Steven's 18th Party

Sunday Ruby was particularly "fun" during sacrament. She was being kind of noisy so I told her that she needed to whisper. She did not appreciate me admonishing her so she called me a "meany head". I whispered to her again to be nice and be quiet. So she told me she didn't like my voice and that I was a meany head. Then Lucy tried to give her a sticker and she yelled "pinky!" which in the Hatch home is an insult equivilant to flipping someone off. At least no one else at church knows what our weird insults are.

I was officially released from Primary on Sunday so I had one last hurrah in Primary. Honestly it was a little disheartening. I don't think the behavior management techniques that I put in place will be followed through with so I feel like, why was I even in primary? It is still a disaster, they are still disorganized...I don't feel like I was able to help at all. At the same time, I guess it made me feel grateful to be leaving. I do not like to operate in such chaos. I really hope that Relief Society will be a better fit in that regard.

After church I went with Grace to the library because they were having a game and puzzle swap. It was just a real quick outing and the girls were hoping I would find a game called "Mastermind". Lucky for them I did find that game. It felt like a blessing just for me.

Monday was cleaning day so not super exciting. Ben went to a meeting to see about joining NHS. We both think it might be a good opportunity for him to meet new people who are also smarty pants like him, things have been weird with him and Andrea lately, but he is unsure about adding another thing to his plate. He will be doing ACE next year (like Steven) and he is hoping to still do soccer and archery as well. I have a feeling it may fall to the wayside with me not here to prod about it.

Tuesday while the girls were in school, Ruby and I went to library storytime. She really does love it and it's fun to see her interact with other toddlers. In the beginning she was sitting on the floor and these two girls sat next to her and they all talked about her baby shark boots. It was pretty cute. Her favorite thing is still to flop down in the baby pool full of balls but she kept getting thwarted by other toddlers so that made her a little grumbly.

Tuesday night I went to Grace's. I brought a puzzle just to keep my hands busy but I definitely did not finish it. Jason stayed with us for a bit and chatted with me about Tyler's promotion and gave me some travel advice. It was nice to have both Grace and Jason be excited for Tyler, unlike Caroline who made me feel like crap when I brought it up. I also appreciate his advice on traveling since he is such a frequent traveler, he has good tips. 

Wednesday was not very exciting. We did homeschool, ran some errands to get things for my Italy trip and then 3 of the kids had church activities that night and Lucy had volleyball that night. Lucy's team creamed the other team so she was pretty happy about that. 

Thursday while the girls were in school Ruby and I met my friend Kara and her baby at the mall. We came a little early to play and then ended up staying after she left because it felt silly to drive all the way home and then back out to the girls' school. And this week Ruby has pretty much boycotted naps so there really was no reason to go home (I think Ruby might be done with naps which is super depressing). Anyways, it was a long day at the mall but good for Ruby to get out and play. I had a good chat with Kara and we actually got into some personal stuff. I really appreciate her, she has a good attitude about life and leaves me feeling better. Ruby also made a friend at the play place but she couldn't decide how she felt about him because sometimes he wanted to chase her and she found that scary. She can be so silly sometimes. 

Friday I woke up feeling a little overwhelmed by life but I managed to get a lot done that day- more trip errands, getting things ready for Steven's party (including making a cake) and one last primary birthday gift to deliver because I was worried the presidency wouldn't take care of it. So once the day was over and I had accomplished all these things, I certainly felt better.

Mimi also came over Friday afternoon and her mom was so nice and brought over a little gift for Ruby. She said it was of a gift for Leslie because it was something to entertain Ruby while she's here. It is basically the Japanese version of a WaterWow. That was really thoughtful for her and yet again, that's another friendship that I am really thankful for.

Saturday Steven had his 18th birthday party. He had 4 teens over (3 he's met at stake church things and 1 from school) and they spent their time playing games- video games, board games, etc. I bought pizza and they had cake and ice cream. It is so weird how different he is when he is with friends. He would never play these board games with us but he was happy to play with them and he was really just so happy and nice. I wish he could be that person for us too. But I am glad he had a good little group of friends and that he seemed to have a good birthday.

