Chores

Parenting is one dang hard job.  I consider myself a decent parent.  Far from perfect, but I think I've done a fairly good job so far.  My kids usually remember their please's and thank-you's, are generally kind to others, and do well in school for the most part.  I try and try every day to shape them into people that will be successful, and be happy.  I want them to be good people.  I don't think I've messed them up too bad yet.  But there is still time.

One area that I have not done a very good job in is making them responsible for cleaning up after themselves and helping more around the house.  If you remember back to My Post About Dreaming Of A Clean House you will know that I've talked about this before.  Thank you all for your suggestions back then.  Unfortunately I haven't grown that OCD gene yet that makes me have a spotless house.  I was hoping for a miracle, but no such luck.

However, I recently found a post on Pinterest that gave me a great idea.

I haven't been a fan of paying my kids to do chores.  But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

The kids are a little older now, and money talks when you want electronics.

So, we went around the house together and came up with a list of chores that could be their responsiblity.  I assigned what I thought was a fair dollar amount for the job being done, and a specific rule sheet that spelled out what I expected from them if they were going to earn the money for the job.  (I have to be very specific with them, because they will always try to wiggle their way around the rules.)  A little artistic work, a trip through the laminator, some magnets from the craft store, and we have ourselves a new little system.

There are a total of 13 chores with assigned dollar amounts.  Sunday marks the end/beginning of our week.  They must choose 4 chores to complete before the next Sunday.  They can choose more if they would like to earn more money, but they don't have to pick any more than 4.  When they choose their chores, they go on the fridge under their name.

After the chore is completed, the card goes in their jar that they hand painted.

On Sunday, I go to the jar, empty it out, and pay for the work they have done.  Then the process starts over again.  It is working great so far!  It is still a work in progress, though we are now on our third week, and I'm really impressed with how well they have been doing.  We've had to tweak a few rules as we go, and I'm sure there will be more changes still.  For example, they aren't allowed to start most of their chores until Wednesday, so they can't clean off the junk on the stairs on Sunday and then again on Monday before the stairs have accumulated any additional crap.  Also, (and this one is brilliant, if I do say so myself) the vacuuming must be done after the miscellaneous junk is cleaned off the floor in the entry and the living room.  So if Morgan has vacuuming, and Andy is supposed to clean off the floor, she can't vacuum the 3 square foot area that is open, she has to bug Andy to do his chore first so she can do her chore and earn her money.  I haven't figured out if there is a consequence yet for not completing 4 chores in a week.  So far, I haven't had to.

I'm not sure how long this will last, but I'm loving it so far, and I think the kids are too.  It's also teaching them the value of money more, because I've started making them pay for more of their own luxury items.  They are thinking twice before buying silly things that aren't needed.  I hope they stay excited about it!  The house is looking much better, and the chores are easier each week.  Yay!

One last picture to share of the boy peeking over the wall in his (very crooked!) new glasses.  The jars sit up here above my kitchen cabinets, right next to my (very empty!) wine racks.  Good thing wine bottling is in 6 weeks!

Thank you Pinterest, for the great idea!!

XOXOX

NH

One More Finished Hat

This is a hat that I knitted.

It is for Tricia's son, Evan.

I heard a rumor that Evan likes to play with cars.

So I made 5 little cars, and attached them to a hat with a little road on it.

I sent it off to Evan, and I do believe he loved it.

It's so fun sending my hand-made goodies out to people!

In other news, Andy's team had their district playoffs this weekend.  We took 4th, and the top three teams go on to regions.  Bummer!  We have one more game next weekend just for fun and then our season is over.  I can't believe how fast it went!  What a great year.  I love watching the boys improve so much over the span of 4-5 months.  GREAT season guys!  I'm very proud of all of you! 

Don't worry everyone, spring league starts in a few short weeks.  I wouldn't actually want some free nights to myself or anything.  Summer league starts shortly after that, and tryouts for yet another tournament team are being held tomorrow afternoon.  You don't get better sitting on your couch all spring/summer, right?  These years are going to be over before we know it, so you might as well dive in head first.

I got tons of time in on the blue sweater.  It should only need a few more power sessions before It's completed.  I'm so excited about how it's turning out.  I just hope it fits.

XOXOX

NH

A few crafty things to show you.

So, I wish I would be more on top of my projects and share them with you while they are in progress.  I'll try to be better about that.  It's tough when they are gifts though.  I've made a bunch of things over the past few months and am finally sitting down with a little time to organize the pictures and put them here.

I'll start with two projects that are currently on the needles.

