Week 8
How in the world did we get to week 8 of all of this?
Monday was a good day. Laundry day--can I get a woot, woot? Kids did school work, practiced the piano, they played outside because it was beautiful, I gave some stuff from the garage away and it was exhiliarating (I just posted some free, well-used kid stuff on our neighborhood page and most of it was gone in two hours), and I taught a piano lesson. I even did some ironing for Josh (he still wears white shirts every Sunday and most Wednesdays) and felt very productive indeed. We had leftovers for dinner and had a fun family night. Our lesson was on how our bodies are a gift from Heavenly Father and why it is so important to take care of them (and how to do so), then we made a chalk obstacle course for our game and the kids were super into it. We each designed two squares on the sidewalk and then went through it a few times before we raced. Josh barely beat me and then Curtis, Brandon, Emma and Lily was last because she kept messing up the feet on the hopscotch square.
Tuesday was also surprisingly a good day. It started out sunny so I tried to beat the rain and cut the grass, which was a good workout and is very satisfying to do. Then I showered, had lunch, the kids all did their cleaning jobs, I taught two more piano lessons, I spent some time checking in with people and had a few good text chats, then dinner and a busy evening. Lily and Emma both have ballet from 6-7 on zoom so we set them up in different rooms, then Curtis had a primary activity at 7 while Lily then had pointe ballet from 7-8. So it was a lot of juggling computers and kids and such but it worked. I did feel somewhat helpless and frustrated though. I know of a few people who are dealing with some real life challenges and normally I would watch their kids or take them food or at least go visit and talk with them and I feel frustrated that I can't really help in any of those ways right now. I am hoping that text messages and phone calls are enough because I'm not sure how else to be helpful and it is frustrating. In certain situations part of me feels relief that not much can be expected of me right now (because I rarely feel like I am doing enough to serve and love others) but then I learn of the real challenges and difficulties my friends are facing and I just want to go help and give them hugs and make it all better, but I am unable to do so and that is tough.
Wednesday was kind of rainy but I still went for a bike ride down to the school and back, which ends up being about 4.5 miles. I had a great conversation with my parents and realized how much I appreciate having people in this world who just love me and think I am amazing. It gives me confidence and helps me feel like getting out of bed each day. I helped Lily sew the ribbons onto her pointe shoes that had fallen off because her stitches left a bit to be desired, we cleaned, and we went and got lunch from school but were kind of disappointed because we ended up with three completely soggy ham and cheese sandwiches that I had to just throw away. Kids did school work, practiced the piano and then watched TV. We had our Cinco de Mayo fajitas a day late (the avacados weren't ready and you can't rush an avacado) and everyone took a bath or shower.
Thursday Curtis and I went for a bike ride and then Lily (we are currently sharing a bike) and then later I took Emma and Brandon around the neighborhood. I love that Brandon can ride his bike now. Once he learns to read, our family is going to hit a very sweet spot in life. I taught three piano lessons in the afternoon while they kids watched TV after getting all of their work done in the morning. They have been very independent and I'm getting good reports from all their teachers so that is a wonderful blessing. Lily had dance and then we had lasagna for dinner and then Josh was busy with church stuff all evening, as he was Tuesday and Wednesday. It has been a busy week for him and that means a lot of 100 percent kid time for me which is fine but not without its challenges. The kids and I went ahead and watched some of the British baking show though and he was able to join us for scripture study in between phone calls and meetings.
Our ward has been doing week-long goals based on the new youth and children program so last week was the week of service and we were all encouraged to post pictures of service we had done, especially using the resource justserve.org. People did all sorts of cool things from donating to a veteran's home to taking pictures of gravestones for family history. We cleaned up litter from our local park. This week was fitness week, which we've already been doing, but we posted pictures of some of our bike riding and Josh challenged the young men to a push up contest but no one responded. I thought it was going to be fun but I guess no one else did.
Friday I finally took Nanci her baby shower gift and dropped off the other half of our lasagna for their dinner. I felt bad not having anything else to go with it (normally I would take bread, a vegetable and dessert) but I tried to just think of how it would at least be helpful to have delicious lasagna for dinner that they didn't have to make and let that be good enough. We talked for a few minutes through her glass storm door and it was nice to see her and baby Charlie. She lives about 25 minutes from my house and I haven't been that far away in awhile; it was kind of weird but nice to be out of the house for a bit. Lily made an indoor obstacle course for Emma and Brandon while we were gone, Curtis did a 3D printing science class from the Franklin Institute and then Lily had dance. I ended up buying a bunch of books from Amazon because Curtis has read everything we have and often multiple times. That kid disappears for hours at a time and we know he has gotten into a book. Lily started reading The Work and the Glory series, which is a personal favorite of mine, and she is loving it and is already on book 3. But I went ahead and ordered five books for Curtis and four for Lily so hopefully that will keep them busy for a week or so. I also ordered myself some books like our new book club one and a few a friend had recommended to me. I am really missing our library!
