Allowance, chalk outlines, and other kid stuff

The allowance thing seems to be working out so far. Simon still continues to ask for everything Thomas the Train or Lego Star Wars whenever we go to the store, but now when I tell him he has to pay for it out of his own money, he says, "never mind," or "maybe I can save up for that AFTER I buy my Lego Star Wars Jabba the Hut ship." Simon has, however, figured out to convince Gwen to use her allowance money to purchase some smaller items he wants so they can *share*. Hmm.....Speaking of saving money, I am up to $3.52 with my found money project. I found another $0.50 at the park the other day. I can now afford 1 gallon of gas!!! Woot! I still have yet to find any dollar bills...it is all coins so far.

The kids are really big into drawing chalk outlines right now. I first thought it might have something to do with their mother's obsession with serial killers and crime scenes, but instead they want to do this so I will draw in the bones and we can talk about all the bones in your body. I guess that is better than talking about preserving crime scene evidence. We'll save those discussions for when they are older, or if they accidentally stumble across Mommy's full 15 volume encyclopedia set of deviant behavior.

Simon has decided he wants to be a painter when he grows up. He is starting to obsess about painting miniatures along with his dad. Simon has also decided Gwen is going to be a dancer. When I suggested she consider chemical engineering, Simon shouted, "NO! Gwen is going to be a ballerina!!" OK--she does like to dance :0) I suppose I can't argue with that....

My house is a huge disaster right now. Mostly because of Gwen. She loves to draw on the walls...with sharpies. You'd think I would have found and disposed of all sharpies by now, but somehow she always manages to find another one. Sharpie doesn't come off paint--isopropyl alcohol just takes the paint off with the sharpie. I figure we'll repaint in about 2-3 years when she is out of this phase. In fact, we decided to just go ahead and let Simon draw a mural in the hallway--why not? All the other walls are covered with scribbles, so how much worse can it get? Simon drew our solar system, of course. The only weird thing is the sun and any planet he drew in yellow have since completely disappeared. The paint must have absorbed those colors, or they faded because the sun, Venus and Saturn are gone.