Resolution II

So, my other resolution of sorts is to keep track of all the books I read this year. On one message board I am on, some people are participating in a challenge to read 50 books (so basically one a week) in 2010. I love to read, and I read quickly. But, I don't have a lot of time for reading these days. I do read some books for the English classes that I teach, though. Anyway, it made me wonder how many books I read in a year. I am not including all the books I read to the kids, but I am including the novels I read for teaching. At the end of each month, I plan to share the books that I read that month. So, here's my list for January with a little added commentary.

1) Eat, Shrink, and be Merry by Janet and Greta Podleski - a cookbook that is meant to be read

2) Mommywood by Tori Spelling - okay book, recommended in a parenting magazine I read

3) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - for school

4) Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury - one of my favorite authors, but not one of her best books

5) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - for school

6) The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan - quick, easy read

7) The Help by Kathryn Stockett - good book, didn't love the ending, though

94% Savings at Kroger

So, I know I said that I was done grocery shopping until Monday, but I ended up needing yellow rice (I accidentally bought the spicy kind on Thursday) and a pie crust for Sunday lunch. And I might have accidentally bought a few deals while I was there. I spent $2.28, which is about how much I would have spent for just the crust and the rice, and I saved $35.78. I'll just include this trip in my February grocery budget.

Old Lady

The kids got tons of new games for Christmas, one of which was Old Maid. They call the Old Maid "Old Lady" and scream when they get it. Jordanna even gets in on the action sometimes. Look how well she can hold her head up!

Alexa's Babysitting Service

Alexa watched my baby and her baby for me this morning while I showered.

A Beautiful Sight

Not just one
but two sleeping baby girls.
Although the first one later decided she would rather sleep here.
Meanwhile Caleb did some school pages.

Resolution

So I made a goal this year, a resolution of sorts, to pay closer attention to how much I am SPENDING at the grocery store. I love to see how much I am saving, but how much I am spending is really the bottom line. I gave myself a pretty ambitious goal of $250 per month. I've tried setting weekly goals before, but I thought that perhaps monthly would work better. As you can see from my posted menu plans, I try to plan a variety of reasonably healthy meals for dinner each week. I'm including in this $250 anything that I purchase at the grocery store (mainly Kroger and Publix) except for alcohol that I occasionally purchase for Dave and Sunday newspapers. Therefore paper products, diapers, Cokes, etc. will be included. Any money not used will carry over to the next month. Anyway, I finished my shopping for January (I go to the store on Mondays and Thursdays, and Monday is February 1), so I thought I would share my totals. I have my totals set up in an Excel spreadsheet (with a little, okay a lot, of help from Dave), which does all the calculations for me.

January grocery spending - $245.01
January grocery savings - $421.30
January savings percent - 66%

I also made another goal for the year, which I'll share sometime next week.

Non-napping Little Girl

Alexa has decided not to nap for the last few days. On Saturday, after she skipped her nap, we had a party to go to at some friends' house. She fell asleep in the car on the way home, and we just put her to be in her clothes.

Sunday we decided not to go to the evening service after she skipped her nap. Of course, she fell asleep in the car again. Here we are cuddling on the couch after we got home.
Monday, no nap yet again. She proceeded to fall down and hurt herself about 15 times that afternoon/evening and wail loudly every time because she was so tired.

Yesterday I had to work, and Grammy watched the kids. Alexa didn't nap again, so my mom got her up. Well, she was sitting on the couch with Grammy watching a movie and fell asleep. When I got home, I laid her down so that my mom could get up. She slept on the couch for all of 10 minutes before Caleb ran in, jumped on the couch, and kicked her without even noticing she was there.
We'll see what happens today especially since she got up on the early side this morning.

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Chicken soft tacos, corn, Mexican rice, black beans

Tuesday - Roast, potatoes, salad, rolls

Wednesday - Pepperoni pizza, carrots and dip

Thursday - BBQ sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, green beans

Friday - Hamburgers, sweet potato fries

Saturday - Chicken alfredo, broccoli

Sunday - Chicken and yellow rice casserole and some other stuff

Three Little Cuties

We have had some unseasonably warm temperatures here this week, so we took advantage of it by playing outside as much as possible. One day I checked the mail when I took the kids outside, and Caleb sat down to read his (junk) mail just like I was doing with my mail.
Last night while I was cooking dinner, Caleb came downstairs to tell me that Alexa had climbed in Jordanna's bed in her room and couldn't get out. She better not try climbing in there when Jordanna is in there!
Right now Jordanna sleeps in our room at night, and she often naps in the swing, one of her favorite places to sleep.

