Dancing with Daffodils

 We made it! We got through this past week and now we have two full weeks of Christmas family fun to be had. I am so excited. No school and so now all I have to nag my kids about is cleaning. Hooray!  Monday I painted the basement wall, did laundry, took some stuff over to Nola for our book club exchange and then I hosted my virtual piano recital. It went pretty well considering not everyone's pianos are in tune and the sound wasn't great on all the devices but everyone played well. I really missed seeing all the parents of my students because they are all neighbors and friends but at least the kids got some kind of performing experience. My MIL sent me these as a good luck on the piano recital-so pretty and thoughtful! Tuesday we had to pick up some stuff from Curtis's school and groceries and then we finally got the carpet put back down. Very exciting after four months to finally have our basement put back together! The kids were all running around in the open space and i...

 This week was much better, for which we are all grateful. Monday we got the wall fixed (although for more money that we were hoping but whatever, it is fixed!) and I did laundry and cleaned and taught some piano lessons. Tuesday was more school, piano lessons and grocery pick up and cleaning. The girls had dance and I practiced the pinao a lot for when I play in church next week. Wednesday I did body pump, dishes, ironing, and of course kept an eye on the clock to make sure everyone got on their school meetings on time, which is no small feat. That night Josh and Lily had a fun Christmas decoration scavenger hunt in our neighborhood with the youth that I thought sounded fun. Thursday I taught a bunch of piano lessons all afternoon and I've got my virtual recital Monday night so hopefully that goes well. Hopefully a few of my students practice this weekend too. The kids all did pretty well in school this week and we are so excited to just have one more week before Christmas break! ...

 I already wrote about the first half of this week so I'll keep this short. Friday was a horrible day. They happen and I have moved on but I was in a very cranky, frustrated mood and my younger two were being difficult about school and my house was a mess and I just feel so out of control of my life. Josh has been so busy with work and church that we have hardly had time to talk this week and I was feeling very alone and unsupported and annoyed. It all kind of came to a head when Brandon was whining about a school assignment and I just lost it. I told him he could figure it out himself and I put on shoes and left my house. I ended up walking around my neighborhood twice just crying, feeling overwhelmed with what is expected of me right now. I'm going to chalk some of this up to the fact that I was on my cycle but sometimes life just explodes and so I walked to calm down. Even when I came back to my house I hid in the back yard on a bench just sitting quietly and praying before ...

 I'm not really in the mood to write today so I'll keep this brief. This past week was much like any other. We were busy with school work mostly. For some reason this week felt even longer and I got very little done besides school work and making sure my kids are doing it all. I am so excited to have a few days off for Thanksgiving. It is like I am a kid again and can't wait for days off from school! I did get some cleaning, some cooking and some exercising in but not much.  Book club was fun this week. We talked about some Agatha Christie books and I had read them both before but it had been awhile so it was fun to reread them. I generally like mysteries and trying to figure them out. It was a small group of us but we had a pretty good discussion.  Wednesday I got to see Chelsea for a bit because I watched her kids while she had some alone time. It was fun to help out and to talk with her for a bit.  Okay, that was two weeks ago and now, here I am today, Thursday, D...

 What a week. It was busy and had some good moments and a few really frustrating ones. I suppose that is normal. Monday Brandon was supposed to go to school but they cancelled all in-person learning this week because of the increased covid numbers so that was a bummer for me. Thankfully he is pretty happy to go or to stay home so that makes it easier to manage. I had a ministering interview with Michelle, did laundry, helped a lot with school stuff, taught piano and got a bunch of random spaces cleaned. Tuesday was a really busy day. I was teaching how to make rolls for a Relief Society meeting that night and so I made one batch in the afternoon so we could have them for dinner and I could show the finished product. Then I had piano lessons, school of course, then I made a nice dinner and watched Chelsea's kids so she could take her oldest to an appointment, made another batch of rolls, helped Lily plan a last minute youth activity, then taught the class. I think it went pretty wel...

 Nothing too exciting happened this week. Well, the election happened but I feel relatively unexcited by it all. Monday was laundry, school stuff, piano lessons and family night. Tuesday the kids didn't have school because it was Election Day so first we did some cleaning and then they all came with me to vote. It took about 45 minutes but they were patient and good so it all worked out. Then we went to Target to get Curtis a hot wheels car he really wanted and Michael's to get Lily her Cricut stuff and we got lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was a fun outing and then I taught piano and got the girls to dance.  Wednesday I sent Brandon off to school again and he was happy to go. Going once a week is kind of weird but I'll take it. Even just having one less kid to worry about all day with school work makes such a big difference. I did body pump and read a lot. I just finished Becoming by Michelle Obama and it was cool to finish it right around another election because she talks a lo...

