Teaching Tweens Responsibility

I have had some people ask me how I get my kids to help out so much around the house. Well i did start them out early!

I guess when you are 4 vacuuming seems fun!

Even Haley got into it and she was only 2 1/2! Funny how things they thought were fun are a struggle now.

I mean it is so much fun they used to fight over who got to clean NOW they fight over who has to do it!

We trying really hard to not have "boy" responsibilities and "girl" responsibilities. Cody still loves to cook!

Haley used to love to mow! Well now we don't have any grass because we live in AZ so she is lucky but neither one of them are too thrilled about pulling weeds. But they do.

See we still have them cleaning!

Haley even did a fabulous job cleaning the microwave!

So gross (no judging me!) BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER - way to go!

AFTER

We have tried many different techniques with the kids from lists, pick your own responsibility, incentives, grab a chore from the jar, all sorts of things. What I have found that worked for our family is that we did have them start early helping out. We are a family, a team, a unit! We all have to work together to be successful.

Now from time to time I feel a little guilty about making them do some things, while I am tanning outback with my fruity drink with my cute little umbrella. Oh wait that is my dream not the truth! We always work as a team.

However, I am a parent first. My job as a parent is to teach my kids how to be successful in life. My job is to teach them skills so when they grow up they can take care of themselves. I often joke if I died tomorrow (I know morbid) I know the kids would be OK. Cody cooks great! Haley can cook some but she is awesome at cleaning bathrooms and they both know how to load/unload the dishes. They both understand coupon shopping and they both can wash, dry, fold, and put up laundry. That's my ultimate job right? To teach and grow them as individuals.

That has always been our philosophy. I am not treating them bad I am teaching them. In life you have to take responsibility for yourself.  I am bound and determined to not have a kid going off to college that doesn't know how to do their laundry!

When my kids were really little like 2 or 3 they like to think they were helping there momma! They were good at putting up silverware (minus the knives), vacuum a little, give them a rag to dust, give them toilet paper to stock up the bathrooms.

As they got older (6-8) they were able to actually vacuum, sweep, put up laundry, sort laundry, match socks, wipe down counters, take out trash.

Now they are able to do it all. Being a perfectionist I had to learn to let a few things go. Just because the dishwasher wasn't loaded exactly the way I like it, well it's OK because guess what I didn't have to do it.

It isn't that we had any special way to get the kids to do the responsibilities we just expected it.  We are a family, a team, a unit. We live together, work together, and play together. We always say that to do the fun stuff we have to get the responsibilities done and the more we all work together the quicker it gets done.

So nothing special, no secret, just the truth, we are all responsible.

FREE Stuff??

Who doesn't like Free Stuff? I wanted to share some deals that I found at Money Saving Mom for Target!

I thought really Target?? I can get free stuff at Target? Don't get me wrong I love Target, I love the store, I love their stuff, I love Target!

So I decided on my lunch hour I would run down to Target because I needed to pick up some birthday invitations and this is what I got!

I was able to get 3 boxes of granola bars, 2 travel size of Shout Wipes, One box of 24 count Ibuprofen, and One package of dental floss for a grand total of $.09!!!! Seriously people it can't get much closer than free!

Check it out and let me know if you get any great deals!

Wordy

I think most of us are always trying to think of ways to help our kids in school and help them learn useful skills that will increase their test scores and grades.

I decided to try something new. Spelling and Vocabulary isn't exactly very fun but I decided I was going to put these words in a place that you can't miss!

I researched vocabulary words on the Internet that would be age appropriate for my kids. Since my kids are so close in age it actually works out really well since the words they are learning are very similar.

I think printed out these pictures on bright noticeable paper.

I gave them a definition and for words that don't sound anything like they look I also gave them a "sounds like".

When possible I try to give them an example in a sentence as well as synonyms.

I post the sheet on the refrigerator.

Think about it, how many times do our kids go to the refrigerator? A LOT!

I figure just from sheer repetition some of this has to sink into their absorbing brains!

I am keeping these sheets in a folder and switching out the words every 3-4 days. I will keep the words and just continue to rotate them in every now and then.

I often struggle with "mommy guilt" because I work outside the home and I often feel like I do not get to devote enough time helping them with expanding their minds even beyond the have-to homework assignments.

I would love to hear your ideas! Please share any fun activities you do to help your kids learn!

Grocery Deals!

For my friends in Arizona - Fry's is having fabulous deal through Tuesday February 22. I am not sure what their ad will be starting the next day but I never take chances. For my friends that go to Krogers, Dillons, and other Kroger family groceries their deals are very similar but I think Fry's is the only one that accepts competitor coupons and makes all manufacturer coupons a 1.00 (which really helps!) so check out your local grocery store for their coupon policy.

Fry's is having a Mega 10 deal where if you buy a combo (mix and match) of the specified 10 items you will save $3.00 now and get a coupon for $3.00 off your future purchase.  Plus remember you can still "stack" your coupons! So if you have a competitor coupon you can use it WITH a competitor coupon!

There are several websites that you can go to print out manufacturer coupons.
SmartSource
Wow Coupons
All You Magazine

There are many sites and you can google these and so many great sites and awesome blogs will come up. I am only touching on a few points but there are some blogs out there that are unbelievable and can tell you specifically what the deals are by item. I will try to give you the best details I can.

