NSS and Chore List

This is going to be a super random post.  I have about a million things floating through my head right now...so I'm going to puke them out via bloggin'.  Lucky you!!!

1.  Aldi has an app.  Yes, it has an app.  I downloaded it without question.  I have zero idea what it's all about or what's on it...but I'm psyched that they have an app.

2.  After school program asked parents to contribute to a snack and one of the items on the list was Cheese-It's.  I got Aldi brand, two boxes for $1.79 each.  Grand total for contribution $3.83 (tax included).  BAM!!! 

3.  NSS is going quite well with a few exceptions:

1. Hubby purchased can lights for our garage...it needed to happen before the snow flies.  
2. I had to purchase pants for Sweet Pickle (yes had, it's getting colder and Sweet Pickle has exactly 1 pair of pants that fits her.  She HATES leggings and is very particular on her sweats - she doesn't want ones that have the elastic around the ankles...that may be a fashion that's coming back but my girl isn't havin' it.  The way she feels about this is much like the way Peanutty feels about jeans...he calls them "death pants".  True story.).  She wanted "swishy" pants or "wind" pants, if you will.  They don't make them for wee girls so I purchased her a couple pairs of wind pants in the "boys" section. (We don't believe in "boy" and "girl" clothing...having Sweet Pickle has made that abundantly clear...she views them all as "clothes".  Man, I love her.).  Well, I was all geared up to go to about 300 stores to find what she would want.  I went to 2 stores and found exactly what we needed.  You will all be so proud of me.  I packed my coffee and a snack and headed into Target (packing my own rations made me skip the Starbucks).  I will tell you, I was in there for 4 minutes.  They didn't have what I needed so I left.  Simple.  I then headed to, gulp, Walmart.  Bingo.  The store that has terrible carts had exactly what I needed.  At roughly $5 per pair, she's set for the fall/winter/spring/sometimes summer (thank you Iowa weather whiplash). Now, to see if she approves...eek!

Those are the only exceptions thus far.  I'm trying to move my grocery shopping day to Tuesdays rather than Fridays.  I'm glad I have.  Aldi (are you so sick of hearing about this place?) restocks everything on this day.  At least today proved to be true.  Produce was stocked to the brim giving me first pick of everything.  Loved every minute, but only spent about $15 on items to get us through until next Tuesday.  I only purchased the fake, but delicious, Cheese-It's, some produce, and milk.  Not to shabby, eh?

4.  In our home, we have "Chore Lists" for the kids and payday is Fridays.  Hubby and I compiled the list of reasonable things the kids can accomplish with little or no supervision.  We do NOT push them to do these things.  But, they know full well that the more they do, the more money they make.  Not to mention when they are wanting our attention on days we're trying to get the house clean, I've used the motto:  Many hands make light work.  Here are the kids' chore charts that hang on the fridge:

I'm uber irritated that I can't figure out how to rotate the pix!  Sorry.  But I'm sure you'll live.  These lovely charts are slipped inside a page protector and we mark to the side with a dot when they've completed these tasks.  Some of these tasks can be done multiple times per week so that's why we dot them rather than cross them off.  Some weeks are better than others, but when one of them whines that they would like to purchase something but they don't quite have enough money...that opens the discussion door to talk about taking the initiative and earning.  Both have their eyes on something they're saving money for, so all in all, it's a good situation.  EVERY family has a different way of doing these kind of things...but here's our take on it.  Things they don't get paid for is cleaning up their messes (when they craft, or get out the melty beads (Perler beads), or decide to build a town with everything they own), setting and clearing the table.  You get the idea.  The charts are stuck on the fridge with jumbo clothes pins that I purchased at Michaels for about a dollar each.  I also purchase their first initial to glue on the front (not pictured).  I let them have at it with some cheap paint they chose at the store.  I then glued magnets on them and ta-da!  A fancy, hand painted, chore chart holding clip!

5.  Every Tuesday I wash towels and toilets.  That's why we call it Towel & Toilet Tuesday.

6.  It's almost time for me to purchase my 2016 Life Planner.  I'm getting excited.  Woot!  Of course I'll be posting about that one!!!

7.  When you're potty training your kids at night time, double sheet everything in case of an accident.  So it'd look like this:
Mattress
Waterproof mattress pad (we got the one's that covered the entire bed like a fitted sheet)
Fitted sheet
Sheet
Waterproof mattress pad
Fitted sheet
Sheet

If there's an accident, all you have to do is gather the top set off, and throw it in the washer.  Clean up the kiddo, and tuck them back into clean sheets with fresh blankets of course.  Time saver!!

That's all I've got for right now!  I hope everyone has a great rest of the week and enjoys this post of 'Sweatpants'.  Until next time!!!

*Side Note:  I need to re-organize my linen closet...it's gotten out of control from neglect.
**Side Note II:  I'm not proof reading.  Surprise!