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Grilled pork chops, oven roasted potatoes, mixed vegetables, Parmesan garlic rolls

Tuesday - Crockpot Kielbasa chowder, focaccia bread, salad

Wednesday - Parmesan garlic chicken tenderloins, pasta, broccoli

Thursday - Eggs, bacon, hash browns, smoothies

Friday - ?

Saturday - Bringing bread and brownies to a gathering

Sunday - Roast, potatoes, broccoli, rolls, apple pie

Like Mother Like Daughter

I was cooking dinner tonight with a very fussy baby strapped to my chest (and Dave nearby to put things in and take them out of the oven) when Alexa came in with her baby and told me she was going to go cook dinner. I couldn't resist getting my old baby carrier for her to use, and she happily cooked at her play kitchen with her baby while I finished making our dinner.

71% Savings at Kroger

There were some great deals at Kroger this week! I spent $36.58 and saved $88.00, which is 71% savings.

Here are some of the best deals -
4 bottles Gatorade G2 -FREE
6 bags Birds Eye Steamfresh vegetables/rice - FREE
1 package Tyson Split chicken breasts - $.69/lb
5 cups Oikos yogurt - FREE
2 cans Pillsbury cinnamon rolls - $.20 overage each
4 packages Old El Paso sides - $.25 each
5 lbs potatoes - $1.38
2 pouches Starkist tuna - FREE
5 Suave deodorants - FREE
5 Pillsbury brownie mixes - $.20 each

Poor Neglected Blog

Hello, blog. Remember me? I am your author. I promise I haven't forgotten you. It's just that most of my computer time occurs with a baby in my arms, making it very difficult to type.

Anyway, here's what we've been up to lately.

Saturday - The kids enjoyed playing in the snow some more and drinking hot chocolate when they came inside. After naps, we packed up the van and headed south for the visitation before Grandpa's funeral. One of Grandma's friends was nice enough to let us stay with her for the night so we could avoid driving back home only to return Sunday.

Sunday - We attended church at Grandma's church followed by a lunch for the family and then the funeral. It was bitter cold that day, so Dave stayed in the van with out kids and one extra watching a movie while I attended the grave side service. We drove home just in time for dinner, baths, and bed.

Monday - I finished all my grading for class on Tuesday. Yes, I have had four weeks off to do my grading, but I've been a bit busy with a new baby and such. I also saved 82% at Publix and took all three kids to make my copies for school. I started back up with Caleb's preschool. His theme this week is "N" is for numbers. In between everything, I did somewhere around 3,000 loads of laundry.

Tuesday - I went back to work teaching English to homeschooled students. My mom is still keeping Caleb and Alexa, and a friend is keeping Jordanna in the baby nursery of the church where I work. I was able to feed and cuddle her at lunch, which was nice.

Wednesday - Jordanna had her one month check up. She is 10 lbs 6 oz and in the 90th percentile for height and weight. Afterward, we ran to Target and got popcorn and a drink, which I had bribed the kids with for being good in the doctor's office. Then we returned our library books and picked up some more and ran through the Chickfila drive thru for lunch. I also did another 3,000 loads of laundry.

On the agenda for today - I plan to do some more laundry (are you sensing a theme here?), run to Kroger for some great deals, vacuum, and get all my lesson plans done for school next week. Wish me luck (and lots of energy and well-behaved kids).

One Month Old and First Snow

Jordanna turned one month old yesterday. I was going to wait until today to post the picture so that I could also post her weight and height from her doctor's appointment today.
But, we woke up to snow today, so I rescheduled her doctor's appointment for next week. And I stayed tucked warmly inside with Jordanna while Dave took the kids out to play.

In Memory of my Grandpa

Jack Maddox Harris
November 12, 1923 - January 7, 2010

With Caleb
With Alexa
With Jordanna

2 Crazy Kiddos and 1 Sleeping Beauty

My Litte Helpers

Helper #1
Helper #2

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Jordanna's Baptism

Our church is without a pastor right now, but we have been blessed to have a professor from a seminary filling the pulpit each week. We were also blessed that he was able to baptize Jordanna today while Dave's parents were here. Unfortunately, my parents were not able to join us as my grandpa is in an inpatient hospice care center right now. We missed having them there, but we know that they needed to be with Grandma and Grandpa.

Before I share the pictures, let me explain briefly what we believe about infant baptism. We do not believe that baptism means that the child is automatically saved, rather that she is marked or set apart as a member of the covenant family of God. Although there is some element of us bringing our child to God and dedicating her to Him, even more important is the reality of God making a covenant with us and our children after us. Our hope and prayer for Jordanna (and Caleb and Alexa) is that the water of her baptism will be to her the water of blessing and that she will love the Lord and serve him all the days of her life, that she will never know a day without Christ.