If you know me, you know that I don't like spending a lot of money.  That's the nice way of calling myself cheap.  But let's face it - if it takes a little more effort to get something for 1/10th of the cost, I'm all over it.  It's kind of tricky being so cheap when you love to be crafty.  Sometimes you have to get creative with where and how you find your supplies.  Here is one of my favorite ways to get awesome yarn for 1/10th the price I'd get it if I were to buy it brand new.  I love my Savers store.  LOVE it.  Sometimes they are a bit overpriced (the other day I found six idividual Fiestaware pieces for $19.99 EACH! That's more expensive than if you were to buy them brand new!) but sometimes they have sales, and if you don't mind buying gently used merchandise, and have the time to dig a little, you can really find some treasures.

The other day I found this little gem on 1/2 price day.  It is an Old Navy brand cotton/wool blend sweater in a rosy pink color.

In case you needed help calculating, 1/2 of $2.99 is $1.495.  I paid $1.50 for this sweater.  I brought it home, took it apart at the seams, found the end of the yarn and started ripping.  Have you ever ripped out an entire sweater before?  No?  You should.  It's very therapudic.  It's a great stress reliever.  I love the little pops of each stitch coming unraveled.  The kids help me wind it on the ball winder that Nate got me for Christmas last year.  Sooo much fun.

So now, this yarn is becoming a gorgeous scarf that I discovered through my friend Melissa at our last knit night.

The pattern is called And So Are You by Rose Beck. (click the link to see pictures of what the finished product is supposed to look like)  I am in love with this pattern.  There are A. Lot. of stitches in this scarf.  It's going to take me a long time to finish it.  I have made a few mistakes.  They are strategically hidden in these photos.  I cannot come to terms with the fact that I should rip it out back to the mistakes.  So I did what most knitters I know would do.  It's in the knitting bag, and I started on something new.  :)

This project is also using recycled yarn from a sweater purchased at Savers and torn apart.  I got this one a while ago and unfortunately don't have a before picture.  Do you know what fiber is in this yarn?  Do you?  Angora.  Yesssssss.  It is like knitting with a cloud.  Sooo soft!  These pictures make the yarn look light blue, but it's actually more of an aqua.  Do you know how much this much angora yarn would cost at a yarn shop?  Me neither.  I wouldn't even look at it for fear that I might faint dead away if I looked at the price tag. 

So I am taking this dreamy yarn, and creating what I want out of it.  It's becoming a Lucia Tee by Helene Rush.  I can't wait to finish it.  I think it's going to be worn a lot.

This is a hat I made for myself to wear to hockey games.  It's nice and warm, and I'm very happy with how it turned out.  The problem with making something super cute?  You email your sister a picture of it, and then she wants one.  Love you, Kel!

So, I made another one for my sissy.  It is currently in transit to her, and I'm hoping she receives it tomorrow.  I hope she also wears it to hockey games, and it brings her son's team some good luck!  The pattern for this one is the Newsy Cabled Cap by Linda Cyr.

These are some hats that I made for my homie Trish, who looks rather delish in her brown one.  Her daughter Lauren is the recipient of the multi colored party hat.

I called in the professional for help modeling Trisha's hat before it was sent off to her.

I love knitting stuff for myself, but honestly the whole process of knitting for a specific recipient is so incredibly rewarding to me.  I think about them with every single stitch.  I wonder what they will think when they receive it.  I wish I could be there to see them open it.  Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't.  I picture Miss Lauren wearing this hat to school, or shopping with her mom, or over to a friend's house to play in the snow.  It is an awesome feeling to know that I played a part in keeping her sweet little head warm.  The pattern for these hats is To Slouch or Not To Slouch by Linda Fisher.  A great pattern!

These were a Christmas gift for my other sissy, Erin.  She is the Dean of Students at South Ridge School, so I made her some things in her school colors.  I believe she has made 3 of these scarves for others at her school since Christmas, so I think they were a hit.  I'm glad you liked them Erin.  I hope they keep you warm at football games.

So, here's a little funny story for you.  Do you remember back to THIS blog post in December when I told you that I'd made the biggest, idiotic mistake in knitting that I had ever made?  Well, that idiotic mistake happened to be on these mittens.  I can't believe I'm about to show you what I did.  But I will.

Brilliant, I know.  You are seeing that right.  Yep.  Two right handed mittens.  I was sick.  You will notice that I didn't even weave in the ends of the second one I made.  Seriously.  Who does that?!?!

So, this is what she opened on Christmas.  I gave her all three in case she loses one.  Let's just hope it isn't the left one.

 And finally, moving away from the knitting for a bit, I wanted to show you what I made for the awesome ladies in my Hockey Mom Club that meets monthly for dinner and drinks.

Who wouldn't love a Hockey Mom ornament in turquoise with black glitter, pink fur, and leopard print ribbon??

