Kid Chores....an exception?

Lately I've been noticing a trend when it comes to my kids, their chores and other people's reactions to them.  First off you have to know that my twin 8 year old boys, Yip and Yap, have chores that they do everyday; put away their laundry, walk the dog, feed the dog, take out the trash. Every morning after breakfast, unless the weather is just horrendous, they each walk the dog for about 15 minutes before they head to school. A few people in the community have commented to me, smiling, that they've seen my boys walking the dog. But it kind of hit me a little differently this week when I was talking to the boys school principal and he mentioned how he sees the boys every morning walking the dog, or the dog walking them, every morning on his way to get coffee and how it was nice to see that they had chores. And it kind of hit me right then, all these folks in town who comment on my boys walking their dog, I think they see my boys (with their chores) as an exception rather than the rule.

Could it be true that most kids these days don't have to do chores? DR and I were talking about our chores growing up. We both had farm animals to feed and water everyday along with gardens and fields to work in in the summer. In the winter my sisters and I could be found every weekend cutting wood for our wood burning stove. We always had chores. It never occurred to me to argue about doing chores. I made of grumbled wile doing them but I never just didn't do them; they had to get done one way or the other. I think for farm kids chores are so integral to their lifestyle there's no way to grow up without doing chores. That was DR and my childhoods.

I've always thought having kids do some sort of chores is important. I believe it teaches accountability, responsibility, time management skills, and a work ethic. I've struggled in the past finding age appropriate chores for my kids to do. Right now, I'm trying to come up with some chores 4 year old Yahoo could do on a daily basis as part of her routine but I can't think of anything. Maybe she should share the chores with Yip and Yap? I can imagine a lot fighting if I institute that. But it's not as though she doesn't do anything. She does help me out with various things through the day and she's kind of learning to pick up after herself. Still though, I'm not going to let any of my kids grow up without doing some sort of work around the house.

But is the idea of kids' doing chores an exception? Do most kids these days getting away with not doing anything around the house?  I haven't asked around to any parent friends of mine about what they make their kids do...that might be kind of annoying to them. How on Earth can a parent justify not teaching work skills to their kids at a young age? You sure can't start teaching those skills once they hit the teen years. I do remember a former 8th grade student of mine who didn't have to do ANY chores...which kind of explained his report card with straight F's.

So what do you think? Are chores for kids a thing of the past? Do you make your kids do chores? Are you the exception where you live? Do you think chores for kids are important?

Mountain Man is moving...again.

I swear, if Mountain Man's not careful he'll beat DR and I in the battle of the moves. Last summer he moved from Kansas to Oklahoma and this week he moved back to Kansas. He was coming through our town on his way to his new place and was only able to stop for a few hours since he was hauling a bunch of critters on this trip. 

There isn't any place in my little town for a couple horses to take a break so Mountain Man and I drove a few miles out of town to my friend's house (thanks Connie!!) and let the horses out for a well deserved stretch. They'd been traveling for 4 hours and still had 3 to go. That's a long ride standing up!

And of course there's Flash. I love Flash, somehow she's related to our dog Knothead. I just can't ever remember how. 

As I was helping my brother unload the back of his horse trailer to get to the horses in the front we unloaded this baby!! 

This is a seven strand rope maker that was custom made for our Uncle about 5 or 6 years ago before he passed away. As I was telling Mountain Man how much fun I thought it would be to try it out, he offered to leave it at my house for a while so I could try it out. Rope making takes at least 3 people and he wasn't going to get the chance to try it out any time soon. 

But dang!! If I didn't forget to get it out of the trailer once we got back to my house....ggggrrr!

I guess this is his way of getting me to come visit huh? 

Speaking of custom made, Mountain Man was showing off his custom spurs to me. 

He had his spurs made into 4-H clovers...how cool is that?? 

I and all my siblings were ten year 4-H members.

And he even got his initials onto his spurs. Can you find the E, A, and W? 

When I told Yahoo that Mountain Man was coming to visit she was so excited because, as she puts it, "Mountain Man SPINS ME!!!" That's his most redeeming quality to a 3 year old! 

Come on Uncle!! Get to work! 

Flash was looking on in fascination. 

Flash!! You idiot! 

Just to let you know, Flash didn't bit Yahoo and I was never afraid he would. But Flash is a cow dog and that little body was moving and Flash is born to keep critters a moving along. 

It sure was nice to see Mountain Man even if it were only a couple hours. He's the closest family I have out here and I'd be lying if I said he wasn't special. Good luck in the new job bud! 

What's My Dog's Name?? Well it's....

....KNOTHEAD.

Yes, our dog's name is Knothead.

I didn't name the dog. I haven't blogged much about Knothead but I thought it would be a good story to share; how Knothead got her name. 

When Yip and Yap were just about 3 years old, the same age Yahoo is now, Yap loved dogs and puppies and Yip did not! My brother John Deere had a 1 year old dog one summer who was BIG and though he was still a puppy he was bigger than the boys. When John Deere's dog wanted to play with my boys it scared them. To their eyes he probably looked gigantic. When my boys were upset by this dog my dad would pick them up and say, "Don't be scared of the dog. He's alright, he's just a knotheaded dog." Papa would cuddle my boys and repeat those words to them until they had calmed down. 

That same summer we just happened to be visiting a friend who had a litter of pups that my boys spent a long time playing with. Even Yip, who up to this point hadn't liked ANY dogs, adored these puppies! Yip was so taken with these puppies that we decided to take one home. 

As we were driving home I was asking the boys what we should name our new puppy. Sally, Spot, Old Yeller? I suggested all kinds of "dog" names but no, they both agreed that our new puppy should be named Knothead. 

Because that's what Papa said dogs are; dogs are just knotheads! 

And that's how our dog got her name. 

She's a wonderful dog and has been just wonderful with my kids, even when Yahoo was a baby Knothead was super protective of her. I just feel kind of bad about the name she got stuck with! 

Goodbye Brandon

Rest In Peace Brandon

May 1, 1998 - June 2, 2012

You've been part of our extended family for almost eight years now buddy, but it's time to say goodbye. You've definitely had a good long life and we are happy to have known you. Thanks for all the television you watched and walks you took with this pregnant momma seven years ago. I wouldn't have made it through that summer without you. You will be sorely missed.

Brandon the Dog

Last week when Mountain Man and I were back in Indiana for our Christmas we were able to spend time with my dog Brandon. Okay, Brandon is really my sister's dog. But he feels like mine.

When I was pregnant with my twins back in the summer of 2003, to make a long story short, DR was in Delaware and I ended up living with my sister and her husband for 4 months. In those 4 months I walked Brandon every day, sometimes twice a day. He was a wonderful companion when I was lonely and missing my husband. We watched tv together and napped together. We ate together and generally just hung out.

My sister and brother in law took in Brandon 7 years ago this Christmas from another family who couldn't care for him anymore. No one is quite sure how old Brandon is; the vet's best guess is somewhere between 14 and 19 years old. He's arthritic now and spends a lot of time laying down. Except during Christmas dinner, then he spent time under the table licking the carpet for crumbs and hoping the kids would ignore my sister's warnings and feed him from their plates anyway.

Brandon is always tolerant of our big loud family and doesn't seem to mind all the little kids hanging around.

Brandon isn't going to be around forever though. And even though I don't see him much, I always get a tug in my heart when I think of the Christmas when he won't be with us anymore. I love you Brandon, thanks for being my dog.

Photo of the Day - Knothead the Dog

Knothead the Dog....I didn't name her.

This week's I Heart Faces photo challenge is pets.