Lightening Online

Well the kids went back to school on Wednesday.  The house felt rather empty without them. :(  Mind you, it was very full on when they came home, full of news about their first day and carting all their books and pencils etc to be covered/named etc.  Not to mention forms in triplicate.

Our calendar went from empty to full with the first school newsletter.

*sigh*

Life is no less busy once all your kids are at school.

You just fill it with different stuff.

How many sleeps until the next summer holidays?

I picked up this awesome idea from a friend of mine that we stayed with on our big trip.

It’s pretty simple and once set up, is easy to use.

I just used our own ideas for rewards and consequences.

Ours looks something like this:

My friend had a fancy big poster with the kids photo’s stuck to the chart.

I just printed off a simple table on the computer onto yellow paper then laminated it.  The kids each have one of their name stickers made into a small label that gets stuck onto the chart with blu tak and can be moved up and down as necessary.

Each chart cycle lasts for a week.  Whichever row they are on when it gets to Friday night bedtime is what they get (they don’t always get the reward or punishment imposed that night but it’s what we arrange for them as early as possible – for example, the lunch order has to wait until the next school day).  Saturday morning everyone returns to START and away we go again.

It’s working REALLY well for us.

The kids LOVE it.  They love getting to move themselves up on the chart when they’ve been particularly helpful or pleasant.  They HATE having to move themselves down on the chart (we get them to physically do it themselves to reinforce it) but appreciate the opportunity to “redeem” themselves if they’ve been acting up.

Farmboy is finding it really helpful because he’s sometimes at a loss as to what to do with the kids.  It can help defuse situations before they get fully blown.  And it seems to be helping him watch and reward the positive stuff (something that doesn’t come naturally if you’re not trained in doing it).

We try to focus more on the positive side of things as much as we can and so far the lowest anyone has finished has been the 1/2 hr earlier bedtime slot.  That doesn’t mean they don’t all move down the chart at some point or another but overall they mostly finish up at either START (which means they don’t get anything – positive OR negative) or above.

I love it too as the kids are really trying to hard to do the right thing and have a positive attitude to helping out around the house.  It suits me too when they choose a meal to have.  And it’s a way for them to “earn” having lunch orders.  We don’t usually have all that many but I like the idea of them “earning it”.

It’s possible that the novelty will wear off after a time.  And maybe at some point we’ll refresh it with some different rewards and consequences.  But we’ve been going for nearly 2 months now and it still seems to be going well.

Yippeee!!!!

I’ve been dreading it because spending has gotten so out of hand lately.

Which makes a new budget kind of “where do I start????”

And I would rather stick my head in the sand than try and face where all our money is going at the moment so that puts tracking right at the bottom of my “list of things to do” (or at the top of “things I’d rather poke my eye out than do”).

Anyway, yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and play around with some figures and see what happened.

A couple of the problems I was facing were:

1.  Medical expenses have risen and I have NO IDEA how much we might need in 2010 (depends on how Farmboy’s back goes and how many physio appointments he needs).

2.  Tracking has been too specific and once I get behind, it’s too much of a mess to sort out.

SO….

I went through and took out all the regular payments that come out of our account.  I was recording all of those each time they came out which was probably unnecessary given they’re a regular amount.

Then I worked out if I actually took out of the account any amounts that need to accumulate (like Christmas money) I wouldn’t need to track so carefully because you can’t spend what isn’t there.  I now have a monthly amount to transfer to our savings account.

I want to use cash for groceries, take away and pocket money.  I prefer weekly which is a pain as everything else is monthly but by using cash, I can get away with doing it this way (just converted my weekly amount to a yearly amount so I know how much I have left).

So I’m now down to all the bits and pieces like clothing, medical, school expenses etc etc etc.

I divided those into 2 categories:

1.  Essential - medical, clothing, school expenses, basic household maintenance etc.

2.  Non Essential - gifts, birthday parties, leisure, sport, kids activities etc.

Those things are the only things I’m going to actually “track” this year.  And by having them in 2 broad categories, I don’t have to “guess” how much each specific category is going to cost us.  I’m hoping to record enough information that if I need to know, I can go through and calculate how much specific categories ended up costing us through the year.  But, even if I don’t, tracking to this much detail is better than nothing!