So, that's it for this time.  There are pictures of the quilt that Morgan and I made for my mom for Christmas too, but I can't find them right now.  They must be on a flash drive somewhere.  But this post has taken FAR too long.  The quilt is something pretty dang special though, so be assured I will blog about it sometime soon.

Since yesterday was Valentine's Day and I didn't post anything, I thought I'd share this one valentine photo with you.  Messages on candy hearts have certainly changed with the times, huh?  This made me LOL at my desk at work yesterday.  Which is always a good thing.

YEeeeaaaah boooi!

Hope you enjoyed your Valentine's day with your honey!

XOXOX

NH

How about a new photo assignment?

I didn't really realize it, but my picture taking has severly diminished since the photo assignments have been put on hold.  Plus, Tricia over at Mommy's Missing Pieces said that since the holiday commotion is over, she was ready again.

So let's go for it.  This assignment will be:


The Great Outdoors

In case you need a refresher on how these photo assignments work, go to This Post and it should tell you what you need to know.

So grab your cameras, get back outside and snap some pictures.

It's kind of a brown and grey time of year here, so try to find some hidden color somewhere outside. 

I'm so very very sad that Picnik is shutting down in April.  I'm going to have to search for another free editing page. I'll let you know if I find anything.  For the time being though, they have opened up their site and all premium features are free until they close.  Feel free to edit your outdoor pictures for this assignment!  Fun stuff!  Please have your pictures either uploaded to The Flickr Group or sent to me via email sometime on or before February 24.

Cooooool.

XOXOX

NH

100!!!!!

I made it!  This is my 100th post!

YAY!

It's very exciting!

Thank you thank you thank you for reading my blog.

I am having so much fun with it, I hope you are enjoying it.

Please, please keep coming back.  I never thought I'd make it this far, but I DID IT!  Yay!

XOXOX

NH

Ladies Night!

First of all, I'm going to tell you that I am SO bummed that I can no longer blog on my lunch break at work.  This is the main reason for the decline in posts.  Dangit.

This is how the Hooper ladies spend the night when the boys go to a high school hockey game...

First, the princess is picked up at auntie's house after school.  Yes, that is a cow hat with a built in scarf.

Then it's home for a quick craft project and some dinner.

These are painted jars the kids made for a project I'll describe in another post.

Next, off to do a little shopping.

We had to stop for some duvet clips for Morgan's blanket.

Whoa mom!  Those are some BIG forks!

Fluffy bunny tail!!

Well, as long as we're out...

And she can't leave the store without checking out the formal dresses.  :)

And then we were back home for some homework.  Homework is easier with Kool-aid in a wine glass.  We do it right here.

A fun project?

Oh yes we did.

N/A Raspberry jello shots.  Don't you wish your mom was as cool as me?

Then it was time to gather up all my favorite things.  Trader Joe's decaf Chamomile Tea with milk in my favorite mug...

A mystery knitting project that should be in the mail in the next few days... 

And my princess, who was really happy to be snuggled on the couch by me, but was totally sick of me taking pictures of her by this point in the night.

Ahhhh yes.  A good two hours of The Bachelor trash TV.  Kacey B, you better win this.  I really don't understand why Courtney is still there.  I thought Morgan was going to get up and punch the TV when Ben gave her a rose.  Gaaah.

Then, I taught Morgan the proper way to roll your jeans, just like I did in 1990.

Then it was time to tuck her in, after clipping her duvet in place, of course.

Thanks for the fun night, Morgie Pie!  I love you!

XOXOX

NH

 P.S.  I can't wait for it to be light out in the evening for more than 5 minutes after I get home from work so my evening photos aren't so grainy!  I hate using my flash, so you all will have to deal with grainy pictures for a while.  :)

Do you Hear THAT?

Do you?  It's nothing.  Nothing at all.  I'm at home alllll by myself.  Nobody else here.  This is such a rare occasion, I felt it necessary to mention it to everyone!  I have control of the remote!  I'm having (another) glass of wine!  I'm searching Ravelry for a new shawl/scarf pattern!  American Idol is about to start!  I'm in my jammie pants!

It's the perfect ending to a kind of stressful day.

So I'd like to make a scarf out of some recycled rosey colored yarn that I have that is probably somewhere around sock weight.  I'm looking for a pattern that isn't too wide, long enough to wrap around my neck a few times, and I could wear as a warm scarf in the winter, and also an accessory to work.  Something girly.  With some lace or ruffles around the edges.  I have a few in mind, but can't decide.  Do you have any suggestions?

Or maybe I should sew something.

Or go take a bath.

Hmmmm..........

I think I will go watch American Idol, and figure out something to cast on.......

yay!

XOXOX

NH