 

Winter Dregs

Sunday it snowed all morning so they cancelled church. Of course the call didn't come in until after I had woken up and taken my shower. Sigh. But it was still kind of nice to have a quiet day in. Ruby had some snuggle time with Ben. We decided to restart come follow me lessons at dinner time and I am glad we are back on that. It has been nice having the Gospel tidbits at dinner again. We also had a fun family game night of Itzi, Dixit and Scrabble. 

Monday was another snow day for the boys. The girls didn't have much school work so we ended up all going to Chuck E after they were finished. The roads were just fine by then, even though everyone was driving like they weren't. I think schools should start doing a late start day or something. They have too many snow days.

Tuesday while the girls were in school Ruby and I kept busy. We got groceries and then I took Ruby to the library's storytime. She really likes the storytime and participates in the songs and mostly follows the rules (I think nursery has been good for her). She also really loves all the toys they put out after storytime- especially the kiddie pool full of balls. She is pretty much the size of it but she loves to lay down in it. After storytime we came home and I had Steven come with us to Costco. He actually came without much complaint and was super helpful. I was grateful for the prompting that I had to invite him. It's rare that we have positive interactions these days.

Wednesday night we had church activities. I was in charge of what was my last Valiant Girls Activity. I will be released Sunday. It was a planning meeting and I felt like it went really well. The girls came up with great ideas and we got things planned until August. Then we played 2 truths and a lie and it was fun to get to know some of the girls a little bit better- even if I am leaving.

Thursday morning I subbed in seminary (Melissa's husband is out of town). It felt like it was the right thing to do but it was rough. When I am on my period, I tend to have a night of insomonia and of course, that night happened to be the night before seminary. I think I only got like 3 hours of sleep. Once I was there it was fine and her lesson was decent but the rest of the day I felt so blah and tired. It made me miss teaching teens but I absolutely do not miss the lack of sleep.

Thursday while the girls were at school, Ruby and I were going to meet Kara at the mall, but she cancelled on us. Instead we just did a quick trip to the library, just to get out of the house. Unfortunately we timed it wrong and got there right when a library event ended so the library was super crowded and peopley. Ruby got a little frustrated because it seemed like all the toys were being played with. Eventually people started leaving so she enjoyed her time a little bit more. Near the end I started chatting with a mom and we both connected over being older moms. I hate when I feel like I am vibing with a mom and I want to be like, we should meet up again! But then I don't say that because it feels like that would come across a little strong. It is hard to make mom friends with people at the library because I rarely see them enough times for that invitation to not be awkward.

Friday after Ruby's nap, we went to Chuck E Cheese for their VIP members only party. It promised extra play points and tickets and Dippin Dots. The kids really wanted to go and I think that was mostly because of the Dippin Dots. So they were very disappointed when we learned the Dippin Dots would not be served for 2 hours and we would not be there that long. The extra play points and tickets were nice though. With the extra tickets we managed to get Ruby a Water WOW and all the kids lollipops. And because I felt bad about the Dippin Dots, I went to Krogers and bought them all Dippin Dots. Sometimes I am a nice mom.

After the Chuck E Party, I had a girls' night with Melissa, Grace and Caroline. It had been a long time since we all had gotten together. And it will probably be a long time before we all get together again. It was a lot of negativity and I don't like the way I felt when I left.

Saturday Steven had work and Ben and Tyler were off at another archery tournament (he got another personal best on Bullseye 262!). That meant I was at home all day without a car I could drive. (The Suburban is too tricky for me to drive on snowy roads). Before Steven went to work, I ran to the Dollar Tree to get some craft supplies so Ruby wouldn't drive me crazy. We have been doing shaving cream and paint lately so I restocked on that and she spent a good amount of the morning mixing and painting with it. I also dropped by the library and checked out some Magna Tiles. Before when we have had them, my kids never seemed very interested in them but they actually ended up being a hit. She liked making houses with them. The art supplis and magna tiles definitely helped the day go faster.

Happy news this week- Tyler got the promotion at work. It means he will be getting a significant pay raise and be given a company car. The catch with the company car -because of taxes and bureaucratic crap we don't understand- we have to own another car that is a 2025/2026 and we have to "update" that car every 4 years. We are thinking of selling the squeak and just leasing out a car as long as he has this position. We are not in love with leasing but I don't think we can afford the alternative. We shall see what we decide to do (we have 6 months to figure it out) but I am happy for Tyler. I know he was really hoping for this promotion.

