Addictions

I have an addiction not a bad addiction per say but an addiction none the less. I Love Books, I love to read books, I love to have books, I love to check books out, again and again. Twice a year our base library has a book sale (black Friday for the elderly) let me tell you, you have to be there early, wait in line and cram into a tiny room. But it is so worth it!! this it this years booty 26 books for $19. It was so much fun I had to go back later in the day without a toddler and get 8 more.

Playing Catch-up

Someone at our house was Baptised, Mr. Zander was so excited he didn't want to wait any longer after he turned 8 so he was baptized on his 8th Birthday. It was a wonderful day for him and our family, he is such an amazing boy I am so blessed that he is mine.

18 months and already making his fashion statement (it was Halloween so the color choice was spot on)

Can I just say we call him Rooster for a reason this boy is such a character, never a dull moment around here.

Our princess loves to create (she made this beautiful hat) She loves to draw and color we have stacks and stacks of little love notes she leaves for us around the house. Such a sweet girl.

This little boy is so patient with his siblings he just goes along enjoying all the showered attention

In Primary last month the focus was on service, my kids love to serve and this was a frequent sight at our house, they would make the beds, do each others chores, and help wherever they could. I am truly blessed to have such amazing children they are such a joy to me.

Little Dude Got A Haircut

(I love this face)

We finally broke down and gave baby "J' a haircut.

He did great through the whole process.

And yes that is a faux-hawk, every time the poor baby gets out of the bath the Princess gets a hold of him and next think you know my baby has a faux-hawk.

Boy have we been busy!

The 3 older kids all started school on August 11.

They were all so excited especially Rooster it is his first year.

Than Rooster had his 4th Birthday (I simply adore four)

He wanted a Green and blue leapster

Party time!!! We combined their birthday party this year. They choose Mad Science as their theme. Boy did mom have fun planning. We started things up by dressing up as mad scientists

All party goes had a costume

Then we had to have mad scientist hair

We decorated the laboratory

And had science names for the food (thanks Ron) we had a blast making gross slimy things, things that glow, things that explode, we even made fake snow.

The kids and their parents all had a blast.

I am only slightly OCD

I have a problem, everything has to match especially hangers (mine are all Burgundy, Shane's are all Dark blue, Alex's are all Light Blue, and the younger three have all White until they get older and they will get there own color) Everything has to be symmetrical, the same on both sides. When I fold my towels they have to be put away, White, Blue, White, blue, White, Blue..... The kids have to have their own color of towels, and they have to be put away in order, Alex-Blue, Emily-Purple, Andrew- green, Jayden-Turquoise (from oldest to youngest)(Yes, I know I am very very strange,and no I haven't gone through therapy yet ;) I have to clean from one end of the house to the other I can't start in the middle. My books have to go from biggest to smallest until the middle of the shelf, than they have to go from smallest to biggest. I hang up our clothes in order dresses -girls suits-boys, skirts-girls, pants, dress shirts, t-shirts, workout clothes and once they are in that order they go from darkest to lightest within each type. I have a few other quirks =). That being said I showed you all my new chore chart, which didn't match our discipline/reward chart (Something had to be done about this) Well some friends of ours had shared their discipline/reward system on facebook and I loved it, so I decided to do an overhaul on our system.

THE SYSTEM (By Ben & Alicia Rich)

A lot of people have been asking me about our behavior system lately so I thought I'd just post a note. I tagged a bunch of parents a few other people I thought might be interested but I'd like to hear anyone's opinion on it! It's kind of complicated but it's happened in a rather organic way, addressing issues as they came up. Let me see if I can explain it all...

CLIPS

1. When you do a chore you get a clip which you can save up and use to "buy" items off the clip shelf. The clip shelf is stocked with things we know the kids want and have varying values, for example: Lego sets, bubbles, a video game, a new shirt, little toys, etc. Each clip is worth approximately 50 cents. They’ve saved up to buy items as cheap as 2 clips and as expensive as 100 clips or even more.

2. When you get "caught doing something good", like being nice or helping without being asked, you can earn a sticker, 10 stickers = 1 clip.

STICKS

3. Everyone starts the week with 12 red sticks. The red sticks each represent 15 min. of Nintendo time. (The time increments go up from 10 to 15 min in the summer time.) They lose red sticks for making bad choices like hitting, teasing, disobeying, etc. Whatever red sticks are left on Friday can be used to play Nintendo.

4. Everyone also starts the week with 2 blue sticks. They are each worth 30 min. of computer time and can be used any day of the week (mon-sat) with permission. Once they’re gone, there is no computer time available.

5. If a child does an exceptional job on a chore, he or she can earn a green stick. An exceptional job means they do the chore cheerfully, quickly, start without delay, and need no reminders to finish. This doesn’t happen very often. A green stick is worth 15 min of computer time and can be used just like blue sticks.

6. If a child loses all of his or her red sticks, an additional loss of privileges is added on top of zero Nintendo time. For the older boys, this means they can’t go to Friday Night Magic (a card game event at the local comic book store) with Daddy.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

7. The clip system works well for everyone down to the 4-yr-old. We use it to teach them about work, commerce, and supply/demand. Sometimes we discount an item no one seems to want to buy. Sometimes an item costs less for the little kids, just to make it more attainable for them. If more than one child wants a single item, whoever earns the clips first gets to buy it. They often team up to buy more expensive items together, like a video game or a movie. At rare times they’ve even asked for addition chores!

8. The red sticks only work really well for the older boys (ages 10 and 8). It’s been working well for them since they were pretty young. The problem is, Nintendo just doesn’t motivate my daughter in the same way. She likes to play but she’ll get bored with it on her own after a short time. So we’ve tried to use the red sticks to represent time to do something she likes but we still haven’t come up with a good consistent alternative. It’s a work in progress. It doesn’t really work for the 4-yr-old yet, but we think it will when he’s older.

