Chore Chart

Several weeks ago while reading Boundaries with Kids (for guidance support REASSURANCE) I realized Jayden was probably ready to start earning an allowance. Todd and I talked it over and decided he would have 5 jobs and earn $3 a week.

My goal was not for perfection (every job/chore, every day) but to begin increasing his responsibility in the family. We had several ideas as jobs but wanted him to be an active participant.

Together we came up with:

1. Letting the dogs out when we get home in the afternoon.
2. Feeding the dogs.
3. Bringing in the recycling bins on Saturday.
4. Cleaning off the table after dinner.
5. Getting ready (shoes, teeth, potty) in the morning and before bed.

He picked out the pictures he wanted and I made a chart on Excel:

A dollar of his earnings goes toward saving (he says he wants to save up for a motor home), a dollar goes to church for his offering, and a dollar is for spending.

The other week we went to the dollar store with his "spending dollars" and he was so proud to be buying things with his money.

Bunk Bed

We got the boys an upper loft/bunk bed. (We already had the lower bed).

The bed was delivered Saturday morning and they have had a blast! Building forts, going up & down the ladder, and fishing from the top bunk.

Look at my sweet angels


It took all of 36 hours before those sweet angels jumped from the top bunk to the bottom bed.

Have you...

checked the options for your monthly bills lately? Cable? Satellite? Cell phones? Land lines?

Are you getting the best plan for your needs?

I try to remember to do this periodically and I think every financial plan recommends doing it every 6 months.

I noticed that we were paying for 30 code speed calling, personalized ring, and repeat dialing on our land line. That's $19 dollars a month that we were wasting.

If I'm going to cut $0.55 coupons out; I better not be wasting my money!

Super WOman

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. Superman? No, it's Mommy-O to the rescue!

(sad, sad little picture)

Just because. Just to give me a little "me time" and maybe even Todd and I a little "us time". Thanks mom for coming down this week/weekend!

A follow up...

Thank you to everyone who is giving me the support (that I desperately need) at this time!

The follow up to this is that Todd (& crew - sometimes 5 of them) finished the project by the Jan 9th deadline with no major mishaps. The client gave a "job well done and maybe I took some of my frustration out on out on you" compliment to Todd.

In fact Sunday was Todd's first "day off" since Dec 31st.

The next big push is to meet a Jan 16th deadline.

Although Todd felt relieved at their semi-praise, he still feels like their future projects are not a guarantee for IMW.

To help with Todd's work load I have taken over the family finances and IMW's bookeeeping. (Added to my full time job that I'm not enjoying and single mom duties, I'm just plain ole tuckered out!)

Stop the presses! Hold the phone!

Ryland Francis Soich ate 5 bites of mini corn dogs!

Remember this is my still only eating baby food, pancakes, pb&j, nutri gran bar, yogurt, granola bar, and chips eating son. He just may not be the only kindergartner that still eats baby food.

Because even I can make fun of myself!

A NON New Year's resolution

At church on Sunday, I heard that by Feb 14th only 20% of people are still adhering to their New Year's resolutions. So here is my NON New Year's resolution:

Several weeks ago I blogged about two websites on my alter ego blog (WHAT? You're not reading my second blog too! Jesh). My cousins Tara & Leah (aka my only faithful commenters) encouraged me and gave me some other blogs to follow.

Since getting back in town from our vacation, I've continued to put my new knowledge into effect. I even went a step further and looked at the price differences of some of our weekly groceries at Walmart versus Publix.

O_M_Gosh! Seriously.I.had.no.idea that the prices could be so different in two stores that are a half mile apart from each other.

Sometimes it was just pennies (Cereal $4.19 vs. $3.24) but for a few items the difference was dollars (Zyrtec $11.99 vs $9.74)! Needless to say Walmart was cheaper on every item I compared!

I still prefer Publix and love their BOGO deals but buying from both stores could save us close to $15 a week. Add the coupons I'm clipping and I saved us $30 dollars this week!

(I'm sure I could save even more, if I bought generic, but this is a one step at-a-time process.)

In an effort to keep me encouraged, I'm keeping a running total on our savings.

How about you what is your NON New Year's resolution?

A post without a title.

This is totally out of my comfort zone but I know I need to post this. I need it "out there". I need to be held accountable. I need to know you know.

On our way home from vacation, Todd got a call from Island Metal Works' biggest client who (frustrated that projects weren't getting done faster) pulled all future projects from IMW. Ironically we were coming home early because Todd was feeling so conscientious about the upcoming deadlines. Since coming home on Thursday, Todd has worked long days Friday, Saturday & today after church.

Thankfully Todd has been an excellent manager in IMW's funds and we should not feel the effects (monetarily) for several months.

We don't know if this is a little bump in the road or if there are major changes ahead for the Soich family.

What we do know is Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Phil 4:6).

Christmas Part 3

On the 28th we headed to the Baker Family get together:

A little kickball:

A little bowling:

A little hanging jamming with the cousins:

A little poker:

And just plain 'ole visitng!

Thank you M.Bakers for making your casa our casa!

Chirstmas Part 2

We headed to Gainesville on Christmas Eve and made in time for the Christmas Eve service:

The gangs all here, except for Michelle (Matt's girlfriend) she had to work on Christmas. We missed you!

Then home for dinner and Jesus' birthday cake:

Christmas morning, TODD made us wait until 7:00 AM to start opening presents!

There seemed to be a few themes (in regards to gifts) this year.

Vests for the boys:

Purple for me: christmas tree, boots, pants, shirt, jacket, jewelry...Don't be jealous of my outfit!

Mickey for Ry-ry:

Christmas Part 1

We started our Christmas celebrating on Christmas Eve Eve with the other Soich boys. We had dinner and the boys opened their presents.

And just a year ago...