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I'm almost nine years into this motherhood journey, and I have avoided the subject of paying allowances as long as possible. A) Because it sounds like a lot of work, and B) because I'm tighter than the bark on a tree. But the time has come, whether I'm ready or not.
Here is where I throw myself on your mercy. You're a smart bunch, and I am sure that many of you have systems in place that we could all learn from. Please, would you consider sharing how your family has navigated the subject of allowances? You can leave your ideas in my comment section, or write about it on your own blog (if you do, let me know, so I can come read about it!). Some specific things Hubs and I are wrestling with:
Please, throw in your two cents' worth (pun totally intended)!
As long as I'm shamelessly milking you for clever ideas, are you thinking about your post for Works-For-Me Wednesday? Remember, if you participate, please come back here and let me know, so I can link to you!
Let us all join hands and have a moment of silence in honor of this...
And what is THAT, you might ask? Lean in, really closely...that's right, lean in to your monitors and take a nice big whiff...go ahead....what do you smell? Nothing? EXACTLY! No graham crackers, no wet grass, no Little Debbies, no doggie tinkle--that is pure, clean, fresh-smelling, professionally-cleaned carpet. In MY living room. It doesn't happen often around this house, so I thought I should record it for posterity in cyberspace.
And Joseph was oh-so-helpful, too. After the carpet man left, Joseph walked around the floor with a gift wrap roll, BLOWING on the carpet to try to dry it. He nearly hyper-ventilated, but he was having so much fun I couldn't bring myself to stop him.
(And I have to know...did any of you really lean and sniff your monitors? C'mon...'fess up! I only ask that because it's exactly the sort of thing I would do).
I'm drawing a big, fat bloggin' blank today, so I'll let my pictures do the talking this afternoon.
Earlier this week, a group of girlfriends and I got together to paint ceramics at a local paint-your-own pottery shop. This morning I picked up the finished products. I was kind of pleased with how mine turned out! I made one of those "special occasion" plates you can use to serve up dinner for a family member who had a big event...or just a bad day. Here's a picture:
Afterwards, we headed out to the last soccer game of the season...in the POURING rain. Here's my boy (#10) doing his best to hit every possible puddle on the field:
And here's a shot of what his legs looked like at halftime:
After six months of utter drought in Oklahoma, we have caught up completely on our rainfall--IN THE LAST FIVE DAYS. It is a swamp around here!. Here is one section of my backyard:
Joseph saw me taking the above picture, and suggested that I take a picture of the mozzarella cheese stick he was eating. "Why?" I asked him. "Because we've never taken a picture of cheese before," he replied. Well, he's got me there.
Last but not least, the kids thawed out from the rainy soccer game by cuddling in front of Chicken Little. Here's a picture of my youngest and my oldest (and my dog):
Hope you and yours are having a restful weekend. Now quick--go take a picture of cheese with someone you love.
It's been such a busy week I'm just now sitting down to tell you about my wonderful Monday night. My dear sister-in-law M and I drove two hours to see Casting Crowns and Nicole Nordeman in concert. Yes, it was M, me, and five thousand screaming teenagers. But it was an amazing evening.
The night started with Nicole Nordeman's performance. Her voice is so lovely, and her lyrics so profound, that I found myself holding my breath at times. She writes things such as:
But what if you're wrong? What if there's more?
What if there's hope you've never dreamed of hoping for?
What if You jump? Just close your eyes.
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by suprise?
What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love?
And
And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season's change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter...spring
Amazing stuff.
Then out came Casting Crowns (and the screams of all the teenagers) and I'm telling you, it was a hand-raisin', loud-singin', chest-thumpin' all-out worship service. They, too, are a profound group of artists whose lyrics all really capture the struggle many people face in their own churches. Such as
Does anybody hear her?
Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her?
Can anybody see?
And here is something fun--remember in the olden days how people used to flick their Bics at concerts and wave them in the air? Well, these days they open up their cell phones and wave the glowing screen in the air. (Seeing as how I haven't been to a concert since cell phones were INVENTED, I had no way of knowing this. My much cooler sister-in-law tells me this is common knowledge, but I thought I'd tell you in case you're as endlessly uncool as I am).
Best of all was the time spent with M. Lots of laughing, crying and girl-talking! Sometimes I forget she's not my biological sister. Wish you all could meet her--she has quite a story to tell of God's faithfulness.
In my favorite Nicole Nordeman song, Nicole celebrates God's faithfulness through all the stages of our lives. She beautifully refers to Him as her "Pasture Maker". I needed that image as I wrap up a busy week in which I spent all too little time resting in Him. Here's hoping for some good "pasture time" for you and for me this weekend. Happy Friday, friends!