It feels like a real load off to have gotten at least this far with it.

In fact, I’m quite excited and ready to see if this will actually “work” (it starts 1st Feb so have a few days to wait).

I will admit that most of the money I used to allocate to “savings”  is now being eaten up by increasing costs.  Our income is the same as it was 7 years ago but the cost of living has increased and my children have grown (so they eat more now LOL).  BUT, that was going toward our “big trip” and we’ve had that now so it’s not all bad.

One of these days I hope to actually work on accumulating some “savings”.

But for now, I’m happy that we at least have some kind of plan for 2010.

It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I did my $100 a week grocery challenge.  Over a 12 month period we managed to average just under $100 spent on groceries.  That did include cleaning products and personal care products but not medical supplies.  It was a fun challenge and I was surprised at the time how easy it really was.  We didn’t even have to go without treats.

Lately I’ve been a lot more “slack” when it comes to grocery spending (and all spending in general).  We’re buying more prepackaged stuff and a few more expensive items (like frozen berries for our smoothies).

However, I’m SURE groceries have risen in cost quite considerably in the past 12 months or so.

I know I can spend $100 and not even come close to half filling a trolley.  It’s scary really.  I have no idea right now WHAT I’m spending per week but I’m not sure if I really want to find out!

BUT…

I also know I need to get back to tracking what we’re spending.  It really is the best way to keep spending under wraps.  And with all our plans for what we want to do around the house, the less we spend, the more I’ll have for the fun stuff.

I’m going to start tracking our grocery spending from February 1st.  I haven’t decided yet whether to set myself a budget or to start with simply tracking and take it from there.

While I’m thinking about it, I thought I’d run a poll to see what people are currently spending per week on their groceries.  I know there are a lot of variations that effect how much we spend but I’ve just kept it simple for this time around.  Feel free to make more detailed comments about your grocery spend in the comments section if you’d like.

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It would be great to get as many responses as we can so if you feel like tweeting this or encouraging your own blog readers to visit and add their “vote” to the poll, it would be much appreciated. 

I’m the kind of person who likes to plan.

And I like my plans to go to plan!

Which makes me a shocking candidate for farming.

Because nothing on the farm goes to PLAN!

Or so it would seem.

Working around weather conditions, break-downs and unco-operative sheep is enough to put a girl in a REAL bad mood!!!!

This week seems to have been tough.

I tried to help Farmboy with some drafting (the way we sort a mob of sheep into 2 different lots) and got my finger kicked by a sheep. Then my feet were stomped all over.  That was one stubborn mob of sheep.

Then while out spot-spraying weeds, my wand fell apart.  I tried to fix it numerous times but it just wouldn’t stay together.  My plan to get X hours done that day fell in a heap.

Oh well.

Farmboy has now bought me a new wand (and so far it hasn’t fallen apart) and the sheep are off to market in the next few days.

I don’t mind helping out around the farm when things go well.

But I HATE it when things don’t go so well.

And that seems to be altogether too often for my liking!

I honestly don’t get how people do this full time.  It’s SO frustrating!!!!

And yet, somehow I suspect I’ll try to do it all again next week!

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I’m looking forward to today being a “normal” day.

No idea why my brain is processing it as “normal”.

No idea what “normal” even looks like.

BUT…

Life has been of a rather hectic nature since Christmas before Christmas we got back from our “big trip”.

Hang on a minute.  Maybe “hectic” is “normal”????

Oh, I don’t know.

Anyway…

Plans for today include drafting sheep, spot-spraying…

Hang on a minute…

Since when did farming become “normal”????

*sigh*

Oh, I’m also planning to do some washing, sort through some of Singstar Princesses room (a never ending part of “normal” in this household) and whatever else I manage to fit in.

Yesterday we had Farmboys sister and kids here.

The day before we went into town to celebrate Singstar Princesses birthday with Farmboy’s family.

The weekend was hot and filled with stuff like recovering from a couple of insanely busy weeks, unpacking, catching up on washing etc etc etc.

