My Lilies

These are the latest to bloom.

Rewards & Consequences

I've been working on a new reward & consequence system for the children. I'm sure you moms out there know that no one system lasts forever. It was time for a change again. The children need something new & I need something simple and quick yet effective.

Using ideas from various sources I combined them & added some of my own. I typed up a list of rewards & printed them out.
Next I cut them into strips.

I folded them all up & separated them into 2 jars. One is for my boys & the other is for my two oldest girls. My youngest is not old enough yet to need a system. The reason I divided them was because some of the rewards were a better fit for my boys while others were a better fit for my girls. This is due not only to gender but for interests and even more so because of their ages. I decorated each jar & then filled them up with the rewards paper slips.

The idea is that I will be on the look-out each day to "catch them" being good, obeying, showing kindness, and doing their work. If they are "caught" then they will be given permission to draw a reward from their jar. Some rewards are points towards a big reward while others are instant. I plan to make a chart or pockets to keep track of what they have earned. (The girl's jar is a little "girlie" but they were the only stickers I had. I plan to get more age appropriate ones soon. In the meantime my girls said they didn't mind. Good sports!)

A friend of mine spoke of making "Consequence Cards". In the past we have used posters from Doorposts. This is the same type of idea. I made up my own consequences & again typed them up. After cutting them out into strips I taped them onto index cards. I outlined each card in either yellow or red. Yellow is for the minor discipline. Red is for more serious discipline or consequences. The craft sticks have extra chores glued on them. This way I can either choose a yellow card, red card or extra chore stick depending on what I think fits the offense. I like that I don't have to spend time thinking up new consequences & they will be at my finger tips. At the same time I still have a variety of choices. I made copies of several consequences as I have 5 children, 4 of whom will be using this system.

I hope to start using our new system tomorrow. If you'd like I'll update in a week or so to let you know how it is going.

A Peek at Our Week

Here is a little peek at our days last week:

Elvis & Sky are best buds.

The boys read a Lego magazine together.

Princess played on our bed a bit.

She cracked us up as she tossed the toys one by one squealing with each throw.

The kids always love wrestling with Daddy.

Bugs received some new school books from the Parent-Teacher store.

He completed 3/4 of his dot-to-dot book on the first day!

Elvis helped pick these out for himself.
The science is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Hooray!

We plan to use these soon.

I found these in our stash at home.

Elvis is super excited about the Time & Money book.

I picked these up at the Dollar Tree. I LOVE that store!

Elvis is almost done his practice book already.

I bought these at the Dollar Tree on the other side of town. I am putting them away for Bugs for next year when he will start kindergarten. The curriculum we used for Elvis, which I loved, has been replaced & jacked up in price. I am very disappointed as I had hoped to use it for Bugs. So I'm finding other alternatives such as this.

I found these gems at Walmart for only $1 each! Bugs loves the stickers!

Sweet Pea found this in our search at the Dollar Tree. It is like a Mad Lib. Cool!

I was ecstatic when we found these at the Dollar Tree! Elvis is a Star Wars fanatic! These will be a great addition to our workboxes! I got each of the boys a copy.

Another practice book for Elvis. He loves math!

This will also be used next year for Bugs' math.

Here is a sample of what is inside.

I finally got around to making laundry soap.

I used a friend's dry recipe this time.

Thankfully I had all my ingredients on hand.

I scored big time at the bread store. $1 a loaf! I saved at least $25 if not more. Wow-zah! This bread doesn't contain any HFCS which is a HUGE plus for us. I now have my freezer stocked up for a bit. =0)

Sweet Pea went to her first Zumba class on Thursday. She really liked it. I'm so happy she found something active to do! Yay! The community center has a great offer where if you buy 30 visits they come out to only $1.50/class. This is the youth rate. We used her Christmas gift from Nana to purchase her pass. Thank you, Nana!

I decided to try a Zumba class for myself that night. Sweet Pea went with me scoring 2 classes that day. My comment on the class? I think I will leave it for the young & more rhythmic peeps. I can only dream of moving the way they did. I'm not giving up on getting out & exercising. I want to try a regular aerobics class next week.

