A penny saved is a...penguin suitcase?

At the end of the penguin exhibit at Sea World last weekend, Rylee spotted a little penguin backpack/suitcase on wheels with a little handle that pulls out of the top. She kept asking for it and my response was "Do you have money to pay for it?" That (of course!) didn't end the conversation...it went back and forth for a while. At one point Rylee told me that she did, in fact, have some pretend money in her pocket that she planned to use to buy the suitcase. So I told her to ask the lady at the register if pretend money would work. Needless to say, we walked out without a penguin suitcase.

Well, Rylee is not the forgetful type. Tonight she ran up to me VERY excited and holding a penny and yelled "Mommy, Mommy, I have MONEY! Can I get the penguin suitcase now?"

After chuckling a bit, I explained to her that it would cost a lot more money than a penny to buy a penguin suitcase. I asked her if she would like to do jobs to earn some money so she could save up and buy the penguin suitcase. She LOVED the idea and wanted to do some jobs right away. So I had her clean the sliding glass doors.

(And yes, that is a toilet in our backyard...our landlord informed us that he plans to use it as a planter! I guess as long as he does something about the weeds someday, I can cope with a toilet planter.)

So, Rylee officially earned her first quarter tonight. Quinn says I should have given her a dollar if I'm really trying to help her save up for the suitcase. Maybe I'll have to raise her wages...