And I'll end with a funny story. Ruby was on my lap at the table and started saying "Jennifer!" And I said "Are you calling me Jennifer?" And she said "Daddy calls you Jennifer." 

Cold

Sunday I stayed home from church with Ruby since she was still coughing, congested and miserable. I took a shower after every one had already left for church and Ruby made sure that was not a fun experience for me. When she is sick, she is very needy. So after that, we mostly just cuddled on my bed or on the couch which was honestly ok for a Sunday morning. That night the girls were invited over to a friend from church's house for a sleepover. I found that really weird that someone from church was doing the inviting for a Sunday night sleepover but I guess their rationale was that their was no school Monday (MLK Day). I let the girls make a choice about going and they both decided they wanted to. They ended up being with their friends until 2pm the next day. With both of them away Monday I decided to clean the house in the morning. It was nice to have Tyler home for the holiday so that he was able to help with Ruby while I cleaned. The only fun thing we did Monday was we all went to Culver's for dinner. I can't belive how much fast food costs these days but it was really nice to not have to cook and get frustrated with the kids messing up my clean house.

Tuesday was the girls first day back at school. Ruby was still not doing well so we basically had a quiet day at home. That evening I went to Grace's. I always bring some sort of art to do while we chat; usually I just color something. But lately I have been trying to draw realistic portraits using some books. Being distracted with chatting did not help my already poor skills. I was copying a face of an Indian woman but she kind of looked more African American when I was done. I am not sure if drawing realistic portraits is something I will ever be good at. I probably need professional help.

Wednesday night Lucy started volleyball and the rest of the kids had a "Nailed It" activity at the church. They came home with some pretty well decorated cakes. I was impressed how much they looked like Minions. 

Thursday while the girls were at school Ruby and I ran few errands and then we met Kara and her baby Amelia at the mall. We got there early so Ruby could play in the kids play area and so she could go up and down the escalator- I think she would go up and down the escalator for hours if I let her. Then when Kara came, Ruby seemed content to just sit in her stroller and enjoy the ride. She only got off once in the elevator and another time where she attempted to push the stroller but I managed to bribe her with food to get back in. So overall I was able to have a really nice walk and chat with Kara. We mostly talked about her trip to Utah and her thoughts about if she wants to go back to teaching. I could connect with her on a lot of things and it was a good conversation. She asked if I wanted to make mall walks a weekly thing so I think she had a good time too.

Thursday night, while the boys were away at archery, I took the girls to Trader Joe's. All their friends are big Trader Joe's people so they were wondering what was so special about it. I was nice and made the 25 minute drive so they could find out. We all decided it is not as special as everyone says. The parking lot was small and we had to circle for a spot and then it was very crowded and busy inside. They did not see any food that they thought was extra special. Maybe if it had been less crowded we could have browsed better and found some yummy things but we were not impressed and will likely not return.

Friday the boys were off of school because it was sooooo cold (negative temps) but the girls still had school work to finish. After the girls finished their schoolwork  Lucy's friend, Claire, came over. They haven't hung out since her birthday so this was quite a surprise- I had thought the friendship was basically done. They ended up having a sleepover at Claire's house that night so I am not sure if they will start hanging out again or if this was a one off. I worry that Claire will just cast Lucy off again but I know that Lucy was really happy to spend time with her again.  

Friday afternoon I went to Grace's salon and got my hair did. She had given me a gift certificate for Christmas to get my hair dyed and cut. I always like getting my hair done with her. I get to leave my kids, hang with Grace and get a hair makeover. We had a great conversation and I left feeling uplifted and happy with my new hair. She is a really good friend.

That night, I begrudgingly left the house and took some of the kids to Chuck E Cheese. It was so cold and buckling Ruby in and out of the car in the cold is just not fun. But they really wanted to go and we had nothing else to do so we went. Ruby is so funny now that she is a pro with the play points card and knows how to scan it to activate games and rides. This time after she finished a ride/game, she would walk to the otherside where all the older games are and then circle back to her side. I got some good steps in. 