Lions & Tigers & ........Fleas?

Now the first two I could always imagine being fearful of but fearful of fleas? You bet your booty! They may be tiny but they are vicious little devils. We have been plagued with them. I have no idea where they came from but I wish they would return and never come back. They are NOT welcome here! They have taken up residence in our house & on our cats. Though we have bathed the cats & treated the house several times with natural remedies they refuse to leave. We thought we were winning the battle as they were reducing in number & in sightings but they have now returned with a vengeance. We are all being chewed on but Elvis', Bugsy's and my legs are the worst. We look like we have broken out in some strange hives or something.

I have tried to stay away from chemicals but we are now desperate. Dave went and bought some flea powder at the pet store tonight & is treating all the rugs. Tomorrow we will bathe the cats again this time using flea soap. I pray this works. The next step will be an exterminator and i have no idea how much that will cost. We need to get rid of these buggers once and for all. The scratching & itching is driving us all crazy! And I'm exhausted from all the extra cleaning & washing. =(

Treehouse, Drawings & Naps

Some shots from our week:

The kittens love the boxes that are piled high. They hang out in there constantly. I think they reason Bugs can't get to them up there! =)

(Left to Right = Pixie, Sassy, Sky Walker & Bailey)

I think the sunlight coming from the skylight is an added bonus.

Pixie & Sassy Relaxing



Bailey kicking back.

Learning more about Christopher Columbus

I read more of our history book to Elvis & Boo and asked them to draw about what they heard.

Boo working on her drawing.

This was before she colored it in.

I thought they both did a fantastic job!

Bugs wasn't feeling well & was terribly cranky & whiny. We were all relieved when he finally fell asleep. He was tons happier when he woke up!

Pixie is determined when it comes to a treat!

Another nap! Wow! Two days in a week! Much to his delight once he settled in Sassy & Pixie curled up and napped with him.

New Doos

I haven't cut the boys hair myself since they were each 2 years old or younger. I don't really feel confident styling it so we had them going to a barber. We haven't found a good one here yet. Plus lately our budget has needed to become even tighter. After much debating in my mind I decided to experiment with the new clippers Dave got for Christmas and see if I could indeed cut the boys hair and not have it turn out a nightmare. Elvis was quite hesitant at first. His reply was, "I don't want to be bald like Daddy!" Lol. I assured him he would not be bald and that I could make his hair be cut a little longer than Daddys' usually is. Finally after promising him $2 if he would allow me to cut his hair he agreed. Usually I would NOT pay my kids but would simply expect them to obey but in this I felt that it was important that he agree to participate. And that something be in it for him in case disaster struck. After all it would be HIM that would have to endure it in front of everyone in case I messed up. Some may disagree but this is how I felt and still feel. So off we went to Barber Mommy's chair!


I wanted to take some 'before' pics before the buzz. My ham here didn't have a simple pose in him. LOL!

Not sure where he gets this model attitude. What a nut!

This is my favorite. Isn't he a crack up?


Happy to be in the chair.....and still hamming it up.

To my complete surprise as soon as Bugs saw Elvis in the chair he declared he wanted his hair cut too! "My turn next!" he yelled. As soon as Elvis vacated the chair Bugs jumped right up.

My shorn sheep.

He is all set and quite pleased with his new doo. Boy was I relieved all turned out well!

Bugs' 'after' photo.

He did such a fabulous job sitting still in the chair & allowing me to move his head as I needed.

Another 'after' pic.

I am quite pleased with the results on both boys. These new clippers are great. I used the highest setting, #7. I think when the hot weather hits AND I feel more confident in my role as barber we will go for a lower setting but for now this worked very well. Since the clippers have already paid for themselves with the 2 haircuts Dave has had since we bought them the boys haircuts were FREE. Just my time & a little patience. Oh, and $2 for Elvis. Hee, hee. But even with Elvis' incentive to be paid I saved $28. I was really pleased to be able to contribute to our budget in this way.