Week 32

 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 pretty good (Giver of Stars--also a good read) and it led to a lot of discussion about women's rights and equality. I ended up not saying too much because I felt very differently from what was being said and it kind of made me sad. Sad for me to be isolated in my opinions but also for the attitudes and situations some of these women find themselves in. It was lovely to see people and make smores and talk around the fire but I was also anxious to get home as soon as the politics talk started. 

Wednesday I did body pump, made a grocery list, and helped with school until it was time to take Lily to an ortho appointment. It was just a quick check up to see if she was ready to begin phase 2 and he said six more months so we'll look forward to that in the spring. I made chicken pillows for dinner (a fan fav) with squash and mashed potatoes and carrots and raspberry Jello. My kids absolutely love Jello, which I think is so funny because it is so simple and easy to make but I never do. Josh doesn't like it so I kind of forgot about it but now they think it is such a treat to have Jello. I don't like cooking every night and enjoy breaks for sure but there is a joy to preparing a healthy and delicious meal that makes everyone happy. That night the YW had an outdoor activity at the Calliahan's and I didn't want to just sit around so I grabbed Sarah and Michelle and we went out for ice cream. It was delicious and fun to just sit around and talk without the kids. I'm lucky to have such wonderful friends who love me and allow me to love them.

Thursday I have my toughest piano lessons and they are in the afternoon, which is really challenging with virtual school, but we make do. Lily had dance, we did grocery pick up and took it easy that night because there is no more baseball practice, just games. Friday I took all four kids to the dentist and three of the four were super easy and quick. One kid took longer and had some problems. Guess which one? Which kid is causing me the most problems right now? That's right, Curtis. He has a ton of loose teeth so he isn't brushing well so his gums were inflammed and some of his baby teeth are not coming out and causing problems with the adult teeth trying to come in. The hygienist was actually super nice and gave him some numbing medicine to help and she said he was a sweet kid, which he is. I just feel like if there is one more adult out there who tells me something that Curtis isn't doing well, I might just lose it. I had just gotten an email from his math teacher telling me he hasn't been in class hardly all week. What? He says he was there and I believe him but her log ins suggest otherwise. I don't know what to do with him and am annoyed that his teachers keep acting like he is a slacker kid who doesn't turn in work and doesn't attend his classes. They aren't getting a very good picture of who Curtis actually is and it really bothers me that they keep putting me on the defensive. Anyway, no cavities for the group but I do need to take Curtis to the orthodontist sooner rather than later. Seems like he has weak enamel too (thanks, Josh) so that will be fun to manage as life goes on. 

After our visit to the dentist the kids were all very diligent on their school work and I taught piano and Brandon did some testing with his teacher. Lily went to dance, we had a quick dinner and then I took the crew to Curtis's baseball game. Josh picked Lily up from dance and met us there after work. Curtis played really well and it was fun to watch. He played well at first base and made a few great catches, then he played catcher and did well. He hit a triple and had a few other good hits but got out at first. He only has a three more games and unlike most years, I'm going to be a little sad when the season is over. It has been really good for him to play and with no basketball season in sight, I worry about what we'll do to keep this kid active. 

The only pictures I took all week were these of the sunset Friday night

  

Saturday we had our usual delicious pancake breakfast then cleaned for hours. It felt so good. Every kid room got cleaned and thier bathrooms, I did all the vacuuming, we did some sweeping and mopping up all the chalk footprints, the kids cleaned up the garage and Josh tried to fix my bike. While Lily was riding it the seat broke off so that's a problem. My mother-in-law got it years ago and gave it to me a few years back so I'm wondering if I should just got a new one. Maybe to make up for the Christmas and birthday presents that never happened? I still think Josh should fix it and then it can just be Lily's bike. I feel much more at peace with a clean house and it made me happy. Lily had also mowed the grass the day before and cleaned my car because she desparately wants to buy a Cricut and is trying so hard to earn and save money so she and her friend can buy one to share. So our home was in order, the yard looked good and off we went out for pizza at Nicolletti's because we hadn't eaten pizza in three weeks and Josh said he felt faint and his body shutting down from lack of cheese and crust. :) We also went to the Halloween store because I finally decided that we're going to just go trick-or-treating. Cases are so low in our county and people I think are going to try very hard to be safe and Josh really wants to take the kids so we needed costumes. I dislike Halloween because I feel like it either takes a lot of money or creativity and I don't have either but we decided to splurge and let each kid pick out a costume. They were seriously so happy. Curtis is going to be a ninja, Emma is Carmen SanDiego, Brandon is the Flash and Lily is still deciding because she couldn't find anything she liked. The store was so creepy--that's the other thing I don't like about Halloween is the whole feel of it. It is dark and scary and gross and just makes me feel uncomfortable. But I am trying to be a good mom and not interfere in the kids' enjoyment. It was a fun family outing though. Josh and I watched some Tonight Show and then the BYU football game, which we won handily and it is exciting to finally have a good team. 

Today has been a pleasant sabbath day. It was our last totally home church since next week we will start back to church or else we'll be watching sacrament meeting and having a virtual second hour of classes. I enjoyed our class discussion on what it means to wait on the Lord and then we had a fun primary where we sang a bunch of songs while someone flipped a book back and forth so that we either sang it loud/soft, girls/boys, fast/slow, sing/hum and Josh picked high voice/low voice. It was fun and I've enjoyed our home primary, mostly because Josh makes it so fun. It will be wonderful when we can go back and the kids can be with other kids again but the last 7 months have been a blessing in the way that our family has been able to truly worship together and learn the gospel together. Our testimony meetings have been my favorite as we've tried to teach the kids what a testimony is and the blessing of sharing it. Our discussion today was on the purpose of church and it was good. Then I wrote in my journal, we talked to my sister's family, Lily made muffins and is finishing up a cake, I planned out my week and we watched The Mountain of the Lord (about the building of the SLC temple).