Mom's Basket - JACKPOT!

My family, as I am sure most families do, think I am their servant.  I pick up everything for them, from shoes to toys to dirty laundry...everything!  I make my kids clean their rooms, but they have always done such a shoddy job that I wind up going in there every few months to get it clean myself and reorganize.  If I had a dollar for every I had to tell them to pick their things up out of the living room, I'd probably never need to work again!

Then I saw an idea on Pinterest....God bless Pinterest.  

Unfortunately, I never could find an original link for this picture.  But allow me to give credit where credit is due:  if this is your idea, I bow down to you. You are my hero.

I had a basket that I used to gather the kids' toys up to take into their rooms.  I emptied it, then called a meeting.  I explained that to my Flower (10) and Little Man (4) that anytime I found something of theirs laying around the house I was going to pick it up and put it in the basket.  If they finished playing with a toy and do not put it up, it goes in the basket.  

On day one, I had 10 hot wheels, a pair of ear buds, and several super heroes.  Flower wasn't too concerned about the ear buds, but Little Man was just devastated at the loss of his super heroes.  He asked for a chore, so I told him to sweep the kitchen.  He was actually excited, and swept with a happy heart and earned his toys back.  It was the worst sweep-job that kitchen has ever seen, but I don't care.  He learned a lesson, and did it with a great attitude.  

Last night, I picked up several superheroes, two pair of shoes, some jewelry, and a few odd toys.  This morning, at breakfast, I walked into the dining room with my basket.  I reminded them that they couldn't even go outside to play until they had done chores, because their shoes were in the basket!  They gave each other a glance, not sure what to think.  

About 30 minutes later, Little Man came up to me and said "Mama, I am going to go get dressed, then I am going to do a chore, ok?"  A few minutes later he came in dressed and said "Mommy, I decided I will clean my room and put all my toys where they belong.  I will even pick my toys up in the closet!"  Not too long afterwards, he came out and asked me to go look at his room - sure enough, the toys were all where they belonged and his room was spotless!!  Because he actually had quite a bit of picking up to do in his room, and because he had such a great attitude about it, I let him take all of his things out of the basket.  He was so proud of himself!  

Flower still isn't too concerned about getting her items back.  She really would rather lose them than to do chores to get them back (except I am holding her favorite pair of Converse, so it won't be long!).  But, she is paying closer attention to not leaving her things out.

I figure this is a win/win situation for me.  They are both doing a great job picking up their things once they are finished using them, which saves me from having to pick them up constantly.  When I do have to put things in the basket, I have less chores to do myself!  Their attitudes have been great, and they are learning that we have to work for the things we want.  

How do you get your kids to pick their toys up after they get finished playing with them?  Have you tried the chore box?!  It works!!

Be blessed today!!

A Very Geographical Supper

I love my husband, but let me tell you, he is picky.  And not just your run of the mill picky, either.  That man is picky.  Among the things he can't stand are anything not beef (excluding fried ham and bacon), unless it is roast, which he also cannot stand.  If a dish has onions it in, it is no-go, and anything that has green peppers, avacado, artichoke, olives, and mushrooms is entirely out of the question.  Does the dish have cheese in it?  Better be mozzarella, chedder, or colby, and if he even thinks there might be sour cream, feta, or cottage cheese in it, he won't touch it.  Eggs?  Yeah right.

My cooking life kinda stinks.  No Pinterest recipes for me, for the most part.  I can usually tell, just by looking at the picture, if it is something Barb Wire Man will or will not eat.  I have my tried and true recipes I know he will eat, and I rarely stray very far from them.  I figure, the man works his butt off for us, so the least I can do is make sure he has a meal he will enjoy when he gets home.  But it gets so boring for a person like me, who will eat just about anything.  In fact, I can only think of three things I cannot stomach: green peas, gorgonzola cheese, and blue cheese.  That is all.  

I did branch out a little, however, and tried a couple of new Pinterest recipes Tuesday night.  

Mississippi Roast - by far, the best roast I have EVER eaten.

Source: bergecentral.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Our menu was Mississippi Roast (from Pinterest), Arkansas green beans (also from Pinterest), and roasted carrots (totally made up in my head, spur of the moment).

Friends, I love roast, and I love my plain-jane, tried and true roast.  But I don't think I will ever make it that way again.  Because this Mississippi roast was uh-maz-ing.  Best part of all was even Barb Wire Man liked it.  He even went so far as to say it was good.  Normally the response is "Well, I was hungry, so I ate it."  He did say it was a bit too salty, and I agree.  Since no salt is added, I think I may toss a potato in to absorb some of the salt.

The green beans were delish.  Flower and I both had two huge helpings.  Barb Wire Man didn't even say anything at first, he just looked at me, nodded his head, and said "MMM."   Healthy?  Yeah, I wouldn't go that far, but definitely worth it!  One word of caution, however.  It makes a lot of green beans.  We will probably have them for lunch tomorrow.  And supper again tomorrow night.  And we will probably still have left overs!

I think I scored a home run this time!

You can click on the pictures, or the links on the names, and they will take you directly to the blogs with the recipes.  I cannot recommend them enough!  

Arkansas Green Beans....yum, Yum, YUM!

Source: nancycreative.com via Emily on Pinterest