Ethan learns about money

We've been teaching Ethan about money. About a year or so ago, we made these jars:


We started paying him 3 quarters a day for doing all of the things on his chart. Some of these things were chores and some were things like "listen to adults", "be respectful to others", and "do something nice for someone". When he got his stickers at the end of the day, he got his quarters. If he didn't manage to get all of his stickers, he still got quarters, but not all three. We talked about giving and saving and what those things meant in relation to spending. He REALLY responded to it! We still have the jars and we still use them in full force, but we no longer have a sticker chart. Now it's quite random. Today I paid him to help me haul old paint cans up from the basement and load them into the jeep to dispose of. Sometimes I will randomly give him some "spend" money when he does something unexpectedly kind for someone. We take our give money to church and recently he contributed the entirety to a "purchase a wheelchair for a kid" mission during our church's VBS.

On his birthday in April this year, Ethan got 2 checks from his grandparents. Money is awesome to receive for your birthday, but I wondered if he understood how much money $25 (x2 checks!!) was. I went to the bank and instead of just putting the $$ in his savings and giving him a little bit to spend, I cashed them both in one dollar denominations. Then I laid them out in front of him so he could see how many dollars were from each grandparent. :) He was surprised!! and felt very rich!!!.............


Then we counted out a little to spend and put the rest in his savings. It was a great lesson!
A couple of days ago, Ethan wanted to set up a lemonade stand. I helped him make the Lemonade and I only had HUGE red cups, so he asked for $1 per large cup. He was out there for about 2 hours. He learned about service and patience and the exchange that buying and selling is. :)

Plus...he was REALLY CUTE! :) He made $9 in 2 hours and only $2 of that came from me and dad. :) I thank the 7 random people who stopped by and bought a cup of lemonade from my son to teach him a valuable lesson we all remember learning as kids in some fashion or another. Except the guy who asked if my 5 year old had change for a $20 at his lemonade stand....who does that? :) We made it work anyway and I spotted him his $1 and he DID come back and re-pay it, so I guess that gets him some points. :) Ah....learning the value of money......

GREAT day for work on the house!

Well, the construction in the back room made leaps and bounds today! Mr. Sam has been spending most (if not all) of his time to get Ross's (my brother) kitchen cabinets finished so that they can put them in their remodeled kitchen sometime very soon. Here are some of those:
Pretty, huh? Mr. Sam does a GREAT job in his shop!! Don't mind the drawer without a front....there is one....there was just a...well...we'll say a slight issue. So...Mr. Sam is fixing it. :)

Well...the kitchen project is all but done and today was a day to spend on our back hallway project. We have just about as much done now as we can get done with the materials we have. We still need trim, a doorknob, some outlets and switches and then we get the joy of putting up the siding. However, Mr. Sam did a TON of work ALL DAY today and got pretty danged far!!

So, here are some photo updates of our "back hallway" behind the kitchen:
Here's the paint color...well...kind of. It's actually prettier than the pic. :) It's been painted for a while now...



Here is Sam putting up the trim. Again...happened the same day as the paint.
Here is the outside with the two "window units" in place. This installation process was today's work! The door prep (painting, sanding, and finishing as they came unfinished) took Sam forever to do from the minute he got the doors until not too long ago. They look FANTASTIC!Here is the door installation prep work...oh...and a popsicle break. :)
Here are the three units installed. The view from the outside. And a cute little boy.
Here are all three units installed from the inside. It was tricky to get a good picture because of the angle of the doorway I was standing through and shooting from the inside out is always tricky, but you can get the idea.

And here is the finished floor!!

So...LOTS of work got done today!! Tomorrow I am going to start working on the backyard a bit and see if I can't get a handle on the jungle back there. I'm choosing to ignore the hill for now and mostly just attack the places in the back yard that we live in and walk in and play in (well, would like to do those things). I have asked around to borrow a weed-eater and ...I think I have found a great solution. :) A friend of mine has a friend with goats. :) Yes...goats. We are going to hook up and do each other a favor (or two) with the exchange of said goats to hang out tied up in my backyard for a bit. I think they will have more fun "weed-wacking" than I would. :) I'll take pictures and let you know if I get in trouble for having a goat (maybe a couple) within city limits. :) What better way to get yard care and fertilization all at the same time? Man...we really are small-town Eastern Oregoners.

