Get your lemonade - 4 year old's lemonade stand

A few days back, it was around 5 pm and my daughter noticed a girl outside with a table. She thought it was a lemonade stand, so we gathered our quarters and took a walk down the road. Well, it wasn't a lemonade stand, but a bracelet stand. She had already wrapped up though so we just continued for a walk.

Since V is always interested in making money, she asked if SHE could have a lemonade stand. I said yes, we could, but not that day. First we didn't have what we needed and it was late so no one would see what we were doing.

A few days later, though, we were ready to go.






She was so happy to have her lemonade stand up and running. Until... People kept driving by.
 
But she kept at it. Lots of hopes.

But she did have a customer, and then a car with two neighbors (who I really hadn't met, oops) stopped by and donated $2.

The only issue was that she was MAD that they wouldn't take any lemonade. They told her they don't drink and drive, but apparently she's a bit young for that joke :)





And when the whining started, I figured it was time to pack up.

All in all, though, it was an experience worth trying. Next time, we'll consider a non-cloudy day. Because clouds and the high 80s just isn't lemonade weather in the desert southwest!

Lemonade anyone?

My 2 year old is great at reasoning - comic relief

A mom's comic relief may just happen when she least expects it.

I was hoping to sneak off to take a quick, but relaxing bath, but my 2 year old figured it out and followed me into the bathroom. When I thought he was going to ask to jump in, he surprised me by saying, "You need a boat!" He then proceeded to run to the bathroom to bring me his bath toy boat. How sweet :)


Then we have this instance...

Setting, late evening, one child asleep, another not anywhere close.

DirecTV sports mix has an advertisement photo of a shiny Lexus. My son notices and says "I want the new car" and my husband says "That's a lot of money" - So lovely 2 year old runs off to show that he has "big money"

Two year olds are always thinking!


Check out the video below for his explanation :)

Save money by breastfeeding - or the costs of formula

It is known that a family who has to pay for formula is more likely to breastfeed. However, programs like WIC, tend to make families who may otherwise breastfeed do not because they do not have to pay for the majority of formula. “For mothers of infants 6 months of age, WIC status was the strongest determinant of breastfeeding: mothers who were not enrolled in the WIC program were more than twice as likely to breastfeed at 6 months of age than mothers who participated in the WIC program.” Luckily many WIC programs are increasing breastfeeding support. (1)

The cost of formula per day averages around $4, for “on sale” formula and 28 ounces per day, not including wastage.

The cost of WIC programs is high. 

For low and middle income families, the government assists in ensuring basic nutrition. For non-breastfed babies up to age 4 months, 806 ounces of formula is given to the family to purchase with coupons. For ages 4 and 5 months, 884 ounces of breastmilk substitute is given. At 6 months solids are introduced as well as 624 ounces of formula. While prices are negotiated with one “vendor” by each granting authority/state, the price is still absolutely astounding. Yes, I believe nutrition is important, but WOW, billions for WIC programs each year for formula when breastmilk is free and training more peer counselors and training of medical staff can go a long way!

Cost of formula due to medical costs associated with not breastfeeding:

RESULTS: If 90% of US families could comply with medical recommendations to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, the United States would save $13 billion per year and prevent an excess 911 deaths, nearly all of which would be in infants ($10.5 billion and 741 deaths at 80% compliance). (2)

This also doesn’t calculate the cost of lost wages and or lost productivity at work due to illnesses that are due to not breastfeeding.

Sources:

(1)    http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/117/4/1136

(2)    http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/5/e1048.full?sid=2f5be91e-86af-4327-b24d-60d37cd82ce7

Living and Giving as Parents

What is the long-term life of this girl, walking the
fields in northern India look like?

I recently came across a post by a former co-worker (who happens to be an excellent motivator), that reminded me of the importance that we, as parents, can place on things that really are not important. Romeo’s post, entitled "The little boy with the Orange Water" and how his 4 year old was willing to give up money for a video game so another little boy could have clean water was very moving.

How can parents teach giving if they don't give themselves?

While we prepare for a rummage sale we have talked about giving up some toys that we may not use so we can pay for a waterslide that we found on Craigslist. But really, is that equation really enough? What am I teaching besides the importance of not having too much stuff? Yes it is better than just indulging and giving everything a 4 year old could want (and that is a heck of a lot), but really… the whole “first world problem” comes into play here. How do I, as a parent who wants to instill a sense of interconnectedness and giving do that without exposing too much horrors of the world? Or, am I doing a disservice and sheltering when, instead, I could be teaching?

