one life...make it magical

Friday, October 25, 2013

Normal day...

A few Sundays ago the sister teaching the lesson in Relief Society shared this beautiful quote. I just fell in love with it and whipped it into something that I can print and place in my home.

Some times the normal-ness of the every day can get so second nature that I forget to be thankful for it. I speed through my days with barely a second glance at all the normal around me. I forget to be grateful for all of the things in my life that are just there. Not drawing attention. Not requiring anything. Just there.

I want to be more thankful for the normal that surrounds me.

I have a truly blessed life. I have 5 healthy beautiful children who fill my life with laughter, love, and happiness. I love being home and devoting who I am to them. I have a husband who honors, respects, and loves me and the Lord.

My favorite parts of the quote:
"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are."
"Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so."

Monday, August 19, 2013

13 years...

Make a photo slideshow

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

show me the money...

Years ago as my oldest 2 were starting to become aware of money I scrambled to come up with a plan...."When do we start paying allowance?...Do we pay allowance for chores? How do we keep track of their tithing? Who keeps their spending money? Do they need wallets? "

To answer these questions I devised a system that worked for the last few years. First we decided that we DO NOT pay our kids for chores. Doing chores is a part of living in our family and we are all expected to help out. Next I purchased pencil pouches for each kid that had 2 zipper pockets. One was for their tithing and one was for their spending money. We kept these pouches in a cupboard in the kitchen but they were usually loose and shoved.

The older they got the more they just helped themselves to their spending money and eventually they just kept their spending money in their rooms or in their wallets. This has been working, but lately has been falling apart. First I must admit that I haven't been as diligent in paying them their allowance at the first of the month. So for weeks and weeks they keep asking and asking and usually the Mr. pulls the allotted cash out of his wallet and hands it over. Tithing getting paid... but not in the "lets figure out what 10% is" kind of way, but the "a dollar or two should cover it" kind of way. I really want my kids to understand the concept and knew that this wasn't going to achieve that goal.

Combine all that with my older boys approaching teenage hood and the possibility of earning more than just the allowance that we pay them I knew that it was time to revamp the plan.

Here were our new needs:

still providing a place for them to store their tithing until they fill out their slips and pay it (10% of all income)
get the kids started on adding to their own savings account instead of just us (10% of all income)
teach them about saving up money for more expensive items they want while still having quick spending money
teach them how to keep track of their money by learning to fill out a bank register

I saw a picture on Pinterest that sparked my new idea. It was the idea of a Family Bank!! The idea behind the bank is that all our kids would have a central place for their money. They will have a place to store their tithing, to store their savings until we deposit it into their real savings account, and a place for spending money that works like a debit account.

One of the troubles that my boys have been having is that they really want to save for things that cost more, but when that blasted ice cream truck comes around they quickly blow through any money they have access to with out thinking.

Time for a change...

First I went to the store and bought a binder and after a little searching I found the type of pencil pouch that I needed. I wanted one with 3 separate zippered pouches. These particular pouches have 3 ring grommets to put into a binder and have 2 pockets on one side and a larger one on the back. I purchased one for each of my kids including the younger 2 (they don't need them yet, but how many times have I found the PERFECT thing and only purchased what I needed for the older kids and then when I needed it for the younger ones I can't find it anywhere!) I labeled each one with the kids name and then labeled each pocket. The front two pockets are for tithing and savings and the back pocket is labeled spending.

Here is how it works:

We pay our kids $1 for each year they are old, once a month. So my oldest is 11 and receives $11 a month. When it is time to pay allowance I get it all in cash and even get the necessary dollars in coins so that they can pay their tithing and savings exactly. So for my oldest I set out $11. $10 in dollar bills and $1 in coins. We sit down together and open up the Family Bank binder. He puts $1.10 in his tithing pouch, $1.10 in his savings pouch and then the remaining $8.80 is left for spending. He then decides how much he wants to put into his spending pouch and how much to put into his wallet. This can be different each month. The idea behind this is that the money placed into the spending pouch works like a debit account. The rest is wallet money that can be spent willy nilly on all the ridiculous ice cream or otter pops from the corner stand he wants . Before withdrawing from his spending pouch he has to come to me (his "debit card" mom) and request to take money out. I created sheets that look like a check register where they record all deposits and withdrawals. This extra step helps them think first if they REALLY wants to spend it. If they do it is their choice.

Because all deposits and withdrawals are recorded my kids are really able to see where their money comes from and where it goes. Every time they earn money they go through this process....tithing, savings, and dividing up their spending. Sometimes they want all their spending money to be wallet $...that is totally fine.

My hope in doing all of this is that by the time my kids are ready to be on their own they will have the knowledge they need to manage their money wisely through paying their tithing, saving, and learning to spend properly!

I love love love this!!!

Monday, May 20, 2013

a Jordan spring...

Travis came home one day with the prettiest daffodils. They lasted forever and I loved the color in the kitchen.