Y'all really just take the cake. I can't tell you how much fun I'm having reading through all your ideas on Works-For-Me Wednesday. It's about time we moms pulled together and shared our clever ideas! I'm finding myself spending much of my Thursday just catching up on your great pointers. If you haven't had a chance, go back and browse through these wonderful ideas, and in the process, I hope you discover some lovely new blogs. (And by the way, my eight year old Adam has suggested "Think Again Thursday", in which we all post bad decisions we made that we would like to do differently. Um, nice idea, but I'm not sure I want all my bad decisions posted for all eternity in cyberspace. Funny kid.)
AND...
I am so excited to report that my son Stephen got a response from Honda! It was a very kind, personal, age-appropriate letter. Here it is:
Dear Mr. X:
We are in receipt of your letter and thank you for taking the time to write. We are very pleased to hear that you are interested in becoming a car designer. We have many design engineers who work together as a team to create our cars.
At Honda, we try to listen to customers who like our cars, so we can understand what kind of cars they would like to see. [Note from Shannon: How about ones that run on Kool Aid?] We're glad that you shared your drawings with us.
We also believe that it is important to enjoy your work and we are happy that you have found what you would like to do. Having a goal like that allows one to enjoy the journey of learning and helps make the work and study that it takes much easier in the long run [Note from Shannon: Oh yes, and just what my boy needed to hear...thank you!].
We have made a record of your letter to us for future reference. We hope that after you earn your degree in design engineering that you will consider American Honda Motor Company as a possible employer. [Note from Shannon: How adorable is that? My little man is glowing.]
Thank you for taking the time to write us and if you have any other question or comments, please contact Honda Customer Service at 800-999-1009.
Sincerely,
Brian Philbin, Automobile Customer Service
Is that the sweetest thing ever? Mr. Philbin, I could kiss you! You made my little guy's day. Now quick, everybody run out and buy a Honda. After this, I'm a loyal customer for life!
AND...last thing...
Are there any other people out there who are as obsessed with the show Lost as I am? And if so, did you see last night's episode? And if so, have you quit oh-my-gosh SHAKING yet? And if not, will you please discuss this with me because...oh my gosh! What an unbelievable episode!
You girls are making Works-For-Me Wednesday so much fun! I've already picked up so many good tips from you. I hope you'll consider playing along today; let me know, and I'll link to you below.
My idea today is a simple one, but it's fun. With school almost out, we're gearing up for what will hopefully be a summer full of reading. My boys (particularly the younger two) aren't naturally drawn to exploring books on their own. I had a brainstorm recently, and I bought a big bunch of address labels at the office supply store. I made each of the boys their own book labels (as in, "This book belongs to Adam X" etc.), using fun fonts and graphics. They were so excited (what is it with kids and stickers?). They couldn't wait to get their hands on all their books to label away. In so doing, I saw some sparks in their little eyes. Suddenly books that have been tucked away in bookshelves for months have made their way to their bedside tables, sporting their new labels. Maybe the excitement will fade, but for now, their interest in books has gotten a big boost--I'm for anything that does that.
Some of the books couldn't be assigned to a particular boy. For those I made special labels that said, "This book belongs to the X family."
So, any ideas you'd like to share today?
OTHER WORKS-FOR-ME WEDNESDAY PARTICIPANTS:
Stephen has his sights set on designing cars someday. In preparation for this, he sent the following packet of car designs (the rectangular stapled papers, each bearing a front and side car design) and letter to Honda:
If you click on the photo it will show you a larger, easier-to-read format. But just in case, I'll offer the text of his letter:
Dear Honda,
I'm 7 years old. I want to be a car designer. Here are some ideas for you to turn into real cars. Bye, Honda.
Your friend,
Stephen X
P.S.--These are cars that have never been discovered.
Remember, tomorrow is Works-For-Me Wednesday. Y'all have been making it so much fun--I hope you'll consider participating with YOUR great ideas for what works in your household.
Little boys and good manners. You don't find those two phrases in the same sentence very often, and for good reason. If they aren't passing gas, they're talking about it.
For those of you with the male variety of offspring, I thought I'd pass along a book recommendation. We keep this book at the dinner table and read a chapter over dinner a couple of nights a week. It presents real-life scenarios in which boys can see why manners matter, and they can practice making judgment calls. I'm learning that little boys actually, truly believe that the 47th dirty diaper joke of the day is funny. If you can explain why it's not, the reasoning might actually stick.
Then after dinner, the book is the perfect size to use for spit-wad target practice.
