2012 Goals Update {May}

I thought it might be time to do a little update...just to see how on track I am on my 2012 goals.  Here is my update for May:

Financial

Start putting money into savings. (Not this month.)

Starting a Christmas fund. (Yes.)

Vacation fund. (Update:  Got a little bit in there!)

School

Plan out the year with Tot School.  (Update:  The year is planned out and modified for us.  I'm starting Julie on Tot School very slowly with about 2 posts a month on her.)

Home Management

Make a cleaning schedule and stick to it weekly. (Update:  My own cleaning list was too ambitious.  So now I am trying a modified cleaning list from Little Green Notebook.  It is working great!)

Personal

Books

Here is the list I want to read.  Again, I'm shooting under the table because if I finish this list, I can ADD MORE.  What a revoultion!

The Hole in the Gospel by Richard Sterns  (Finished in April.  I felt that the Part 1, 2, and 3 were too long.  And Parts 4 and 5 were too short!  But overall a good read.  Some great principles and ideas discussed in here.)

Real Marriage by Mark Driscoll  (Finished in February.  It took me almost all month to read this.  It was not interesting.)

Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

The Hunger Games by Suzane Collins

The Help by Kathryn Stockett  (Finished in January.  Fantastic book!  But after reading the book, the movie was very disappointing.)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen  (Finished in February.  Love, love, love it!  I watched the movie and loved it!  I think I had lowered my expectations of books turned into books after watching The Help.)

The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher

More Lost Than Found by Jared Herd

Kisses from Katie by Katie J. Davis  (Finished in January.  A great read about an amazing young lady following Jesus to Africa.  Highly reccomend!)

Radical by David Platt

Book read with YA Book Club at church:

1000 Gifts by Ann Voskmap (Finished in March.  Highly recommend!)

Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton  (Reading this right now.  Lot's of great insight in this book!  It is just hard to read so it's taking a while.)

Books I've added on:

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Bible Study time

Memorize the book of James  (Memorized to verse 1:22.  I downloaded Scripture Typer for the iPhone and am loving it!)

Mercy Triumphs by Beth Moore (Finished.  So good!)

Study Ephesians with Good Morning Girls.  (Done!)

31 Days to Pray for your Children from Keep it Personal  (Still working on this.)

Proverbs 31 Woman from Good Morning Girls. (Doing this now.)

Whew...in just a month, I've accomplished a lot!

Why you shouldn't sing songs while jumping on the bed.

Jax singing his favorite Sunday School song while jumping on the bed and looking in the mirror?  Yes, please!

I don't think I could ever get tired of watching this video.

VID00003.MP4 Watch on Posterous

My First (and maybe last!) Vlog

I've been thinking about doing a vlog.  I just downloaded CinePro and been having fun with it and all its filters.  I bought this app for 99 cents.  It's normally supposed to be $4.99, but I have my doubts that the price will raise back up to that, but we'll see.  Either way, it's been a fun app to play around with!

Last night, I tried to do a vlog while the kids were occupied with their toys outside.  I'm not sure what it is, but they seemed to flock to me when they found out a I was using the video!

This is exactly why I haven't vlogged sooner.

IMG_1722.m4v Watch on Posterous

Project Life Tuesday

See the full gallery on Posterous

Tuesday 22

Jax and Julie were outside sharing popcorn for a snack.

Wednesday 23

No picture!

Thursday 24

Anything I have plan in Tot School that uses a magnifying glass is a hit with Jax.

Friday 25

Playing with some new iPhone camera apps.  Jax loved to pose on his bicycle for me.

Saturday 26

We went to the Farmer's Market and they had a Pet Bird Zoo going on.  Jax did not like the birds that were not in the cages, but Julie didn't mind.

Sunday 27

Jax brought a balloon home from church because it was Pentecost Sunday.  He tied it onto his Mickey Mouse backpack and pretended he was like Dora the Explorer!

Monday 28

Oh Julianne.  She was trying to climb on the ottoman so I told Justin that I give her two weeks and she will be up on that thing.  Not 2 minutes later she had figured out how to climb on up.  It was a lot of work for her, but she was proud!  Sometimes, I underestimate her determination.

Goals for this Week

Personal

Read page 6 and 7 of The Proverbs 31 Women by Courtney at Women Living Well.

School

Letter Ee

Plan Letter Ff

Home Management

Stick to cleaning schedule

And now for this weeks goals:

Personal

Read page 10 and 11 of The Proverbs 31 Women by Courtney at Women Living Well.

School

Letter Ff

Plan Letter Gg

Home Management

Organize the kids bookshelf

Stick to the new cleaning schedule

I'm linking to Money Saving Mom!

Project Life Tuesday

Tuesday 22

Jax and Julie were outside sharing popcorn for a snack.

Wednesday 23

No picture!

Thursday 24

Anything I have plan in Tot School that uses a magnifying glass is a hit with Jax.

Friday 25

Playing with some new iPhone camera apps.  Jax loved to pose on his bicycle for me.