I have a friend who has been having a hard time so when Josh showed up at home a few hours early to work on something here, I called and asked if she wanted to go for a walk. She came over and we did a few laps around my neighborhood and the soccer field. It was so fun to talk and laugh with someone and the walking was nice too. When it started to rain we set up some beach chairs in my garage and kept talking for another hour. It was really nice. Josh got 5 Guys for dinner and then after the kids were in bed we watched the most boring special about the Kennedy assisination. Josh's dad had told him it was good but I strongly disagree. I totally fell asleep (not like me at all) and when it was over we watched The Tonight Show and then I read until 2:15 am because my nap messed me up.
Saturday was a double birthday for our friends, the Wiests, so we went over and did a big chalk birthday obstacle course on their driveway. It was pretty fun. We did one part where you had to hop on the birthday cakes and one where you had to spin and shout happy birthday. Vera did it once but was more interested in the books we had brought over for her to borrow. Joel didn't get it at all and spent most of the time running back and forth showing us how fast he is, which was hilarious. My kids and Petra had fun doing the obstacle course though and Sam and Leisa even gave it a try. It was fun just to talk and see them and wave. When we got in the car to come home Brandon said, "It is sad that we can't hug them." He really misses Petra and Ethan too so on our way home we stopped at the Howell's house and left a message for Ethan and Bruce on their driveway. The rest of the day was low key. I sent e cards and gift cards to our moms, Josh kept working on his super secret project for the mothers in our ward, and the kids played Legos.
It was the 14th anniversary of my brother-in-law dying and I can't help but remember back to that day and the five or so days that followed it and how sad and hard it was. I tried to really be there for my nephews and took pretty much full responsibility for them while everyone else took care of my sister. Today my nephew who turned five the day after his dad died turns 19. He is supposed to leave for a mission to Paris in July and I really love him and his brothers.
I feel like today deserves its own post since it is Mother's Day so this is to be continued...
Monday was a good day. Laundry day--can I get a woot, woot? Kids did school work, practiced the piano, they played outside because it was beautiful, I gave some stuff from the garage away and it was exhiliarating (I just posted some free, well-used kid stuff on our neighborhood page and most of it was gone in two hours), and I taught a piano lesson. I even did some ironing for Josh (he still wears white shirts every Sunday and most Wednesdays) and felt very productive indeed. We had leftovers for dinner and had a fun family night. Our lesson was on how our bodies are a gift from Heavenly Father and why it is so important to take care of them (and how to do so), then we made a chalk obstacle course for our game and the kids were super into it. We each designed two squares on the sidewalk and then went through it a few times before we raced. Josh barely beat me and then Curtis, Brandon, Emma and Lily was last because she kept messing up the feet on the hopscotch square.
Tuesday was also surprisingly a good day. It started out sunny so I tried to beat the rain and cut the grass, which was a good workout and is very satisfying to do. Then I showered, had lunch, the kids all did their cleaning jobs, I taught two more piano lessons, I spent some time checking in with people and had a few good text chats, then dinner and a busy evening. Lily and Emma both have ballet from 6-7 on zoom so we set them up in different rooms, then Curtis had a primary activity at 7 while Lily then had pointe ballet from 7-8. So it was a lot of juggling computers and kids and such but it worked. I did feel somewhat helpless and frustrated though. I know of a few people who are dealing with some real life challenges and normally I would watch their kids or take them food or at least go visit and talk with them and I feel frustrated that I can't really help in any of those ways right now. I am hoping that text messages and phone calls are enough because I'm not sure how else to be helpful and it is frustrating. In certain situations part of me feels relief that not much can be expected of me right now (because I rarely feel like I am doing enough to serve and love others) but then I learn of the real challenges and difficulties my friends are facing and I just want to go help and give them hugs and make it all better, but I am unable to do so and that is tough.
Wednesday was kind of rainy but I still went for a bike ride down to the school and back, which ends up being about 4.5 miles. I had a great conversation with my parents and realized how much I appreciate having people in this world who just love me and think I am amazing. It gives me confidence and helps me feel like getting out of bed each day. I helped Lily sew the ribbons onto her pointe shoes that had fallen off because her stitches left a bit to be desired, we cleaned, and we went and got lunch from school but were kind of disappointed because we ended up with three completely soggy ham and cheese sandwiches that I had to just throw away. Kids did school work, practiced the piano and then watched TV. We had our Cinco de Mayo fajitas a day late (the avacados weren't ready and you can't rush an avacado) and everyone took a bath or shower.