Saturday Ben and Tyler were gone all day for archery- Ben got a personal best in the Bullseye (248) so he came home happy. We were in one digit temperatures all day so I had no desire to leave the house. We spent the day indoors. Ruby has been having me fill up her sensory table with water on one side and bubbly water on the otherside lately so she spent most of the splashing in her tubs of water. I ended up leaving the house in the afternoon because I had found a game I had been wanting to get for the family on Facebook Marketplace for an excellent deal. It was unopened and they were selling it for half the price it is new. I jumped on it and ran to Krogers to get cash and then drove the 10minutes to pick it up. I ended up making Steven slightly late to work because he needed the car. Oooops. But I think this game, Dixit, will be fun to play with the kids. I enjoyed playing it for the couples game night we had. Once Tyler got home, I left the house one more time, to go out to dinner with him. I really think we do better as a couple when we get out together at least once a week. I enjoy our date nights.

And some random pics from the week. I really think the Brady genetics are strong in Ruby...

Penny's First Temple Trip

 Last Sunday felt like a lot for my social/emotional battery. I came into church and Sandra was setting up the chairs for primary and proceeded to tell me that the way I had it last week didn't work and we needed to change it. I disagreed because overall I thought things had went a lot better than usual. I think that the previous Sunday had really been the first Sunday she had sat with the kids to monitor behavior so I don't think she really knew what bad was- she hadn't developed a proper baseline. I didn't think we should throw out the whole seating arrangement based on the one wiggly child she sat by. Needless to say, I didn't react well to her criticism and was pretty sassy about changing the seats. By the time we finished setting up, I could tell I had upset her. I went into sacrament feeling frustrated because I hate that church seems to be bringing out out the worst in me lately, but I left sacrament feeling like I should apologize to her for the way I responded. I did and smoothed things over but I am tired of feeling so emotionally crazy and easily frustrated with people.

After sacrament we had primary and I had to lead while all the stake leaders were there. That also makes me feel a little crazy- I go hard core on being a great, happy, little primary leader. We had all our new sunbeams there for the first time which was tough BUT with all the primary presidency and the teachers actually sitting with the kids, it went pretty smoothly all things considered. Then after primary we had a meeting with the Stake Primary Leaders. I probably talked too much at that meeting and I have no idea what kind of crazy impression I left on everyone. We talked about one of Chalsea's kids who needs some TLC and I ended up being asked what went on with Chalsea that I can't meet with her- that was awkward. Then I asked about what my role is supposed to be at a Family History Temple Meeting because I told them I wasn't sure why it was relevant for me to be there and that led to a pretty long discussion. It was a good one though, and I was left with the task to try and help make that meeting more relevant for the moms in our ward. Still, too much talking from me. Anyways, after all that was done, I spent the rest of the day overthinking all my interactions.

Sunday night Bishop sent me a text asking me to meet with him Monday night so that sent me in a spiral wondering what silly thing I said that day that I was getting in trouble for. I spent a long time agonizing over what the Bishop wanted to talk to me about. In reality he was issuing me a new calling. Relief Society Secretary. I told him my issues with being short tempered with people lately and he was very understanding with me and suggested that it might be a good change but allowed me to take some time to think about it. He's a good Bishop. I did end up deciding to take the calling but I still have some anxiety on what it will entail. I am hoping it won't be overwhelming.

This week homeschool went a lot better. We were just dealing with 1 week of work and not 2 weeks crammed into 1 like the previous week. There was a lot less fighting and fits. It was a reminder of why we we homeschool. Monday I delivered a birthday gift to one of our primary kids. I had offered to deliver birthday gifts as a way to check in on families. I had even put reminders in my phone for all of the birthdays this year. That was a waste *sigh*. Hopefully whoever they replace me with will take over this task. It was fun to bring the gift to Cash who immediately pulled out the candy from the bag and ran away- totally made his day, I'm sure :). I enjoyed chatting with his mom too. I always feel like we could be friends but then I think she is too young and cool for me.

Tuesday evening I took the girls to Chuck E while the boys were at archery- we just really needed to get out and do something so that the night wouldn't drag on. Then Wednesday Ben had a half day so the girls went for another round at Chuck E but this time with Ben when he got home from school. I had some good deals on my phone to add onto our membership so we ended up getting 20 free extra play points and a large pizza for $5. It was a good time!

