The Weather Outside is Frightful

The kids got out of school early yesterday because of snow, and they played and played outside for hours, which is good because they won't be going out today. We're experiencing 60-mile-per-hour winds, and when I look out our back window, the neighborhood and highway have the appearance of a ghost town.


It's really not fit for man nor beast out there. It's so cold that our patio door is completely frozen shut. I'm not sure how many inches of snow we got, but I'm guessing it's a lot, because the girls left their sled in the backyard yesterday, and this morning it's completely buried somewhere. I'm thanking God because my husband has no houses to measure and photograph today, so he'll be home working on reports, safe and warm with us. Also, we knew that this was coming, so yesterday I made a run to the store to stock up on milk, juice, and a few other essentials that we were running low on. We don't have to go anywhere now.

Ahhhh....winter in the Midwest. It's delightful.

The kids are going to watch Christmas movies and have popcorn this afternoon, but this morning, Bee has asked me to help her go through some toys in the playroom. We do this about once a year, because Bee has quite an entrepreneurial spirit. She comes by this honestly, because my husband was the same way as a child. He had newspaper routes, did bike repairs, and sold earthworms, and those of you who read his guest posts will remember that he opened his business and bought his first rental property when he was only 19!

Bee is always thinking of ways to earn money. When she was five, she sold cookies and lemonade at our garage sale, but her favorite way to earn money is to sell stuff. I started this with her when she was only four, because she wanted a "My Little Pony" castle. Being so little, she had no way to earn money, and we don't give our children an allowance until they start school (we "pay their grade"). It was March, and Christmas and her birthday were a long way off, so I told her that if she was willing to part with some of her toys that she no longer played with, I would put them on eBay for her, and she could have the money. She earned more than enough to buy a used pony castle, which included a lot of 6 ponies, and she was beyond thrilled!

Now she has her eye on several items in the American Girl catalog, and she has been diligently saving her money (she has $18.92 in her piggy bank). She also checked out a kids' book at the library about saving and budgeting her allowance, and she made a budget on a piece of paper. It was so cute, and I was going to scan it for you, but Cakes scribbled all over it (typical).

It basically went like this:

Allowance - $1
Save - $1

She's going to save 100% of her income! Of course, she has no living expenses, but still - an admirable goal for a 7-year-old.

Because she's working so hard to save money, I again offered to sell some things for her, and she happily agreed. I do have an ulterior motive, because when she sells stuff, there is a significant side benefit for me. Decluttering and selling things regularly helps keep the toy mess under control, and the playroom neat. With Christmas and the baby coming, I'm anxious to get the house as clean and orderly as possible, because I know how hectic and exhausting those first few postpartum months are.

I don't know about you, but I get very tired of little plastic toys. Sometimes, I feel like I'm drowning in tiny Polly Pocket shoes, Barbie purses, and pony hairbrushes.