Allowance & Discipline Systems wrapped into one

Right before we left for Florida, we began a new system for both allowance/privileges earned and discipline. We have been talking about instituting a ticket system for a good half year, after getting the gist from the clever Solimeo/Cox family. It took a long time to get it going, though, as we kept oscillating between ideas on how to carry it out. FINALLY we decided to give it a go and see what happens.

I feel like the kids are too young to focused on money, aside from the occasional change for their piggy banks thanks to the tooth fairy or returning cans to the store. But I'd like them to start to learn about spending and saving. So the allowance portion of this is that they earn tickets when they fulfill two very important expectations:

We chose just two things to make it manageable, and they happen to be the most frustrating items on our daily agenda lately. We've already made an adjustment to this, though. The mealtime now refers only to dinner. For breakfast, and often lunch, they get exactly what they ask for, so it seemed like a lazy ticket earned when they got a ticket for not complaining. Now they get an automatic 3 tickets each day if they do their morning and evening routines after being asked just once, and if they eat dinner (at least a few bites if they don't like the main dish) without saying anything negative. So far this has changed dinnertime dramatically, much to my relief .

They each have their own Mason jar to collect tickets, and they each have their own color (to avoid the risk that another brother will steal from someone else's jar). They got to brainstorm some ideas of what they'd like to "buy" with the tickets they earn, and then mom and dad chose how many tickets would be needed to pay for said items:

The beauty of this list, for me, is that the battle over Wii is so much simpler now. 10 tickets per kid per hour of Wii means the timer gets set when they start playing, and we turn it off when the buzzer sounds. Want to play more? 10 tickets, please! They got pretty close to pooling together their tickets and saving for that big ticket item of buying a new Wii game, but I reminded them that once they buy it, they also need to have tickets left to buy an hour of playing time. (Mean Mommy award, right?)  That will be tricky to enforce, so we'll play that by ear…

The discipline system comes into play here because they can be awarded a ticket at a parent's discretion for extraordinary behavior at various times during the day, but tickets can also be lost by breaking one of our three house rules:

This has been trickier because I do try to give a warning before taking a ticket out of a jar. But three boys can get in a fight pretty quickly, and tickets have been lost easily. So we're learning how to manage. They do care about losing tickets, though, as they have things they want to save for. So it's been a good tool thus far. Hoping it continues to work well!!

Amelia Island

"Good evening and welcome to the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, Mr. and Mrs. Case Haub. My name is Matthew and I am here to help with anything you need for the duration of your stay. I need to tell you that I have some bad news, but then I have some better news." 

And those words began the best dang hotel experience we have ever enjoyed, period. No joke.  It turns out that when the Ritz Carlton makes a mistake, count your blessings because you will be more than repaid for the error. 

In our case, the mistake was that they booked a room for us and actually had no rooms available in the entire hotel. I imagine they felt especially bad about this since Mike was invited as a speaker at the conference that hired them to host conference guests. That was the bad news.  The good news was that they had paid and arranged for our stay at another hotel for that first night, and had transportation waiting to take us there when we were ready. The better news was that when we returned the following morning, we'd be upgraded to one of four master suites offered at the Ritz, free of charge, complete with unlimited access to their Club Room and spa. On top of that, they made a reservation for us at their Farm to Table Restaurant Week Kick-off dinner at Cafe 4750 for that evening, which happened to be at special reservation-only, $99/person dinner with chefs from restaurants all over the island preparing food. The maitre'd was especially kind of us, bringing us champagne, wine, and even a bottle of wine to take away that evening. All free to us. I could get used to this. 

Farm to Table Dinner:

The paid and transported us a mile down the beach for our first night to the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort (let's be honest; not a Motel 6 by any means). It was really fun to experience two upscale resorts on the island. 

Our room at Omni:

The view the next morning from our hotel room

Omni

The next morning, I was looking out our hotel room balcony window and saw a dolphin coming up for air several times just off shore. We certainly were not in Iowa anymore.

We took a brief walk down to the beach before Mike's day at the conference started.

I think I have some of my parents' agoraphobic tendencies, and I greatly appreciated that this beach is so quiet and sparsely populated in January :)

 The beach looked rocky. It turned out to be millions of shells, a food deep in some parts of the beach. It was amazing to see! I felt bad walking along the beach and hearing the shells crunch beneath my feet. Destroying all these wonders of nature seemed wrong. I knew the boys would have loved that beach.

