Author: Ashley
•5:19 PM

Just a few noteworthy Little Monster conversations heard in my household lately
*about a month ago I lost my voice. Little Monster cried and cried, concerned that I would never get it back.
*last night Little Monster had a bedtime breakdown b/c daddy and him had donuts w/ dad today and he was sad I couldn't go.
*Little Monster asked me tons of questions about dying the other day (he is extremely sensitive about that, which works as a pretty good inspiration to NOT run in the parking lot). After our talk he went to daddy and told him that he's going to die one day. Then he said "daddy, you can't die. You have to pay the bills"

Author: Ashley
•7:47 PM

Has it really been over a month since I posted? My how time flies. So the brief overview of the last month, followed soon by pictures (assuming I can ever get the energy to get to my computer and post them):

*we finished homeschooling for the year before the public school and had an entire month to be lazy. Around our house that means going non-stop without trying to fit homeschooling in as well. It was awesome and although everyone said I would come back in January refreshed and ready to go, I didn't. I even contemplated keeping Little Monster out of preschool bc I don't love his teacher and taking him on the 2 days I don't have to be at the gym drives me crazy.

*Christmas was definitely a full-swing event this year. Both kids were really into the Santa gig. Little Bit asked for a little bit of everything but mostly wanted an American Girl doll. I was fortunate to get one for FREE from my aunt and it was a huge hit!!  Little Monster asked for a helicopter hat and a real Yoshi. He didn't get anything on his list but was excited about what he did get. The funny (not really) part is he doesn't play with anything he got except a $10 pack of Mario trading cards.

*New Years was just like any other "I'm a parent now" new year. Kids went to bed, we rang in the new year with the eastern time zone, and climbed in the bed about 11:05. Woopee.

*Despite my lack of drive, school has gotten off to a good start. Little Bit had a math assessment the other day and only missed  writing her numbers. For example: she wanted to write 247 as '2047'. She can now add 2 digit numbers (if you don't have to carry anything) and we just started subtraction which she immediately picked up.

*We got a puppy 2 weeks ago. If you had asked me a month ago If we would get a dog, it would've been a big NO! But she is a great little dog. She is a shih-tzu poodle mix (shih-poo) and we named her Bella. She is mostly housetrained, crate trained (she definitely was NOT when we got her), and sleeps through the night. We have already taught her sit, stay, down, paw, and settle. This week we are dog-sitting my parents' dog so we have 2 kids, 2 cats, 2 dogs, and us. It is bound to be interesting.