Hey hey! How are we halfway through January already? What have you been up to this month? Sadie and I are trucking along through her schoolwork. She only has one lesson left in All About Reading Level 1 and I’m so proud of her!

This curriculum has been great for both of us. I love that it’s open and go (like zero prep work for me!), she enjoys the games and stories, and she’s making so much progress with reading. She used to never read outside of school time, and now we’ll be out somewhere or playing and she randomly reads something and I feel so excited and happy for her!

There have been concepts in reading (like long/short vowel sounds) and math (starting to tell time) that I think she will struggle with… and then she does just fine and it surprises me in the best way! Homeschooling, as the parent, is a lot about letting go of expectations. I tend to think she’ll struggle with something if I did as a child–telling time on an analog clock was so hard for me–but it’s like duh… she’s not me! She has other concepts that are hard for her to master and I’m ready to come alongside her and help. It’s beautiful to see her grasp something right before my eyes! Truly. It’s so cool!

Speaking of curriculum, I mentioned in my last post that I was looking for a new Bible curriculum and wasn’t sure what to pick or if I should create my own. I realized I probably don’t have the time at the moment to make my own, so I dove deep into research mode and went with LIFEPAC Bible by Alpha Omega. We did their Preschool for 3s program a few years ago (memories!) and really loved it. I can’t wait to get started. While we wait for it to arrive, she has been using my prayer journal each day, which is too cute!

Niva had a therapy visit at the library this week! She did a great job and loved getting out and about. She knows as soon as I clip on her working harness that it’s go-time and is in therapy mode! Seeing the joy she brings others makes me so happy.

Since the visit was at the library, I was able to bring Sadie along! When Niva and I do visits at retirement homes, schools, and other facilities, I’m not allowed to bring Sader Tot so it can be hard for her to understand why mom is leaving the house with Niva, why she can’t go, and what exactly we’re doing! Her being able to join us every now and then helps her understand Niva’s work as a therapy dog. Jimmy and Mordecai stopped by later, too! A family affair. My favorite 😊

Mordecai desperately needed a haircut, so I brought the kids to get a trim. This is a major sticking point between Jimmy and Sadie… he likes her hair long and she basically wants a bob. I am in the middle and just want them both to be happy 😂 I let her get a trim and she was thrilled!

The plaza we were in has a Starbucks and Mordecai saw it and said “I want Starbucks” and the hairdresser was like “Did he just say… he wants.. Starbucks??!” I was like “yup.. my children love their Starbys” 😆

So, off we went to Starbucks after because the kids were truly so well-behaved while getting their hair trimmed.

Update on Sadie’s loose tooth: she lost it on Tuesday (January 14th!)!! She did let it hang on until it literally just fell out in her mouth (!) and then wouldn’t let Jimmy see it or the gap in her smile but guys… it’s SO CUTE! It’s crazy that the first tooth you get as a baby is the first one you lose (I think?) and ugh…. memories!

Okay… what are your thoughts on robot vacuums? I have never been into them or interested in getting one. Our friend gave us a Refurbished Roomba for Christmas since we watch her dog all the time (she has one and said it’s great for getting all that husky fur cleaned up!). I didn’t know what to expect! Now that we’ve had it a few weeks, here are the pros and cons in my eyes:

Cons:

• The dirt collection tray seems small compared to our upright vacuum
• It’s kind of loud
• Mordecai is deathly afraid of it so we can only run it while we’re out of the house
• It sometimes gets stuck on things or in cramped areas

Pros

• It vacuums our house while we’re not home!!
• It gets to places I never vacuum (under our bed)
• It runs a lot longer than I expected
• It docks itself back on its charger

Would I have bought it on my own knowing what I know now? Probably not?! But now that we have it, I like it! It doesn’t hurt having something cleaning while we’re out and about, lol. The kids call it “Robot” and hopefully Mordecai will become less afraid of it as time goes on! It definitely can’t replace a human vacuuming, but it lightens my load, which is definitely awesome 😬

We’ve been making different flavors of energy bites lately! We replaced the chocolate chips with M&Ms (as seen above!) and for another batch, we did a s’mores flavor by keeping the chocolate chips and adding marshmallows! Sadie said her favorite batch so far has been the s’mores flavor. She also requested we do one with ice cream in the middle. Wish me luck figuring that one out 😉

Sadie and Jimmy are too cute with their gaming! Sadie is so into Minecraft and finally convinced me to try it out and it made me realize how good at it she is! I couldn’t even figure out how to move and she builds entire houses?! Crazy. Just the other day, she asked if she could take a class to learn how to code, so Jimmy and I are looking into that!

Okay, random question… what is more overstimulating to you: too much or “wrong” lighting or too much noise? For example, noise doesn’t bother Jimmy, but if the lights are too bright in the morning or at night? He is not a fan. He has installed all smart lighting in our home so everything is dimmable. Each night he says “Hey Siri, dim the living room lights to 30%” and boom, he’s in a better mood.

For me, I’ll go full bore with overhead lights and don’t think twice about it–I kind of like a lot of light, actually! But if the kids are talking, the TV is on, and the oven is beeping? I want to pull my hair out. It’s too much!! I know other people *need* noise to get work done or for comfort, but I love silence.

A few other random things on my brain:

• Jimmy gave me a heated hoodie for Christmas last year and I think I’ve used it more this year (only 17 days in, lol) already since it has been much more cold and snowy here this winter!
• Speaking of the cold… my hands are so dry and cracked. Tell me your favorite brand or type of hand cream!
• I gave Jimmy this steak seasoning for Christmas and we both love it so much. It tastes just like a steakhouse!
• We always get mold around the rim of our bathtub–so glamorous, I know–and this is the *only* product that will get rid of it.
• Last but not least: my old (axolotl-themed!) phone case was cracked and worn out so I got a new one. As always, I wanted to find one that would make Sadie laugh/smile so I got this one (she’s big into Hello Kitty) and she literally gasped and hugged me when she saw it. It’s too fun trying to be cool for my kids 😜

Okay, I have lots more to share (more snow! making hot cocoa bombs! Sadie’s cute smile without that bottom tooth!), but I don’t want to overload this post. I’ll be back soon 🙂

What’s the most overstimulating thing for you? Too much light? Noise? Sensation? Something else?

Do you have a favorite hand cream?