Earning our keep

Another week gone by and my to-do list continues to grow. I have to say my biggest frustration with motherhood is never being able to start AND FINISH anything. So, as Ryan and I are trying to finish up things on our house, my parents took the boys last Saturday so I could work uninterrupted.

I brought the boys over to their house at 7:30 and my parents returned them at about 7:30. I had my running list of things I had been wanting to tackle, but Ryan had also asked me to pick up rocks and rake a little so we could plant the front lawn. So, rock picking began at about 9:00. 20 minutes and 50 rocks later, it didn't look like I had removed a single rock. So I began raking up the rocks...and proceeded to do the entire yard for the next 5 hours. Every now and then I'd stop and look at the lake and remind myself that I do like living in Alaska. The constant paranoia of a bear mauling or moose trampling aside, it is peaceful here. It's actually possible to get to where you can hear no signs of civilization and I love that.

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God..."

So upon completion of my yardwork, I learned that dirt actually can look nice with all those little rake marks. I also learned that there are certain muscles affected by a ceserean that haven't recovered in almost three years! I was a wee bit sore the next day.

I raked from the fence on the left, in front of the house...

..and along the left side of the driveway.

Lastly, our boys are learning importance of saving. We've been using a reward system at night for almost a year now. They have the opportunity to earn dimes for good behavior. Carter doesn't really get the concept (although he does understand "Mommy is keeping this dime.")Logan, however, seems to do well with the concept. We actually got the idea from a book I read and I talked with a co-worker of mine and he was using it with his kids. It just goes along with the idea that MOST of us would not show up to work as often as we do, for as long as we do if there were not that thing called a PAYCHECK at the end of the two weeks. Same concept for kids; they need incentive. So, each night the boys earn their dimes and put them into their "store savings", "bank savings" or "Sunday School money" based on their behavior for the day (not arguing, sharing toys, etc.)

Anyway...we bumped it up a level after realizing Logan really liked riding the kid's four-wheeler our babysitter had. So, we decided to show it to the boys at the store and told them they could earn it if they worked around the house and saved up their dollars. As it turns out, they decided they like the Jeep better than the four-wheeler. So, they have begun to clean the table, feed the dog, help with laundry, etc. for dollars. Logan's definitely more into this than Carter. They're even watering Grandma's flowers while she's on vacation. In fact, we were out for a walk the other night and our neighbor jokingly said "I've got some work for you" (he was cleaning his screens). So, Logan proceeded to "help", expecting a dollar at the end. Somehow, both he & Carter managed to leave our neighbor's yard with a dollar each! Logan even told me yesterday that he prayed to God for ideas on how he can earn more dollars. So far, the little buggers have earned about $35 in a week!