Job Chart Success

I don't like a messy house. And yet, I find myself living in one. For the past 10 years I've tried to teach my children to simply clean up their own messes and help as needed. I have not been great at this process, and find that the house cleaning is a MAJOR part of my life. Is it really this way for all mothers?

I also try to teach them the value of hard work and dedication. My kids actually do work hard, but certainly more so when there is a reward attached. I have finally come up with a solution, that not only works- but that I am incredibly proud of. Of course, it was created at www.storybookforlife.com and was simple and easy to produce. If you have a Heritage Makers account I'd be happy to transfer the project to you, if you don't have an account go to my website and I'll help you get started.

Here's the process:

The charts were created on 12x12 pages and a FREE UV protector was added so that I can add more chores and write notes. Each member of the family has their own 12x12 board that the smaller pages can be added to (the chores were also created on 12x12 pages with 4 per page). Each square has an assignment with detailed instructions of what needs to be done in that room. For example: Downstairs Bathroom includes; dust picture frames,fold towels, restock toilet paper, clean glass with windex, clean sink and counters with Soft Scrub, clean toilet (bowl and around), wipe floor and baseboards. It also includes a Bonus: organize under sink, clean window.

Each chore also has a  dollar amount attached to it. I never liked the idea of giving an allowance without work involved- now they can earn money. And, they can now pay for things on their own. When we go to a movie as a family, they get to pay for themselves with the money they earned. They also can't do the "money jobs" without taking care of their individual responsibilities first.

I have the jobs on our back door that leads to the garage- it's a metal door so I can able to attach them with magnets (I used to be somewhat of a craft hoarder and have a HUGE roll of sticky magnet, and I find joy in finding a use for it).

When a job needs to be done, I move that page down to the bottom of the door. The kids can choose what they want to do, but it needs to be done before they have an option of choosing another job. That way, one particular child (Wyatt) won't grab all 6 jobs, slap them on his board and then spend the next two days to get them done. Because of the UV coating, the kids can check off the list and write notes on their boards. I write the amount that I owe them on their boards and then can pay as they need the money. 

Last weekend the kids wanted to go see The Lorax. I simply said they each needed to earn $5.00 and their were jobs that needed to be done. It worked like a charm! No more handing out money for doing nothing, no more arguing over jobs, and no more trying to explain everything that needs to be done for each room. It's right there in full color on the back of the door! 

Here's the preview for the entire project I made: http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=2157877&productId=64&sponsorID=152741

Here's to long and workable job chart solution! 

I'm a Terrible Blogger

In my mind, I blog. For the past 10 months (which is the amount of time I've not posted on this blog), I *think about it all the time. I don't know if it's a lack of time, focus, energy, or just not feeling like my thoughts and ramblings warrant a blog post. I actually feel quilt over this~ which is silly because I blog simply for the joy of writing and connecting our family stories with others.

In reality, I've taken quite a hiatus from "blogs" altogether. I used to read several blogs of friends and family and recently have lost touch. It can actually see a difference in my mood when I lose that touch. I start to become more selfish in my every day dealings and stop listening and empathizing less with those around me. However, getting caught up in the blogging world can also have the same negative effect. When I start to believe that everybody has the reality they portray in their blogs I also get depressed. It is a fine line between perception and reality.

I guess Blogging does fill a void in me. I will make sure that my schedule permits me time to write, post, and share the things that are important to me.

Thanks for taking the time to let me share my quilt and resolve to change.

I don't need anybody to make me feel quilt- I do a good enough job bring it on myself. 

Strong Women

There are many amazing women in my life who have shaped me into the mother I am- all of the good I have in me comes from them: I don't know where all the bad parenting I have comes from....As I started my list of women who have influenced me it continued to grow and grow. Once I hit the 100 women mark, I knew that this could potentially be a very, very long post. I opted to just highlight a few courageous women in my life who I want to be like and who I gather the most knowledge and examples from.

