1st grade busy

20 minutes of reading each night
Math homework via MobyMax each night (sometimes every other if it's a particularly busy evening)
Weekly spelling tests
Weekly spelling homework
Weekly story maps

This 1st grade thing is no joke! Bria is adjusting to the lack of tv and play time pretty well, she definitely makes up for it on the weekends :)
While my eldest is at school, the other two have found their groove. Reese has taken on the role of "big sister" and Penny obliges her by following along...when she wants. Make no mistake, Penny will not be convinced to do something she doesn't want to do!
The lack of sun and abundance of rain have put me in quite a mood. I have little energy and feel blah. Since I live in Oregon, I have to learn to suck it up and just take advantage of the few minutes without rain, so as soon as it lets up we race to the park for much needed outdoor time.

"OUTSIDE!!"

Much better, that house was getting stuffy.

However, a majority of our indoor days look like this:

We play Zingo about 112 times a day and Go Fish about 53. It has come to the point where I cringe when I hear Reese say, "I know, let's play Zingo!" I feel bad, but also...you play games with a 4 and 2 year old all day, you'll understand why I sometimes lay in bed staring at the ceiling and willing Brian to get home.
If we aren't playing games, the girls are asking to eat. Seriously, Reese could eat 24/7. She never has big meals, but wants to snack nonstop. It drives me absolutely insane some days.

I am attempting to come up with solutions...
Ex.
1. "Kitchen is closed."
2. Set snack times
3. "When the kitchen light is off, no asking for food."
4. Curl up in a ball in the closet and hope they don't find me

Clearly some of those work better than others.
My latest idea is having snacks within reach in the pantry, in baggies all ready to go. Also, I leave out fruits and veggies on the counter for anyone to grab at their leisure.
I will let you know in 2 weeks how it's going. That's usually how long I last when I implement a new idea.

Last week Bria didn't have school on Friday and the high school across from her school was holding a Cheer Clinic for a few hours. I had wanted her to do the West Albany one with Abby since that's my alma mater, but that was in October and unfortunately we had a conflict (Disney on Ice tickets). Anyway, she had a blast and they all did a performance at the end to show the parents.

The whole clinic after performing for the parents

They also got to perform at halftime for the basketball game that evening and Bria was pretty stoked.

 I was too. I had to do her hair like I use to do mine when I cheered at OSU (although I didn't wear bows :)

Brian and I were so proud of her. She was such a good little dancer and didn't seem nervous at all. She wanted to do it again and do more, wahoo!

I never want to pressure my girls to do something they don't want and I'm ultra careful when it comes to cheerleading because obviously that is a love of mine and I am cautious not to project it on them...but I was thrilled to have her be so excited about it and want to do it again.
So I'm going to sign her up for gymnastics and get her started on a cheerleading career...ya know, if she wants :)

Last weekend we had fun surprise when Jenny decided to head up with the kids for the day. We were more than excited to see them and it felt great to get family time in and baby cuddles.

"Let's do this forever," says Reese