Judgment...who has the time?

So, I have realized in my old age (all of 31) that judgment of others is really a waste of time. I have spent my life wanting more for people than they want for themselves. I think that, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. I want my husband to be the best that he can be and be happy doing what he does. I want my siblings to meet wonderful mates and spend the rest of their lives realizing their potential. I want my mom to make the choice in her life that will make her the most happy and show her who she really is. I want my son to share his toys. :) I want my students to be successful in their daily search for growth and enlightenment. However, I am learning that there is a difference between wanting the best for everyone and being upset at them for not making the choices that I see as "clearly the path to take them there". That's the judgment part. I have decided that it's just not worth it...the being upset part. It doesn't help them and it doesn't help me. I've decided to turn that around. I am proud of my family members. I am proud of all of my siblings. They have all become wonderful people. I am proud of my husband and my son. I am proud of my students and from here on out, I will celebrate the people in my life and work to build them up rather than tear them down or tell them how I think their lives should have turned out. Who do I think I am anyway?

Let me give you an example. My sister Emma is stubborn. She knows this and it's one of her best and worst qualities. Her husband is a diver and got a job in Louisiana. In order to keep her family unit together, she moved to Louisiana when their baby was just a couple months old. She drove there. Across the country. In a fairly unreliable car. She lost her wallet. She took someone with her, but that person turned out NOT to be a lot of help when she needed it most and was more of a burden than a help. They slept in lighted gas station parking lots and rest areas and I said to myself (and to others)....she's crazy! What is she thinking? She's putting herself and her baby at risk so that she can drive far away and live by herself while her husband is away on a ship in the middle of the ocean. I thought she was being ridiculous and stubborn and I chose to judge her instead of support her. Had I approached the situation differently and been more supportive of her actions, we would have a stronger relationship and maybe I could have made what must have been a VERY difficult transition just a little easier on my little sister. Now that I look with different eyes, I see her bravery. Her fear must have always been on the edge of her thoughts and yet, she felt this was the best decision for her family at the time and did what she felt was best to accomplish her mission of keeping her family together. Instead of supporting that, I was upset with her and couldn't understand her reasoning.

Let's back up a few years. It's the year 1998 and I am a failing freshman at CWU (1.8 GPA and on academic probation...however...for posterity, you all should know that I graduated from EOU with a 3.7 GPA and went on to graduate school. :)). Someone approaches me and convinces me that I can make thousands of dollars by selling encyclopedias door to door. Now...you may laugh, but when you are making "interesting" choices in your life and you are learning what it means to be on your own...a lot of things sound pretty good. I paid my $400 (that I didn't have, by the way) and got my training and my books. Then, I got in a car that didn't belong to me and I drove BY MYSELF to Tennessee. I drove through tornadoes and parked under the overpass on the FREEWAY with everyone else so the car I was driving wasn't damaged by golf-ball sized hail. I slept in rest areas with the rest of my caravan and cried myself to sleep with fear. I got to Tennessee and took my week-long training and gave the guy back his car. Here I was, 19 years old in Tennessee with no car and very little money. They hooked me up with a roommate and sent us off to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. We arrived and had to live out of a dive of a hotel until we could find somewhere to live for the summer as the company had not arranged for housing. We found a basement to live in and began our selling. It took me about 4 days to realize that I was NOT good at selling things door to door. I spent the rest of my time in Massachusetts hanging out at the park during the day so my roommate wouldn't know that I wasn't even trying. It only took a short time before I called home and mom bought me a GREYHOUND ticket across the country. I rode that greyhound bus for days from Massachusetts to Washington. Now....how is my sister's choice to move to Louisiana to keep her family together and establish a life on her own any more "reckless" than my behavior? She had good reasons and a plan. I had NO reason and NO plan and it cost me (however, I will never forget the experience). I was being selfish when Emma moved and not thinking of her best interest and that of her new family, only of myself and what I felt was best for her.