The first on the list is of course, my own amazing mother. Do you know Barbara Mann? If you do, you know she is a pretty incredible mother, wife, friend, daughter, and example. She has always had a strong testimony of being a daughter of God, and I think that makes it possible for her to be such a great mother. She has always nurtured and taught with love, kindness, and affection. She is one of those mothers who seems to do everything "right". She cooks, cleans, works, serves, listens, and devotes countless hours to her children. I love her dearly, and am so grateful for her influence in my life. Did I mention my kids are SO LUCKY to have her as a grandmother, my friends have even commented that they would like to be adopted by my parents.

My Beautiful Mother

Another one of my favorite "Mother's" has never birthed children, nor does she raise any. My sister Karyn lives in NYC- she is surrounded by friends and spends her days working long hours, and her weekends doing things I only dream of (traveling the world, going to concerts, celebrity fundraisers, The Tony's, Broadway shows, and the list goes on and on). And though she doesn't have children of her own- she has influenced families in a positive way more than most women. She has worked in the Social Services field for over a decade and is a fantastic advocate for children. I have seen her fight judges, the foster system, and drug addicted parents to protect the welfare of children. She is the best aunt my kids could ever ask for, she is so good about birthdays and holidays and will spend hours on the phone talking to Avery and getting to know her. She is kind, generous, and loves unconditionally. I am humbled that she is able to help "raise" my children and influence them.

My Kids can't get enough of Aunt Karyn. 

These days I seem to be spending more time with my closest friends than I do anybody else. Grateful does not do justice to how I feel about my friends. I can't imagine my life being as happy or fulfilling without them in it. In high school I had a pretty incredible group of friends and I couldn't image that in my 30's I would be able to find those same connections. Yet, it is not only possible, but as life gets more complicated my friends have continued to lift me physically and spiritually. My wish for all the women in my life is that they could be surrounded with the caliber of women that I am on a daily basis. I pray that I can be as good a friend as the ones I have been blessed with. I don't know what I did to deserve to have these influences in my life and I strive everyday to be worthy of these great friendships.

Madison High School "Friends" class of '95

Some of my "favorite" friends from our annual Favorite Things Party. 

The last amazing women I would like to post about is my ten year old daughter. Avery is not a mother (and if I am able to channel the mothering skills of the other women, she won't be mother for at LEAST another decade)! But she is a great example to me, and is the reason that I am a mother. She was not only my first born but my only daughter. Through her eyes I see the future of women everywhere. I have always believed that women were strong and capable, but now there is a passion in me to make sure that women are treated with respect and kindness. Avery is so tender hearted and confident at the same time. She is friendly to everybody and wants to always make sure that others are treated fairly. She is excited to grow up, but also still loves to be a little girl. Avery is one of my heroes. I am grateful that Heavenly Father has allowed me to raise his precious child during this earth life.

As I look at this list, I feel like my words come close to what my heart is feeling. I love the strong women in my life and today I reflect on one of my favorite quotes. 

Strong Women: 

May We Know Them, 

May We Be Them

May We Raise Them. 

Happy Mother's Day to all Strong Women. 

The BIG Apple

I LOVE LOVE LOVE New York City. Every time I go I promise myself I will go more often. My amazing sister, Karyn, lives in NYC and she was my tour guide. Heidi Parson and I left the Pet Show in Atlantic City and we had 24 hours until we had to meet our husbands again in Pittsburgh.  We crammed as much as possible into our day. Here's what we accomplished: 

*Dinner at Vinyl with Karyn and her friend Wade. Fabulous food, fabulous company, and the funnest bathrooms I've ever been in- themes like Elvis, Dolly Pardon, and The Beatles.

*Stood in line at the Lottery to try to get Tickets for WICKED- they were sold out and we didn't win the lottery, BUT we did get tickets and saw Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Even though our seats weren't great- it was a fun show with Great costumes, and fun music! 

After the show we meet up with Paul (another of Karyn's friends) who plays the keyboard in WICKED. Though we weren't able to get tickets for that show, we did get a personal backstage tour. He showed us all the "tricks" to the show, the costumes, props, sound room, effect room, and make up room. 

