2011 Revolution!!!

Every.Single.Year. I make resolutions and I usually do well.

For a few months.

Some things??

Just a few weeks.

Maybe that makes me a failure, maybe not. I get credit for trying though regardless, right?

Anyway, I will be trying again in 2011, but this year I am going to call it revolutions..(I got the idea from JOY FM!!)

Revolution •a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving

I, personally, have only two goals for 2011..to grow more inwardly, while shedding pounds outwardly- to be fit inside and out.

I am excited that for once in my ADD life..getting organized is not on my list. I do not have the whole organization thing down completely, but I am more organized than I have ever been in my life. I know where the band aids are, I can find a pen very easily, you can open up cabinets and tupperware is not falling down on you (usually :))..you get the picture.

My husband and I have some financial goals that we are hoping to meet in 2011 as well, we at least have a plan to meet them.

I am excited about 2011..I feel the Lord has great things in store for me and my family.

Happy New Year everybody!!!!

Life Around the Dinner Table

My family knows..because I told them..that dinner time is my favorite part of the day. And yes, I do enjoy eating, but that is not my reason for loving this time of the day. After we give thanks we always ask the kids what their favorite part of the day was and what their least favorite part of their day was. Let me tell you that is very enlightening. Dinner time around here is more than eating the last meal of the day, it is where we learn about each other, we learn the latest jokes, we share our joys, we ask questions, etc. The dinner table isn't just for eating either, we craft, we play games, we carve pumpkins, we sit and talk while drinking hot cocoa and more.

The best thing is that it doesn't just have to be our dinner table..it can be Grandma's (my mom) dinner table, where we all get together, we reminisce, laugh and share. My brother, sister, mom and I have talked hours about our memories with my dad, we have cried at the dinner table too. Over the holidays we learned things about our family that were funny and some that were sad. We have enjoyed my mom's awesome cooking and baking... all around the dinner table.

I have also come to love my in-laws dinner table too. German immigrants they are, I love to hear the stories of the most amazing courage that my husband's grandparents had. Coming to the US by boat with their two young daughters, wanting a better life for them and doing what was necessary to make that happen. Their story is AMAZING!!

While the food around the dinner table will be changing soon ( healthier eating in the New Year..try, try again..isn't that what they say?), the conversation, the the laughter and the knowledge gained around the table, I pray will be unchanging!!!!

Buffalo Wild Wings - Party of Chaos

It has been a long time since we (my husband, kids and myself)have gone out to eat together. At a restaurant. A sit down, have a person come take your order, then deliver your food, refill your drinks kind of restaurant.

Since I had not gone to the grocery store and really had no desire to rummage through the fridge or freezer to make a mod podge dinner for my family, I decided to check to see if any local restaurants were having "kids night".

Unfortunately most of the restaurants near us had their "kid nights" on other nights. Tuesday and Thursdays seem to be a big night for those who live near me...

However, Buffalo Wild Wings have their night on Mondays. Perfect. $1.99 per kid and that included drink. Even more perfect. The age limit for BWW is 12...well, color me happy...all my kids were eating...and drinking...for $1.99 each!

So I go tell the kids to get there shoes on because we were going out to eat, totally expecting them to be excited since this is a rare thing.

Nope.

They were playing and didn't want to go out to eat.

Not a one of them.

After some time convincing them that this would be just as much fun as staying home and for sure a better dinner than what would otherwise be headed their way, they obliged.

Upon arrival to a pretty desolate BWW, which really surprised us since not only was it kids night, but it was also Monday Night Football. We really expected more people to be there. We were seated right away and were able to order our food right away, always a good thing.

I know you are wondering where the chaos is..I am getting to it.

While waiting for our food, Brian took the kids to look at the video games, only returning for me to fish through my purse for as many quarters as possible. BTW, we are proud owners of three very new and expensive bouncy balls. I sense your jealousy. At one point I hear workers gushing over a child that had apparently fallen. Oh yeah, it was one of ours. Our youngest who may have happened to wear her new dress up play, princess high heels out to dinner tonight. Only a little embarrassing. Not as embarrassing though as apparently our 11 year old was when she found out she would be ordering from the kids menu. I mean, really, if she ever won the clean plate award, we probably would have considered letting her order from the adult menu, but it is for kids 12 and under, it was only $1.99 with drink..ok so maybe we wouldn't have considered it. For the record, she did not finish her meal. In fact not a one of them did.

