No new routine yet

Don't be fooled, I was just playing with the bread (didn't eat any).

I figured that this week we would gradually ease into the new routine. I knew that a lot of laundry and unpacking would take up my time on Monday, so I wasn't going to attempt to clean the bathrooms that day. Well the snow and ice we've been getting the last couple of weeks has further delayed getting into our new routine. Nadia's gymanstics teacher called last week (while we were on the cruise) to say that class was cancelled due to the weather. That worked out well as they'll schedule a make-up class; this means she won't miss any classes due to our vacation. YAY! Well this week my ladies Bible study (that I did miss the first session of last week) was cancelled on Tuesday due to snow and ice (our session will be extended to make-up that lesson). Nadia's gymanstics class was cancelled again this Wednedsay morning. I was able to make it to choir rehearsal that night. It was the first time since last May that I was able to attend the whole rehearsal!

On Monday Ian got up at 6:40. However I hadn't gotten to bed until 12:10am. On Tuesday Nadia slept until 8:00am, but Ian got up at 6am. Tuesday night was a rough one for Nadia because she went to bed hungry because she wouldn't eat any green beans. She was up at 2:30 and then finally got back to sleep but then was crying from 5am on. I let her get up at 6am when Ian got up. This morning Ian woke up at 5:50, and so Paul suggested we let him cry a little. I am grateful we did that because he went back to sleep and didn't wake up again until 6:50. Much better. Nadia slept in until 8am. Hopefully the kids will both sleep until 7am on a regular basis.

I have been doing better with serving vegetables and cooking a family dinner this week. Tuesday night we had a huge battle over Nadia eating three tiny pieces of green beans, but she ate them for breakfast on Wednesday before eating her cereal, and she didn't give me any fight about eating them at dinner that night. In fact - drum roll please - she asked for MORE than what I had originally served her. WOOHOOO! I was also pleased because on Wednesday night she ate the dish I made (biscuits with cheese, chicken, and salsa inside). It's often hard to get her to eat chicken breast, but she ate this happily. We've eaten dinner together as a family 3 nights so far this week. Paul didn't get home until 6:50 last night, which is when I leave for choir rehearsal and is too late for the kids to eat dinner.

I have pushed back our lunch time and Nadia's nap time. The cruise actually helped with that since we were in the central time zone. That actually also helped I think with the bedtime and in Nadia's case the getting up time as we were putting them down between 7-7:30pm CST. Nadia has been going down for her nap sometime between 12:30-1:00pm, and she's been taking 2-3 hour naps every day this week. She's never fallen out of her bed. That transition went much more smoothly than I expected. The only time she got out of her bed without permission was at 2:30am on Wednesday morning. Otherwise she waits for me to come get her after her nap and in the morning.

I have done some cleaning this week, but I'm waiting until next week to really get into gear with that part of the new routine. I also am going to do my first lesson planning this Sunday for the activities I want to do with the kids next week. I have gotten back to reading. I started on January 3rd while I was at the dentist getting my crown. I finished the book on vacation.

Today I took the kids to Toys R Us to use a $4 coupon toward a stuffed animal for Ian. I wanted to find one he loved so that Nadia could relcaim her Christmas gift (Sweetpea Beauty). Ian chose a chimpanzee. I think we found a winner as he cried when I had to pry it out of his hand to take of his coat, and he carried it the entire evening while playing with other things. To make the trip to the mall seem more worthwhile, I let the kids play on the rides (I don't use any coins), and I used a 50% off coupon for Dairy Queen to share a Blizzard with my girl.

After dinner, we made our first gingerbread house using a kit I purchased on clearance at the grocery store earlier this week. Next year I think we'll try the kind where you use a milk carton as your frame. We had issues with the walls caving in on this one, lol. This gingerbread house isn't going to win ANY awards (it's missing doors and windows for one thing, lol), but she had a lot of fun, and we made a special memory. Keep in mind it was constructed by two novice parents and a 2 1/2 year old who wanted to eat all the candy. :-)