January 1, 2010

So yesterday was the final day of 2009. I went shopping at the mall by myself in the morning, so I could look for a pair of jeans without being distracted by children. It was so nice. I ended up finding some pretty decent deals. I got a pair of jeans for $15, a fall/spring jacket for $15, and I got some good deals at Aeropostalé for a hoodie and a shirt as well as 2 shirts for Grant. It was a good trip. Then I went to the video store to get some movies for the kids for our New Years Eve Party, and some treats. Grant had to work on New Years Eve, so we didn't get to go to our friends NY's Eve party. That's when I decided to have a fun night for the kids. We threw blankets on the floor and pillows, tons of munchies (maybe a little too many), we played monopoly junior altogether and then watched a Barbie movie. Damian and Catcher weren't too interested, but it was more because I thought Maiya might be one of the first to fall asleep. After that, we watched fireworks out our front window and then went on to watch another movie called "Dragon Hunters". I couldn't believe all of the kids were still awake by that point. There was still an hour and a half left until midnight, so the girls played on the computer on some Barbie site together and the boys played Lego Indiana Jones on the PS3 (except Tyson who just wanted to play with his cars). They almost all made it to midnight. Tyson fell asleep at 11:45pm and the rest of the kids were still wide awake. They got to blow their squawkers out the door at midnight and then went off to bed. The photo was not taken at that time, it was taken at the beginning of our festivities since I thought most of the kids would be asleep by then.
So that brings us to today! Happy New Years Everyone! Even though it is really just another day, it feels kind of like a fresh start. We had a great 2009 and hope to have a wonderful 2010. Grant had to work during the day today. I implemented a new plan in our house today. A plan to teach my children more responsibility and about finances. We have not done allowances thus far with them, but have decided to start doing that. I made it so that they have some basic daily chores that they have to complete everyday. Each day that they complete their chores they will receive their alotted money for the day in an envelope marked with their name. If they complete their whole week of chores without missing a day, they will get a small bonus for that week. We also have extra jobs that we label as money jobs. I write a list of jobs I need done, and how much I will pay the person who does it. They can then look at the list on the fridge if they want to earn a little extra money and we also add that to their envelope. I have encouraged them to seek out other jobs such as recycling peoples bottles, shoveling driveways, babysitting etc. if they want to earn more. At the end of the week we then open their envelopes and count their money. They take out 10% of it to put in their tithing. Then they split the rest in half. Half goes into their spending jar where they can choose to save for something big or spend it right away. The other half goes into their bank account (we will be setting up their own bank accounts sometime in the coming week) and that will be money that is not allowed to be touched until they are adults. We will not be buying them toys or unnecessary clothing throughout the year, except on b-days, christmas etc. If they want anything extra, they need to save up for it. I feel that they will take care of their things better if they earn it themselves. I also told them that they could go through their things and sell things they don't use anymore to make extra money. They already went through their drawers and some toys. They were so excited! We also plan on giving them a budget for school clothes at the end of the summer, and having them discover what their clothing needs are, and to help them figure out how to make their money work for what they need. We only do this for the kids that are 8 and over. For the little kids, we do a sticker rewards chart for now. They can put those stickers towards awards when they earn enough. I have many resolutions that have been in the works before new years, but always feel an even firmer resolve around this time of year. Let's ust hope I can stick to my guns this year. I wanted to be much more organized this year, so that is one of my goals. Anyways, enough about my goals....I'm going to go enjoy some of that stew Kaitlyn made for dinner. Have I ever said that I REALLY love that she has a love for cooking?!