Thursday, November 1, 2012

Three Things Thursday ...

Halloween - I'm kind of a big fan of Halloween. And although I don't really get into the whole "decorate your house and scare the crap out of people" thing, I truly believe there is no age limit for wearing a costume.

If you are trick-or-treating with your kids, you should be wearing a costume.
If you are handing out candy, you should be wearing a costume.
If you are going to the grocery store, you should be wearing a costume. If for no other reason than to freak people out.

Every year, I try to coordinate my families outfits. Back in 2009, we were BBQ themed.

Hamburger, Hot Dog, Pickle and Ketchup Packets ...


Last year, the food theme reappeared ...

Hot Dog, Cupcake, Ice Cream Cone and Chef ...

This year, I couldn't convince anyone to go with my "Fairies" theme. So, instead we were a mishmash of recycled costumes ...

Princess Dancer ...
Spider ...

Sushi Roll ...
Rainbow (Note: I didn't purchase anything for this costume. All of those things are part of my actual wardrobe.)
Witch ...
We may not have been coordinated, but we had a blast.

BOO!

Candy Overload - On a separate, but not completely unrelated note, I may be a parenting genius. Heading into trick-or-treating, I came up with a deal for my kids to deal with the massive amounts of candy about to enter our home.

The girls were allowed to trick-or-treat like normal. We were out for 2 hours and they could get as much candy as they wanted. When we got back, I sorted and counted the contents of each of their bags.

Today, they will be allowed to choose up to 40 pieces of candy (one piece for each of the next 40 days). Then, I will purchase each remaining piece of candy for $0.05 each. They do not have to keep 40 pieces and I will pay them the five cents for each additional piece they give me. J also started them each off with a dollar for agreeing to this arrangement.

For example, Doodle got 125 pieces. If she keeps 40 and she "sells" me the remaining 85 for $0.05, she will have $4.25. Then, she'll also get $1.00 from J. Giving her a total of $5.25.

This morning, I gave the girls a final option. They could sell me their ENTIRE bag of candy and I will triple their payout. So, in Doodle's case, she would get the $1.00 from J, plus $6.25 for the 125 pieces of candy in her bag. Then I would multiply that by three for a grand total of $21.75.

I think this is a pretty sweet deal. At this point, I am not sure what they will pick, but they have until they get home from school to decide.

Quote of the Week - Recently, I have been trying to help J better manage his time. The other day, I asked him to finish washing the dishes after dinner. When I woke up the next morning, the sink was still full. When I reminded him of his chores, he said, "Well, at least I ran. I am taking baby steps," to which Doodle replied,

"Dad, you're not a baby. Walk like a normal person."

There you go, J. Put in your place by a five year old ...

13 comments:

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Love the costumes.
I'm stealing that pay for candy idea...we went trick or treating 3x!

Kortni said...

That is hilarious! I may try the candy buy back thing. We have way too much and I am just very thankful that I don't like much of it!

*~*~* Tracy said...

That's a great system! It will help teach them immediate gratification vs. long term reward. A lesson we all need to learn!

My daugther's orthodontist buys non-braces friendly candy for a $1 ea and donates it to service members overseas.

In prior years though, my kids know before they leave the house, any non-chocolate candy will be donated to Operation Christmas Child.

All Almond Joys go to work with daddy.

The rest is doled out a piece a day until it's gone.

One Crazy Penguin said...

That is the greatest quote ever by a little one! Does J need some ice for that burn? :p

Kurt @ Becoming An Ironman said...

I love the spider!! And I'm very conflicted over what I would do with the candy/money decision. I absolutely loved the candy as a kid, but as an adult I'd be thinking "with $21, I could buy a lot more than 125 pieces." Haha!!

I'll be staying tuned to hear what they decide.

Unknown said...

I wonder what they will decide? You know they're at school discussing their options with everyone.

Runners Fuel said...

That is a great idea!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea to purchase the candy from them. Can't wait to see what their choice is!

Running Backwards in High Heels said...

Genius! You are PURE GENIUS!! Also... Doodle is amazing. She could totally come live at my house!

Paulette said...

Ahhh your costumes are so cute! I especially love the BBQ theme!

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

ya'll are adorable :) Dave eats all the candy so we are good.. hehe..

Love the costumes.. I wanted to be Princess to go with Mario and Luigi but I was not feeling like paying $30 for a dress.

Elizabeth said...

you weren’t kidding. we totally matched :) are the socks tough chik?? and seriously, your kiddos are the cutest. not to mentioned Doodle’s comment to J. love it!

Lisa J said...

i'm so behind on reading and commenting blogs. Love the creative costume idea as well as the payout candy. $5 is a lot to little kids, let alone $21!! I remember when i received a quarter for every full garbage of raked leaves I feel. I hope when I have kids it will still be that cheap ;)