Remember don't forget to go to the Target website and print out their coupons as well.

So I went to the grocery store with Cody and we had to be smart with our carts since I was going to do all the Mega 10 items in one cart and check out and then use my $3.00 coupons on my next cart (all non-mega 10 items).

Non-Mega 10 Items

Mega 10 Items Cart

It was a crazy day at the grocery store and having Cody there to help me was so helpful he doesn't even realize. I did "catch him being good and helpful" (as parents we often catch them doing wrong) and told him he could have one "freebie" item (one that isn't on the list) - he chose a candy bar which made him happy and was cheap for me!

This is what it looked like as we went through the store. One cart on top of the other trying to squeeze through the aisles while trying to be polite and teaching Cody that others aren't always as nice as I am trying to teach him to be (it was frustrating at times).

Some of my deals!  And most of these are mega 10 items plus coupons.

Easy Mac 4 pk Mac-n-Cheese - Target has a coupon for $1.50 off a 4 pk and I printed off a coupon (remember all manufacturer coupons will be worth a dollar) and with how the coupons were I bought 2 - 4pk Easy Mac for $3.88 which made them $1.94 each.

Ritz Crackers - Target coupon and manufacturer coupon. Bought 2 boxes of Ritz crackers paid $2.88 which made them $1.44 a box.

Oreo Cookies - Target and Manufacturer coupons. Bought 2 boxes paid $2.98 which made them $1.49 a box.

Oscar Mayer Lunch Meat - Target coupon (must buy 3) and manufacturer. Bought 3 packs of lunch meat. Paid $4.47 which made them $1.49 a pack of meat.

Bounty Paper Towels 8 pk (not a normal item for me to buy). Target and manufacturer coupon. Bought 8 pk for $4.69 which made it $.58 a roll for paper towels.

Kraft BBQ Sauce - Target Coupon (looks like mayonnaise but says other Kraft products below picture which included the BBQ sauce) plus a coupon that if I bought 2 Kraft products save a $1.00 on a 2 liter (mega 10 coke 2-liters were .99 which made it free). Kraft BBQ sauce after coupon were $.19 a piece plus a free 2 liter.

Totino Pizza Rolls and Totino Pizzas - buy 2 saved a dollar. I printed the maximum number of coupons and bought Totino rolls for $.47 a box and Pizzas were $.30 a pizza and I bought 6.

On My Non-Mega 10 Items

In one of the coupon circulars last week there were cut out coupons for Target for Tide Detergent. There were 2 coupons and I had 2 manufacturer coupons for Tide plus Tide is on sale for the Super 8's sale that is also going on. Tide $5.88 minus my coupons = 2 Bottles of Tide for $3.38 and $4.13 each.

Yoplait Yogurts - Target and Manufacturer Coupons. Bought 12 and they were $.23 each.

I also still have Snapple Mail in Rebates so I made sure that I bought 1 pk of Snapple Teas with both check-outs so I was able to get 2- 12 pks for free!

Bought 151 items - $389.27 Worth of Food and Paid $182.23 out of pocket. I had a $25.00 gift card I had been holding on too and used that before out of pocket. I saved $207.04. Average of feeding a family of 4 is $91.12 a week.

Success!!

Buttercreme or Butterfinger? Why not both!

Once again this Sunday I was trying to think of things to do with the kids other than cleaning! I decided since Valentines Day was the next day why not make some awesome cupcakes together!


Who doesn't like a good cupcake? And as I mentioned before Cody loves to help me cook and bake!

We went and bought the supplies we were lacking to make the cupcakes and were debating what type of icing we would make. Butter creme or Butterfinger? We decided on both!

We decided to share our love - we made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate butterfinger, buttercreme icing and Funfetti cupcakes with the same frosting and plain buttercreme and buttercreme with sprinkles! 

We decided to share the love and shared some with our neighbors, friends, and  Haley even wanted to take some to her teachers on Valentines day!


In the middle of making cupcakes Michael called on his way home from work and was just starving!


So Cody threw together a toasted honey-peanut butter and banana sandwich with fresh fruit on the side!

I sure do LOVE my family! 


What random act of kindness have you done lately?

The Unusual Chef

When I am looking for help in the kitchen, I normally get help from the last person you would ever think!

Ok so maybe he isn't so little anymore but yes Cody is the one that almost loves to help me cook!

Cody is a great chef! I keep telling him that his cooking skills will really make his wife happy one day (a long long long time from now!).

We decided that we would have homemade chicken stir fry and of course he was totally up for helping me.

First we started out with our green bell peppers and sweet onions. We just cook them up in my electric skillet with some  and teriyaki sauce -   seriously these are the 2 items we use to add flavor to the chicken and veggies.

Normally I will cook all the chicken and veggies in the same skillet but I knew everyone was super hungry so I made so much I had to split it.

Cody is such a big help in the kitchen! The funny thing is you better watch him or you might end up with something super spicy! He loves to season when he cooks and it normally turns out super good but sometimes well I guess you have to live and learn!

The finished product was a super yummy plate of chicken, veggies, and chicken rice .

I figure that with Cody helping me cook we get to spend some quality time together doing something that isn't very typical for a boy his age and he is learning some valuable life skills at the same time!