The Money Motivator

Now that A is turning 5 we thought it was about time that he could start earning an allowance and do consistently do more chores around the house.  Money has proven to be a big motivator for him (it helped with potty training!) so why not use an allowance to help motivate him to get his chores done around the house. 

We decided on using a punch card system for him to earn his allowance rather than giving him just a weekly rate.  For every chore he completes he earns a punch in his card.  Once the card is full he can turn it in for his allowance ($5).  He can also earn extra punches for extra good behavior or for doing something extra special.  My thinking was that it would motivate him even more (to get the punches) and if he decided to skip a chore or behaved poorly that day, then he doesn’t earn a punch for his chore.  He will (hopefully) feel the consequences being it will only take longer to fill the punch card and earn his allowance. 

The punch card itself looked pretty easy to make and I had started to try my hand at it on the computer.  But I got frustrated after about an hour and decided to chuck it and purchase them (cheap) from this seller on Etsy.

A is pretty excited to get started and to start earning his own money.  I told him that he needs to save half of it and the other half he can spend on whatever he wants.  Here’s a brief list of the chores that he will be responsible for and the frequency.  Not every chore will be every day.

• cleaning his room (daily or as needed)
• feeding the dog (daily)
• clearing his dirty dishes after meal times (daily)
• cleaning up toys in the playroom (daily)
• putting away wii remotes when done playing (as needed)
• helping to empty the dishwasher (couple times a week)
• helping load the laundry in washer/dryer (couple times a week)

 

Project 365 – Complete!

I DID IT! I completed my project 365!!  I have to admit that there were a few days where it was a challenge to remember to take a picture or to think of something I haven’t taken a picture of 10x already.   It’s pretty cool to look back on all of these pictures and see where this year has taken me.  There are so many little, yet wonderful, things that happen during the year and these pictures help me remember it all.  I’m proud of myself for keeping up with it throughout this year.  Now I just have to make a book with all of the pictures next time I see a good deal online. 

 

Would I do it again?  Absolutely.  I probably will wait another year or two before doing it again, but it was a great and easy way to document my family and our life over the past year.  Maybe in another year I’ll attempt Project Life, but for now I’m giving myself a year off :)

 

 

 

 

 

on my shelf

You either love him or hate him.  He’s the (little creepy) bribery tool parents use to keep their kids well behaved for the month between Thanksgiving & Christmas.  You guessed it….he’s the elf on the shelf.  For the 2^nd year now this little elf has graced our house with his presence.  I have to admit that he creeps me out a little, but he’s become a tradition in our house and my son looks forward to finding “Adam” every morning.   (If you’re asking yourself “What the heck is an elf on the shelf?” then click HERE) 

The elf has been around for many, many, years but has recently picked up in popularity.  If you do a google search or just log into pinterest you’ll find hundreds of ideas for this stuffed sprite.  Some of these ideas are outrageous and as a working mom I don’t have the time to dedicate every night to setting up some elaborate scene for my elf.  I can barely remember to move him every night so to spend 15+ minutes setting something up each night is exhausting.  Maybe that’s just me but my 4 yo is not going to give a hoot if the elf is hanging off the chandelier or if he’s riding in a hot air balloon that was home crafted out of paper, ribbons and a balloon.    He enjoys finding him regardless. 

I’ve tried to get a little creative only because I’m running out of quick ideas of where to put this thing.  Half of me wants to wrap him in an ace bandage and say that he’s had an accident and can’t move for a week. But I can't disappoint my son, even though I’m pretty sure that he is not buying the whole story about the elf and is just humoring us as we move him every night.  But for now he’s playing along and we’ll continue to move our elf every night until Christmas Eve when we bid him farewell for another year.

Do you have an elf on the shelf?   cast your vote – creepy bribery tool or cute holiday tradition??

elf acrobatics

 

chocoholic elf

 

going for a ride on the Sodor Railway

 

made his own design with our window decorations

flying home to the North Pole makes for a hungry elf

zipline!

 

 

Project 365

After hearing so much about it and watching a few friends complete it last year, I decided to take on Project 365 this year.  I try not to attempt too many projects, as I tend to overextend myself, but I really loved the idea of this.   The last scrapbook I did was for A’s first year but these pictures don’t necessarily have to be of A, which is a big part of what I liked.  When I’m done it will be simply 365 days of our life.  documented.  I just hope I can continue to come up with creative ideas for pictures each day and don’t run out of ideas by March.  I’m also not going crazy with carrying my camera with me every day – I’ll take pictures with both my iphone and my camera, whichever I have with me at the time.

If you’ve completed Project 365 I’d love to hear from you and any tips you may have for staying motivated.