After Mike left for his meetings and to be at the conference, I enjoyed breakfast at  one of the Omni's restaurants, Sunrise Cafe. This was my view at breakfast:

 Not a chance that I'd get any reading done at that breakfast. This turned out to be a weekend-long theme. I'd haul my giant book around, with plans to get some quiet reading done, but I'd end up staring at the ocean and not reading a single page. Aw, well, no loss!

 After breakfast, it was back to the beach.

I decided I'd better check out of hotel #1 and call the car to take me to hotel #2. I was eager to see this suite we were going to get.  I was highly UN-disappointed, to say the least. 

Living room…..

Office area….                

Bedroom…..

The tub overlooked the bedroom and through to the patio area. I never got a chance to use it, but it sure was a pretty site.

This marble shower had two shower spaces inside. You easily could have showered 6 people simultaneously in that thing.

This was the private patio for our suite!!

This little green anole was hanging out on one of our patio planters. I so enjoy seeing the native wildlife to other areas. He reminded me of my tiny lagartito who lived in my apartment in Puerto Rico.

Come on…. this view! The only thing that kept me from sitting here all day was the pull to be ON the beach instead. 

This part of the Floridian coastline has coastal sand dunes, which are home to many animals, like the gopher turtle, marsh hare, common racer snakes, armadillos, and other animals. The dunes are heavily protected and people are not allowed to walk on them. So each hotel and business builds giant boardwalk bridges to go up and over the dunes from their property to the shoreline. 

Club room access is something Mike and I never would have paid for if planning a trip on our own. But to be given such access free of charge opened our eyes to a whole new world! Food and drink at all times of the day are available. The food is chef-prepared and delicious. Champagne at 7am? Absolutely. Citrus-poached shrimp in pineapple cream sauce? Absolutely. Espresso drink at 2pm? Absolutely. Didn't have room for dessert at dinner? Come in at 10pm and try a creme brûlée. Um, absolutely. And speaking of "absolutely," this word seems to be part of the training program for the Ritz. We joked about making it a drinking game every time one of the staff said it to us.

I enjoyed sitting on one of the private balconies alongside the club room, waited on hand and foot ("Can I get you anything Miss? A martini? Can I remove your dirty plate?") enjoying my drink or coffee of choice, in the warm sun at all hours of the day.

 On my favorite Club Room balcony

Sunset view from the Club Room

Mike spent some time in the spa. I did on one afternoon, and it was nice, but honestly being inside a hazy steam room or a tiled whirlpool was not my idea of the way to spend long hours on this island. It was nice for an hour, but I'm such a nature girl that I couldn't bear to be wasting away the daylight hours inside that spa. So while Mike enjoyed a massage and some sauna time, I celebrated the bird nerd in me and went beach walking and bird watching.

I also discovered some non-bird animals, as well. This giant crab shell had washed up on the beach (it was probably quite a site for some native Floridian to see my daintily approaching it, unsure if it was alive or not):

 And this teeny tiny shell-less crab (a baby, maybe?) was washed into a puddle left behind by the low tide.

The day after Mike's conference ended, we ventured into Historic Fernandina Beach, the downtown area of Amelia Island. They have lots of Victorian era homes that are featured on historic walking tours. We toured the neighborhoods to see some, and also perused Centre Street, their main shopping/restaurant area.

The walls of this house were made from mixing seashells and cement together.

   This house had carousel horses    fixed all around the front porch.












I ate snow crab for lunch that day. The hush puppies were more like funnel cake balls than what I am used to, but no complaints on that from this girl.

The biggest shock of the trip was that it wasn't tropical hot down there. Amelia Island is outside of Jacksonville, Florida, on the Northeastern most part of the state. It's only a couple miles from the Georgia border, though driving distance would be something like 20 miles to get around and across the water. The morning we left Iowa it was 39 degrees both in Des Moines and in Amelia Island! During the day, it did warm up to 48-61 degrees the days were were there, but typically we still wore sweatshirts when outside. No matter-- it was the ocean, no matter how chilly. And a few winter coats made made some night-time, fireside snuggling possible. 

We never made that 10 year anniversary trip, and this was a bit too late for the 11th anniversary. Five months short of being our 12th anniversary, I still felt we needed something in the sand to mark the occasion. So here's to us, with some alone time, in 2014! :)

Thursday and Sunday were almost entirely take up with travel, so the trip really consisted of two full vacation days (only one for Mike, since he was at his conference all day Friday and felt ill on Friday night and went to bed at 8:00 PM :(   It never seems quite long enough, does it? But even so, those peaceful two days, filled with good food and hospitality, and lots of OCEAN time, were so relaxing and enjoyable. I am grateful to have had family and friends willing to watch our boys so I could make this trip with Mike. What a great spot! I'd even consider taking the boys there someday. 

