Funny what they figure out

I was tucking the boys in to bed. We were discussing what tomorrow holds for them.

• They have dental appointments (which my kids like the dentist so no worries there).
• They have a field trip
• Doug pipes up and adds, "we only have to practice our sight words for homework."

Three days out of the week we have a homework sheet to review and usually on one day (or more depending on how long it is) we have some sort of hand-writing sheet to complete. However, by Thursday we have completed all the specific homework pages and I only make them practice their sight words. I guess Doug had noticed that this coincides with it being Thursday.

I might be confused...

One of the "rewards" the kids can purchase with their play money is to swap beds. It is $20 a piece...So tonight Doug was willing to pay for himself and Andy. Andy discovered he had enough money and then Josie wanted in on it. I do not know if Josie actually had the cash, but Doug was so excited about it he shelled out the play money for her too.

So it started out that Doug was going to be in Josie's bed, Andy in Doug's bed, and Josie in Andy's bed.

Then, Josie couldn't sleep so I let her move to my bed.
Apparently she changed her mind because next thing I know, Doug appears and Josie has reclaimed her own bed.

So in the end Andy is in Doug's bed, Doug is in my bed because he didn't want to go to Andy's bed, and Josie is in her own bed.... this is almost like her swapping a bed anyway since she usually migrates to my bed during the night.

Out of the mouths of babes 2

We went to a Mexican restaurant after church on Sunday.
Doug said, "I want the burned beans."

Translation: Re-fried beans.

Out of the mouths of babes

On Saturday morning (4ish) Andy joined Jim and me in bed due to a bad dream.
Then around 6am Josie came waltzing in to climb in bed. It was a tad crowded so Josie and I went to her room and promptly fell back asleep.

At around 7:30 am everyone started waking up.
Jim woke up to find that he was no longer in bed with his wife but with Andy.
Andy woke up and told daddy....

I came to get in bed with you because otherwise it would be just you and God.

Play money

The play money system is working well. The kids get really motivated (or at least Doug and Andy do) when they get low on money so I am getting more active participation in chores. As long as I remember to pay them right away, I do pretty well with keeping up with the system.

It has also been interesting to see how my children spend their money.
Doug- he has a little trouble keeping up with his "wallet" (mostly because he sets it down where ever he is standing). He mostly spends his money on computer or TV time. He likes to pay for eating in front of the TV when I will allow it. He doesn't think to ask his brother or sister to help out with paying for something like eating in front of the TV.

Andy- he is a little better about saving up. My "quantity" boy likes the idea of having a lot of money in his wallet, but still gets enticed in to spending. He is probably the most motivated about earning money, but he has been the most interested in "work" all along. He really likes having "20s" in his wallet (right now a 20 is the biggest denomination).

Josie- she likes the money and she will spend it on things. She has a bit of an advantage because I do not make her pay for TV or computer time while her brothers are still at school.

This weekend we pulled out my tent. It is still in good shape....and for $75 in play money they kids got to sleep in it downstairs on Saturday night....well, sort of. They did okay at first, but sometime after midnight Josie woke up and freaked out and started crying. This woke up Doug and Andy and got them upset. So everyone ended up in their own beds.

Roller falling

Andy went to a birthday party at a roller skating rink last weekend. The little boy whose party is was skated well enough to own his own skates. For Andy it was the first time ever having wheels on his feet....

To his credit he grinned every time he went down and he got up and tried again. The rink had a coned off area for people learning and they allowed parents with soft shoes to be on the rink (Which was good because unlike the rink where I grew up there was not bar along the wall).

I was very glad that I only had Andy to deal with, because by the end my shoulders and arms were sore from helping him. I was actually sore for two or three days afterward....

Andy would have liked to stay longer, but eventually the music got to him. For as loud as he is, he does not like loud noise.