So, yeah, today is kind of “normal”.

It feels nice.

Our little girl turned 9 today!

It amazes me how in the weeks leading up to their birthdays you can see a real difference in your kids.  Like you suddenly realise that they are more 9 than 8 and they look and act like it (or whatever numbers are pertinent at the time).

We had a quiet family celebration today.

Presents with us this morning:

I loved seeing her face as she opened this parcel.  The dress is identical to one her friend in Adelaide has so she was really excited to get one.  She also got a sports bag for taking her change of clothes to netball in (and for when she goes on camps or away etc), a pink purse and a bike carrier for her Baby Born doll.

Followed by decorating her own cake/s:

It’s a tradition in our family that the kids choose what cake design they would like from the birthday cake books I have.  When they have a party (which isn’t every year), I usually make a more elaborate one.  When we have a family party, they enjoy decorating their own cakes.  Singstar Princess is getting quite creative with hers.  It’s a great bonding time working together on the cake/s.  She chose a cupcake design this year.

Followed by a family lunch with Farmboy’s sister and her children and his parents:

Where we assembled the cake and sang happy birthday.

And she got to open a couple more presents. 

I think she had a nice day.

Wow, 9 years!  Time flies when you’re having fun!!!! 

I’d meant to do a wrap-up of 2009 and never got around to it so when I saw this on Joyce’s blog, I figured I’d pinch it.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Spent 14 weeks travelling Australia with a caravan (and the family).  The highlight of my life so far (if you don’t count my wedding and the birth of each of my kids of course).

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Did I make any New Year’s Resolutions last year?  Can’t remember.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My sister-in-law gave birth to twins!!!!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Farmboy’s grandfather died.  It was a blessing in a way as he really wasn’t well by the end.  Still, he is greatly missed and has had a big impact on our lives.

5. What countries did you visit?

Australia - it’s an awesome place to visit!

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

More energy!!!!  More time!!!!

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

July 1st - the day we left for our big trip.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Learning to drive a tractor!!!!

9. What was your biggest failure?

Our finances.  I’ve really let things get out of hand and need to get back on track.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had a pretty good year for avoiding stuff like that.  Farmboy did hurt his back (twice) while we were away.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My netbook - has really come in handy!!!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Farmboy - he is AMAZING and I’m constantly wondering why on earth he would marry ME????

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Can’t really think of anything significant.

14. Where did most of your money go?

I wish I knew!  That’s the problem!  We did spend a lot on our trip but all of that was pre-saved.  In general, our money has just floated away on impulse purchases and too much eating out I think.

15. What did you get really excited about?

Our trip!

And building our back verandah and decking.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

Here we are in New South Wales (shearing sheep as big as whales).  Because whenever we went over the Qld/NSW border, Trailer Boy kept singing it.  And given we spent a week in Coolangatta, we went over that border a number of times.  It was from a CD of Australian songs from the Cairns Night Zoo and the kids loved it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder? I think about the same.  This time last year I was very excited about our trip.  Now I’m excited about other plans we have for the future.

Thinner or fatter? Hmmmm……

Richer or poorer?
Definitely poorer now that we’ve spent our holiday savings.  But not as poor as I expected to be (fancy coming back with money!!!).  A lot richer in experiences.  And now that I’m earning my own income again, it FEELS like I’m richer (even though the money is allocated).

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Craft.  I get too sidetracked on the computer and don’t do as much creating as I used to.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Staring at a computer screen.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Church in the morning followed by presents at home and a quiet family lunch out on our new deck.  In the afternoon we went down to Farmboy’s parents shack and spent time with them and his sister and her family.  It was a lovely relaxing day.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

I am constantly falling in love with my husband.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

A toss up between NCIS and Master Chef.  The whole family loved watching Master Chef together which was nice.  It was the only show we tried to watch while we were away - and it was awesome watching the finale with a caravan park full of people in the camp kitchen!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No

24. What was the best book you read?

I became a Karen Kingsbury fanatic this year!  I have bought and read so many of her books.  Every single one made me cry at some point!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Chris Tomlin - awesome voice!

26. What did you want and get?

To fulfill my dream of taking a 3 month caravanning trip around parts of Australia.

