How do you handle kids and chores?
I was at Hobby Lobby the other day picking up supplies for Kaitlyn and the boys to use to make their Dad some homemade birthday cards. While I was there I happened to look up and see laminated chore charts, so I grabbed two of them. The boys will be out of school in a few weeks, and I’m trying to figure out what the heck to have them DO all day.
So, I’m thinking, why not give them assigned chores every day and reward them at the end of the week for doing them? The chore charts I picked up have spaces for everything from making their beds to “being happy”-ha! As grumpy as they can get, that one might be a challenge! I don’t see any reason why two smart, strong, able-bodied boys can’t pitch in and help around here. It takes a whole family to keep a house running smoothly, in my opinion.
What do you think? Do you assign your kids specific chores? Do you use chore charts? By the way, that link goes to a site that has free printable chore charts, and it says they will soon offer a way to design your own and share them on the site. It prints out six weeks on a page with a section on the side to define exactly what the chore is.
There’s also a link to the PayJr. chore and allowance system, remember when I reviewed that? You can tie the paying of allowance directly in to the completion of chores. We don’t pay our kids specifically for doing chores, we give them an allowance to teach them how to manage money, and we believe helping with chores is something everyone has to do to help as a member of the family. But I do like PayJr. and it’s worth checking out.
Tell me in your comment, what do you do about chores for your kids? What’s your system? I’m curious to know! And please also scroll down to the post below this one to grab an award badge if you are a regular reader. You know who you are 
Why? Because I Love You!
Readers, I have a gift for you. You can take it and place it on your blog and hopefully when you look at it you will remember me and how much I APPRECIATE YOU for reading this blog. If you prefer not to place badges on your sidebars, that’s totally okay too. Because today on Table for Five, it’s all about YOU.
You with the kids and the spouse and the job and the blogs of your own, who still come here by feed reader or bookmark or blogroll link, and leave comments and enter giveaways and spread a bit of your sunshine all over the page. You who are a stay at home parent, a work at home parent, a work outside the home parent, or not a parent. You who have one blog, two blogs, more blogs than you can count.
You, who are worried about the economy and the future of the U.S. Presidency and women’s rights, who are battling medical problems and personal problems and trying to scrape together enough money to put gas in your car. You, with the new baby or the teenagers or the grandchildren. You, and you, and YOU. For YOU, I have created this:
Would you like different colors to match your blog? Not a problem! Let me know and I can either make it for you or email you the image and you can pretty it up in photobucket or photoshop or whatever you use (I used the editing tools in photobucket for this). I hope you enjoy the award, and thank YOU for being the ICING ON MY CAKE.
DVD Review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Holy Cow, have you seen The Diving Bell and the Butterfly? I just watched it on DVD and I am still reeling from taking it all in. It’s the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of French Elle magazine, who at the age of 43 suffered a massive stroke that left his entire body paralyzed except for one eyelid. He was unconscious for 20 days. When he woke up, it was discovered that he had “Locked In Syndrome”, meaning his brain was functioning normally, so essentially, he was Locked In to his own body.
A speech therapist came up with a means of communication that involved her slowly reciting from a chart containing the letters of the Alphabet organized by their popularity in the French language. Jean-Do would blink his eye once when she got to the letter he wanted, then she would start over again from the beginning. With that method, he spelled out words, then sentences. From Wikipedia:
The entire book was written by Bauby blinking his left eyelid. A transcriber repeatedly recited a French language frequency-ordered alphabet (E S A R I N T U L etc.), until Bauby blinked to choose the next letter. The book took about 200,000 blinks to write and each word took approximately two minutes. The book chronicles everyday events and what they are like for a person with locked-in syndrome. These events include playing at the beach with his family, getting a bath, and meeting visitors. The book was published in March, 1997. It received excellent reviews and sold 150,000 copies in the first week. Ten days after the book was published, Bauby died of pneumonia.
The movie was directed by artist Julian Schnabel and stars award-winning French actor and director Mathieu Amalric. The movie was written in English, but Schnabel decided it needed to be in French and so had the script translated. I watched it with the English subtitles turned on and had no problem watching the screen and the subtitles at the same time. I found a trailer for the movie on the Amazon.com page; I’m having trouble getting it to load but you might have better luck:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m282GNY16UNEMU:mYZLKN0YVEFS7
This is not pleasant subject matter, for sure, but the acting, directing and cinematography are some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. The movie won numerous awards-the Award for Best Director at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the Best Adapted Screenplay award from the British Academy of Film and Television, Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director. It might be difficult to watch, but it reminds me that, corny as it may sound, that life is indeed precious, and not to take the ability to MOVE for granted.
Remembering Why I’m a Mommyblogger
I’ve come to the realization that I need a reality check of sorts. That I’m veering off in a direction that while not bad in and of itself, is further away from where I intended to stay when I first started blogging. Tonight I had this Write Post screen open and I found myself just staring at the screen. Little fragments of post possibilities were jumping around in my head, but no fully formed ideas. Usually I can start with one thought and pour it all right out onto the screen, but not tonight. I’m blocked.
I have MommyBlogger’s Writers Block, and it’s not making me happy. So, I’m going to post some photos to look at that will help me remember just who it is that I started this blog FOR. My Children.
I feel a little better now.
Win a pack of KN Infant Socks
This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the five winners:
ekd
Lanna
Monica
Charlotte
Ann
I am giving away five packs of these adorable and so cozy Infant Chenille Lounge Socks from Karen Neuburger. KN Karen Neuburger is the authority in livable luxury and they have taken their trademark comfy and cozy adult lounge size to kids. These adorable infant socks are pint-sized versions of the ever-popular KN chenille lounge socks for adults!
Ideal for infants up to nine months of age, these petite pedi-treats are the perfect introduction to livable luxury for any mother-to-be. Sold in packs of two, these spectacular socks are guaranteed to keep your infant’s toes snuggly and warm season after season. Moms and moms-to-be can select either a pearl/pink or a pearl/blue color combination.
The KN infant socks are made from a durable, but versatile polyester/spandex blend that’s completely machine-washable. Packs of two retail for $16 and are available exclusively for purchase online at www.karenneuburger.com.
I’ve got five packs to give away, and the winners can specify either the pearl/pink or pearl/blue socks. Each pack has two pairs. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. You can say now in your comment which color you would prefer if you win. I’ll choose five winners this Friday, May 16th at 9:00 AM EST and contact the winners by email for their addresses. Good luck!
