Such a Chore

It seems that every time we go to the store these days, I am met with "Mom, can we get this?" or "Mom, will you buy this for me?". Um, no. I find myself uttering mom-isms that I thought would never come out of my mouth. Do I look like I am made of money? Money doesn't grow on trees!

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The time has come for my child to learn more about the value of a dollar AND the value of hard work. She has a few chores that she does, but we haven't had a strict schedule or chore-policy. Until now. Mwuahahahaha.

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Fortunately for all of us, Sophie (like her mama) loves to check things off of a list. So, she has her chore list and enjoys completing her daily and weekly tasks. We're not talking about child slavery here. The only things on her list are make bed, clean up, set table and empty dishwasher. There's a space for extra points when she goes above and beyond with helping around the house.

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Since we've just started, I don't have my $ amount set for how much she will earn. So, I'm reaching out to all of you experienced moms, or those of you who still remember earning an allowance of your own... what is a fair 2011 weekly allowance for a 5 year old with said jobs? Are there allowance pitfalls I should watch out for? Any ideas and opinions are welcome!

Thursday's Treasure

As many of you know, I grew up in a Navy family. We moved every year or year and a half throughout my childhood. While this afforded me many new adventures and challenges, it also left me wondering just what it would be like to live in one place for many years. To grow up in a town where you truly knew your community. To be the one to welcome the newcomers, to have friends "forever". To know how far deep roots can grow.

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While we may not be in our "forever" place, (indeed we probably definitely are not), it has been such a neat experience to have Sophie live her first five years in this home. To have the librarians, grocery clerks and thrift store cashiers know her by name. For her to randomly run into someone she knows and say, "Gosh Mom, I seem to know everyone around here!"

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Another cool thing about staying put is getting to go to some of our same favorite places year after year. I was thrilled when I uploaded pictures from our recent trip to Cox Farms and found the photos from all of our other years there too. So, besides celebrating this amazing organizational feat, my treasure to share this week is a half-decade tour de pumpkin patch with my favorite Halloween-loving munchkin...

~*~ October 2006

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October 2007

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October 2008

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October 2009

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October 2010

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Here's hoping that you are creating many of your own fond memories this fall :)

Makeover Monday: 4/19

Happy Monday! Today's Makeover features the "big girl bed" we've been waiting for. Please excuse the poor quality of these photos- we were on a tight schedule, and unfortunately I couldn't wait for just the right light.

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Here is Sophie's bedroom with all of the furniture moved out- waiting for the bed to be delivered. I'm so happy that I went with a basic shabby chic girl theme for the nursery- it transitions so easily! It's a small bedroom, and I was really nervous about how the bed would look once it was in.

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And here is the other side of the room, where I was hoping to put the dresser and bookshelf. Her bedroom window looks out on the upper deck, and she will soon have a window box full of pink and purple flowers.

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The bed finally arrived (loooooong story), and best of all- it FITS where I wanted it to go! Without too many options, this was a very good thing. The glider had to go, but everything else fit back in.

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These are a few of my favorite things in the room: the fabric covered cork board, the cross stitch animal scene that I made while I was pregnant, the vintage chenille bathrobe hanging by the bedside, dried flowers from a "congratulations" arrangement that we received when Sophie was born.
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Now we can snuggle on the bed to read the nighttime story... and I admit, for those few minutes each day I wish we shared this bedroom. Sophie told me I can sleep there if I'd like- I may just take her up on that one day. For now, I'm enjoying how small my little girl looks in her big girl bed. It reminds me of how teeny she looked in her crib when we first brought her home. Knowing how quickly that changed, I've got to appreciate every moment of this!