Homefront happenings

Well here I am, slacking off again! Well, not right now, as I'm finally blogging again. But I'll admit that other things have definitely taken priority these past few weeks! I've been busy with Familia meetings, errands, dance classes, church, you name it! Rita took her first ever dance class this past Thursday! It was such a joy to see her look up to her teacher in awe and learn how to tap and ballet herself across the room. As I watched her, I remembered fondly my dancing days as a little girl. Such great memories! Unfortunately she's currently screaming and throwing a fit in her bedroom, not wanting to go to sleep, but I digress . . .

Ellie and I spent some quality time together this afternoon while David took Rita to Lowe's to get some new lights for her "princess" aquarium. I read stories to Ellie - well, until she got bored with them, that is (which wasn't long). Then she explained to me how her toys worked and insisted on listening to the baby in my tummy (AS IF!!!) with her toy stethoscope. Hee hee.

Joshua now has two teeth as of a few days ago! He's also sitting up on his own. I can't believe how fast he's growing! I love having a little boy; he is so precious to me! And it's just as much fun going through all the stages with the third baby as it is with the first.

Our fall is going to be really busy! We're starting kindergarten (homeschooling) with Rita after Labor Day. It should be an adventure! Homeschooling is something I've always wanted to do, and I can't wait to get started. I've been using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Rita since June and she can now read entire sentences by sounding out the words. We'll be continuing with that book and then using Five in a Row for reading when we finish it. We'll also be doing math, handwriting and religion.

Also, this week Rita will be starting with a K4J club, which should be fun. http://www.k4j.org/
We'll be continuing with our children's adoration hour at a local parish once a week as well. The kids and I really love being able to make a weekly holy hour, and it's nice to get out of the house too. And I'll be starting Familia! http://www.familiausa.net/
We've already had our first planning meeting and I am really excited about it and looking forward to learning more about my faith and how I can better pass it on to my children.

In other news, David's grandmother passed away this past Monday of a brain tumor. We were able to attend the funeral Friday and spend time with his family afterward. It's sad for me because both of my grandmothers are gone, and now both of his are too. His grandmother was sort of like a grandmother to me too, and I even called her "Grandma." We will love her and miss her always, and cherish many fond memories of her in our hearts. Rest in peace, Gladys.

Grocery Trip and Garage Sale

My total for grocery shopping Saturday morning was $87.90. That included a few of things that were not on my list initially, that I remembered we were out of at the last minute - oatmeal and orange juice. And I also got some lunchmeat because it was on sale.

My sister in law Robin and I had a garage sale this weekend, Thurs-Sat. It was pretty successful, and we ended up making over $500 between everyone, thanks to some extra things that her parents and our inlaws, and another sister in law (Melinda) sent our way. So I came home almost $200 richer!

Here are some before and after pics: