Jail Break!

We had our first Jail Sale today (say that five times fast). We have been gathering toys or other items not put away as they should be, generally after multiple warnings, and putting them in "jail". Jail is not fancy, just a box in the furnace room. They can buy their things using the money in their allowance and job account at any time. We keep track on a big white board which is much easier than trying to find exact change to pay them. At the end of each month we will have a jail sale which is their last chance to buy their things before they are donated or sold at our discretion. Things were priced from .10 to 1.50. We figure that if it's not worth paying for, it's not worth the storage space.
This idea came from a memory Paul has of a friend that came to school one day wearing two different shoes. When his friends teased him he explained that one shoe from each pair was in "jail". We have taken this idea and adapted it for our family.
Ultimately, we are hoping to teach our children to care for, and appreciate their things. We also want them to realize the value of what they have. Not to mention being able to clear out some of the toys they really don't care about.
We also award "Get out of Jail Free" cards for good behavior such as cleaning up without being asked, being kind or thoughtful, being first to the dinner table or other desirable behavior. Each card is good for one free item. If the same item gets put in jail 3 times, it is no longer available to buy back. They are getting better at remembering to put away the Wii controllers. They have already lost them once!
They bought everything today and had fun doing it. I tried my best to remind them that they are having to spend their money for their own things and that if they had taken care of them they wouldn't be there in the first place. We'll see how this month goes. They have been warned that we will be more consistent in putting things in jail and that prices will likely go up. It's always fun to have a new system to change things up a bit.

If I could just finish ONE thing

I am finding that lately, I tend to move from one project to another without completing any of them. This morning, I was walking through the house, looking at piles and boxes, and mumbling "Brooke" ('cause I talk to myself a lot lately), I said, "Brooke, you've just got to pick SOMETHING you can FINISH today!" Then I spotted my Jenna sitting diaper clad on top of the coffee table and with a smile (she's so dang cute) sheepishly admitted that to finish getting her dressed would be a good place to start!

Children's Miracle Music - WFMW

As we gear up to go back to school, I thought I would post quickly about something that has helped us get out the door in the morning and into bed at night. It is called Children's Miracle Music. It includes a CD for morning and a CD for evening routines. The CD verbally guides them through each step of their morning or evening, giving them the time it takes for 1-3 songs to paly to complete the task before moving to the next one. It has a tracking chart, stickers, instructions, etc as a reward and motivation system with suggestions for appropriate rewards. I also like that it includes an "act of kindness" or chore that benefits the family that I set up.

We took a break over the summer and did some different things to help it to be fresh and exciting again for when school starts.

Though we still had some grumbling occasionally about "doing jobs" this program really helped us! Go over and check it out! It worked for our family.

WFMW - Velcro in the laundry

My tip this week is simple. When we entered into the world of bibs, we began to discover that the Velcro closures would catch on everything. I began to put everything that would pull or catch onto that Velcro, into lingerie bags. You know those mesh zipper bags. Then I realized that if I just put the bibs in the bags it would save a lot of headache. I found a 3 pack at the dollar store and now I use them for my nylons and other delicates, but I use them more for those pesky Velcro bibs.

Those lingerie laundry bags work for me! WFMW has moved ro We Are THAT Family so, Click here for other fun ideas and helpful tips.

WFMW - Magazine organization

I have tried a new way to organize magazines that I want to keep. I have some magazines that tend to be useful seasonally. I organize them in magazine boxes by month rather than by year. That way, each month I can pull out a stack of magazines that have articles, craft ideas, etc. appropriate for the month. For example, when I pull out the Family Fun magazines for Oct. I have a whole bunch of ideas for Halloween rather than just the ones from the current issue. Or, when I pull out the Friend magazines for December, there are plenty of magazines with Christmas stories and activities for all the kids to read at the same time. I try to photocopy any activities that require cutting, coloring etc. in order to keep the magazines reusable.

This method works for me. To see other ideas that work, check out rocksinmydryer!

WFMW - Take control of your garbage can

My sister gave me one of these wonders one day and I thought it was one of those inventions that make you say "duh, I should have thought of this!"

