weekdays consist of school, drop offs, pick ups, playdates, classes at the gym, online classes, L's ballet classes, library storytime, the never ending cycle of dishes/laundry/cleaning, etc. It has great moments, is usually never as productive as hoped, but barrels along our usual schedule with only a few new highlights to share.
We enrolled E in a mom-and-me music class called Music Together. We did it with the big girls but once there were three of them, it was too much to juggle and we've missed a few terms. But Fridays is just me and little E, so we have begun attending again and she loved it right off the bat. She bounces and sings and plays. My favorite is hearing her sing our class songs outside of class and watching her dance. She's stubborn and independent but make me melt cute and I love this precious, one-on-one experience I get to share with her.
L had another report card come out along with Parent Teacher Conferences. She's brilliant, excels in every area, scoring far above the goal for her age. She's reportedly helpful and friendly and her favorite activity is centers (usually art projects or computer time). Her best scores were in Language Arts Foundational Skills (comprehension, phonics, sight words and reading) and together we set goals to focus more on math and punctuation/capitalization. While "on level", she forms the letters/numbers like a picture, not necessarily top to bottom/left to right. For math, she's learning addition and is beginning subtraction. She regularly asks me for "Matilda books", chapter books with little or no pictures. She used to just leaf through them, imitating me (or Matilda) reading them. But lately she excitedly points out words she recognizes or sounds out words correctly.
A's favorite part of school is her art and music classes. They focus on a different composer each month and her favorite so far is Beethoven. She begs to listen and then conducts the music while L practices ballet around her. She's making lots of friends at school and tries to finagle playdates as often as possible.
With the new year, husband and I talked about some things we wanted to improve upon. Not necessarily goals but areas to focus or be more diligent. We've now set a record for Family Home Evening 4 weeks in a row, using a quick and easy trick I learned from a friend. We have a set of the library pictures, with the stories listed on the back. I put them all in clear sleeves in a 3 rings binder. So instead of trying to come up with a lesson, or brushing it off because I didn't plan a lesson, we are going to try to start at the beginning and do one picture each week, introducing the girls to all of these classic scripture stories. So far, its going well and the girls are enjoying it. Not easy, I get frustrated when they bounce in every direction, but at least we're trying.
I'm also trying to be more diligent in cooking with pre-planned monthly menus. I cook healthier food, try new recipes and spend less on groceries when there's more planning. With our chaotic schedule and habit of last minute changes, it doesn't always work out but again, something to work on.
Husband and I began attending a community offered parenting class based on the Step program, Love & Logic and the 5 Love Languages. The girls get a kick out of us going to "mom and dad school" but it's been pretty fantastic so far and well worth the time. You can never learn enough about what matters most right?
But the weekends are always a new adventure with tons of stuff packed in, a departure from the norm, generally chaotic and usually exhausting enough to warrant wanting another day to rest before diving into another Monday. :)
1st
weekend in January: Friday night we had a good friend (one of husband's
mission companions) come over for dinner. The girls fawned over him
and then we stayed up late into the night talking. The girls were
ecstatic to find out he had spent the night and stayed for breakfast. I
loved watching them flip through photo albums and reminisce about friends and experiences.
We spent Saturday with husband's family. We
went tubing on a huge beautiful hill. Husband took the two big girls to
the top while E and I were resigned to the toddler hill. But after a
few runs she was bored and unsurprisingly, began begging to do the big
hill (bonafide thrill seeker at age 2). A did not enjoy the tubing (I
should have predicted that, she loves the idea but instantly regrets any
thrill ride/ferris wheel). So eventually, I sat in the ski lodge with A
asleep against me while Husband took L and E for another ride. We had a
big family dinner at Grandma's house and then ventured over to the
infamous ice castles, which the girls are convinced were made by Elsa.
The best part was watching the stand and sing "Let in Go" in the middle
of the crowd. The worst part was getting separated and spending half
the time looking for family in the large crowd. But all in all, the ice
castles were amazing!
oh, and then that Sunday, I was called to be
the new committee chair for the Enrichment Committee. Being on the
committee for the past few months, I had become good friends with the
previous chair and will miss working with her. But the calling itself
is exciting and fun and pretty much the best ever. Updates to come I'm
sure.
2nd weekend: Friday night date night! dinner and
a movie with my smokin hot husband. We went to a local steakhouse that
I had never tried before. One of my clients from the gym works there
so we chatted with her, had delicious steaks and enjoyed relaxing and
talking through our first-in-a-long-time date. We saw Saving Mr. Banks, which was more deep and complex than I had predicted but was fun and beautiful and was a wonderful tribute. I loved the movie and immediately had to call my kid sister and Disney-geek with her about it.
