Resolutions Revisited {Reevaluated}

1:Reading and learning more sign language: Fail...no reevaluating this one. I just need to try harder.

2: Crochet a granny square a day for my blanket: So-so...I've missed a couple of days but then made them up...until I missed yesterday.
{Reevaluated} I will crochet or knit everyday it just might not be a whole square or a square at all. One of the days I didn't do a square was b/c a knitted a hat. Also, I contacted the local children's hospital and found out that they take handmade items (wasn't sure since they don't take stuffed animals). I want to start making hats and baby blankets to donate.

My blanket so far and the squares I made last week but haven't attached yet.

3: Fitness:
*eat right and log it: check! I've been good about this everyday: MyFitnessPal
*weights 2-3 times a week: uh....needs work lol I did make it to the y once and did weights. I have plans to go twice this week.

 {Reevaluated} I'm bumping my weights goal down to 2x a week. Once this becomes routine I may add the 3rd day.

*30 Days of Yoga: check! I haven't missed a day! I am absolutely loving the 30 days of Yoga with Adriene  Yoga makes me feel great and I'm seeing progress in my flexibility already. I had planned to do the daily video in the morning but I like sleep too much to get up earlier than I need to. I've been waiting till the kids go to bed and am loving it. It's the perfect way to end the day. I have noticed that I need to lock the dogs out of the room while I practice unless I want them to participate. 

Downward dog = kisses from the dog

Please comment below! I'd love to hear from you! 

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School Update: Jan. 2015

We're about halfway through what the normal school year tends to be so I thought it would be a good time for an update. Over all I say things are going pretty well. Sean and Maddy are both ahead of schedule on math and language arts. They worked faster than I had thought so I think we'll slow it down a little for the second half of the year. We're unfortunately are behind with science and history. Part of it was illnesses (like me being sick most of December). We also never got into a good routine and that was my fault. This will change starting this week. One change I'm making is only concentrating on either science or history per week instead of trying to do both each week. I think this will be the key. With only one of those subjects to concentrate on, it should help me stay more organized and make weekend lesson planning easier.

Mr Skeleton from one of our science lessons

Speaking of organization, this morning while browsing pinterest I found Amongst Lovely Things' post: How I’m Using Spiral Notebooks to Simplify Homeschooling. I thought it was a great idea and since I had some notebooks lying around, I decided to give it a try. I'm hoping it helps keep us organized and on track. Sean and Maddy both seem excited about it.

 Sean and Maddy's notebooks and the basket to hold the notebooks and the day's school books. 

Self care is referring to things like brushing teeth, brushing hair and such. the first page of their notebooks has a list of what they are to do. Sean has laundry on his list b/c today is his laundry day. Maddy's was yesterday. Our laundry schedule is another new thing I'm trying out to keep myself more on track.

 

I even have a notebook of my own. Those items under self refer to things I'd like to do for myself. Today they are all some of my new year's resolutions: 30 days of yoga, crochet a granny square a day, read more, and a reminder that I'm going to go to the gym tonight and lift weights.

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Rethinking Birthdays

Emily's birthday was just this past Monday. Right before her birthday we had about 3 weeks of colds going through the family and the craziness of Christmas. Her birthday party has yet to be planned because of all that. Hubby and I did however continue the tradition of taking the day off and making the day all about the birthday child. Being 3, Em's birthday family day was simple. We stayed home and she stayed in her pjs all day. She got lots of extra snuggles. We played games, watched a movie and played with new toys. I baked her birthday cake and she helped decorate it. And she got to pick all the meals for the day. We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and animal crackers was lunch. And pizza was dinner...her original request of cake for dinner was turned down. She was such a happy birthday girl telling us and singing "I'm the birthday girl!" "It's my birthday" and "I'm three!!" all day long. It got me thinking about how days like that are really want the kids want. While big parties are fun, I'm beginning to think that maybe we can change up birthdays a little. The kids all really love our family day tradition so that will definitely stay the same. When it comes to their parties, they tend to just end up becoming a playdate with friends with cake and gifts added to the end.So, we're going to experiment with splitting it up. We're going to try birthday playdates with friends. It'll just be a get together kinda thing with friends at a park or similar place. It won't be a party per say. Gifts will be discouraged and there won't be cake. It'll just be time for the birthday child to have with friends. Then we'll take their birthday family day and expand it a little. That evening (or one soon around then) we'll invite the extended family (grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) over for dinner and cake. Grandparents especially like to spoil their grandkids so no gifts probably won't go over very well for this party. ;) Plus, birthday kiddo does deserve a little something new. Now I guess it's time to plan Em's belated birthday dinner party.

Emily's birthday cake: I love the sprinkle pile she made. :)

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Kids Say {And Other Cute Moments}: Long Overdue Update

This is way way overdue but thanks to my posts on facebook, I'm able to look back and recover some of these moments that I want to remember and share. The last time I did this was the beginning of March 2014 so this will be a pretty long post. Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

December

• 11:00 New Year's Eve: Em "Can we go to bed now!?"
• According to Emily I don't do yoga, I do "yoger".
• I asked Em what did she want for her birthday dinner. Her answer: cake!
• Em told me that she has a skeleton butt... ???
• When I went to see Wicked it was on the same stage that Maddy has her dance recitals. She told me that she wanted to go with me so she could see how they would have her stage set up. 