Saturday 26

We went to the Farmer's Market and they had a Pet Bird Zoo going on.  Jax did not like the birds that were not in the cages, but Julie didn't mind.

Sunday 27

Jax brought a balloon home from church because it was Pentecost Sunday.  He tied it onto his Mickey Mouse backpack and pretended he was like Dora the Explorer!

Monday 28

Oh Julianne.  She was trying to climb on the ottoman so I told Justin that I give her two weeks and she will be up on that thing.  Not 2 minutes later she had figured out how to climb on up.  It was a lot of work for her, but she was proud!  Sometimes, I underestimate her determination.

Goals for this Week

Personal

Read page 5 of The Proverbs 31 Women by Courtney at Women Living Well.

School

Finish Letter Dd

Home Management

Pack for vacation!

And onto this week's goals:

Personal

 

Read page 6 and 7 of The Proverbs 31 Women by Courtney at Women Living Well.

School

Letter Ee

Plan Letter Ff

Home Management

Stick to cleaning schedule

I'm linking to Money Saving Mom!

The Mullet

I’m not even sure if I have words for this, but I will try.

The Mullet.  On a mannequin.  In all its glorious-ness.

This bad boy was spotted at the Railroad Museum.  We couldn’t believe our eyes.  And then we wondered:

Where does one find a Mullet wig?

and

Will the Mullet ever really make a comeback? 

We shall see…..

Project Life Tuesday

Tuesday 5/15 Jaxson LOVING the firetruck at the Railroad Museum.

Wednesday 5/16

Our pet for the night in the hotel.  Jax dubbed him “Goldfish.”  Even though he is blue, not even remotely orange at all!

Thursday 5/17

Jax fell asleep about 10 minutes away from our house!  Go figure!

Friday 5/18

No picture. 

Saturday 5/19

Jax wanted to walk Julie to the car.  The whole time, he told Julie how you are supposed to hold hands when crossing the street and to look both ways before you cross the street.

Sunday 5/20

Julie was excited to watch Curious George on TV.

Monday 5/21

I took the kids to the play area in the mall.  I’m not sure what Julie is doing here, but she sure was having fun!

Road Trip! or How do I get out of Arkansas?

It’s time to go home! 

We went on Priceline and reserved a room in Nashville for the night.  We figured that we might be able to go further than that, but we wanted to give the kids a break. 

And us.

We had the option to take the back roads and meet up with I-40 or just to drive I-40 the whole way.  We knew that there might be some construction, but figured it couldn’t be that bad.  Right?

Wrong.

We sat on 1-40 for an HOUR.  The lanes was merging down to one lane, but we hardly moved at all.  When we finally made it to an exit we immediately got off the freeway thinking that we would by pass the traffic.

Wrong.  Again.

Everyone else had this idea too.  We sat on the back roads because they were also backed up.  Luckily, Justin does know Arkansas and used his GPS to get us over to another back road.  Finally, it was clear and we could drive.  This ended up costing us about 2 extra hours in the car.  It was then we were so thankful that we had booked that hotel in Nashville and not one further.

When we finally made it to Nashville, we had traffic.  But all along, I kept saying I was just glad we were moving.  It may only be 5 MPH but at least we were going somewhere!

The hotel was easy for us to locate and was fancy-schmancy.  They gave Jax and Julianne rubber duckies for their bath.  And the front desk asked if we would like to have a pet fish for the night.  Um, sure!

Jaxson named him/her Goldfish.  Oh, how original.  I was afraid that he might want to take her out so I had to explain that she stays in her fish bowl.  It was funny.  He kept saying, “Come here fishy” as if she was a dog. 

I’m proud to say that he listened and Goldfish stayed in her bowl the whole time!

Soon enough, we all collapsed into bed.  We were so tired!

1 year ago

It was one year ago today that we rolled into North Carolina with a U-Haul in tow.  Julianne was 2 months old.  Jax was 3 and had boundless energy.  And I was one tired mama.

It’s funny to look back and realize that I don’t really remember our road trip out here.  It was hard, I do remember that.  And I remember the biggest cow statue in North Dakota.  I sure enjoyed that.  Fun times, fun times.

We lived in the Pacific Northwest for 10 years.  We endured the misty rain and missing sun.  We embraced the cold weather.  And we enjoyed the mild summers. 

And not once did we own an umbrella. 

Six months into living in North Carolina, I broke down and bought an umbrella to keep in the car.  I know! I think we are babies now when it comes to the rain.  But in all honesty, I think the rain is significantly crazier here.

I honestly can’t imagine life without fried okra.  Or hush puppies.  Or Chick Fil A.  Jaxson loves Chick Fil A.  And I love their indoor play area.  It’s great for rainy days.

This last year has been a great adventure for our family.  We have enjoyed exploring the south and experiencing new foods!

Hipsters and Family Recipes

My hipster son….

We had BBQ last night.  With the Ross Family BBQ sauce.  This sauce has been handed down since the 1920’s.  It was so good!  I’ve got a copy so I can make this at home as well!

