Chicks Dig Scars - Part 2

Apparently KDO has decided to add stitches to the list of things he believes chicks dig. Just kidding...

He and my Mom ran into some black ice a while back on their way to Helena and spun out on the bridge coming up to the Zieben off-ramp. They are OK now. The car has been fixed and KDO's stitches are out. (I pulled them which was a weird feeling)

The whole event actually was an eye opener for KDO. We had some pretty deep discussions about life and death. It also helped cool his heels about getting his driver's license which he has been bugging me about non-stop since he turned 14.

All in all, I am just glad they are both OK. That's all that matters in my little world.

KDO’s Chore Chart – Why I Use HandiPoints.com

At the beginning of the summer, KDO made it known to me that he wanted to start getting paid an allowance for doing his “chores”. Now, I’m from the school that you shouldn’t get paid for doing something you should already be doing as a normal human being. It is my obligation as a parent to provide food, clothing and shelter. It is his responsibility to do my bidding. If I say, “Jump!” he says “How high”? Yeah right! But a Mom can dream can’t she?

Anyway, I took his request to heart and decided that if he could do his daily chores without intervention from me and could also do extra things around the house, over and above his normal duties, I MIGHT be willing to part with some cash. We talked it over and made a list of extra things he could do and then I tried to make a chore sheet on the computer.

It looked ugly and he never used it. So much for my computer skills, sigh.

Then I got smart and looked out to the web for inspiration. And that is when I came across HandiPoints.com.


This site is the best online chore chart system I have found. It’s intuitive, bright and organized. It has separate parent/child logins and the child gets to create an avatar character to represent them. Parents set up the tasks and rewards and the child logs in to check off the tasks and also to use their points to “purchase” their rewards. There are 2 kinds of points each task is assigned. One is for the rewards from the parents and the other is used within the HandiPoints world to buy their little character clothes and toys. Something I thought KDO would hate because he is 14, but he actually gets a kick out of messing with his little guy every once in a while.

I set KDO’s chore list up to include the daily chores, extra things around the house and also included some demerits on the list. These really keep him on track because if he gets snotty with me or makes a mess I have to clean up he gets points taken away. If he doesn’t have enough points at the end of the week he doesn’t get paid.

There are too many features for me to go over and I’m sure I couldn’t do them justice anyways. It’s what works for me and it might work for you. Check them out at HandiPoints.com. If you would like to see “what works” for other great women, check out Rocks In My Dryer for more great tips today!!

Sons Are Kinda Cool

This photo/postcard is something I threw together the other night while going through my pictures from our trip to the coast. (More photos and posts to come)



He really is cute when he needs to be. I.e., begging for something or being ridiculous when Mom asks him to "pose" for yet another photo opportunity. This one was taken at Ruby Beach, WA. I already printed and framed it for my office.

First Day of School

Today was KDO's first day of school. Home-school that is!

He was REALLY excited to get started. (See picture below) Just kidding... I had to prompt him with threats of extra chores to make him smile wildly to simulate enthusiastic learning drive and compelling scholastic resolve.



He actually did really well though. I stayed home with him and learned the ropes with him. This week he is going to stick to the study plan laid out by K12 but next week we are going to try devoting a day to each subject. He is taking K12 courses online and is also taking a Bible course from A Beka as well as Spanish through RosettaStone. It should make for many more enlivening posts from me.

Chicks Dig Scars...and Black Eyes

KDO received his first black eye, courtesy of a friend at school. He said they were wrestling. I didn't think to take a picture until the bruise was almost gone. Bad Mom. (This is the "You have got to be kidding me with the camera" look of death he has learned to do so well.)

KDO's Easter Duet

The song is called "The Conversation" and you can find the lyrics here.