Wednesday afternoon and evening the weather took and turn and the roads became very slippery (from what everyone said- I was lucky to not have to drive on them) so church activities were cancelled. This was nice since I had activity days that night so instead we all had a quiet night in. Ruby has been a bit obsessed with Batman for some reason lately, so the kids fueled her obsession and watched "Lego Batman" Wednesday night. She giggled a lot during it, and then got pretty giggly goofy afterwards.

Thursday ended up being a snow day for the boys because of the bad roads. I took Penny and Ruby to Grace's salon for haircuts around lunch time and thankfully the roads were not bad then. Ruby's hair just needed a little shaping but Penny cut off several inches of hair. That was a much needed change and here hair will be so much easier to manage now. I am grateful that Grace takes care of their hair and only asks for pickles. She is a good friend. After haircuts we came home for lunch and then went to the library. I ended up having Penny watch Ruby in the kids area while I went and looked for some drawing books in the adult section. I found a few good ones and realized how much I miss just browsing books at a library. I need to find some time to go to the library without the kids so that I can spend a little more time browsing.

Friday was a busy day and at first they were predicting some crazy snow but thankfully the weather changed for the good so I didn't have to do any crazy driving. First I took Lucy to her new friend, Mila's, house. They live 30 minutes away so I didn't drop off. Instead we (Ruby, Penny and I) went to a library near their house. It's always fun to check out new (to us) libraries and this was a good one. It was very big with lots of different play areas for Ruby. She had a good time and Penny found a new book in a series that she is reading so both girls were happy. After the library we went and got lunch at Chick-Fil-A. I thought it would have a play place so we could kill some more time but it did not. We managed to stretch out the time with eating and playing with the kids meal toy despite that obstacle. Then it was time to pick up Lucy. I am glad that I have found her a new friend to hang out with since Claire has ditched her but she is still sad about the loss of Claire.

 After we got back from that, I had a dentist appointment. I had a cleaning and then finally got a crown on the tooth I had a root canal on last year. It was about as awful as dentist appointments go. They had a new associate do my crown and I swear she was stabbing my poor gums as she ground down my tooth and then packed a cord around it. She said my "gums were angry" several times and I was thinking, yeah because you are stabbing them. And then I actually said that thought when she noticed my grimaces and asked if I was feeling pressure. I was like, not pressure, stabbing. She laughed thinking I was being funny but I was not. I just really hate the dentist but the temporary crown feels good now so I guess I won't complain too much.

My last event of the day was a temple trip for youth baptisms with Penny and Lucy. The boys had an archery tournament so they all took Ruby and went there. I am glad I got to go with the girls to the temple, especially since it was Penny's first time. She was so excited and it was fun to listen to Ben and Lucy give her advice before we left. Everything went smoothly for her and she told me it was "fun" afterwards. Not sure if that was the proper adjective for a temple trip but I am glad she left feeling happy. And though Lucy will not outright say it, I think she is happy to have Penny and Penny's friends in young womens with her- I think it's been a pretty lonely place for her before this. 

After the temple the ward went out for the traditional ice cream at Culvers. Caroline was there which was fine. I just feel weird with her lately. We chatted about her trip to Universal Studios in Feb and then a bit about my trip to Italy. It's been so much about her for so long that I don't feel like she cares much about me and my life. Sometimes I think she forgots that I have a toddler and all the struggles that can bring. Anyways, I guess the visit inspired her to set up a girls night with Grace, Melissa and me so we're going to have one at the end of this month (I can't believe Grace said yes to it). We'll see how that goes.

Saturday Ruby woke up coughing up a storm and just miserable. It was a long day of cuddling her and trying to keep her happy. I don't mind all the snuggles and book reading but keeping her happy was the challenge. The girls had friends over for the afternoon- Geli, Luna and Mimi- and so they were entertained and loud for the day. Pretty sure they were the reason Ruby walk up early from her nap but I am trying to not get angry at them for that. I want to be a home where their friends feel welcome (even if I don't always love being that home). I do hope Ruby did not make them all sick though. Mimi was smart and avoided her but Geli and Luna kept insisting on picking her up. They love her too much. Tyler was out with the boys at an archery tournament in Ohio for the day so that was kind of tough. I really could have used a break from the needy Ruby but I did not get one. At least she is adorable! 