What does education mean to the
school girls in this picture?

Back to Romeo’s post – it was so moving that I’ve decided that even though my 4 year old’s subtraction skills aren’t entirely to a point where she can understand saving and giving, I want to start having her look at money differently. Before she was born I read an idea (no idea where!) and came up with a plan for allowance. We’ve yet to fully decide if we’ll do any ‘take away’ for not putting away her toys (so far I’m against it, but not entirely), but I do want her to see the value of money.  The allowance plan goes like this. For my 4 year old, she gets $4 every week. With that $4, she has to save $2, give $1 and she can spend $1. She understands how the money can add up, and some basic subtraction, but I want her to understand the importance of other people and the importance of giving. 

We can’t just do a second glance when we someone in need. We need to look and see what our soul is telling us and driving us. For what are we yearning? What truly matters? I hear a lot about saving for retirement, but I hear less about saving the world for one person. If I donate $30 a month so a child can go to school and have fresh water, isn’t that more important than me having a middle class life 30 years from now when I retire?

 Now, I'm not saying that we need to just give all the time without second glance. Many programs out there are more enablers than problem solvers, but when basics needs aren't being met (education, sanitation, food), the story is much different. 

Money may make people more comfortable, but it doesn’t give you happiness. I’ve had a “host pack” delivered from House Party for “Because I am a Girl” from Plan International.  I also recently stopped my giving to SOS Children’s Villages, and I really think it is time for me re-think my stopping and start up again.  As cliché as it sounds, when we give we receive so much more back.  Knowing that you’re helping someone else with a hand up in life not only helps their community, it creates a safer, more loving world.

The cost of water and cloth diapering

There are some questions out there regarding saving $$ and cloth diapering. The Real Diaper Association is a great resource. On a popular cloth diapering site, someone indicated that since changing to cloth diapers they're using 4000 more gallons of water each month. That doesn't make sense to me, so I started looking at some "averages"


The average load on a top loader is 40-45 gallons per cycle, while a front loader uses around 20 gallons.

I read that in the US, the average cost per gallon  across the US is $0.002.

So if you are using 2400 gallons per month for washing your diapers double daily... then it should be costing you around $4.80 per month to do so... http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/wot/pdfs/book_waterontap_full.pdf

However, very few people I know wash daily... so for an extra $4/month and possibly $3 for detergent (Mine costs around $12 and I go through it every 4 or so months).... that, the environmental impact and the fact that I HATE TOXIC chemicals... I'll say yeah... keep those sposies....

Rockin Green




Another link.

Okay you may have to spend a few pennies per load for the hot water but yeah... it still doesn't add up!

Dealing with our emotions as parents

It can often be difficult to discern our innate feelings from the emotions that may overwhelm our brain when we're faced with a difficult situation. Many families are facing financial issues, which, compounded with deciding between mom continuing to stay at home or going back into the career world, and/or feeling confused over what their familial goals are, can cause the even the best of relationships to get shaky.

What, then, is a family to do when their emotion-o-meter is out of whack AND the children are having difficulties of their own, which may or may not be entirely due to the parental unit's issues? It can easily become a cyclical issue where the parents are stressed, so the kids are stressed, so they act out, so the parents get up set and MORE stressed, so the kids feel it and don't know how to act around the parents anymore, so the parents get more frustrated, and on, and on.

Ever feel like taking a one-way train?
Keep your emotion's open and in check for your family!

As parents it is in our court to get control of our emotions. We cannot expect the kids to make things better, no matter how good it feels to have happy kids. The typical "family clown" comes from parents not having control and the child feeling the need to "make things nice." Instead, parents need to have time to really talk things through and come to a determination what is the (current) right direction for the family. Family meetings and open communication is also important at this time. Parents should talk candidly, yet honestly with their kids, even the young ones! Let them know that even if things are rough you are working to make things better! Let them know how helpful they've been- either way they do feel and know more than we often suspect. Plus, the more honesty that is out there, the more the bond of trust there is in the family.

Going back to my recent post about "me" time and/or MNO, keep in mind that your emotional health is important! a happy mommy is a better mommy. Be sure you're being true to you while you're being a great, attached parent to your child(ren)!