November

• Em's nose is running but instead of asking for a tissue she told me "I want you to catch my nose!"
• Dad asked Em if she wanted to go to Red Lobster. Her response was "We can't eat red monsters!!"

October

• Today was the 3rd day this week that Em has come in my room at 6:30, climbed in my bed, and told me "want snuggle". Tuesday she actually told me "Put arm round me. I want snuggle."

September

• Em was yelling "Sissy come here!" and Maddy was ignoring her. So Em yelled "MY SISTER come here!!"
• Maddy and Em want to be Elsa and Anna for Halloween (can't say I'm surprised) so I asked Sean if he wanted to be Olaf. He told me "no, I want to be something scary!" That's my boy!
• Ummm...ok..Em is demanding that her name be Sleepy Moody. At least the name fits at the moment...

August

• When we introduced Gizmo to the new pup Em told Gizmo "Gimzo, this is a friend." 

July

• After I helped her put these (see picture on the right) on she told me "mama, I'm not a tutu girl." 
• Em just randomly told me: "Mama! I didn't bonk my head!" I'm very glad she did not bonk her head while sitting on the floor drinking her drink. lol

June

• Things you never thought you'd say "no, you have to wear your pants until we get home." Em is always asking to take her clothes off.
• Em about daycare baby: "I really like him. He love me. He want to stay." and then gave me a pouty face when I told her that he would be going home when his mommy came. 
• *sigh* Gotta love 2 yrs olds "Mama! I hungry!!" "Then eat your dinner." "I can't like to!"
• Richard told Em to hold her horses. She turned around looking around the room saying "where's my horses?"
• How can I say no!? Em just came to me with her blanket and a paci and said "snuggle please"

May

• Em took off with my swiffer duster and then told me it was a big toothbrush. I told her "no, it's a duster." "duster? no way, it big toothbrush." "it's a duster" "ok it duster. I wike this duster! It my fabrite!" ...and now she's riding it around like a witch's broom. lol  
• I'm going through a message I wrote a friend about middle of last year and found where I told her about this conversation I had with Maddy: Maddy likes to have someone stay in her room and talk for a little bit before she goes to bed. The other night babies and marriage came up. She said she's going to marry Sean. I told her she can't marry her brother. She sat and thought for a minute, then "AJ's not my brother. I can marry him!" She also says she's going to have 5 babies.
• I just asked the kids to keep it down a bit b/c I'm starting to get a headache. Em tells me "you head hurt!? You need band-aid!"
• I asked Em if she was my snuggle bug and she told me "No, I'm not a bug!!"
• Remember the snail shell I found in Sean's pocket the other day?? Turns out it was more than just the shell and snails are pretty hardy. I did not find it the other day until I was putting the clothes in the dryer. It got left on the table and just now was crawling around there... We now have a pet snail named Gary.
• I peeked in on the kids. Sean's still on Maddy's bed reading to her but she's already fallen asleep. 
• I got a couple new skirts. I put one on and Sean said " Mama, you're beauuuutiful!"
• Oh my! My girls were just fighting. Em has learned a lot from Maddy. They started by yelling "stop" "you stop" at each other. Then there was identical growling from both. It ended with them yelling "bad girl!" to the other. And not a minute later they are playing so nicely together....
• Richard Rawls's getting Em in her pjs and this was their conversation: Em: "I can't go to sleep" Richard "Why can't you go to sleep?" Em: Because" Richard: "Because why? Because isn't an answer" Em: "Because I baby" Richard: "Well babies sleep a lot" Em: "Babies go sleep? No way!"
• I did a little clothes shopping tonight and have decided that Em has to come with me everytime I shop for myself. In the dressing room she told me "ooooh that's pretty" everytime I put something new on.

April

• This is Maddy. Her newest one is "When can I get up?" "In the morning" "How will I know it's morning?" "The sun will come up." "What if it doesn't happen?"/or/"What if I forget?"
• Little boys...gotta love them... Sean chose the time while I was meeting with a potential daycare mom to let me know he learned the word "coccyx". He'd say it and giggle. Oh well, if that scares her off, she wouldn't fit in with our daycare family anyway. lol
• Daycare baby (Tyler) has been "Baby" to Em...until today. All day today he was "Baby Brother"  ...but Sean was quick to reminder her that he is her brother, and Tyler is David's brother.

March

• Maddy just told me that she will never be mad at me. I should have recorded that to play back 10 years from now....or possibly later today. lol
• Em made Grandma proud last night. We had to run into Target for a couple things last night and when we walked past the shoes Em says "Ooooooh!!! Look at the shoes!!!"
• As kids came into nursery Emily waves and says "hi friends!" 
• I choose this one to end this post with, the pictures below go with it: Meet Baby Bug, the ladybug that was literary loved to death by Emily. Once it finally stopped trying to run away, Em swayed while singing a lullaby to it "Rock rock baby to sleep..." But then Baby Bug was missing. Em grabbed her face saying "Oh no! Where Baby Bug go!?" and eventually told me that Baby Bug flew away. RIP Baby Bug.

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