- January Jubilee
The after-Christmas slump is real. Knowing that January is typically the WORST for me personally, I decided to take things into my own hands this year and create something to be excited about! I'm pretty sure the kids were laughing at me all month long and not thinking I was actually serious about it, but I most certainly was. Hahaha. I designated the last Saturday of January to be our First Month Bash and put it on the calendar to make it official. The name of our family celebration evolved over the last couple of weeks until we finally landed on January Jubilee and it stuck. For our big day, we decided to head to the Trampoline Park and the kids had a blast. For the most part. Ethan may or may not have sprained his foot/ankle when landing wrong on a back flip, so that put a damper on things towards the end. But we finished up our Jubilee with slushes from Sonic and I think we've started a new tradition. :)
- Driver's Permit
Dun Duh Dun Dun Dun! Grace has her driver's permit, y'all! She may have failed the written test the first time around, but she totally nailed it on the second. Hahaha. In theory, she can go and take the driving skills portion of the test in 30 days, but I think she's going to need a little more practice than that. She is definitely improving, though! Haha. The last week has consisted of a daily barrage of begging for more time to practice and I can definitely say she is much, much better today than she was on Day 1. Granted we still haven't taken to the real roads -- other than a nerve wracking stretch on Day 1 before pulling over into a cul de sac for me to take the wheel -- but the neighborhood has provided ample opportunities for her to practice her skills.
- B-Day Pictures
Ever since Ethan was born, I have been SO good about getting a picture taken of the kids each year of their lives. Until the last two years that is. Between the move and the upheaval and stress that preceded it and continued to linger afterwards, taking everyone's birthday portraits did not even make it onto my priorities list. And that makes me really sad!! So, I spent some time last week culling through the last two years of pictures to find 2 for each of them. And even though most of the these options are a far cry from what I wish I would have taken, I'd still rather have something than nothing. 😉
2018-2019
- Personal Development
I'm so excited about the church's new program for children and for youth! So much so, that I decided to jump on the bandwagon as well. Hahahaha. At the beginning of the month, we spent a family home evening coming up with each of our goals in each of the categories. And since I love to be extra, I went ahead and put it on a poster board and bedazzled it with some glitter glue. Hahahaha.
- Book of Mormon
With the "Come, Follow Me" curriculum being the Book of Mormon this year, we are challenging ourselves as a family to read the whole book, cover to cover, by the end of the year. And since everything is more fun with a poster board, I went ahead and re-created a reading tracker that I used a few years ago and supersized it on the board. We each have a night that is our night to read, and then when we're done, we get to color in that chapter on the board. It has been a lot more successful than I expected it to be. Of course we're only 1 month in, but I'm optimistic that we can keep it up for the next 11!
- Road Trip Planning
This summer's road trip is going to be EPIC!!! Hahaha. This year we're going to Lasso the South and it's going to be amazing. A few pit stops that I've tentatively put on the itinerary are: Memphis, Hilton Head, Dollywood, Charleston, and Savannah. Stay tuned for more planning.
- 40 Before 40 Check-in
You guys! I've got one month left to wrap up my 40 Before 40 List! I've been plugging away at it in fits and starts for the last year, but it's been a bit since I've pulled out the actual list and assessed where I'm at. So yesterday, I printed out my list and started to take stock. And you know what? I was pleasantly surprised to see that I've accomplished a lot more than I thought! I'll do a full run down of the details of each item once my birthday rolls around, but for now I can confidently say that I should be able to check at least 30 out of the 40 off my list.
(24 done, 6 in progress, 5 not gonna happen, 5 maybes.)
- Sleep Charts
And finally, the biggest (?) excitement of the month has been the semi-success of a couple of sleep charts for Alex and Isaac! I think it's been pretty well documented that Isaac has been a terrible sleeper from the very beginning. In all honesty, I'd say that Isaac winds up in our room/bed in the middle of the night about 96% of the time. That's a whole lot of disrupted sleep on my part. And then times that by 4+ years. Doh! Adding to that fun mix is the fact that more nights than not, Alex has been joining him in our room at some point in the night, too. Something clearly needs to be done. Since Alex has always been HIGHLY motivated by sticker charts, I thought I'd go ahead and whip up one for each of them! And guess what?? It's kind of working!!! Hahahaha. As expected, Alex has not missed a single night's worth of stickers. Isaac is a little more hit or miss, but he is definitely staying in his bed all night a LOT more than he has in the past. I'm hoping that by the time they've both filled up their charts, they will have formed the life-long habit of staying in their own beds at night. A mom can always dream, right?? Hahahaha.
And that's all folks! Peace out [almost] on January. 💗