It's all about the pretend boat.

We took Jax to the Nature Center this morning.  He had a blast.  He loved pretending to fly on the airplane and pretending to drive the boat.  We even saw an alligator and bald eagle!

“Do I have anything on my face?”

Jax is still enjoying the cupcakes that him and Pap made yesterday.  I’m really not sure how much he actually ate to what he wore on his face.

For dinner we headed down to the catfish restaurant.  Julie devoured the pickled okra and catfish.  She was loving the food.  And Jax was showing me his “sour pickle face.”  Thanks Barney for having an ENTIRE song about sour pickles.  Seriously.

I think the trip has caught up with Jax.  He was cranky today and took a nap in the car.  That NEVER happens.

Four Wheeling and other adventures

Relaxing on the porch.  Julie (the adventurer) loves to be thrown in the air!

Jax loved climbing on Luke’s Fort.

And you know what else the kids loved?  Riding in the truck and four wheeler.  Jax kept saying, “again!”  Luke  was a very good driver!

Hello?

This morning at breakfast, Julianne insisted she needed the phone right by her.  And periodically, she would answer her phone and gibber away.  Oh man.  This girl is starting way too early to be needing her phone!

Choo-Choo!

This morning we woke up and decided to go to the Railroad Museum.  We figured that Jax would enjoy the trains.  And he did.  But his favorite part was the 1939 fire truck.  He climbed on up and pretended to drive it.  At one point, he said, “Red light.”  And he pretended to stop.  Then what seemed like a long time he finally said, “Green light” and he drove on.  Even in pretend, red lights seem really long.

Afterwards, we headed to the park to meet up with the cousins.  I overheard Jax tell Luke that we have to go back to Carolina tomorrow and that he was going to miss him.  And then Luke told Jax he was going to miss him too.  So sweet.

Julianne made me swing with her pretty much the whole time.  She would just giggle like crazy and when I would stop she would run right back to the swings to let me know I wasn’t doing my job!

I’d say she’s opinionated!

RRSK: Letter Dd

Jax is 4 years old.

This week we worked on the letter Dd and Dd is for Dentist!  I had a dentist/tooth theme for Jax this week!

We started off this week with the dice and graphing worksheet from 2 Teaching Mommies.  We used stickers to graph what we rolled out.  Jax was very disappointed we didn't roll the dentist once!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Jax loves watching Krash over at 1+1+1=1 singing the Bible verse for the week.

We "brushed" a yellow tooth with shaving cream and glue to make it white again!  I used the tooth template from 2 Teaching Mommies.

Letter matching stamping fun from 2 Teaching Mommies.

Math comparisons using pom-poms to mark the answers using RRSK Letter Dd from 1+1+1=1.

We did much more than the pictures show.  Here are the links to all the activities we did this week!

Sources:

Color by Number Sight Words from 1+1+1=1

RRSP Letter Dd by 1+1+1=1

Dentist PreK Unit by 2 Teaching Mommies

RRSK Letter Dd by 1+1+1=1

Happy/Sad Teeth Collage by 2 Teaching Mommies

Tooth Template by 2 Teaching Mommies

Tot Book Dental by 2 Teaching Mommies

YCR #2 by 1+1+1=1

I'm linking to Preschool Corner by Homeschool Creations.

Tot School {Julianne}

Julianne is 13 months old.

We started out this week with pom-pom magnets and a magnet sheet from Confessions of a Homeschooler. 

Julie loved putting the magnets back on and off.

She was so proud of herself!

She loves to work with this LeapFrog Magnetic Word Builder.  Julie just loves to take the letters in and out!

Sticker fun!  I introduced Julianne to stickers.  She was not quite sure why they were sticking everywhere!  So funny.  But she was able to put them on her paper (and Jax's too!).

See the full gallery on Posterous

I'm linking to 1+1+1=1!

Project Life Tuesday

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Tuesday (1)

I caught Jaxson wiping his brow.  It's hard work to play in dirt!

Wednesday (2)

Like brother, like sister.  So funny how they are sitting the exact same way.

Thursday (3)

I announce to you....King Jaxson and Queen Julianne!  Jaxson was pretending he was a king and Julie was a queen. 

Blanket=Robe

Cowboy Hat=Crown

Imagination=Jax is a king!

I loved how Julie wanted to copy Jax and so we tied the blanket around her as well.  She was so happy to wrapped up in a blankie.  Somebody needs to get her a Snuggie!

Friday (4)

Aw, this was the day of the infamous bug bites!  After the trip to the doctors, ice cream was a must while waiting for prescriptions to be filled!

Saturday (5)

No picture.  It stormed all day long.  Boo!

Sunday (6)

Julie was so happy to have Daddy back home after the Confirmation Retreat.  She would want to cuddle with him and play with him.  Here she is sitting on him and is so happy!

Monday (7)

No picture! Errands, hair cuts, and naps.  A.k.a a boring day!