Back to School

Sunday was busy. We began some new management techniques to help with our squirrely primary kids. It was a peaceful Sunday for once but that could just be because half the primary kids were gone ;) After church Ben got ordained as a priest. I failed to take a picture after, poor middle child. I can't believe I have 2 boys who can bless the sacrament and do baptisms. Time is a thief. 

Monday we had to go full gear into homeschooling because the way the girls school did winter break this year was dumb. The girls really only got off the week of Christmas because they were given 3 weeks of at at home learning work but they only were given 4 weeks off of school. We decided we weren't going to homeschool while the boys were off the week after Christmas. That meant cramming in an extra week worth of work this week. It was a very rough week of school. Lots of crying and tantrums. It makes me wonder why I do this, am I just creating trauma for my kids to go to therapy for when they are older? Ruby also had a tough time adjusting to us not giving her attention. She kept telling us to stop doing homework. 

Monday evening, the younger 4 went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate surviving their first day back at school. Ben struggles with people constantly wanting to copy his papers at school because he a good, smart kid.  And it is usually not the kind of people he wants to be around. We all needed some fun after a long day. While there we had an offer for 500 tickets so we redeemed it and ended up being able to get Ruby a Chuck e cheese doll. I know we have way too many dolls but it is a good memorabilia of all our visits to Chuck e cheese. 

Tuesday after we got school work done we ran a couple errands. First I went to the post office to see if they were maybe holding my parent's Christmas gift to the kids. My mom thought that she might not have put enough postage on it. We were really hoping that it wasn't just lost. The guy was nice enough and humored me but no luck. Then we went to Costco to stock up on all the things. I didn't realize that Tyler had left bags of salt in my truck so we had a super fun time fitting everything in my squeak after. Our last stop was at dollar tree, I wanted to get Ruby some "school work" too so she could work with us. I found a shape coloring book and a numbers one. 

Also Tuesday Lucy got her glasses and now the majority of our family wears corrective lenses. Lucy thinks she looks nerdy but I think she looks great. 

Tuesday night Lucy, Penny, Ben and I went to see Zootopia 2. I thought about taking Ruby but wasn't sure if it would be a good first movie for her, the first one had some pretty scary animals in it. It probably would've been fine but it was nice to not have to worry about her and it was also nice to have some time with my middle 3. It wasn't an amazing movie but it was still an entertaining watch.

Wednesday Lucy met her friend at the library to do school work. Penny brought work to do as well so I basically just hung out with Ruby. There was one point a toddler class ended and the place got really peopley and loud but most of the people didn't stay too long so overall it was a good outing. Maybe we should start homeschooling at the library?

Friday morning we had our last day of the co op. The older girls do not love it and Lucy ended up staying in the toddler class with me and Ruby. I enjoy the time I get to spend with Julie and I'm glad Ruby gets some socialization but it just won't work for all of us. The power ended up going out about half way through so we spent the latter half with moody dark lighting, lol and all the older classes had to come up from the basement and into the kitchen so they'd have what sunlight there was coming trough the windows.  For the last half hour we had another class join us in our room because they weren't doing good in the big space of the kitchen. A mom came in with the kids and we got chatting,  it turned out we both had similar aged children. Of course I met her on my last day there so it's unlikely I'll see her again. I am slightly relieved to be done with the co op though. 

Friday night the girls had a sleepover with Mimi and Steven had work, so Tyler, Ruby, Ben and I went to Wendy's for dinner. After that we had Ben's archery tournament. I brought Ruby (Tyler was coaching) and we ended up at the top of the bleachers because she is wiggly and noisy. Ruby kept making me go down between shootings so she could say hello to Tyler. She loves him best. 

Meanwhile the girls seemed to have a good time at their sleepover. They stayed up until 1am crafting,  watching movies and watching movies. 