 Another week has gone by. It was okay. Monday was laundry, ironing, I made homemade bread for dinner and taught piano. I love that Mondays we don't go anywhere and so it can be my domestic day. I still spend a lot of time with school work but without any outside activities, I can spend time doing home things and I like that.  Tuesday I helped a lot with school, taught piano and then dropped the girls off at dance while the boys and I went to Target to get some school supplies for Brandon. Wednesday morning we actually did the school thing for the first time since March 13. Only one kid of four but it was still exciting and weird/not weird to make a school lunch and pack a backpack. It was so fun to watch him get on the bus (only 3 kids actually rode the bus) and say hello to our bus driver that my kids all like. I was a bit sad and cried for a minute but Emma was super sad and upset that he went on the bus without her so we snuggled for awhile. We ended up having a nice day t...

 This week went by fast. Monday I was busy with laundry, making a bushel of appleasauce (19 jars) and teaching piano (and as always helping with school work). Tuesday was more school and piano and then I took the boys to baseball while Josh took the girls to dance. I like sitting at the park while Brandon plays and Curtis is practicing and I can read. At one point some kid came and started crawling onto me and that was awkward but we all survivied. I loved the book that I just finished and am still thinking about the characters and how good it was. It is called We Were the Lucky Ones and it is based on the author's family history. It was a very moving story of love and family ties and survival and miracles. When we got back I dropped the boys off and headed to our first in-person book club since February. We met not in our usual place but outside at Sarah's house where we sat around the fire pit and chatted. Only six of us came but it was nice.  The discussion of the book was ...

What a week. It actually has been one of the better weeks but not without its lows. It started out nicely on Monday. Normally Columbus day is a day off and we spend the day doing parent teacher conferences, going to the book fair and then spending the afternoon at the pumpkin farm with friends. None of that happened this year and Josh tells me I need to stop thinking about what we should be doing, but it is hard. The kids had school and Josh is so busy at work, for the first time ever he actually worked a holiday. So it was a pretty normal day, although the kids did get done earlier than normal and Josh did come home by 3:30 so that was good. I taught the Wiest girls their piano lessons and then they stayed for dinner, which was fun, even though it was pouring rain and that wasn't what we had originally planned. It was wonderful to just sit and talk with Leisa, and Sam and Josh enjoyed the time as well. We had soups, a salad and rolls for dinner and had meant to play games but we d...

 Oh my goodness. 30 weeks of this Covid-19 mess. This week was fine. Monday was the normal cutting the grass, laundry, teach piano, help with school kind of day. For family night we met with our missionaries and I am super impressed with them and wish I had 50 friends for them to teach.  Tuesday was more school work, house cleaning, piano lessons, then dance and baseball practice. I am reading an interesting book about food and the flavors most used in our country and that has been fun. Wednesday I worked out and then it was more of the same. Nothing special happened Thursday either, just more piano lessons, dance and baseball practice. Friday I actually left the house to go do a grocery pick up, kindergarten materials pick up from school, and then we took Lily to dance and went to BJs. Curtis had a late baseball game and originally I was just going to let Josh take him so the others could go to bed but Josh has been so busy and stressed this week that we hadn't had a real con...

 Happy October!  This week was challenging and good and exhausting with fun moments here and there. Monday I did all the typical stuff and I made a fantastic dinner that night which made me happy. Tuesday started out rough. I was supposed to take the kids to the dentist and so we're all in the car at 7:40 am and the car wouldn't start. It kept flashing the engine light at me and I tried everything but could not get it to go. I had to call the dentist and reschedule all four appointments and spent most of the day very stressed about what was wrong with my practically brand new car. I had considered the battery but the battery light never came on and there wasn't a light on or a door open, but I hadn't driven in two days so it was definitely an option. That afternoon I called our insurance to have it towed to the local dealership and the guy came (of course while I was trying to teach piano) and I was trying to figure out how to get my kids to all their activities and it ...

So I'm a few days behind but last week was pretty good. Monday I did laundry, cut the grass, helped with school and taught two piano lessons. I had hoped to run some errands but have learned that there is just no time. Either my kids have school stuff or I have piano lessons or they have other activities. It is so hard to get out of this house and run simple errands, but I am trying hard not to feel trapped or frustrated, succeeding sometimes more than others. It doesn't help that Josh is super stressed at work and working overtime so there is just no flexibility or give in my schedule.  Anyway, Tuesday was busy. We got Emma a new-to-her bike from a neighbor and had to pick up math manipulatives from school and then I did squeeze in a quick trip to Lowes for a gallon of paint before we had to get back for school work. I spent all week taping and getting ready to paint my hallway. We finally got the cracks in the foundation filled that day. The builder isn't doing anything s...