Saturday, March 28, 2009
Aidan's First Soccer Game
I uploaded the video of Aidan's first soccer game. Because it was so boring just to watch the entire video, I decided to cut it as a music video. Click here to enjoy!
Money Management 101
We've had so much going on lately, so I'm going to be making more entries to try to catch up with all the happenings. Aidan is definitely learning all about money and what better time than in a crappy economy? He has two designated savings methods. All of his birthday, Christmas, and other money goes into his savings, which is now over $1000 as we've been putting that money away since he was born. The money he finds on the ground or is paid for chores around the house goes into a bank on the counter and when he has enough money he gets to spend it on whatever he was saving for.
Last week he asked me to count the money so that we could then look online to see what he might be able to purchase. We found that he was about $3 short enough money to purchase the toy he desired, a pirate play set that folds up into a carrying case. For the next few days he actively sought chores to make $3. One afternoon he knocked on the backdoor to show me a pooper scooper with the smallest amount of dog poop. "I've been picking poop up out of the yard! Does that get me money?" And I put money in his bank.
The next day he was picking up toys. "I'm doing chores! How much money will that get?" I was glad that he was really trying to work for it, so we just kept rewarding his efforts. He even offered to help his Daddy with the pool, which is a very big job.
When we thought he was close enough, we went to Toys R Us to find the toy. The toy he'd picked out online was much larger than it looked in the picture, which was an extra bonus. The best part was that he was proud that he was able to buy it with his own money. And we were proud of that too. Even the people at the cash register made a big deal out of as we counted the loose change. Aidan bragged to her that he made money scooping dog poop in the yard and she even offered to hire him to pick up for her dog. What a big boy he is!
So, it was not surprising when he said to Jason one morning while getting ready for school, "I'm going to save my quarters so that we can go to Disney World!" Jason says he promised that we would save our quarters too. If our GE stock continues to climb, we'll be going to Disney in no time!
Last week he asked me to count the money so that we could then look online to see what he might be able to purchase. We found that he was about $3 short enough money to purchase the toy he desired, a pirate play set that folds up into a carrying case. For the next few days he actively sought chores to make $3. One afternoon he knocked on the backdoor to show me a pooper scooper with the smallest amount of dog poop. "I've been picking poop up out of the yard! Does that get me money?" And I put money in his bank.
The next day he was picking up toys. "I'm doing chores! How much money will that get?" I was glad that he was really trying to work for it, so we just kept rewarding his efforts. He even offered to help his Daddy with the pool, which is a very big job.
When we thought he was close enough, we went to Toys R Us to find the toy. The toy he'd picked out online was much larger than it looked in the picture, which was an extra bonus. The best part was that he was proud that he was able to buy it with his own money. And we were proud of that too. Even the people at the cash register made a big deal out of as we counted the loose change. Aidan bragged to her that he made money scooping dog poop in the yard and she even offered to hire him to pick up for her dog. What a big boy he is!
So, it was not surprising when he said to Jason one morning while getting ready for school, "I'm going to save my quarters so that we can go to Disney World!" Jason says he promised that we would save our quarters too. If our GE stock continues to climb, we'll be going to Disney in no time!
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Lubbock Musings
So overall I'd say that our adventures in West Texas are starting to settle out. It's been a while since I posted to the blog, but trust me when I say not much has been happening. Aidan has signed up for soccer, although he asked me this morning when he'd get his uniform. I had to admit that I didn't know, but we should be hearing something soon as practices begin sometime this month.
My work has been going well and Jason seems to be moving along in his own career, although we both had a laugh that what we think he ought to do regarding his soon-to-be-part-time status and the reality of what he will do are very different. His desire is to be prepared with back up and the reality is that he'll get motivated to come up with a clear plan when he gets his first 1/2 paycheck.
I'd say that we are as much in a holding pattern as most of the country is right now. We are very lucky to be working in jobs that we both love, we have more than any family of 3 needs. But that's a whole other story. What we don't have is a vacation planned and I dream of flying off to a sandy white beach with palm trees. Nonetheless, Jason and I have agreed to live lean until our debt is paid and the economy is in a better place. I just read this morning that being cheap is "in." Lucky me. We finally have 2 incomes and now we have to be responsible?
Aidan is doing fine too, not much to report. He's getting tall and he goes through pants and socks like nobody's business. His school has a large playground full of pebbles that grind shoes, socks, and pants to nothing. Jason and the dad of another kid were conspiring on how to talk the board into putting down recycled rubber. I don't think they figured anything out.
Hopefully we'll have some fun stuff to post soon. Uncle Paul is coming to visit in 2 weeks, the pool will be opening sometime after that, and we're counting down the days until we visit Kentucky. And, of course, we're expecting several visitors this summer. That ought to make for some great stories to post!
My work has been going well and Jason seems to be moving along in his own career, although we both had a laugh that what we think he ought to do regarding his soon-to-be-part-time status and the reality of what he will do are very different. His desire is to be prepared with back up and the reality is that he'll get motivated to come up with a clear plan when he gets his first 1/2 paycheck.
I'd say that we are as much in a holding pattern as most of the country is right now. We are very lucky to be working in jobs that we both love, we have more than any family of 3 needs. But that's a whole other story. What we don't have is a vacation planned and I dream of flying off to a sandy white beach with palm trees. Nonetheless, Jason and I have agreed to live lean until our debt is paid and the economy is in a better place. I just read this morning that being cheap is "in." Lucky me. We finally have 2 incomes and now we have to be responsible?
Aidan is doing fine too, not much to report. He's getting tall and he goes through pants and socks like nobody's business. His school has a large playground full of pebbles that grind shoes, socks, and pants to nothing. Jason and the dad of another kid were conspiring on how to talk the board into putting down recycled rubber. I don't think they figured anything out.
Hopefully we'll have some fun stuff to post soon. Uncle Paul is coming to visit in 2 weeks, the pool will be opening sometime after that, and we're counting down the days until we visit Kentucky. And, of course, we're expecting several visitors this summer. That ought to make for some great stories to post!
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