Making the Big Money!

Since Little One turned four in March, she has been receiving an allowance. We discussed this concept for quite some time before hubby and I agreed on what an allowance means, how much, etc. Angie gave us a good outline from which to start our discussion.
First, her allowance is not tied to chores since she is expected to do her chores anyway. Neither will it be tied to grades in the future (a hot topic: hubby thinks it would have helped him in school to be paid for grades; I liked school enough that paying me would not have mattered). I believe that paying for chores (except perhaps something extra done by the child) or grades suggests that one should get paid for doing what one should do anyway.

We pay her on Fridays at 50 cents per year, so she currently gets $2.00. We require her to put 30% ($0.60) in the "saving" piggy bank, and give 10% ($0.20) to the church. The rest goes into the Hello Kitty bank to spend as she wants.

We've noticed several things since starting the weekly allowance. First, Little One is excited to put her two dimes, along with our Sunday envelope, into the collection basket at church. Second, she doesn't question the idea of putting aside some money for long term savings. And finally, we've been able to significantly cut down on the "gimmies " (from a Berenstain Bears book). All it takes to get Little One to stop asking for a toy is to tell her that she can use her money if she wants.

To me, the allowance is meant to teach fiscal responsibility, sharing with others (especially those less fortunate), and patience. She is still young, and it’s only been a few months, but I am pleased so far!

Bless us, O Lord

Kids say the darndest things Friday - April 23 issue

I am attempting to do a better job about why we pray a certain way, do certain things at Mass, etc. For instance, our daughter is pretty good at learning the prayers - and that is the first step, but I realized recently that she may not really understand some of the words or ideas.

In attempt to explain why we say a blessing before we eat, Little One and I had the following conversation:

Mommy: “Do you know why we say a blessing before we eat?”
Little One: “No.”
Mommy: “It’s to thank God for giving us food.”
Little One: “Actually, God gives the food to grocery stores and Whole Foods, and then we go buy it.”

Close...so close.

Kids say the darndest things Friday - April 9 issue

Join us for Kids say the darndest things Fridays over at Mystical Rose Design.

From last week while discussing the meaning of Easter: "But I want to stay in Dallas!"

Easter through the eyes of a 4-year-old

Apparently a tradition was started last year when the Easter bunny left goodies on the front porch when we visited my family. So this year, we had to do the same thing. This works as long as we can get the basket outside before Little One opens the door.

On Good Friday, we went to the 3 pm veneration of the cross and communion service. Little One did very well during the long service. We also discussed what Easter really means: Jesus died and rose again from the dead so that our sins could be forgiven and so that we can go to Heaven to be with God. Little One's response: "But I want to stay in Dallas!"

Kids views on life

This is my first attempt at joining a blog hop (or whatever they are called). Lucy, over at Mystical Rose Design, is hosting (is that the right phrase? am I really that old that I don't know this???) a blog hop called "Kids say the darndest things Fridays".

And yes, Little One has come up with some interesting sayings and interpretations. One of my more recent favorites is "there is no God like Joe".

Head on over to some of the other blogs for other cute kids.

One more year

Happy Birthday to my sweet Little One! She turned four this past weekend (I can't believe it!). This is the first year that we gave a birthday party with kids. She had a blast!

My birthday is tomorrow. So far, this decade seems...less energetic...than the last. Women, note that your hormones really do start to decline in your late 30s to early 40s. Ugh - I have to get some energy back somehow!

And, of course, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! (Good thing I like the color green; lots of green birthday cakes growing up.) Little One and I will be discussing the Trinity (hopefully with a shamrock art project, but that depends on Mommy's energy level). Maybe we can say the St. Patrick's chaplet.

Have a great St. Patrick's Day, wear green, and pray for greater faith!

PS: We managed to make and decorate a shamrock yesterday. We talked about the Trinity -- and then Little One handed me the shamrock and said "Happy Birthday!" Apparently she and her father had already discussed making me a green card, and I confused the matter by making a green shamrock. :)

Lent at our house - How are we doing so far?

Little One found a way around the "fasting from shopping during Lent": visit the grandparents who acted as babysitters one night, fail to mention the family Lenten fast from shopping, get grandfather to buy stuffed animals and two DVDs - and then explain to Mommy the next morning that these weren't really toys but rather a stuffed animal and movies (because I must have explained it to her as "no buying things like toys").

Purchasing canned goods for weekly donations: not so well. But we will do this. It just may be in one lump sum.

Lighting purple candles: sort of, but we're running low on candles, which aren't really a necessity, so...back to our white Lady of Guadalupe candle.

Reading books on Lent, Stations of the Cross, and Easter: at least we have one success! We also started a book on the rosary and then said the introductory prayers using her rosary beads. How precious is that?

Hanging Stations of the Cross around the house: we haven't done this at all, and I had to admit this failure to Lucy in the comments section of Lent at our house.