Operation Beach Bucks part 2

You didn't ask for it, but here it is anyway - our first update!  Yay!

The first week has ended, and already I've reached a very important conclusion.  I will be broke by July.  No kidding!  The way my kids are putting in extra effort and being recognized for the good things they are doing encourages them to do more good things (i.e., things they ought to be doing anyway) which results in them earning mucho dinero mas rapido (sorry if that is in the wrong order, I'm a bit rusty on my español).  My son is earning 50¢ every time he tries a new food, and he has decided that trying new foods is not all that bad.  So far he has tried scrambled eggs, barbecue sauce, chicken nuggets, Cincinnati chilighetti, and fresh pineapple (which was his idea, in the produce section by the way - as long as he didn't have to eat "those pokey things").  My daughter could earn that much as well, but she is a much less-picky eater already, so there are not that many "new" foods for her to choose from.  Either way, they are consistently earning at least one dollar each day, and with approximately 150 more days they can earn Beach Bucks before tallying up their dizzying amounts of money, I could be out well over $300!  That ain't chump change in this house.

After having this epiphany two days ago, whilst taking our kids on a much deserved outing to see "The Nut Job," I had a second epiphany.  I can use the Beach Bucks like tokens that the kids have to trade in if they want to engage in certain activities while on vacation.  A short list of activities that we ordinarily engage in, as well as a few extra special treats thrown in, was easy to mentally compose:

1. SnoBalls
2. The Shake Shop
3. Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf
4. Egmont Key ferry from Ft. De Soto
5. Dolphin Quest on Boca Ciega Bay from John's Pass Marina

For the less expensive things that we always do at least once, the token amount will be small - maybe $10 worth of Beach Bucks for a small SnoBall or milkshake.  For bigger things the price will be more like $50 worth of Beach Bucks.  That may seem steep, but, hey, they are going to have Bucks to spare.  I'm only going to reserve $20 that they can exchange dollar-for-dollar and spend on whatever souvenir they want.  We will likely souvenir hunt at John's Pass, or if we are lucky enough to get to visit Tarpon Springs again they can spend it there.

Additionally, I may make them work harder each month to earn the coveted Beach Bucks.  For example, instead of getting 10¢ each time they clear their dishes from the table, they will get 10¢ for clearing dishes after every meal for one entire day.  If it is getting to school on time, it may be two days in a row to earn 25¢.  On second thought I may keep that one the way it is!  We don't want any tardies.

So, what format am I using?  Well, you're in luck because I am going to share my Beach Bucks chart and money.  I printed one chart and slid it into a page protector, which I taped to the wall at kid-eye-level.  Each day I use a dry erase marker to check off what they have accomplished so they can see what they are earning.  I also use a STAR stick, which I mentioned in Operation Beach Bucks.  This is because my daughter's school uses this as a behavior/classroom management tool.  I painted a paint stirrer and colored clothespins for each kid.  That way it is a constant visual reminder of how they are behaving.  Most of the time I make them move their pins so it (hopefully) makes them think about what they did that was good or not-so-good.

Beach Bucks envelopes

For the envelopes, I used what I had on hand - #10 (business size).  I simply taped one piece of each value of Beach Bucks to the front using clear packing tape.

STAR stick, start every day on GREEN

Each day you start out on GREEN.  If my kids behave they get to move up a color.  If they misbehave they move down a color.  It is not a static stick - in other words they don't get stuck on a color.  If they make it to red and then do something wonderful (or even mediocre if it is good behavior), they move back up.  If they are on purple and misbehave, they move down to blue.  If they are perfectly behaved all day (yeah, right), they get to move up to the star.  I used basic red, yellow, blue, and purple acrylic craft paint from WalMart.  The star is gold glitter glue on a silver background.  The black space is no-man's-land basically.  It is either used for nothing, or if my kids are being horrible and are on red and still misbehaving, I move them to black - which they can NOT get off of unless they exhibit some exceptional behavior.  I have been using this for a month or so now, and only once has one of them been on black.  Then again, only once have they made it to the star.  There have been plenty of days where they stay on green, though, and this momma is thrilled with an all-green day!

Please keep in mind this is only a suggestion.  You will need to tailor it to fit your lifestyle and expectations of your own children.  I printed five copies of the money so I could be sure to have enough to last for a while.  When I run out of the smaller Bucks, I will trade them in for the larger ones.  I'm not sure if you can edit the documents using the same fonts I did - mine were from a font program (Cosmi Print Perfect Fonts), and the style is called JI-Drapey.