I have stories like this for everyone I know. Stories when I judged when I should have either been supportive or kept to myself. I am going to work hard to make sure that I am a more supportive and less judgmental sister, mom, and friend. Hopefully, I will make a positive difference in the lives around me rather than a negative one. Just like Emma's stubbornness, my desire for everyone to reach their potential is both a positive and a negative trait in my character. I need to figure out how to use it more for the positive and learn to keep my opinions to myself when it's appropriate to do so.

Deep thoughts by Jamie. :)

The 2010 NATS Convention

I've been home for a while now from the annual NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) convention in Salt Lake City. It has taken this long for me to process all of the information that I gained while I was there and to realize exactly what I had the opportunity to experience. I took amazing classes from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm every day for six amazing days. In the evenings, we had performances and networking receptions. I went to every class I could and learned more in the 6 days I was there than in a good chunk of my time in college. :)

Please...allow me to name drop. :) Kurt Alexander-Zeller taught 3 days of a fantastic body mapping class (out of his book "What Every Singer Needs to Know about the Body"). Joan Frey Boytim offered a Publisher Showcase on her new editions to be published and gave out free books. John Glenn Paton (26 Italian Songs and Arias(purple hits), the Gateway to Diction series and others)sat in and offered his thoughts on teaching Diction classes in the pre-conference workshops. Ingo Titze presented a main workshop on the cutting edge science of the female voice. Lisa Popeil gave a class on how to teach the belting technique. Nancy Bos gave a session on how to teach the contemporary musician to be successful and healthy in their vocal production. Kelli O'Hara gave a concert that was out of the world fantastic and then came the next day and worked with students in a masterclass setting. Simon Estes was our keynote speaker at the gala during the last night and that is just a smattering of names of those that were presenting.

I roomed with an amazing woman from the conservatory of music in Sydney, Australia. I learned so much from her!! I took a student, Erin Wunz, with me and I wish I had taken more!!

I am swimming with new ideas and ways to better serve my students and I can't wait for the fall to begin so that I can share all the information I learned.

What an amazing experience! I couldn't have done it without my hubby who supported me fully in funding my trip and holding down the home fort while I was gone. This included working 10 hour days at work and coming home and shuffling to and from soccer and sitters and not to mention the food and clothing parts of life.... He's amazing and I am lucky to have him and his support in my passion.

I'll post more once I start employing some of my new-found amazing-ness. :)

A wish to win the Lottery

Sometimes, in our journey to get out of debt, I have those moments where I truly wish I could just in the lottery. Do you know what I would do if I won the lottery? I would pay of my debt!! I swear! I would! I sometimes get so discouraged with paying our "stupid tax". Our past bad choices and mistakes often get in the way of what we want to do and be today. I have not blogged about our journey, although I did post a note on facebook that I should transfer over here just so it's all in one place.

Our "out-of-consumer-debt" date was set for June 1st. Then it had to be moved to July 1st (in March). Now it's August first and I am trying my VERY hardest not to move it again! We are using the Dave Ramsey method of getting out of debt. We are living on a WRITTEN budget using mostly cash (harder to overspend the budget that way). We have paid off 4 consumer debts including my car and 3 credit cards and have accumulated a very large snowball to throw at our debt and are making fast head-way. However, summer is here and the remodel on our house has begun. Our budget for the remodel is still looking on-target and like things will be fine, but we've taken a few spontaneous trips to tri-cities and spent money that was supposed to be "extra to debt" (on top of the snowball amount) on fun things. I should clarify that this is where Dave and I split ways. I am very intent on getting out of debt and I have my eye on it at all times and it's never far from my mind. However...I also feel that this is the prime of our lives. So, sometimes when I'm working on my budget and I have surplus income over our expenses for the money, I add more to our "blow-it" money instead of the "extra to debt" column. Here's the funny part. I feel a little guilty about that. Had we not "blown" that money, we could have stuck to our June 1st date of out-of-debt. Then I remember that I'm still paying A LOT OF MONEY to our debt each month!

