Perhaps we're doing something right?

Our latest topic at home is money. E and M are earning some by picking up rocks in the backyard. I've also decided that it's about time to do allowances on a regular basis. So I'm talking to E about an allowance and explaining how it works and all. She wants to know what she has to do for her allowance. I explain that it's not necessarily for work she does, although we expect her to help out around the house, but just for her to save or spend as she sees fit. "But Mommy," she protests, "I just wouldn't feel right about getting money for doing nothing." 

!!!!!!!!!!

"Foster that attitude" says Marmot Dad.

M, on the other hand, toils not, neither does she spin. When we introduced the concept of work-for-pay, she sat at the picnic table while E ran around picking up rocks. M asked a few questions about what things cost, notably bubble gum and lollipops, two things I refuse to purchase. "Aren't you going to pick up some rocks?" I ask. "Well, I'm deciding if I want bubble gum or a lollipop," M answers. She finally decides on a lollipop, which costs $.06 at the local grocery store. So she picks up . . . . 6 rocks, no more, no less.

E is saving up for whatever Disney Princess Polly Pocket toys she might be able to locate and purchase (after visiting a friend who reportedly has an entire closet full, curse the child and her parents). I introduced her to the concept of an auction (which she calls an "option") by scouring ebay for used sets. I'm hoping against hope that some garage sales might come through for us, too. I'm not up on these things. I don't know if they're even still carried in stores. But ebay almost always comes through for me.

In other news, I just heard from M one of our favorite phrases we hear in this household: "E, let's play My Little Ponies with our own human bodies."