Counterfeit Cash?

I sent Hayden to pay Bastian the money I owed him from finishing his reading chart and the money I owed him from his sticker chore chart. When Hayden went upstairs to give Bastian the money, Bastian, knowing Hayden's personality, thought that Hayden was trying to pay him with counterfeit money. Bastian refused the money and said he didn't want it. Excited, Hayden said, "Can I have it?" Bastian agreed to that and Hayden came downstairs to report the incident to me, laughing all the way. I sent him back up to try again. Bastian refused the money again and Hayden made Bastian promise him that he could have the money "no matter what." By this time Hayden's laughter was uncontainable.

Bastian came downstairs to find out what was so funny about giving away fake money when I told him that it was indeed very REAL money. He started sobbing on the spot and thought that he had squandered his fortune in his promise to let Hayden have the money "no matter what." Bastian is such a good boy. He knows that when you make a promise, you can't take it back. Of course, Hayden is a softy and wouldn't have REALLY taken Bastian's hard earned money from him....and if he wasn't a softy, I outrank Hayden and was there to set things right.

If you look close enough you can see the teary eyes. Bastian read 100 books for $20. He was very diligent in his task and filled up his homemade, computer generated Scooby Do reading chart quicker than I thought. As for the rest of the money, he earned that through weeks of chores. He kept filling his $5 chart and I kept forgetting to pay him. Bastian is a hard working boy with oodles of patience.

Sister POWER!

When sisters get together great things come to pass. Teresa flew in from Seattle and Shelly flew in from Phoenix and Cherisse, Allison and I drove to my Mom's house. We all pitched in and helped her organize her house. Teresa is an absolute whiz at organization and getting rid of things. Below from left to right is Mom, Teresa, Cherisse, Annalee, Allison, me, Shelly, and Cherisse. Teresa quickly tackled the garage..... and won. How does she do it?

Sarah helped clean.

So did Amanda and Rachel.

Here are Cherisse and Annalee going through the 40 pictures that Shelly and I hung on the walls.

Shelly measured meticulously so the pictures would look uniform on the wall.

My mother found many treasures that she had been searching for....and many treasures she was NOT searching for.

Kerry came and helped too.

It was a very successful weekend. There was much laughter and fun had while with my sisters. It was great to come together and help my amazing mother.

Losing 236 Pounds

I checked a book out at the library by Don Aslett called Lose 200 Pounds This Weekend. It is a book about decluttering your life. He talks about how “stuff” can take away our freedom, waste our time, make us feel hopeless and depressed, make us fight all the time and make us inefficient. It is making me want to GET RID OF MOUNDS OF STUFF! I started the dejunking, decluttering process just before Christmas and gave myself a goal to lose 200 pounds by Valentine's Day. My total pounds lost was 236! I started with my children's bedrooms, one bedroom at a time. The owner of the bedroom got to help with this task because my goal was to declutter AND teach each one of my children how to get rid of the things they don't need or use. They each got to keep 7 shirts and 7 pants (not including summer clothes because those are packed away) and give the rest to charity or to someone who needs the clothes more than we do. We are so blessed and they now get to feel the joy they receive by sharing the wealth. They also got rid of any toys that are broken or that they don't play with. This was by far the hardest part for ME, not them. When they would say, "I don't want that toy anymore," I would say, "Are you sure?" It killed me because I knew when they had gotten each toy and how much it had cost. A few toys weren't even a year old! It was a powerful reminder that overindulgence runs the risk of less playing and a desire for even MORE stuff! Here is Abby's pile laid on her bed. Imagine how packed her closet was with all this stuff. This is nothing though. Bastian and Weston's closet was the worst. Here is the pile she decided to get rid of. She could barely hold that basket there while on the scale because it was so heavy!

Here is her closet after we were finished. Doesn't that just make you FEEL better? It does me!

Here is Bastian and Weston's room. Their closet was FILLED with stuff!

Weston had a hard time holding the "give away pile" as you can see by the pained expression on his face.

This is Bastian and Weston's closet after the cleanse.

Hayden's turn brought out the treasures that I posted in a previous entry.

We found the game Battle Tops in the top of his closet that was forgotten about. The kids played it during a short break from the organizing.

Hayden's closet afterward looked the most bare out of all our closets. That's what happens when you're the oldest and you don't have any second hand clothes trickling down from your siblings.

The last project was the basement playroom. We made three piles labeled: keep, give away, and throw away. Weston was the only one that had a hard time parting with toys. He wanted to keep the broken ones, and the ones he NEVER plays with just because, "these are our toys."