Not one.

Even my 8 year old who is the world's best eater, did not finish her meal. In fact about half way through she threw down her sandwich, tells me she needed to go to the bathroom...I look up at her and she was as white as a ghost. The prayers began for me, "Lord, please don't let her throw up, please...but if she has to, please, let her make it to the bathroom, please"Then the fears from the other kids begin.."Is Ash, sick, is she going to throw up?"

The kids are not as quiet as I am when I am saying my prayers.Thus the bold italics above!

Hearing that someone could possibly be vomiting, is not want the patrons of a restaurant want to hear..

She didn't get sick..thankfully. We asked for our check and some to go boxes and as quietly as a brood of six can be, we left.

I am pretty sure I heard applause upon our departure!!

Ok, so it wasn't that bad and pretty sure I was just being paranoid about people hearing us, but at any rate my husband and I did learn that if the kids say that they don't want to go out to eat, we will listen.

PB&J with a big glass of milk can make for a mighty fine dinner!!!

Ebay Does It Again...

Leaves me confused that is.

Hard to believe, I know, right?

So I had a pair of The Limited Stretch corduroy pants that I picked up for a $1.50 at Good Will a while back. I immediately put them on Ebay with a starting price of $4.99 and shipping of $4.95.




Didn't sell.

Boo.

I waited a week or two and decided to put them back out there with a starting bid of $6.99 and $5.95 shipping. I had to readjust shipping on all of my items. I hadn't realized how much postage has gone up.

Once again...


They didn't sell.

In fact not many of the not many items I had put out there did sell.

Boo again.

But since it costs me nothing to relist and it takes literally two seconds to relist - you just click relist and then one other button in the next page to relist, unless you want to change something - I didn't want to change anything. I relisted these pants.

Guess what?

Yup - you guessed it they sold for $9. Crazy, huh? Other of my items that didn't sell, sold this time around too. So I am happy.

I think part of the problem when I listed them last week was that I had the auction end on the weekend. I am starting to see that I do better when I have the auctions end in the middle of the week, at least for now.

Timing must be everything when it comes to Ebay!

Allowance, Schmollowance...

We have never really done allowances with the kids before..at least consistently. If they needed something we just bought it of course and if they wanted something well it would just depend what it was, how much it was, etc. Unfortunately, the answer most of the time was"no" or "wait", neither of them a bad word, but it got old saying it and I know for them it got old hearing it.

See, when you have four children and you are a fair parent, as we try to be, one $5 little gadget that isn't anything much, turns into $20 and four little gadgets that aren't anything much. If you buy for one, you can't help but buy for all.

I am not trying to brag, but we have pretty well behaved children, they do any chores we ask, and more often than not it is without any whining. I know, right? Blessed we are.

OK, ok back to the whole allowance thing..Brian and I had come to the conclusion that in order to keep our sanity while at a store and to keep from being nickeled and dimed to death, allowances are going to be necessary. I had been reading a thread on a mom's forum I go to regularly about allowances and how different families determine the amount each child receives, so we decided to go with "half their age + $2". Got it? Make any cents sense?

So here is how it goes:

Oldest daughter is 11, she receives $7.50 (half of 11 = $5.50 + $2= $7.50)
Middle daughter is 8, she receives $6 (half of 8 = $4 + $2 = $6)
Son is 6, he receives $5 (half of 6 = $3 + $2 = $5)
Youngest daughter is 3 and she receives $3.50 (half of 3 = $1.50 + $2 = $3.50)

I like this method because they can see that age has its privilege and they know that with each birthday their allowance will increase.

I also like it because I can take them to the store with me now without having to give the "don't ask for anything, we are just running in to get a couple of things, we don't have time to look at toys, I know you just want to look, but really we can't buy anything" speech. They have their own money, to give, to spend and/or to save.

Here goes to teaching some financial responsibility (or at least try)!!!


BTW, we will still provide all their needs, I promise!