July Randoms

I cannot believe that it is already July 1st. This summer is going to be over before we know it. So, rather than an update about our weekend....I'm going to do one of my favorite types of posts....the old bullet point.

• We decided to renew the lease on our apartment which means that we are in some serious need of organization. With that being said, I have been setting aside 15 minutes a day (at a minimum) to decluttering. This has been working very well. In 15 minutes I can get a little or a lot done depending on the project...but I am at least getting things done.
• Ten read an article the other day about parents and cell phone usage. It talked about how we aren't sure of what kind of developmental impact it will have on kids when parents aren't talking to them and have their eyes/ears glued to their phones instead. I wish I could find the article again to link it here. However, take a look around the playground next time and see how many parents are pushing their kids on swings while playing with their phones....very sad. So, Ten and I made a rule that we wouldn't use our phones while Mia was awake....and then we changed that rule to we just wouldn't use them in general except for a once a day check. I  LOVE this change....the less you use the phone....the less interesting it becomes.
• We are in the process of figuring out where we would like Mia to go to preschool. I think a Japanese preschool would be best. We want her to have a strong foundation in the language....but will this make it difficult when she starts an American elementary school? I kind of don't think so....but this is what we are thinking about right now.
• Seriously...I love all seasons. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring....all great.
• We do a lot of activities during the week with Mia besides play dates and classes...activities when we are hear just hanging out inside. I found this program, and it is great. The Letter of the Week has given me so many little ideas to incorporate into our day without taking up a lot of time. Right now, when we do art projects we listen to classical music. We play games that help Mia learn how to pick up her toys. We sing nursery rhymes while getting dressed....little things here and there....and you know what....it is really helping. Mia can now recognize music by Bach. Love it....takes a bit more planning but makes the day more interesting....for both of us actually.

Anyway, I think that I will end it here....just a few things we are doing right now.