We tried something new for general conference. The kids earned conference cash for being reverent. After each talk we would pause it and ask them some questions. If they listened and could answer them correctly they earned more cash. During the songs they could trade in their cash for treats or small toys. It worked great. They listened so well and for the most part they were very reverent.

Travis has gotten the family history bug. One night he was up late working on it and just couldn't stop.

"Mom, I can't eat this crust it tastes too brown!"

Sometimes I forget how quickly my kids are growing up. One evening on they way to scouts i looked down and saw this...I have a boy on the brink of teenage hood!

Owen is SO busy! He is constantly running around and getting into things. One day Owen was climbing on Bailey's toilet and fell. His head hit the toilet and it gave him a nice black eye.

All the 5th graders in our school district participate in Hope a America. A night spent listening to them sing patriotic songs. I loved spending the night with my boy!

Max and Owen love the shower!

Going fast all day makes for a tired boy! All he has to do is hold still for a few minutes and he is out like a light!

I am over the cub scouts in our ward. I created these fun stamps for our first pack meeting!

On our drive into town we spotted something that didn't quite belong...can you see it?

The many faces of my busy Owen. All these taken in less than 20 seconds!

Our spring evenings have been thrown for a loop! Baseball season is here and filling our nights! 2 games and 2 practices a week! Some games don't start until 8pm which is late for our boy!

One night the game went until 10:30pm! A tied score, extra innings and freezing temps...yet still a smile!

This spring has also brought yard work! We are having our yard finished. The boys loved watching the worker use the machines to trench, dig and smooth!

The cement is going in! We had a big basketball pad poured in the back yard! The kids are so excited.

I sent Travis to the store to buy some ink so that I could print our my meeting agenda...and he came home with a new printer! Such a stinker!

I love seeing my kids play at Grandma's house. I also love seeing them enjoy the same toys I did as a kid!

Zach participated in his first karate tournament. He competed in 3 events and took 1st, 2nd, 2nd!! He had so much fun!

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with homemade chicken fajitas.

The cloudy days make for beautiful sunsets!

Owen was super excited to fit into his baseball shirt!

Getting ready for another pack meeting...this time the project was for 2 arrow of light awards!

No grass yet but the boys love using the cement and playing basketball and tether ball!

Let the grass laying begin!

Owen's favorite part of laundry day is playing with all the empty baskets!

All done!

King Owen!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Instagram dump...

A smart phone has drastically changed how I share information. It is SO easy now to take a picture with my phone and share it with family and friends quickly. I find that I am doing that more and more and blogging less and less...In an effort to keep ALL our family and friends up to date I will still be blogging, but also doing an Instagram dump occasionally. (this is the app I use on my phone) I will also copy the caption that i shared the photo with originally too!

Just casually reading the label on the peanut butter.."may contain traces of anchovies"...? What the ...what?

At the beginning of the year I challenged Noah to read the Book of Mormon before he turns 12. I told him I would do it with him. I have been so impressed with his determination to do it. Today we finished the book of Jacob. I am so proud of him.

Big O...Big Ouch!

They may be a little droopy but these tulips and the morning sunshine are brightening my day!

Our home is now under the protection of a purple belt! Intruders beware!

Zach can kick almost 7 feet in the air!

Missing these two cuties today!

(My sister Jenny and her daughter Brooklyn came to visit for about a week! It was so fun to talk, play, and spend time together)

Time to make another Toddler clock. The little boys in bunkbeds were getting up way WAY too early! Let the brain washing begin..."when the dragon is in the red, it is time to stay in bed. When he wanders into the green... Mommy won't scream...getting up is peachy keen...it is okay to be seen..."

At the Lobby of Hobby I found the perfect sized shadow box to display Zach's karate belts on his wall...I love it when that happens.

St. Patrick's day morning...

St. Patrick's day lunch...green sandwiches!

Traditional new green shirts...

And now for a couple of quiet time movies...

St. Patrick's day evening...rainbow jello with gold coins on top, rainbow pasta salad and green shepherders bread with mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. I totally forgot to get spinach and bananas for or green smoothies which are the families favorite part...so we will just have to make them tomorrow! ; )

Whipped up our traditional lunch box treats for tomorrow while the kids are watching a movie...

Good morning! Of to take the Mr's car in and hopefully make it stop sounding like a motorcycle...

Off again...the motorcycle sound should be gone...

Thinking it is shaping up to be a "picking up a drink before lunch" kind of day...

I love my bedroom! You know you picked the perfect colors when even a few years later you still love it. My owl obsession has a new member...I smile just looking at him!

Sunset

Picking up daddy! My boys love seeing the trains!

Feeling the stirrings of peace creep back into my heart after a really crazy afternoon...driving to go grocery shopping is not my favorite thing ever but especially not late at night...but this pretty sun set reminded me how truly blessed I am...how mindful I know the Lord is of me personally...He knows what it feels like to be worn thin from a long day of mothering...so I will pause here in the store parking lot and allow my soul to refresh...