27. What did you want and not get?

To lose weight (gained it instead).

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

I only saw 1 - that was G-Force.  It was okay but from what I’ve heard, not the best out there.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I hit the halfway to 70 mark in 2009.  We were in Broken Hill on the 2nd day of our “big trip”.  We went out for tea as a family which was lovely (although the security guard at the club we went to was not very nice).

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I do wonder if losing weight would have but in reality, probably nothing.  I’m feeling more than satisfied with 2009 as it was.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

I’m starting to wear dresses and skirts a bit more although I still love my jeans and denim capris.

32. What kept you sane?

Being married to a saint.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I can’t say that I tend to “fancy” celebrities or public figures much.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

I prefer to avoid all politic issues although the rubbish going on with global warming is starting to frustrate me.  I hate the way the government are politicising the whole issue rather than doing what needs to be done to solve it.

35. Who did you miss?

My friends while we were away.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

A family we met in Port Douglas.  They’ve become really good friends and we’ve just enjoyed 5 days with them in Adelaide (they live in Adelaide but were doing a trip similar to ours when we met them in Port Douglas).

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.

When things don’t work out the way you think they’re going to - go with the flow as often-times they’ll work out even better than you imagined!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

“I am carried in the arms of grace and love divine”.

Leading up to Christmas I had this feeling that if I could survive the 2 weeks following (as well as all the lead up to Christmas) then I could survive anything!!!!

Life has just been WAY too busy!!!

BUT…

I SURVIVED!!!!

Phew!

Yesterday I spent most of the day asleep.

I woke up at around 11am and was asleep again by midday, sleeping until around 3pm.

I don’t tend to sleep all that well so when I sleep that much, I KNOW I’m tired.

Today I am feeling marginally better but not exactly “go get em”.

I’m pottering my way around trying to “de-Christmas” the house.  Sometime I need to unpack and start dealing with post Christmas shopping, find homes for gifts etc etc.  Oh, and bake Singstar Princesses birthday cakes (she wants cupcakes this year).

Farmboy has taken the kids to the beach for a swim so I have a couple of hours to myself.  It’s lovely after 2 weeks of extended family and friends (which was also lovely but very draining at the same time).

We still have 1 Christmas get together to have.  My side of the family is getting together next weekend.  Well, most of us are.

Other than that, I really need the weather to cool down a little so I can do some spot-spraying before the weeds totally take over the paddocks.  Still, the hot weather is forcing me to not get straight back into it and I think that’s a good thing as I need the rest.

P.S.  If I offended or upset anyone with my New Years post, I’m sorry.  I wasn’t having a go at people who have genuinely struggled through 2009.  More making a general comment about people who seem to constantly “whine”.  *sigh*  On reflection, I’m wondering if there are some facebook friends I should cull?  It’s one thing to occasionally have a vent but another to be constantly negative.  Funnily enough, most come from an online group and we probably have nothing else in common (and no, it’s not any of my yahoo groups so you can all relax and stop thinking I’m talking about you).

At the moment we are staying in Adelaide while Lleyton attends a tennis clinic.  I have my little laptop and internet connection and was figuring I’d be able to blog every day or 2 but that just hasn’t been happening.  Partly because we’re staying with friends and partly because I am so tired from all the stuff we’ve been trying to fit in since Christmas (plus the lead up to Christmas) that to get 2 thoughts together to write is just really hard.

The family we are staying with are the ones we met in Port Douglas.  The kids are all having an absolute ball.  I would be too if I wasn’t so darn tired!

Lleyton’s tennis clinic is going well although it’s not quite as involved as I had hoped it would be (it’s more of a “fun” thing than a more serious “coaching” thing).  However, he’s enjoying it because he keeps winning the mini tournaments they have each day.  No doubt he’ll improve his skills just from the point of view of getting the opportunity to play tennis for 3 hours a day.

Everything is still up in the air as to when we’ll head home but I’m sensing it’ll be sooner rather than later.  Farmboy is chomping at the bit about how much work he hasn’t gotten done lately.

Anyway, hopefully I’ll be back to regular blogging soon.