Thursday Curtis and I went for a bike ride and then Lily (we are currently sharing a bike) and then later I took Emma and Brandon around the neighborhood. I love that Brandon can ride his bike now. Once he learns to read, our family is going to hit a very sweet spot in life. I taught three piano lessons in the afternoon while they kids watched TV after getting all of their work done in the morning. They have been very independent and I'm getting good reports from all their teachers so that is a wonderful blessing. Lily had dance and then we had lasagna for dinner and then Josh was busy with church stuff all evening, as he was Tuesday and Wednesday. It has been a busy week for him and that means a lot of 100 percent kid time for me which is fine but not without its challenges. The kids and I went ahead and watched some of the British baking show though and he was able to join us for scripture study in between phone calls and meetings.
Our ward has been doing week-long goals based on the new youth and children program so last week was the week of service and we were all encouraged to post pictures of service we had done, especially using the resource justserve.org. People did all sorts of cool things from donating to a veteran's home to taking pictures of gravestones for family history. We cleaned up litter from our local park. This week was fitness week, which we've already been doing, but we posted pictures of some of our bike riding and Josh challenged the young men to a push up contest but no one responded. I thought it was going to be fun but I guess no one else did.Friday I finally took Nanci her baby shower gift and dropped off the other half of our lasagna for their dinner. I felt bad not having anything else to go with it (normally I would take bread, a vegetable and dessert) but I tried to just think of how it would at least be helpful to have delicious lasagna for dinner that they didn't have to make and let that be good enough. We talked for a few minutes through her glass storm door and it was nice to see her and baby Charlie. She lives about 25 minutes from my house and I haven't been that far away in awhile; it was kind of weird but nice to be out of the house for a bit. Lily made an indoor obstacle course for Emma and Brandon while we were gone, Curtis did a 3D printing science class from the Franklin Institute and then Lily had dance. I ended up buying a bunch of books from Amazon because Curtis has read everything we have and often multiple times. That kid disappears for hours at a time and we know he has gotten into a book. Lily started reading The Work and the Glory series, which is a personal favorite of mine, and she is loving it and is already on book 3. But I went ahead and ordered five books for Curtis and four for Lily so hopefully that will keep them busy for a week or so. I also ordered myself some books like our new book club one and a few a friend had recommended to me. I am really missing our library!
I have a friend who has been having a hard time so when Josh showed up at home a few hours early to work on something here, I called and asked if she wanted to go for a walk. She came over and we did a few laps around my neighborhood and the soccer field. It was so fun to talk and laugh with someone and the walking was nice too. When it started to rain we set up some beach chairs in my garage and kept talking for another hour. It was really nice. Josh got 5 Guys for dinner and then after the kids were in bed we watched the most boring special about the Kennedy assisination. Josh's dad had told him it was good but I strongly disagree. I totally fell asleep (not like me at all) and when it was over we watched The Tonight Show and then I read until 2:15 am because my nap messed me up.
Saturday was a double birthday for our friends, the Wiests, so we went over and did a big chalk birthday obstacle course on their driveway. It was pretty fun. We did one part where you had to hop on the birthday cakes and one where you had to spin and shout happy birthday. Vera did it once but was more interested in the books we had brought over for her to borrow. Joel didn't get it at all and spent most of the time running back and forth showing us how fast he is, which was hilarious. My kids and Petra had fun doing the obstacle course though and Sam and Leisa even gave it a try. It was fun just to talk and see them and wave. When we got in the car to come home Brandon said, "It is sad that we can't hug them." He really misses Petra and Ethan too so on our way home we stopped at the Howell's house and left a message for Ethan and Bruce on their driveway. The rest of the day was low key. I sent e cards and gift cards to our moms, Josh kept working on his super secret project for the mothers in our ward, and the kids played Legos.
It was the 14th anniversary of my brother-in-law dying and I can't help but remember back to that day and the five or so days that followed it and how sad and hard it was. I tried to really be there for my nephews and took pretty much full responsibility for them while everyone else took care of my sister. Today my nephew who turned five the day after his dad died turns 19. He is supposed to leave for a mission to Paris in July and I really love him and his brothers.
I feel like today deserves its own post since it is Mother's Day so this is to be continued...
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| Our family night obstacle course |
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| Lots of bike riding this week! |
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| We made the strawberry cupcakes I tried on Easter again and this time they were amazing. My favorite cupcake ever, with Michelle's oreo ones a very close second. |
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| the birthday boy! |
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