*Heidi had written a letter and was able to get us tickets to Live with Regis and Kelly. We had to wait in lines to get in and go through security, but it was all worth it. The show was Awesome- Regis was gone that day, but Kelly is the cutest thing I have ever seen. She is funny, professional, and friendly. The studio was much smaller than I thought it would be, there was only about 120 people in the audience! David Arquette was one of the guests that day- he was surprisingly bad. He seemed tired and didn't ever put a complete sentence together. Mark Rutherford was the co-host that day. Next time I'm in NYC I will try to get tickets for some more talk shows like this- great experience. 

After the show we were able to spend a few hours being "tourists." We took the Stanton Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, saw the LDS Temple (didn't have time to do a session), went to Ground Zero, shopping at Canal Street, bought cupcakes from Crumbs, and ate Yummy crepes from a little restaurant in Karyn's neighborhood. My battery on my camera died, so I still need to get pictures from Karyn (however she is in Europe now), so it will be a few more days! 

Modes of transportation in 24 hours: we took a bus (broken seats, smelling, and hot) from Atlantic City to NYC, subway around the city, taxi to Karyn's apartment, bus to Penn Station, train from NYC to Pittsburgh. And of course we used our feet- I'm sure we walked more than 10 miles in one day! 

Thanks to my amazing sister and my friend Heidi for helping to make my 24 hours in NYC amazing. I am not wanting to wait another 6 years until I go back- it will be sooner! 

Spotz Out

I have had many friends and family asking for more information about what Kirk is doing now, how the product is going, and what the product actually is for.... so here's the post that has been in the "making" for a while.

For the past two years my dear husband has been working with his brother (Nathan) to develop a carpet cleaner specific for pet stains. After lots of time, energy, and money to make sure this product not only worked- but was the best in the industry: Spotz Out was launched!

Two weeks ago we traveled to Atlantic City (and contrary to what I believed, Atlantic City is NOT the Vegas of the East Coast) for a large Pet Trade Show. We were nervous, excited, and anxious to know how the product would be received in the industry. Turns out, people LOVED IT! We wrote several orders at the show, meet with distributors, talked with Sales Reps who want to rep our line, and secured store space for the product in many more stores. Of course, there are lots of products that promise to remove smells, stains, and dirt from the carpet- the difference with Spotz Out is that it actually does what is promised. Rather than just using a "spray and dab" technique, we use an activator that loosens the spot, a brush to scrub the stain out, and a sponge like product that sticks to the dirt/stain/soil allowing it to be vacuumed right up.

Nathan drove all the way to Atlantic City from Lincoln Nebraska so he could haul the booth set up and the product. Kirk and I flew in with Brett and Heidi Parson- Brett is a partner with Kirk and Nathan (and a friend of mine from High School) and does the marketing for the business. We had a great time with them and enjoyed many late nights and great laughs. Heidi and I were also able to sneak away for a day and go to NYC- more about that in the next post!

Since we've been home from the H&H Backer Show, Kirk has been on the phone and computer constantly (when he isn't boxing and labeling products, OR running my business while I was out of town) increasing sales and working hard to make his business lucrative. I am so proud of him and am lucky to be married to such an incredible man!

Highlight of the trip: being able to watch Kirk as his years of hard work and dedication paid off.
Lowlight: staying in THE WORST hotel ever- Atlantic City Days Inn: 1 Star.

Kirk and I on day 1 of H&H Backer show. 

Nathan Stoddard, Brett Parson, Kirk Stoddard

Want more information about the product: www.spotzout.com

Spring Forward

I LOVE Spring! Mostly because I love that winter is over and summer is coming. I also like the time change- it means that we get to enjoy more sunlight each day- YEAH! However, it means that I can't "trick" my kids into going to bed at 6:00 p.m.....

Spring time in Idaho only lasts about 5 minutes, we usually have snow on the ground until May and then Summer is here. But, Avery was so excited to come home from church last Sunday and be able to go outside on the deck without shoes on.

We jump on the trampoline every day, I love the location of it- right off the deck so we don't even have to climb up to it. I still have some mad trampoline skills and do back flips and ariels all the time. I love to challenge the kids friends to trampoline contests. Wyatt shovels it during the winter. This year the snow was higher than the trampoline from November-March. Last Sunday it was level with the trampoline but a few days later it was a foot lower! Here's some of my favorite pics of Avery celebrating a few moments of Spring!