9. Sometimes we use the system to address specific concerns. For instance, if one child is teasing a lot, we’ll really crack down on pulling red sticks each and every time he teases. Then when the problem diminishes, we ease up a little. It’s usually times like this they’ll lose all their red sticks in a week.

10. Occasionally we’ll offer additional Nintendo time during the week to offer incentive to solve a particular problem. For example, one son was having behavior problems at school so we offered him the chance to play 15 min of Nintendo after school if he didn’t get in any trouble that day. It worked really well and eventually we phased out the reward.

Ok, that’s it. Sometimes I think our system is too restrictive and eventually (when they get older) the kids will need more freedom with screens, but for now it’s a great behavior modifier

OUR SYSTEM

Each Child has their own color magnetic board

10 Magnetic ribbon cards (orange), 12 Wii cards(red) and 2 Computer cards (Blue) they also have 15 min Extra computer cards(green) And a bank for their clips (Small Plastic Paper Clips)

The Cards up close

It's Fun To Be One

The Birthday Boy The Decorations The Presents The CakeHappy Birthday Baby "J" !!!! We love you and are so blessed that you are a part of our family.

I love cute things that help me to keep organized

I found this Family Home Evening Chart at Deseret Book about 6 years ago and have loved it. I never thought to make a chore chart that was similar until I found this at Soapstarmom's shop on Etsy.

I am a big believer in teaching kids responsibility and good work habits. Let me tell you I have made several attempts to make a core chart that motivates the kids and looks nice on my walls. I have finally found the answer. I think this is so cute and the kids love it.

In Memory Of My Little Brother Anthony

My brother's in laws put this video together for the family

Anthony

July 26, 1980 - April 25, 2010

You were loved and will be forever missed

P.S. Yes, Broookie tookie stole your oreo cookie

Strawberry Farm 2010

Too many photo's so we made them into a musical video slide show

How does your garden grow?

We are a little behind on our spring planting, but it isn't to late to start, right?

The Easter bunny brought the kids their own little herb garden kits in their favorite colors

The kids were so excited to plant their own garden, so for Family Home Evening we had a lesson on gardening. We learned that we should study and learn the best methods for providing our own food, and that children should help and have responsibilities for caring for the family garden. Gardens teach us about reaping what we sow, and how to love nature. We can become closer as a family by working together, and gardens help us to be self-sufficient. Gardens also helps us to eat healthy food and can save us money.

So we turned the pellets in to soil by adding water

We planted our little seeds

Placed our gardens out in the sun and watered them.

No Family Home Evening would be complete without dessert, so the kids and I made Oreo dirt cups. (It was Alex's idea to add the strawberry so it looked like a real garden)

Alex enjoying the fruits of his labor

We also talked about what we do with the extra we get from the harvest

We canned our own pickles

And we talked about sharing our harvest with others, so we started a citrus marmalade to share with our friends and neighbors. Needless to say our kids had a blast and are excited to care and nurture their gardens.

I had to throw this picture in for cuteness factor, I just love those Grandma "J" blue eyes

Want one? I do

Wanna win one???

Here's what you do:
Post a comment on THIS POST and tell her your favorite spring/summer/holiday snack or treat that you've seen, made or remember from when you were a kid and GET CREATIVE!
Want to be entered twice??? Post a link to THIS POST on your blog, then let her know you did by leaving one more comment!

The deadline is Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. And the winner will be chosen by www.random.org. She will post the winner sometime on Monday - Good Luck!!

You know You Have Been Near The Beach To Long If

When you ask your son to go and get his shoes on, and this happens.

Dear Weight Loss Fairy

I have been in search of you my whole life. Where have you been hiding? I have no need of glass slippers, ball gowns, or a carriage drawn by horses. (although those things are all perfectly lovely) I am in need of something more, that must not end at the stroke of twelve. I too have been enslaved, enslaved and surrounded by good food, sweet evil nectar (Chery Coke), and a love for ice cream that does not love me back. I am afraid that my waist line has suffered the most, hips coming in at a smooth second. I have given my body over to creation on several occasions (not that I didn't enjoy these 4 wonderful opportunities) But the time has come to claim back my body and make some much needed improvements. I could really use your help in this area, for I have MUCH to loose and hope to GAIN no more. I will do my best to help in these efforts I will not rely on you alone. I will commit to exercise 3 or more times a week and I have loosened the evil nectar's grasp on me ( 1 1/2 months without). I will try to make better choices as to what I consume. Will you please use your secret powers to melt the pounds away and keep them at bay. Please come and arm me so that when the temptations come (and I know they will come) Help me to stave them off and not give into their empty calories. When my body is sore an tired help me to keep fighting and working toward our goal. when I start to look at the treadmill as my ultimate enemy please help me to see past the outer appearance of things and see that it is really a true friend to help me on my quest. If this letter finds you, please come promptly you are much needed.

With love
Mrs. B. Hansen

P.S. That Zumba class you endorse kicked my hinney. I had a great time, loads of fun, the hour and a half flew by. But today my legs are sore, my abs are aching, and I think I found some new muscles in my back that I wasn't aware of. I will return and get kicked around some more.

Look At Me

Baby "J" is finally able to get his cute little belly off the ground. He is officially mobile, good-bye every other day vacuuming routine, hello child chasing, (maybe I'll loose a few pounds) After 4 years I can finally see. My Friend told me about this place Zinnioptical.com. I got 2 pair of glasses for $20.95 including the $4.95 shipping, $8.00 a pair. I love a great deal.