Saturday
morning, L had a dance rehearsal and Daddy went hunting so the little
girls and I played through the morning and then as soon as L was
finished, we headed north to spend the evening with cousins at a giant
play center. They played and chased and giggled for a long while as my
mom, sister in law and I sat and chatted and planned upcoming family
activities. We spent the night at my mom's, attended church with her
and lounged around through the afternoon, watching a movie with the
girls and playing. In the evening, the girls and I met Daddy at a
family party with cousins on his side. There was plenty of tasty food
and two birthdays to be celebrated with tons of family and friends. The
girls flirts with the cousins twenty years older then they and ran
around with the cousins their ages. L showed off her ballet, A
preformed check ups and pronounced diagnoses (she's an avid Doc
McStuffins fan), E charmed everyone in the house with her toddler
chatter and renditions of "You are my sunshine"
3rd
weekend: The big girls didn't have school on friday (teacher prep day)
so they got to attend music class with E. It was particularly noisy and
chaotic but a lot of fun and they happily dove into the familiar songs
and games. Their favorite part is the instrumental free play or dancing
with scarves. After lunch the girls and I (Husband had to stay home
for work commitments and church meetings) met Grammy for our long drive
south to see Grandma-Great. We stopped along the way to let them run
and fill their tummies but arrived in the evening, eager to visit
Grandma. The girls bounded in to see her, squealed and then immedaitely recoiled when
they saw the dogs (every visit). They quickly warmed up to the dogs again
before and soon declared them to be best friends. Since w hadn't
been able to do a trip during Christmas break this year, we brought
gifts for Grandma and she generously gave the girls special presents
too. E loved her new baby and accompanying diaper bag, playing with her
all weekend and ever since (she's currently asleep with her in her
crib). The bigger girls got a little etcha sketch that they found
fascinating and another gift. Upon opening their gifts, they were
ecstatic, shrieking about their new "twinkle twirler"s (otherwise known
as a sock monkey ballerina). Their excitement was priceless and
adorable. They doted on them throughout the weekend, playing with them,
exploring and pretending. And now, they have a prized spot among many
stuffed animal friends.
Saturday: We ran some errands, explored
the thrift store, drove around the charming town and best of all, found the perfect fabric for a "new yellow". Yellow, A's faithful
companion since birth, is beyond repair and literally falling apart. I
fear we are within days of a traumatic end but we happened to find a
shockingly similar fabric to the very unique original and with A's
approval, have charged Grammy with creating the replacement. We took
Grandma out for dinner and spent most the rest of the day watching the
girls play with their new toys, playing games we brought from home,
being introduced to Grandma' new favorite musicians (Celtic Thunder, who
are quite amazing and well worth it) Each night, the girls cuddled in,
arguing over who got to sleep with Grammy. E had her first night in a
"big bed". Her crib was set up but she charmed Grammy into putting her
to bed in the very comfortable, large queen sized bed. Lounging on a
giant pillow and tucked in gracefully with her baby blankets, she looked
like an angel and obediently never even tried to slip out of the bed to
go play.
Sunday: we attended church with Grandma Great, with the
usual wiggling and shushing through sacrament before the girls eagerly
went to their Primary classes. After church, lunch and quiet time, we
visited the cemetery where much of our family rests to help collect
Christmas decoration and leave and little Valentine's decor. The girls
giggled and explored with more energy and volume than likely appropriate
but they were helpful and sweet. But eventually evening came, we
dressed the girls in pjs and loaded them into the car to begin the drive
home. It was much quieter than the previous trip as they slept most of
the way until we arrived home where Daddy was waiting to help carry
them to bed.
4th weekend: Friday was a girls night.
Husband had been gone all week for work and due to arrive at midnight.
But since it was Friday, the girls and I wanted to do something
special. So I let them pick a place to go for dinner. To my surprise,
they declared Taco Bell. Recently L came home from dance, apparently
convinced from a friend that Taco Bell is the greatest food ever and
she has regularly begged for it since. So we went to Taco Bell, we even went in to eat, rather than the drive through (me versus three kids, I thought it was brave.) and
we had a wonderful time. Then we went to the grocery store to pick out
a treat for our movie night. L picked donuts, A picked sugar snap
peas, E asked for popcorn and I chose cocoa almonds. Quite the
variety. Upon arriving home, I surprised the girls by inflating an air
mattress (they were delighted, it was a first time for them), we piled
on the blankets and watched Monster University. They were even more delighted when I agreed to a sleepover, letting them stay all night on the air mattresses.
Saturday
morning, they were thrilled to see their Daddy, piling on him and
smothering him as much as possible. Unfortunately we dove into our day
quickly. I had a team practice at the gym and errands to run while
Daddy helped a friend moved. We played together through the afternoon
and L got to go with Dad to help with our church cleaning assignment. Then he came home to get A and she helped wash the truck. E
got plenty of cuddles and finally, the babysitter arrived and I got to
go on a date with him. (two in one month!!) We went on a double date
with some good friends from our old ward. We went to dinner, catching
up on work, families, friends and the latest news about the pregnancy of
twins. We went to the movies to see The Secret Life of Walter Mity,
which was amazing! Breathing taking scenery, excellent cinematography
and a clever intriguing, uplifting story. It also makes it the third
movie we've seen in a one month span (having taken the girls to see Frozen--also amazing!!) and sets the record. After the movie, we shared some ice cream to finish out the evening.
Sunday:
Another crazy fun filled Sunday starting with the morning blitz to make
is to church at our new 9 am schedule. After which, Husband juggled
the girls while I had a committee meeting and then we piled in the car
and drove to my brother's house to help celebrate our nephew's 1st
birthday. The girls ran off to play with cousins while the adults
chatted. We had dinner and watched as the birthday boy had his first
tastes of ice cream and cake.
and that my friends, is January in a nutshell.
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