We survived again – one more week under the belt! As always, I’m talking about some of my favorites from the week and linking up with other great websites for Friday Favorites.
Just Keep Swimming
So, my phone went for a little swim on Wednesday. In the toilet. SIGH. Thankfully, it’s covered by insurance and I only have to pay a relatively small amount for the replacement one that arrives today. You know what, though? It’s been an eye-opening experience. I haven’t felt the need to check my email or Facebook or Instagram 24/7. I’ve been listening to the radio (instead of podcasts or audiobooks). It’s just been freeing. To be honest, though, I have reached for my phone a few times wanting to take a photo of the kids doing something cute. And I’ve wanted to post on Instagram and couldn’t. This afternoon I’ll be ready for it when it arrives, but I vow to be better about living in the moment!
Chores
Over the past year or so, we’ve occasionally offered Foster a dollar here or there for helping us with chores around the house. For example, one day he filled up a bucket after we told him he’d get a penny for every acorn he picked up in the driveway. We knew we wanted to start giving him regular chores in exchange for a tiny weekly allowance once he turned 5. Although we were a few weeks late, we got this started this past week.
I decided on the My Magnetic Responsibility Chart from Melissa & Doug.
This has been a game-changer you guys! I used to spend my mornings repeating myself a hundred times, saying (yelling) “get your clothes on!,” “Eat your food!,” etc. Now, the rule is if I have to ask him more than two times then he doesn’t get the magnet for that chore. We chose 7 chores for him (that aren’t necessarily what is written on the magnet) and he completes those chores every day. If he gets a total of 40 (out of 49) magnets each week, he gets his $1 on Saturday. I’m noticing now that we forgot to put up a few magnets yesterday, so if you’re counting — don’t worry. He’s still able to meet his goal. 🙂 He is SUPER motivated and I’m even noticing that he’s much more responsive to my requests for him to help me out even if it’s not a chore on the board. #winning
We hung the chart up in a spot that is right in the middle of the morning action and is easy for him to keep track of his accomplishments.
The chart comes with about 20 different chores or behaviors and you can choose which ones you want your child to work on. You’ll see that it also has the dry erase board below it and you can do whatever you want with it. We added one for Parker to practice with. 😉 I highly recommend a chart like this one. Our mornings and evenings are going much more smoothly and Foster is excited to work towards his goal of $1.
Waterloo Ice House on 360
After Foster’s Saturday morning soccer game, we headed to Waterloo Ice House on 360 for a yummy breakfast.
Parker loved her pancake with chocolate chips and Foster felt like a grilled cheese (does anyone else have a child that will pick cheese and bread over any other menu item every time … ? Sigh.).
What’s great about Waterloo is that they also have a huge outdoor seating area with … a playground!
This is a great spot for a family dinner or group outing with a few families.
The playground area is fenced in, but there is a gate that leads out to the parking lot (so I wouldn’t say it’s completely enclosed).
Inside, there are plenty of tables with a good view of the playground as well as a small area with arcade-style games.
Don’t forget to check out my Austin Restaurants with Playgrounds page for a more detailed list of local family-friendly restaurants!
That’s it for me today. Don’t forget to check in next week to hear all about my exciting plans for the month of November. You just might find out that you have a chance of winning some amazing goodies … all month!
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