When I woke up this morning, the very first thing that popped into my head was, 'how can my baby be turning FIVE this month?' Sweet Ollie, always enjoyable. You know it's gonna be a good day when he is your very first thought.
The boys have been delightful bff's all summer. They start almost every morning holed up somewhere together. Reading books on Ollie's bed, or playing their classic room game. This game is quite elaborate, and first involves making zones/habitats/terrains in the carpet by pushing down the cushy fluff into distinct lines in the middle of their bedroom. I never can figure out where it is ok to step when returning laundry to their room or hanging a clean shirt. ("Jump over that, mom!! Ahhhh, you're stepping on the game!!!") All I know is that the wood floor is always water, thus an octopus has sat in the hall for the bulk of the summer. Then they spend time picking out their players. Cars, action figures, animals, and EMT/fire crew are assigned to a boy. Then the playing begins. Sometimes it sounds a lot like house, with a daddy and a son. Sometimes it sounds like they are re-creating battle bots. They are both very loyal to the idea of "pause". When one of them runs to the bathroom or is asked to do a chore, they both yell, "PAUSE!" and then the waiting boy doesn't touch a thing while the other is gone. It kinda reminds me of risk in that regard.
Seth has begun to get excited about returning to school, but mostly I think it is because new things have been purchased that won't be used until school. (Lunchbox! Crayons! Shoes! Pencil Box! Big-Kid Sized Scissors!) Seth also talks about wishing the days would go by fast so he can be 16 and get a job and drive a car, and thinks the days will go by faster if he is busy with school. He's probably right.
Speaking of Seth wanting a job, he reminds me of a young Eli with his entrepreneurial spirit. Any other parents have any ideas on this front? Tips on age appropriate ways a kid like this can develop? He's probably a little too young to go house to house asking for mowing jobs (although his would disagree), and how many times can you have a lemonade stand? Should we just let him set up one weekly? We have recently gone through our toys and are going to sell a bunch of things (hopefully) at a consignment sale, so that was a win/win. When he asks how he can have money, I say boring and lame things like, "by saving!" Any and all tips and advice on this topic would be appreciated.
We have spent our week by excitedly getting ready for our big trip to Virginia! We are going to see my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Steve (which we have now started calling Momo's sister Joyce and Steve because of way too much confusion with my Aunt Joyce and their Aunt Joy). We leave Tuesday and are going to be able to spend about a day and a half with Fairfax folk before heading to an Ethiopia Heritage camp!! Yay! Hopefully there will be much fun and culture to report!
The boys have been delightful bff's all summer. They start almost every morning holed up somewhere together. Reading books on Ollie's bed, or playing their classic room game. This game is quite elaborate, and first involves making zones/habitats/terrains in the carpet by pushing down the cushy fluff into distinct lines in the middle of their bedroom. I never can figure out where it is ok to step when returning laundry to their room or hanging a clean shirt. ("Jump over that, mom!! Ahhhh, you're stepping on the game!!!") All I know is that the wood floor is always water, thus an octopus has sat in the hall for the bulk of the summer. Then they spend time picking out their players. Cars, action figures, animals, and EMT/fire crew are assigned to a boy. Then the playing begins. Sometimes it sounds a lot like house, with a daddy and a son. Sometimes it sounds like they are re-creating battle bots. They are both very loyal to the idea of "pause". When one of them runs to the bathroom or is asked to do a chore, they both yell, "PAUSE!" and then the waiting boy doesn't touch a thing while the other is gone. It kinda reminds me of risk in that regard.
Seth has begun to get excited about returning to school, but mostly I think it is because new things have been purchased that won't be used until school. (Lunchbox! Crayons! Shoes! Pencil Box! Big-Kid Sized Scissors!) Seth also talks about wishing the days would go by fast so he can be 16 and get a job and drive a car, and thinks the days will go by faster if he is busy with school. He's probably right.
Speaking of Seth wanting a job, he reminds me of a young Eli with his entrepreneurial spirit. Any other parents have any ideas on this front? Tips on age appropriate ways a kid like this can develop? He's probably a little too young to go house to house asking for mowing jobs (although his would disagree), and how many times can you have a lemonade stand? Should we just let him set up one weekly? We have recently gone through our toys and are going to sell a bunch of things (hopefully) at a consignment sale, so that was a win/win. When he asks how he can have money, I say boring and lame things like, "by saving!" Any and all tips and advice on this topic would be appreciated.
We have spent our week by excitedly getting ready for our big trip to Virginia! We are going to see my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Steve (which we have now started calling Momo's sister Joyce and Steve because of way too much confusion with my Aunt Joyce and their Aunt Joy). We leave Tuesday and are going to be able to spend about a day and a half with Fairfax folk before heading to an Ethiopia Heritage camp!! Yay! Hopefully there will be much fun and culture to report!
Their game sounds so fun and creative. Good job, guys! Found this post about paying your kids for chores--which I admit only sounds slightly less lame than "saving"--http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/04/20-chore-ideas-for-7-year-olds.html
ReplyDeleteAlso read about a little girl who does book reviews on her blog and then gets money from the advertising--don't know if book reviews are his thing, but it's a neat idea aside from the sticky issues involved with keeping his privacy and anonymity on the Internet. Here's her blog for possible inspiration: http://ayeshareviews.com/