different...we didn't spend the entire meal looking at the empty chair that would have been his. We all got a little choked up(or at least I did) when it came time for prayer,cause it was a who's going to say it now kind of moment...but we made it through the first Thanksgiving, so I'm sure they will get easier with each passing year.

I only had my oldest son Tyler with me this year. Dylan decided to go to his dads, and Chandler went with my husband Greg to his family's house. So we were a little scattered this year. We were also missing my sister-in-law Jess who had to work, and my aunt, uncle, and cousins from TX....We missed you all, but not to worry...I ate enough pie and food for all of you  :0)...(more cheeseball, and beef rollups for us...lol) Here's a few more pictures of our day together

Me with my nephew Vincent

My nephew Vincent

Too much turkey...lol

My Mom, My grandma, and me

Me, my brother, my grandma, Tyler and Vincent

all of us (except Ken who was taking the pic)

Me and my oldest son Tyler

Me and my grandma

Me and my mom

Papa Ken with Vincent

My brother and my niece Natalie

My mom and step-dad

My nephew Vincent

I have so much in my life to be thankful for...I hope everyone took time out of their day today to reflect on what you have to be thankful for in your own lives, and I hope you found your list to be long!

This song has been stuck in my head all day, so I thought I'd share it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Handmade Holiday's - Part 1

Wow! It's been a while since I posted...Sorry! I've been incredibly busy these last few weeks. I've taken on a not quite full time job now working as a caregiver for a elderly woman.So I just don't have as much time at home as before... But just cause I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been sewing.

I've decided this year I'm making all my Christmas presents for everyone except my kids...They will probably get a few things handmade too, but the majority of theirs will be bought. So here's what I've been working on for the adults...rice heating pads, in a bag stenciled with a picture of a rice plant...

and for the younger kids I've made these roll up travel bags...

So that's it so far...I still need to work on a couple of stuffed animals for the really little kids...and I'm stuck on what to make for the teen guys...so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Also, once I get a day to slow down a little, I'll try to get tutorials up for the two projects below in case anyone else would like to make them for Christmas.

(also both of these ideas I found online done by many people so I'm not sure who to reference back to)

Hope everyone has a great day!  :0)

Halloween 2010

I know its November now, and I'm a little late posting, but here's a few pics of this years Halloween...

Dylan was a Ninja (with purple Nike's...lol)

Tyler was a zombie

Group shot - chandler was scream, Greg was himself, and I was candy corn

 I don't have a closeup shot of Chandler yet, but I'll post it when I get it....I didn't end up making anyone's costume this year except my own, and it was a last minute throw together in an hour project...lol...but here's the closeup for it

Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween...Now it's time to start looking forward to Thanksgiving and working on Christmas presents :0)