Salt

After a weekend full of childcare preparation, including the creation of multiple sheets of schedules, transportation plans, and informational data, I finally feel that our long weekend in Amelia Island is going to happen (barring unforeseen illnesses or weather-related travel crises). So today, the 2nd day in a row that school has been cancelled due to insanely low temps (it's the winter break that never ends!), I'm allowing the boys to play Wii so that I can indulge in a little Amelia Island research. I'm getting a tiny bit excited about the promise of sunshine, a quiet hotel room, and long walks on the beach.

The hotel we are staying in has a restaurant called Salt. I took a gander at the menu, and it includes a list of house-infused salts from all around the world. Mike will tell you that I happen to be a salt FIEND. This trip is beginning to feel like it's just up my alley...

Thank you, Ritz Carlton, for this:

Homemade Infusions

Mediterranean Citrus Salt Mediterranean sea salt is harvested in South Italy, where tradition of harvesting salts dates back to 200 B.C. We blend the pure Mediterranean salt with peels of Florida citrus to create this delightful citrus salt. This salt is a great compliment to fish and poultry dishes. Small $30 / Petite $10 

Trapani Balsamic Sea Salt is harvested from the northwest coast of Sicily using century-old methods. Ancient windmills power the stone wheel that grind the salt dried by the Sicilian sun. We reduce Italian balsamic vinegar to create a sweet and sour flavor. The reduction is then mixed with the salt by hand to instill the unique taste. This salt adds great flavor to pasta and salad dishes especially tomatoes, olive oil, and mozzarella. Small $30 Petite $10 

Kona Vanilla Flavored Sea Salt is harvested off the coast of Kona Island. Ocean water found at 2,000 feet deep is brought to the surface and salt is harvested with the process of solar evaporation. This fine salt is then infused with dehydrated Tahitian vanilla beans and mixed by hand. A wonderful compliment to seafood, especially lobster. Great for finishing as well as cooking. Small $30 / Petite $10 

Chipotle Flor Blanca is produced by the Salinas (salt farms) of Manzanilla, Mexico. This salt is hand harvested and carefully stored to ensure the highest quality possible, then mixed with smoked dried jalapeño peppers. For a little spice and flavor add this salt to a variety of foods. Small $20 / Petite $10 

Chocolate Sel Gris is stone ground and then flavored with cocoa nibs and Valhrona chocolate. It has lower sodium content and is a perfect compliment to desserts and game meats alike. Small $30 / Petite $10 

Pure Ocean Rosemary is harvested from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil. The pristine crystals are solar evaporated and carefully crushed. We enhance this pure sea salt with our homegrown rosemary leave. Rosemary’s assertive flavor blends with the salt and is great for cooking and finishing. Use on lamb, meat stews and potatoes. Small $20 / Petite $10 

New Zealand Natural Peppercorn Sea Salt is harvested from the deep clear waters of the great southern oceans that sweep through Cook Strait between New Zealand's North and South Islands and into the solar salt field. At the end of each summer Pacific Natural Sea Salt is gathered so as to maintain the balance of minerals present in salt harvested from the sea. The salt is then combined with Tellicherry black pepper, Sarawak white pepper, and green peppercorns to create its light zesty flavor. This unique combination of pepper and salt is a zesty accolade to any cooking creation. Small $25 / Petite $10 

Mediterranean Black Garlic Mediterranean sea salt is harvested in South Italy, where tradition of harvesting salts dates back to 200 B.C. The salt is infused with black garlic which is known to have great health benefits. Suitable for a variety of foods preferably pasta and salad dishes. Small $30 / Petite $10 

Horsradish Pure Ocean comes from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil. No anti-caking agents or additives of any kind are used. This salt is then combined with fresh sliced hors radish. You really add a gourmet twist of flavor to your favorite steak, sandwich or soup. Small $20 / Petite $10 

Mediterranean Olive Mediterranean sea salt is harvested from the northwest coast of Sicily using century old methods and infused with deep purple Kalamata Olives imported from Greece. The sweetness and rich flavor will pair with salads, chilled vegetable soups, cheese and grilled fish. Small $30 / Petite $10