Money, Money, Money ~ In a rich man's world

Little man has an obsession with "The Circle Dot Store", which is commonly known as Target.  He refused to call it Target for a long time - now he does & the rest of the family calls it The Circle Dot Store.  This obsession of his is not limited just to one store, any store he knows sells toys he will beg to visit every time we drive by.  Maybe it's a boy thing, he LOVES games of any kind, video is his favorite, but any card game, board game, or guessing game will do.  Anyone want to play rock, paper, scissors?  Uno?  Candy Land?  Wii?  Nintendo DS?  A puzzle?  Tag?  If the game involves guns, oh that's so much better!  His obsession became begging to visit the store, one particular instance sticks in my head and goes like this:

"Mom, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Don't know son, what are you thinking?"
"Chuck-E-Cheeses!"  (With the cutest little melt the Momma smile I've ever seen!)
Because you know Chuck-E-Cheese has the best games ever, and then you win toys! 

I decided it was time to stop the begging and begin the earning.  You know the saying, if you give a man food he will eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime?  So begins the responsibility of earning money by doing chores around the house...... ALLOWANCE! 

Little man has had chores for a couple of years now, easy ones for his age like clearing the plates after eating, picking up toys at the end of the day and such.  He is such a good boy and helps out a lot, but allowance brings a whole new set of responsibility in our household.  I spoke to him about making his bed everyday, keeping his bedroom floor picked up and keeping his backpack where it belongs.  He will earn some money to be able to spend it at the Circle Dot Store with his own money instead of begging for toys every time I go!  We also have a rule that of course, extra chores are encouraged!  Just ask what can be done and we'll negotiate a job and a price!  My girls don't really care to do extra, but Little Man has cleaned windows, folded and put away his own laundry, wiped down cabinets and anything else I can think of for a 5 year old to do to earn extra cash!  He's a working machine!  Every morning as soon as his little head pops up from the top bunk, he is making the bed as he gets out of it! And in the evening when his big sissy's are doing their chores, he is asking what he can do to earn an extra quarter!

After a lot of hard work for a couple of weeks, he had enough money to go buy his own toys!  This is what he bought with his hard earned cash!
 

Marshmallow Gun Attack on Daddy! 

Nothing like the pride of ownership and victory over Poppa!

Now, If I could just get everyone to not eat the marshmallows that they find hiding in every corner of the house!  ;)