A short back story is that Sam and I had "somehow" acquired about $20,000 in consumer debt. In March of 2009, my mom helped me with my taxes and we owed the government a lot of money. We had about $300 in our checking account and no savings. I was a wreck of tears and fears. We lived paycheck to paycheck and at the end of the month I would lose sleep hoping that the check I wrote at the store didn't go through before the check I deposited in the back to cover it. I would walk into Walmart and I could NEVER walk out for under $50. I hated living like that! My mom said that I should try living on a zero-balance budget. I argued that with a fluctuating income (sometimes as much as $1200 from month to month) any kind of budget was impossible! She helped me set up a month to month zero balance budget using Excel. Income here. Expenses here. The numbers have to match. Once I figured it out, I got really good at it. On August 1st 2010 (and not a DAY later) Sam and I will have paid off our $20,000 in consumer debt. Between mom's zero balance budget plan and Dave Ramsey's debt snowball, we've come a LONG way!! Just about all of our "extra" money and a lot of our not-so-extra money has gone to debt INCLUDING our huge tax refund!

So...I want to win the lottery. I want to be totally out of debt and have a fully funded emergency fund (3-6 mo. expenses) in my savings account. I want to be able to take my family on trips and buy some new furniture. I'm a simple girl who loves living a simple life. But there are things I would like to have. I don't want to be rich...I just want a nice living room set, a laptop, and a new bed. :)

Our journey out of debt has taught me a lot of things and I am ultimately grateful for it. However, I can't wait for the day when all that money is actually mine and I don't have to give it to someone else! Thanks mom. Thanks Dave Ramsey. Thanks to family and friends who are supportive and encouraging.

Now that I have processed my feelings, I'm going to make one of the last payments I have to my credit card. They are just such painful payments. :( It'll be worth it in the end.

"The best piece of art ever!"

Today was a day of science and learning for Ethan and I. We went to the library and watched the "Mad Scientist" (Science-tist) from Porltland tell us all about water. We watched dry ice vapor pour down the side of a bucket and ice form before our eyes! We learned that it takes up to 12 gallons of water to flush the toilet and 25 gallons for the average shower. We learned that water has a skin and watched HUGE bubbles form from a huge wand! It was awesome!

Then, we tried a few experiments out of our new book...



We created static electricity in a plastic tupperware with daddy's wool sweater. We had pepper in it and the pepper jumped from the bottom and stuck to the lid. Then we took a paperclip and transferred the electricity and the pepper either fell to the bottom of the container or jumped to where there was still static! Ethan loved it! :)





We also learned how our eyes can play tricks on us. We drew a bird on one side of a circle and on the other side (upside down), a birdcage. Then we tied string around it and wound it up. When it unwound, the bird was IN the cage!! Ethan said it was "the best piece of art ever!"




Here are the instructions if you want to try it:

1. Make two circles on a piece of thick white paper, by drawing around a mug twice (we used a nalgene water bottle). Then cut them out.
2. Draw a bird on one circle and a cage on the other (make the cage a little bigger than the bird. Turn the cage upside down. Glue them together back to back.
3. Use a hole puncher to make two holes on either side of the cage. Cut two pieces of string as long as your arm.
4. Thread a piece of string through one pair of holes. Knot the ends. Do the same on the other side.
5. Hold the knots so that the circle hangs down. Flip the circle over and around until the string is twisted up tightly.
6. Now with both hands, pull the string tight. This makes the circle spin around really fast. What can you see?
What's going on?
As the circle spins, your eyes see one picture after the other. The pictures come around so fast that your brain can't separate them. instead, it merges the two. So you see one picture--of the bird caught inside the cage!

Sheet rock is up!!

Well, the sheet rock is up and the tear-out pile is mostly loaded into the dumpster! We covered the huge hole in the wall with plastic until we can get the doors/windows in...here are a few pics...



Here's Sam putting the first layer of mud on the sheet rock. This is NOT his favorite job, but luckily, it's such a small space there are not many seams. :)



This pic shows all three openings to the house...the doorway to the downstairs on the left, the window in the kitchen and the doorway into the kitchen on the right. We didn't realize how tall our ceilings were until we took out that doorway and walk through that hallway! 9 foot ceilings are tall!

Just thought I would keep updating the process. :) I'll see if I can't add a few pics of the doors/windows....