Working together was so enjoyable. The kids would say and do the funniest things. Each one has a GREAT sense of humor. Rob and I often comment to one another, "We have really GREAT kids." It was a excellent feeling to be rid of our unneeded excess. I can't tell you how much easier it is to keep the house clean, or for the kids to put things away by themselves because the task doesn't seem so intimidating.

Ashlee's Laundry

When Ashlee came with her laundry she said to Weston, "Weston, will you help me do my laundry?" Weston quickly replied, "Yeth," which is Weston's "yes." Minutes later when Ashlee went to do her laundry she couldn't find her laundry bag. Finally, she looked in the laundry room. There was Weston. He had dragged her monstrous laundry bag to the laundry room making good on his word to help her with her laundry. He had already started putting dirty clothes in the washing machine. He is such a great little helper.

One of Weston's favorite pasttimes of Ashlee's laundry days is playing in her ginormous bag-- the simple pleasures of a three year old.

Who Has a Wii?

We do! Our kids have been having so much fun playing our new Wii together. Our 100 box chore/reading chart was filled after about 2 months. This chart worked so well I think I'll think up another great reward to work toward.

Who Wants A Wii?

We do! Here is the LeBaron family chore chart fo the Nintendo Wii. Every child is excited at the prospect of getting a Wii. I also wanted to get the Wii because the games are parent friendly. We have a Playstation 3 for blue ray playing but I've found that the games are geared for an older player (or should I say it is geared to desensitize young and old players alike).....hence violence and ugly music. Since I am against both violence AND ugly music I opted for the Wii. Each chore completed and each chapter book read (Hayden and Abby) or reading lesson completed (Bastian) earns a sticker. There are 100 boxes that must be filled with stickers before the Wii becomes an integral part of the family. Let's hear it for the Wii!!!

A Chore of the Past

It's hard to say goodbye sometimes....but not to this chore! Goodbye doggy doo, yellow spots in the lawn, barking in the middle of the night, morning, noon, and afternoon, chewed up shoes, pooey shoes, slimy sliding glass door, and ruined garden produce. I will miss the love our dogs freely gave. I cried when we sent Toby to a new home, and I cried when we sent Turk to a new home. I loved their sweet personalities, but you can't make me miss all the rest.

FAMILY CHORE=Raspberry Jam

I love summer! Not only do I get my kids home all day with me, but it is also a time of working together and having fun while doing it. Our mornings in the summer are first and foremost SLEEP IN! Then after waking we have a morning routine. It includes: get dressed, make your bed, say your prayers, eat breakfast, and brush your teeth. I made a chart with a list of our morning routine on it. It is called "Morning Routine." I spent a lot of time thinking up the name. The chart came into existence about 2 years ago when I got tired of hearing my own voice ask each child, "Did you make your bed? Did you brush your teeth? Did you talk with Heavenly Father like He is your best friend....because He is!" It was exhausting, so the chart was born. Now I say, "Is your morning routine done?" Ahhh, so much simpler.
Now that it is summer not only do we have our morning routine but also a chore or two that must be done before any video game playing, outside playing or movie watching can be done. On this particular day we had a family chore. It was hardly a chore...it was making raspberry jam! Not very chore-ish if you ask me. I loved making raspberry jam with my mom and I hoped to share this experience with my kids. I hope they will have good memories of helping in the kitchen.
Weston watching the berries float in the water.
Hayden getting ready to puree the berries.
Abby being a cheerful worker.
Hayden pretending to eat the seeds. Yuck!

Bastian being a cheerful worker.

Hayden thought this picture looked like his face was bleeding. If that were the case, he'd have some sweet blood!
The finished product-a castle of jam! It took a lot longer than the usual family chore or individual chores, but it was worth it. I have decided that my favorite jam is the same as Hayden's favorite jam. RASPBERRY!

Summer Projects

We finally finished out fire pit. We have used it twice now to make smores, get sticky, and light marshmallows on fire....you know good clean fun. Rob and I also stained the play toy. The wasps are now leaving it alone. Yeah, no more wasp nests on the play toy this year. Our garden is coming along nicely. We planted zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, beets, carrots, onions, peas, cilantro, green peppers, and grapes. I can't wait till harvest time....especially the tomatoes....and strawberries, and peas...okay, I can't wait for all of it!

Here is the front of our house. This was taken the very beginning of June. I just barely planted all the flowers. I love this picture because it shows the mountain behind our house. We live in a very beautiful state.