It is an elastic band that reminds me of a giant hair elastic. It goes around the top of your garbage can to hold the bag in place. No one likes to try to find the edge of that garbage bag when it has slipped under the garbage. Unfortunately, someone must have forgotten to take mine off before gathering the garbage and it disappeared. I thought I would have to make my own from some waistband elastic and hope it held up to constant bag emptyings until I found them at my local dollar store. I bought 5 just in case! :) These work for me! Check out what works for everyone else at rocks in my dryer.

WFMW - winter accessories storage

*This is a post that bears reviewing as we head into cooler weather (at least I have faith it will cool down). This has saved me so many headaches looking for that stray glove or having it all fall down on me from a top shelf somewhere.

I use hanging shoe storage pockets for many things including office supplies & craft supplies. My favorite use is for winter hats, gloves, scarves, ear muffs, etc. I hang mine on the inside of the coat closet. I like the clear ones. My kids can easily see what they need and because they are at their level, it is easier for them to put them away.


For other great ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family.

What about YOUR house?

Okay everyone, we are looking at building a new house this year, and I need some help! I have been looking at floor plans until my eyes are crossed, my head is pounding and I am leaking square footage out my ears. Unfortunatly, none of the plans have exactly what we want, how we want it. Yes, I am being picky because I want this to be the house we retire in (hopefully).
I would like anyone's input who would care to put in. The poll questions are:
1. What do you love about your house?
2. What would you change?
3. What other features would you like to have?

Thank you for any input you may wish to give!

Girls hairclip storage

I needed a way to store hairbows and flowers that wouldn't crush them. I came up with the following solution. I bought a colored embroidery hoop, wrapped ribbon around it, and hung various ribbons down from it. Now I can clip my flowers and bows without crushing them. I hang it on the side of a dresser or closet door with a removable 3M hook.

It works for me! Check out what works for others over at Rocks in my Dryer.

WFMW - Dry Goods & Emergency Storage

I have discovered that having 5 gallon buckets with screw on lids to store my flour, sugar, and wheat in my pantry is a wonderful time and back saver. Those cannisters that sit on the counter not only, do not hold enough, but they attract dust like nobody's business! I found my buckets at WalMart. They are a little bit of an investment but well worth it.
I recently found brightly colored lids and bought one with a bucket to use for an emergency 72 hour kit. Not only can you pack a lot of stuff in it but it could be used to haul water or even as a potty if needed wherever you end up in your emergency situation. (Obviously not both!!) That's what works for me! Check out what works for other people over on Rocks in my Dryer!http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2008/10/works-for-me-ch.html

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Yep, it's that time again...back to school! I have been buying school supplies like a mad woman. Not that I don't like my children, but I seem to like them a little more when I get a chance to miss them sometimes :) I have found some cute ideas from various sources that should help us start off with a little fun and stay organized! We will have 3 children in 3 different schools this year and so I was struggling with how to keep up with that many schedules etc. Then I found a great idea on one of my favorite websites (link in my links list) http://www.meckmom.com/2008/08/11/get-rid-of-multiple-charts-with-a-family-big-board/ She took a giant white board and divided it into sections for each of her children and then put in categories. Here is a picture of our new board. I think it will definitely help. The kids got to choose their theme color and we had fun making magnets the other day.

I have also bought new backpacks and loaded them with fun stuff like character notebooks, markers, watches for the boys, workbooks...all things schoolish. Next week I plan to do a treasure hunt around the playground at our local school leading to their backpacks which I will hide.

Another thing I have been trying to come up with are some creative ideas for home lunches. I have sent Lunchables in the past but for some reason one kids doesn't like the meat, another doesn't like the cheese etc. I found a recipe for pizza pocket things that involes stuffing crescent roll dough with sauce, cheese, and a slice of pepperoni then baking. It says they are good even cold. We'll see if the kids go for it! If anyone has other ideas I would love to hear them! Please comment.

I have been trying to get the kids to read and practice some of their academic skills to make up for some of the brain dead time we've had but they don't seem too enthusiastic about it (go figure!:) Oh well, I am going to keep trying. I'm a mom, I'm supposed to be mean!

If you go to meckmom.com be sure to check out her entry a couple weeks earlier naming some great games. We bought Hyper Dash which the kids really love ( I like it too since it runs them around and expends energy from my little zombie couch potatoes). We also just got Monster Maker but haven't had a chance to play it yet. It looks fun though.