Look out Ebenezer Scrooge!!

About a year ago we started giving Lexi a small allowance to teach her about money and saving and whatnot. She was excited as she saw her small piggy bank (literally it's a pig) begin to fill up. Up to that point the only cash flow she had was when she would con Nana and Papaw to empty their change from their pockets or if she found coins on the counter (which I told her were up for grabs if Stefan or I was so careless to leave them behind).

Today Lexi came to me and asked if I thought she had enough allowance to buy a toy. She brought me her piggy bank and I counted twelve dollars in bills. Knowing full well that her eyes go straight to then $15 items at the store, I asked her if she wanted to take her change to the grocery store to trade it in for paper money that is easier to spend. She said yes and that is exactly what we did. After the store took their 8% for the use of the machine, Lexi still had over $20 in change.

We went to Wal-Mart where she took an excruciatingly long time to decide on the toys she wanted. She got a new unicorn pony, a new Barbie Fairytopia toy, the new Fairytopia Magic of the Rainbow movie, and a toy cell phone. Needless to say, her miserly ways definitely paid off today for her. She was thrilled.

She came home, played with her doll, ate dinner, and watched her new movie. I didn't hear a word from her as the movie was playing. When it was finished, she took her pony upstairs and it was bedtime. While tucking her in for the night, I asked her if she liked her movie and she said no and explained about a scary part of the movie.

Now keep in mind that since Lexi was 2 she has loved Strawberry Shortcake. I like it too because the movies are upbeat and always have a good lesson about friendship and kindness - just the type of movie you would want your child to watch. The downfall is that Lexi thinks everything should be cheery and rose-tinted just like those movies and freaks out at anything remotely spooky or scary in any other movies - this includes anything Disney...go figure.