Seriously So Blessed

How do you express thanks, when so much has been done for you? I think the only way to really show your appreciation is to "Pay it Forward"- so, I guess I owe BIG TIME! 

Surgery is over, and I am back to "normal" life.... whatever that means. I have gone back to setting my alarm clock for 4:55 a.m., but this is the first morning that I have actually been able to get out of bed and get to the gym (of course, the gym's always easier on FUN FRIDAY). My rib is actually still sore, but I am thinking that will heal soon. The results of the biopsy came back last week- it was a benign tumor, so- I'm cancer free! Which is exactly what I thought, but it was so nice to have it confirmed. 

The support, love, and friendship that I was shown over the last two weeks has been absolutely incredible. I so much appreciated every comment, phone call, card, and meal that was given to myself and my family. I actually felt guilty about how much time others were willing to give to us. It reconfirms my commitment to serving others and makes me strive to be a better person. Here's some of what I was given last week: 

My sister flew in from NYC to take care of me and my kids while I was down. This is pretty awesome considering that when she had open heart surgery, I wouldn't even visit her in the hospital and when she came home, I yelled and screamed at her for wearing my jeans! She took the kids bowling, to the movies, to the arcade, and had a sleep-over with them. She also picked up my favorite frozen yogurt! 

Cathy Birch brought me a book that I have been waiting patiently to get my hands on. Granted, it was a book from the library, but it's the thought that counts! Cathy regularly called and checked on me and continues to ask how I'm doing. Cathy seems to have an energy that draws people to her, I want to me like her when I grow up! I am lucky for her friendship. 

My dear friend Darby drove to Rigby, Idaho to get me my FAVORITE TREAT EVER! I carmel apple from Heidi's Fudge. YUMMMMMMY

April Dummar brought the most amazing meal ever! Chicken Strips, tortilla shells, corn, lettuce, salsa, chips, and dessert! She certainly sets the bar high for bringing meals to people! I've got to step up my game. April has also helped me with using essential oils and supplements that I am in need of. 

When Nancy Hopkin called to ask what she could do I told her I was fine, but that she was welcome to come over and visit. When she got here, she wanted to do something and totally cleaned out my fridge! Can you believe that? Next time I have a friend who needs something- I'm cleaning out their fridge! 

My Best Friends Angela and Darby were willing to do anything for me while I was out. In addition to helping with the kids, returning business calls for me, and listening to my fears- they also brought me a great meal! Homemade rolls & jam, rice, and meatballs. Darby and Angela are also teaching me how to cook- they are both A.M.A.Z.I.N.G

Our neighbors (and horse friends), Tom and Dottie Toone brought some delicious Sweet and Sour Pork.  It was perfect. 

Tara Derricott brought dinner over on Sunday. I was feeling much better by this point, but she insisted on  helping for one more night. She is the Relief Society President of my ward and I don't know how she does everything she does (AND she always has a smile on her face). What an example she is of being a true follower of Christ.


Kellie Esplin also brought a meal in the night before surgery. I wasn't around, and didn't get a picture of the incredible chicken enchiladas that my family ate before I could even see them! Kellie has 5 kids under 10 and is pregnant- how is it possible that she is always doing things for other people? Last week I went over to her house to pick up Mitchell (Mit and her son Spencer are BEST FRIENDS) and she had 15 kids over to play!!!!! I want to be like her too.

Not only do I have the best friends, I also have the BEST parents. I've had friends ask several times if they can be adopted in my family. The answer is NO, I already have to share them with Karyn and Kyle- and there's not too much of an inheritance to go around. They both took time off work to do whatever I asked them to! My mom came with me when I went in for surgery and was asked all the right questions. And of course, when the news that the tumor was benign came back my dad was happiest of all (because now he doesn't have to cash in his 401k to support me). 

I never thought that I would LOVE living in Burton Idaho. It really is the most incredible place on earth. To be surrounded by such great friends and families is a blessing. I do believe that it takes a Village to Raise a Family and I am honored to be able to have this village surrounding me. 

btw: Kirk was also pretty dang incredible over the past two weeks :)