More Snow

Perhaps it is that I have been busy settling in to the new house, but I don't seem to be bothered by all the snow fall and frigid temperatures this winter. But, it's not February yet. February is usually when I hit the wall with the snow.

Or maybe I am not as bothered by the snow because of our new toy, where we get to live out our dream of suburban farmers.

Yes, that was my husband you saw walking down Park Avenue to his office in the city wearing his John D*eere beanie cap. We're loving the new ride.

Even with all the snow fall, it wasn't until this week that the kids had their first full snow day. They got a four-day weekend. It wasn't until the 3rd day of the weekend that I started freaking out about the mess around the house and by the 4th day, I loaded the kids in the car as the snow started to fall and we went to the craft store to buy some items to create a new chore chart.

See the kids go from creating one mess to another and rarely pick anything up-which means we (translation MOM) search for "missing" shoes or end up cleaning up trash and discarded snack bags from the basement when we had planned on family movie night. Or, finding wet swimsuits and towels in the back of the SUV because someone just hops out of the car and doesn't bring their swim bag inside the house.

GRRRRRRRRR.....

So, to encourage Oliver and Chloe to do a better job picking up after themselves and to take more responsibility, all media time is now earned. I call it DMT (Digital Media Time) and it encompasses tv, iPads, Wii, Xbox, DS,  Facetime, Skype, texting, phone, etc. In order to get digital media time, the kids have to complete their chores and earn time when it is complete. Time can be taken away for fighting, arguing, whining, etc. When a task is complete, the popsicle stick with that chore is placed in the colored cup of the child completing the task.

Each chore is worth 10 minutes of DMT.

Chloe's tasks are in blue, Oliver's green. The red sticks represent things that can get DMT taken away in 15 minute increments. DMT can't be rolled over into the next day and some tasks MUST be completed before any DMT is given (i.e. homework).

We're day two into this new system. Day one had Chloe rushing to complete all chores so she could FaceTime during the two-hour school delay with her pals. She did great. Day one for Oliver didn't go so well. He tested the waters and wanted to see if I would really stick to my guns on this system. He didn't earn any DMT.

Today, day two had Chloe testing the waters and Oliver earning DMT like a man on a mission. As for mom, I am pleased with the new system. So far, so good.