A Big Week for a Six-Year Old

Last week was a pretty big week for Miss Molly!  On Sunday, she lost her first tooth!  She wrote note to the tooth fairy, asking “where do you take teeth? Why do you take teeth? What do you do with the teeth?”  The tooth fairy only replied, “Magic,” but left a gold dollar.

And then on Saturday, she rode her bike without training wheels.  She and I had practiced a bit over Spring Break, but when she said “I’m going to ride all the way around ACU,” I was doubtful.  I was also very out of breath after running behind her all the way around ACU!

 

So proud of my big girl!!

February Spending Fast

It feels a little awkward to talk about a spending fast, but since it was one of my goals for the year, I thought I’d go ahead and tell you about it.

First of all, I chose February because it’s short.  And, when I chose it, not much was planned to happen that month.  I defined the parameters as no eating out and no buying “unnecessary” things.  We would buy from the grocery store, cleaning products, and toiletries that needed to be replenished, and we’d try to avoid buying everything else.

Here’s where I fell short:

• A Sunday morning Starbucks run on a particularly long weekend
• Out trip to Albuquerque, which was planned after we decided on the fast, presented some problems — the hotel, transportation, and Bill’s food were covered — so I brought breakfast for the girls and I to eat in the room and we picnicked for lunches, only eating out in the evening.  And Starbucks for me in the morning.  (A caffeinated mom is good for everyone.)
• Two clearance Life is Good items for JA at REI (also in Albuquerque)

Here’s where I was proud of myself:

• Having a friend over for lunch instead of going out
• Not eating out during the conference I hosted, but packing lunch and planning ahead for easy dinners
• Choosing not to go places that would make it hard to stay on our spending fast (with the exception of REI’s siren song…)
• Making homemade Valentines for the girls’ classes and for our family

I learned a lot about my habits related to eating out and shopping.  We don’t eat out a lot in the evenings, but I often don’t pack my lunch and end up grabbing fast food instead.  I also feel like I’m being much more intentional about my purchases.  Is it something I really want? Need? Can I come up with another option?

I actually really enjoyed the discipline of limited spending.  I think it’s something I might try every year. But only in February 😉

And it’s over

Spring Break is over.  I’m sitting in my office, reading my favorite blogs, avoiding some work, and anticipating meeting with my grad student in about half an hour.  Right now, I can hear my colleague from Uruguay teaching her Spanish class, and it sounds lovely.  I’m sad about our lazy week ending, but I do love my job.  I get to work with fabulous colleagues and students and (for the most part) I get to control my schedule.  I’m blessed.  And thankful.

We ended last week with a trip to Abilene State Park to picnic and hike about.  It was a great way to finish up our break and made me long for summer — the girls have 53 more school days!

 

SB Fun, Days 4-7

We’ve been having so much fun, I haven’t had a spare moment to blog!  Between sleeping in, naps, and lazy evenings, the days are packed.

(Unfortunately, Spring Break is flying by.  I’m not ready for reality to start back up in a few days.)

On Monday, the girls spent some one-on-one time with each of us — Jane Anne and I went on a bike ride; Bill and Molly worked on a story about Molly’s favorite things.

On Tuesday, we took the girls to Chuck E Cheese to spend some tokens they earned.  We like to go at off times, when there isn’t anyone there and no one in the family is interested in eating pizza.

On Wednesday, we had another one-on-one date day, but this time Molly was with me — we went and picked out flowers from the nursery and planted them — and Jane Anne went fishing with Bill.

On Thursday, Bill took the girls up to ACU to play basketball while I took a nap.  It was a lovely nap.

We still have a few more days to enjoy before a busy end of the semester, but I’m counting down until summer when I don’t have to share the girls with school!

SB Fun, Day 3

Sunday’s fun:

Dumping out all the puzzles, mixing them together, and then working them all — JA loved to do this when she was a toddler, too.

a windy walk around ACU

watching Aristocats, because “Everybody wants to be a cat”

Bill getting home from being gone since Wednesday.

 

SB Fun, Day 2

I filled a jar with 9 different activities for the girls to pull one out each day of the break.

So today  involved swimming at ACU pool, a lazy afternoon (where Molly and I fell asleep together snuggling on the couch — a definite perk of swimming), homemade pizza, and Annie — so now my kids know what I mean when I sing “It’s a Hard Knocks Life” when they complain about their chores.

SB Fun, Day One

Driving to Lubbock, catching up with a good friend, sweet snuggles with her baby boy, dinner at Chuy’s, and singing along to the Muppets as we drive home — “I’ve got everything that I need, right in front of me.”  Yes, indeed.

Spring Break!

After a busy few weeks, it’s FINALLY Spring Break.  I’m walking out the door to go pick up my littles a little early (Bill’s out of town and I wasn’t in the mood to make lunches this morn…) and then we’re heading to Lubbock for the day to see a dear friend and her baby!

The rest of the week will be a staycation, but I’ve got fun things planned for the girlies each day.  I’ll keep you posted!