Word Document:
Beach Bucks Pricing List

Beach Bucks Money 

PDF:
Beach Bucks Pricing List
Beach Bucks Money

Can We Call This Sleep Training If He Doesn't Sleep?

It has been a full week since we started trying to get our kids to bed at a decent hour.  At this point, the kids are becoming more consistent with being ready for bed.  Our days are going a little more smoothly, and I'm becoming anxious for where this might lead.  Nap time is slowly returning to our house!

We have been trying to be home by about 8pm, which gives us some time each night as a foursome to unwind and do the nighttime rituals that are necessary to get us all in bed.  We let the kids play for a few minutes while we get things picked up around the house, finishing with the toys in the living room.  After pickup, we brush teeth (which is not an easy task) and make sure everyone has an empty bladder.  There are few things less enticing than the idea of waking up drenched in someone else's urine (even if it is one of the people you love most in the world)!  Sometimes our daughter protests that she just went potty at mamaw's and papaw's house, but I follow my mom's advice to always try.  I'm satisfied if she can even get out a few drips.  After we accomplish this feat, it is off to bed for story and song time (see previous post). 

It has been amazing to see the childrens' eyes close in sweet slumber before 10pm.  In fact, it has been closer to 9:30 when they nod off to sleep.  Yay!  This means I have the opportunity to start my me time a full hour or more earlier.  I have been able to restart Stormie O'Martian's Power of a Praying Parent book and study/prayer guide.  I have the plan to read this book in conjunction with 2 other of O'Martian's titles: Power of a Praying Wife, and Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage. 

I have an old-school Mead spiral bound 3 subject notebook that I am keeping my answers from the study/prayer guides in.  That way, they are all in one place, but I have an easy way to keep them separate for ease of use.  Each book is divided into weeklong assignments for reading, reflection, and specific guided prayer.  The workbook asks you some pretty tough questions about your life, expectations, motives, and actions.  It also asks you to write your own prayers to cover a specific area that needs attention - past mistakes that you feel guilt over is one.  I am writing my answers to the questions on one page (half for my daughter, half for my son) - front and back - and the following page is where I am writing my prayers for the week.  So far I have only managed to complete the first week for Parent.

"Slacker!" You might think.  "You've had more time this week than before, and you can't manage to read three chapters?"  Just as I said the kids are becoming more consistent with their bedtimes, my son has not yet made the transition to sleeping through the night (generally wakes after 2 hours in bed).  In fact he has been so off with his behavior since December 21, 2011 that I am going to be making an appointment with his pediatrician for this week.  I have to go with my intuition on this one and say "something ain't right."  I have been tracking his symptoms since he recovered from his cold.  Loss of appetite, change in mood and behavior, severe irritability, change in sleep patterns, stumbling and falling frequently, bruises easily, and a few mysterious blisters on his left middle finger, left pinkie toe, and left heel.  A few mornings ago he even ran into the door when he got out of bed!  He has not had a fever since before his MMR vaccine a week after he recovered from the cold, but I believe strongly that he may have an inner ear infection.  Regardless, I don't think it can wait until his next well-child visit in March.

To add to that, my mom was briefly hospitalized for pneumonia, and the antibiotic they prescribed and administered intravenously (avelox) can cause swollen or ruptured tendons up to 2 years after finishing the drug.  She was also apparently so severely anemic that she is on a high dose of iron twice a day.  She has to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for repeat lab testing.  If her results have not improved, she will be seeing a renal specialist and likely be subjected to more invasive testing to find the cause of her problems.  It is a very tense and scary situation since her father had impaired renal function, non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, ALS, heart disease, aneurysms in his aorta and both legs, and eventually a stroke.  We already know that she has PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) and A-Fib (atrial fibrillation) as well as a murmur.  This must be genetic, because I also have A-Fib, some mild PVCs, and such a low resting heart rate that my heart actually stopped for nearly 3 seconds while I was sleeping in December 2010 (24 hour monitor followed with a diagnosis of needing a pace maker and a visit with an electrophysiologist and wearing a 28 day Holter Monitor).  Now her fever won't stay down.  She is also taking augmentin, so you would think that the original sinus and ear infection would be gone by now and that the pneumonia would be weakened...  Needless to say, we are praying hard!

Back to my original quandary - is it sleep training if the child isn't sleeping?  I can't let him cry it out when he wakes up, because there is no "out" to his crying.  He will scream for more than an hour - believe me, I know firsthand!  He is weaned, so there is no midnight snacking.  He simply desires physical contact, and he will not settle down until he has it.