January Shenaniganz

I'm never much a fan of January. It's kind of a let down month after all of the wonderful friends, family and food of the holidays. It's also still freezing and everyone is stuck inside. BUT, having said that, this month has actually been a really nice one for our little family. Coming home from vacation was definitely sad, and the first week home was lonely, but it was also really nice to be back in our own space and burrow back into our routine, which I feel like the kids have done really nicely. Jayda is happy to be back in preschool and is learning more and more everyday. We've been working together on learning to spell her name and know her letters. It's coming along slowly, but I love how excited she is to learn. Skyler is starting to talk so much more and is at such a fun age. His favorite word is "no" and even if you ask him if he wants candy, or juice (which he goes bonkers for), he will look at you, nod his head and say "nooooo!" Glenn is really busy in school and comes home a lot later in the evenings than I'm used to. It was a little tough adjusting at first, but we've gotten the hang of it. He does love school right now though, even the cadavers (he's a tougher person than I!), but we are very much looking forward to a nice summer break! So anyway, here are some pictures of what we've been up to this month.

The last time I went to Target I found these little cubes and tubes on clearance and couldn't stop myself from snagging them. They take up a lot of room in the house, but my kids love them and use them at forts, beds and even building blocks.

Where would we be without good old Dora? Skyler just discovered the magic and wonder of Dora, and usually wakes up first thing in the morning begging for Do-wa/boot! Jayda LOVES that Skyler will sit next to her and watch a show with her, and gets sad when he has to go down for a nap. Notice the face, she knew I was taking her picture, but didn't care enough to actually look at the camera.

I got the "spring cleaning" bug a bit early this year and did a bit of organizing, with Glenn's much needed help. We cleaned out and de-junked quite a bit. It's amazing at what a difference it makes even knowing that the pantry isn't a holy disaster anymore!

Jayda just started a little reward chart. As you can see there is nothing fancy about it. Do something good=get a star. When she fills up a row, she gets a small prize, and when she can fill the whole grid, she gets a bigger prize. So far it's been working pretty well, and I've already seen a lot of positive changes in her behavoir. But, lazy mom as I am, I need to be sure to keep up on it. It's so easy to slip back into old habits!

Last week Jayda got to take her dad to Dads and Donuts night at her preschool. It was her chance to show daddy her classroom and some of the cool things she gets to do everyday. They had a lot of fun and enjoyed sharing donuts together!

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to become thriftier, shop the sales and learn to walk away when I knew I didn't need something. So I subscribed to the Sunday paper and started clipping coupons! I also found the website thegrocerygame.com, and got on a trial membership to see if I could save money on groceries that way as well. So far I've saved quite a bit, and I've been able to stay within our budget. However, as I've mentioned before, I am a L-A-Z-Y person, and this system is a bit more demanding than I'm used to, so we'll see how long I can keep it up!


We took this picture the other night because, as you can see, our kids are both using their left hands to eat. I don't know why this strikes me as significant, and I don't even know if it will stick, but Glenn and I are both right handed, so it would be kind of funny if both of our kids came out as lefties. I wonder if our mailman was a lefty...I JOKE!