Saturday Savings

I ran to Target tonight after the kids were in bed to get Alexa some new flip flops (not pictured) because I threw away her old ones that were leaving sequins all over the house. Jordanna picks up random bits off the carpet and eats them, and I didn't want her eating sequins. Anyway, I got some great deals while I was there. I got 6 pairs of shorts for next summer (1 for Alexa and 5 for Jordanna). The pair on the left was $.75, the ones in the middle were $1.00 (it's kinda hard to tell, but there are 2 pairs of brown shorts there, one for each girl), and the pair on the right for $1.98. I also got 2 packs of Bic pens for free.

Then I went to Publix. I spent $.62 for a 1/2 gallon of Publix ice cream and 3 boxes of Crystal Light Pure Fitness, and I saved $12.46 or 96%!

8 Months

It's amazing to me, even the third time around, how much a baby can grow and develop in only a month.

Here's what Jordanna has started doing in the last month -
-crawling
-sitting up
-pulling up to standing
-eating 3 meals of table food daily with the occasional snack, no baby food (just like Alexa)
-going 3-4 hours between nursing sessions
-drinking water out of a sippy cup

Teaching Time

Well, summer is coming to an end. Dave has pre-planning next week and goes back to school the next. I start one week after him (ha,ha). I'm planning to start kindergarten with Caleb on Monday so that we can get 2 full weeks in before I have to go back to work. For anyone who is interested (all 2 of you, maybe), here's the (semi)final list of what we are doing in school this year.

For both kids -
Preschool Plus - I am using the literature portion of this for both kids. It includes books to read each week all based around a character trait and has comprehension questions for each book. We start off with books like Madeline, Dr. Seuss, Frog and Toad, and Beatrix Potter and by the end of the year work our way up to Charlotte's Web, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and The House at Pooh Corner.
Christian Appendix for Preschool Plus - This add on will be the basis for our Bible curriculum. It includes Bible stories, devotionals, and a memory verse for the character trait each week. We will also be memorizing the Apostle's Creed, continuing the Catechism for Young Children, and learning various hymns.
Handwriting Without Tears - Alexa will be doing the Pre-K book (which is recommended for 4 year olds, but I know she will want to do whatever Caleb is doing), and Caleb will be doing the K book.
Bubbles, Rainbows, and Worms - I plan to do 1 or science experiments out of this book each week.

For Alexa -
Preschool Plus - I will be using the rest of the Preschool Plus book (minus the literature) for Alexa. It covers numbers, letters, colors, shapes, basic math concepts, science, art, music, etc. I like that it is laid out by week with ideas for each day, so I don't have to do much planning for her. We will surely not do everything that is included, but I think it will be a good resource.

For Caleb -
Math U See Primer and Alpha - We did not get as far as I thought we would this summer in math (because I didn't expect to go to the beach twice or for Dave to be home for 4 weeks), but Caleb is already half way through the kindergarten math book. So, he will finish it around Christmas and then start the first grade book.
Phonics Pathways - This is his Phonics textbook.
Adventures in Phonics - This is his Phonics workbook.
Bob books and Kindergarten Phonics Readers - These are some beginning readers that I got him.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Dave's parents Wii boxing
Caleb teaching a friend from church how to play Mario Kart
Stuffed animal storytime
Alexa attempting to feed Jordanna a bottle
Look who learned to pull up to standing!

New (To Us) Clothes

On Saturday, I shopped at my first consignment sale of the fall/winter season. It felt so strange to be shopping for sweaters and fleece pajamas when the heat index was around 105. But, the kids loved their "new" clothes, and I loved the cheap prices.

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Breakfast pizza, hash browns, fruit

Tuesday - Beef Burgundy, egg noodles, squash, salad

Wednesday - Hamburgers, hotdogs, oven fries, corn on the cob

Thursday - Pecan chicken, mac and cheese, broccoli

Friday - Frozen pizza, salad

Saturday - Steak, baked potatoes, green beans

Sunday - London broil, oven roasted potatoes, broccoli, fruit

July 2010 Books Read

I did lots of reading this month!

40) Savannah Comes Undone by Denise Hildreth - book 2 in a series I started in June
41) Savannah by the Sea by Denise Hildreth - and book 3, I think this was the best one, but I can't remember now
42) The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer - a short novella in the Twilight series
43) Reconstructing Natalie by Laura Jensen Walker - this was a good novel about breast cancer
44) Flies on the Butter by Denise Hildreth - this one was just okay
45) Adopted for Life by Russell Moore - a great book about adoption although I would change some of his Baptist doctrine to Presbyterian
46) SAHM I Am by Meredith Efken - this was a good beach read, it's written like an on-line message board
47) Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - good story of 2 friends, not entirely clean
48) The Red Thread by Ann Hood - a novel about an adoption agency for Chinese girls
49) The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond - this was okay, it's a story about a missing child
50) Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm - this is actually an older kids' book, not sure how it got on my to be read pile