Things My Kids Say As Posted on Twitter

We spend a lot of time with the minions and I'm fortunate enough to record the things that they say and do so I can look back on it and laugh.  Some of it makes the blog and other smaller moments don't.  One of the brilliant things about Twitter is how it's the ultimate parenting "elevator speech", because you have to keep it short. Below are recent Tweets, conversations, parental musings and things that the minions have done or said over the past month, for your reading pleasure that haven't made it to the blog.

Image Courtesy of Tenor

1. M (listening to the radio when Frank Sinatra comes on): wow this Guy is really good. Like he could even audition to be in #MaryPoppins

2. My son has named my stomach (Mr. Meat).  Mr. Meat spends most of his time burping, threatening people, and complaining that he is bloated.  Am I being roasted by a six year old?  And why do I find it so funny? #parenting #ThingsKidsSay

3. M: when I’m a teenager and get a phone I’m going to use it for Sophie me: what? M: you know. To take pictures with my friends #Sophies #parenting #tech #selfie

Image Courtesy of Giphy

4. J: I've decided I love you more than #Lego but not as much as daddy. Me: Is that supposed to be a compliment? J: I dunno (shrugs and walks away) So I'm totally #winning at #parenting right?

5. Since #bingewatching #MrPeabodyAndSherman on  #Netflix whenever my kids fight their ultimate burn is to call each other Richard Nixon @netflixcan #Learning?

Image Courtesy of Imgur

6. Words I think should be added to the #Dictionary - Famulous (a combination of Fabulous & Famous) as created by my 6 year old son #parenting #ThingsKidsSay Example, "Yeah sure, they're enjoying their 15 minutes of fame, but are they famulous?"

7. Virtual #Starbucks Gift Cards have allowed me to leave things to the absolute last minute and still celebrate M & Js #teachers #LastDayOfSchool #winning

To read more blogs featuring the wacky things my kids say as featured on twitter, follow me @Sarabethbug & click here, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, & here.

Lego House - Our Trip to Lego Land

As a part of our ongoing quest to experience more and acquire less items, we gifted Jack an experience gift this Christmas.  We're going to continue to practice this type of gifting with the kids more often because it was such a success.  When we asked Molly if she wanted to join us for a day at Lego Land or a pyjama party with her aunt K, she chose her girlie day.  Everyone was happy and we were able to enjoy some one on one time with Mr. Jack.

Here are 10 tips for A Successful Trip to Lego Land Vaughn 

A High Five for Merlin 2.0

1. Check for coupons or book your tickets ahead to save money.  We were able to get discount tickets through Groupon that also got Jack a free Nexo Knights figurine.  Total cost for the three of us worked out to around $60 with the two coupons.  Regular admission for kids 3 and over and adults is $24, so be sure to clip your coupons.
2. Read the fine print on the coupons or have the proper coupon app loaded onto your phone.  For whatever reason one of our tickets didn't print and we had to pay full price for one admission for one of us.
3. Let your child lead you.  There was a really cool looking playground, but Jack wasn't interested in going in because adults weren't permitted and he didn't want to go solo.  He didn't feel like he was missing out, so we checked back in before we left to make sure there wasn't anything else he wanted to do.

   

   Hanging out with daddy on one of the rides

4. Wait until lunch time to go on the Knight ride or when the lines appear shortest.  You pass by the knight ride when you first enter, so many people are tempted to line up right away, even if they arrive with a huge crowd.  We waited until a lot of people were eating lunch to line up and only spent twenty minutes waiting
5. You can bring your own food it you want to save a bit of cash, but if you don't want to bother, food prices are pretty reasonable.  We were able to get cheese pizza, chocolate milk, ice tea, a hot dog, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a bag of chips for $16.12.
   
   

   

   Practicing some shoddy architecture at the Earth Quake Table

6. The earthquake table is a lot of fun.  Be prepared to be way more excited about it than your child is.
7. Your child may not appreciate the beauty of the same Lego sculptures as you do, but make sure you take a minute to really look at the artistic craftsmanship of some of the Master Builder's art.
8. The Lego "Movie" is totally worth the wait, and is 4D, meaning they blow air at you and shoot you with pretend kragle!  Lining up about 10-15 minutes before show time should guarantee you a spot on most days.
   
   
   

   

   3D Glasses on and Ready to go!

9. Cold weather, no problem. There are some coat racks for free use with the honour system.  So put your valuables in your pockets and enjoy walking around without having to hold bulky gear.
10. Be prepared to exit through the gift shop and temper your child's expectations accordingly.  We had a no buying toys in January rule that we made an exception for jut at Lego Land.  Jackie knew this and spent some of is saved up allowance on a Lego Key Chain and a couple of mini figs.  

Inspecting Lego Yoda

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Mo Money Mo Problems: The First Six Months of Allowance

As a parent I have a severe hate on for marketing tricks meant to inspire a mean case of the "I want its". Whether it's candy bars at the front of a grocery store, perfectly timed ads for toys during children's television programming, or whatever addictive compound is present in Shopkins; it's good behaviour cryptonite for children.  

