Summer Fun and Clingy baby

Well as we have attempted to shift to 'summer schooling' we've learned that its not as easy as it looked on paper. The lure of the other kids and the absence of the alarm clock seek to destroy it all! I need a sure fire way to defeat them both! Any suggestions?? Well I plan to set a loose schedule for the school/alarm part. as far as the constant barrage of neighbor kids... well we will have to work on that.

I have a little boy. Hes the cutest 8 month old in the land. He adores me... to say the least. He wants me with him most all the time and sleeping in his bed is a definite no-go for him. I don't mind co-sleeping per se but he is no longer comfortable in his, er... my bed so he fusses till I'M out! The nerve!  have tried several different methods to get him to sleep in his bed but to no avail. He will 'hang out' in the crib if I'm folding clothes or something but to go to sleep is not happening. I really don't want to use the CIO (cry it out) method but it's coming down to that. I know he is ONLY 8 months and this wont last long but t really doesn't feel that way at 2am when everyone else is sleeping peacefully and I am staring at the walls...again.

On a positive note I am getting through 'The Money Saving Mom's Budget' book by Crystal Paine. It is quite insightful. A few of the things  was already doing but she has given such awesome ideas to further reduce my grocery bill. I am working on other areas to reduce as well but this is my biggest project. I am so pleased to say that today's grocery bill was significantly less than the previous ones, about $80 less! Now I did use some coupons but I mainly tweaked my menu and shopped from the sales ads. I usually pre-plan my menu from what we want to eat (or what I want to cook). That method is fine at some point, I assume but for now the way she suggests is best (as evidenced by the $80 savings). I did plan my menu for 2 weeks and I will browse the circulars next week to see if there are any great deals but otherwise Ill leave them alone. I do shop for markdowns on meat, dairy & some produce and I typically get bread products (buns, tortillas etc) from the bread store. My largest obstacle in my menu planning is the picky eater. It seems no matter what I put on the menu for breakfast or lunch they turn their noses up. I have a few tricks up my sleeves though. I'll report back on those later.