Last spring we hit a time period while running errands where the kids, especially Molly, assumed that there was some sort of prize at the end of each trip out of the house. We realized we needed to nip this in the bud and were already thinking about how we'd teach the kids about money, responsibility, and savings. 

We began giving a weekly allowance the week following their fifth birthday. They earn five dollars week because they're 5 and routinely perform chores in order to gain access to their funds. 

The most coveted Lego series

I know there is a lot of debate as to whether or not allowance should be connected with chores, but from our perspective it's been a good motivator and the kids (Molly in particular) are really proud of the contributions they're making. 

The minions are allotted their full allowance each week as long as they complete the following tasks without too many reminders or assists 

- Bring lunch bag and water bottle into kitchen each day after school 

- Put away coats and boots in proper places every day

- Complete tidy of bedroom once each week (toys in toy box, laundry in baskets, books on shelves)

- Complete tidy of basement once per week or on parental demand (toys away, dress-up clothes away etc.)

- Help sort recycling and garbage each week before garbage day

- One to three other age appropriate chores depending on parental demand (cleaning windows, setting the table, sorting laundry, clearing dishes etc.)

Molly has never missed out on her allowance and Jack only has twice. 

We predicted Molly would be the one blowing through her allowance and Jack would be the saver. 

This fall when it was "Toonie for Terry Fox" day at school, they wanted to contribute some of their hard earned allowance to the cause. (To read more about it click here)

For the most part Molly spends her allowance on clothes and Jack up until a few weeks ago saved his allowance, except  for splurging on a monster lunch bag.

In recent months Jack has fallen in love with the world of Lego. He particularly likes the action figures (mini figs) leaning towards anything Batman Lego, Star Wars Lego, or Knight (complete with robotic Lego suits). He's ripped through $50 in savings in the past month and can't wait for his funds to build up. 

Just a small portion of recent favs 

Molly surprised me. Most of her clothes purchases come from second hand stores; she loves working her budget. The other afternoon she came home from school upset because she no longer had any purple dresses that fit her. We went online together searching and she found a purple dress she liked at Old Navy and asked me to pick it up for her.  I asked her if she was sure and explained how the dress would cost her five weeks worth of allowance. She paused, thought for a moment, then told me that it wasn't worth it to her. She'd try her luck at Value Village instead.  I told her how proud I am of her for making such grown up choices. 

In the meantime Jack is all about the chores since he's grown to realizes that money (and Lego Knights) don't grow on trees. 

To read 10 reasons why chores can make kids more successful click here

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Batman - Movie Review Lego Batman

Last weekend we went to go and see The Lego Batman Movie.  Here is a review from our, Molly, and Jack's perspective.

Image courtesy of Wikia

What's in it for the Kids?
It's Batman and Lego, together.  Two things that most kids, mine in particular love.  Jack has been really into Lego (especially the little men) and it's neat for them to learn a little bit more about the back story of batman that won't terrify them a la Heath Ledger Joker.  This movie has fast action in toys your kids will love.

What's in it for the Adults?
Will Arnett is back reprising his role as Batman from the original Lego Movie.  As a big time fan of brooding anti-heroes I was super pumped about Batman and his industrial music stylings, but the real star of this movie is Michael Cera as Robin/Dick Grayson who's interpretation of Robin is wide-eyed, innocent and fun.  My runner up for best addition to the film would be Zack Galafianakis for his portrayal of The Joker, a bad guy who's feeling a little unappreciated.

Best Parts of the Movie
High action with some jokes that work for both kids and adults.  This movie digs into the fight scenes really quickly, and provides some much needed insight into the ways that Batman is not always awesome.  This movie pokes holes into the bat armour to show some pretty big character flaws in The Dark Knight in a new and refreshing way.  Kids will learn from the "team" based approaches to success and look into what family can really mean.  The Batman vs. Superman frenemy plot line had me laughing out loud a few times.

Worst Parts of the Movie
It felt long, and like a sequel, which it essentially was to The Lego Movie, which was much, much better.  My kids normally are the annoying ones who ask lots of questions during a movie, and they were quiet, but mostly because they had nothing to say about the film good or bad.  Other kids in the theatre were tantruming and acting up out of boredom.  Chris fell asleep during one part of the movie. There has been no mention of the movie one way or another since by either child

Overall Rating
I would rate this movie 2.5/5, mostly because I felt really let down after reading misleading and extremely positive reviews pretty much everywhere else.  The next day I saw a friend who had seen the movie with us and she said, "Was it just me or was that movie really mediocre?" because she didn't want to complain in front of the kids.  I wouldn't go out of my way to see this movie in theatres, or at all, period.  I don't understand why it's still rating so high.

To read my review of Trolls (which is now available for purchase) click here.

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