Saturday I made Tyler take Ruby and me to the eastern market. I'm reading this book about unlocking your creative potential and it says I'm supposed to take the artist in me out on a date once a week so this was my artist date. It was fun to see the products different vendors were selling and what made vendors stand out. There was a really good sales person for a pickle stand and Tyler ended up buying 2 jars of bread and butter pickles. We also got some doughnuts for Ruby and me. I gave Ruby one and then she wanted another so anyone that made eye contact with her, she would tell them that she wanted a doughnut. She's so chatty these days. Afterwards we went and looked at the at murals outside. It was cold so we saw a couple and then drove around to look at more. I'm impressed that people can make art so perfectly on such a grand scale. I feel like I don't have the patience for that.  While we were driving a pigeon flew into our windshield so that was exciting. 

After we got back,  it started snowing big fluffy snowflakes. All the snow from the ground had just melted so of course it was time for more.  But I didn't mind too much because it was my favorite kind of snow. Lucy was nice and took Ruby out to play in it. Ruby could have played it in all afternoon. She loves snow and did not want to come back inside. 

New Year

This week felt like a very busy week for a break, mostly because I was trying to keep the kids entertained. Monday we used Grams and Poppy Brady's Christmas gift- a year long membership to Chuck E Cheese. They can go any day and have a hundred play points to share. It's not a ton of points when divided amongst the 4 (Steven has no interest in going) but it's enough to get out and kill some time. Tyler came with us which was good because it was snowing and the roads weren't great. I'm glad I didn't have to drive. All the kids seemed to have a good time. There was a 3 person game where they could play together to defeat a spider boss which they loved. Ruby actually spread her time pretty well between "rides" (like the police car) and games where she could press a button or throw a ball. 

Tuesday Asher was supposed to come over but he got sick so they canceled. That was a bummer but also a relief because I really needed to clean the house. With Tyler home, I was able to get it cleaned pretty quickly. Then I went and dropped off birthday gifts for Caroline and Melissa. Neither one seemed interested in a get together for their birthday this year and that was ok with me. Caroline and I chatted for a long while and I got caught up in all the things going on in her life. Melissa was a quick chat because she was sick and I wasn't super interested in getting her germs. 

Tuesday Ben had Andrea over until dinnertime and Lucy had Jenna over for a sleepover. Those are easy friends to have over, they get along well with my kids and are pretty polite to me. The house was louder but everyone was entertained and happy.

I had to go to a primary mtg in the evening and it was long- we got sidetracked chatting about our lives. They are such a variety of personalities in that presidency. The new secretary told me that primary should be less noisy because my child wouldn't be in it anymore. Ha. Penny could definitely be an offender but she was not the only one. I was annoyed by her comment. We did have a big discussion on behavior though and I now get to be in charge of improving it... I'm going to start by going over rules in the beginning,  we're finally going to have teachers sit with their class, and I will have a jar where we collect jewels for good behavior. We'll see if it helps. We have 3 new sunbeams coming in so Sunday is probably going to be rough no matter what. 

Ruby did not sleep well Tuesday night. She woke up gagging on nasal drip and then was very awake and couldn't sleep. Luckily her cries didn't wake up Jenna. I went down to get Ruby some water and Jenna was snoring very loudly. Lucy came up to me and asked if it would be rude if she slept in the guest room because the snoring was keeping her up. I understand that pain. 

Wednesday we did another run to Chuck e after Ruby's nap. This time I was driving and the roads were crappy. I didn't love that. After chuck e we had dinner and then did our New Years Eve tradition of taste tasting weird sodas and trying to guess their flavor. Once again there were not many loved flavors. I also forgot to refrigerate them so they were only as cold as the basement kept them so that probably didn't help with the taste. The flavors I had this year were: Doughnut, Dirt, Peaches and Cream, Banana Nut, Blue Cream Soda, and Vomit. To me the best was probably the peaches and the blue one. The worst was the dirt soda, it really tasted like what I would imagine Dirt to taste like.

After tasting soda we gathered all the quarters in our house and played left, right, center (everyone but Steven). It was our kids first taste of gambling, lol, and they didn't love it. Penny ended up winning all the quarters and then Ben and Lucy asked for theirs back. I don't think they understand how gambling works. 

After I put Ruby to bed, Lucy, Ben and I watched the Stranger Things finale (Steven is too cool for us and Penny watched another less scary movie in our room). Everyone got a Stanger things snack tray- Eggos, ice cream and Doritos. Not totally cute and authentic but all food seen on the show. The finale was about an hour of action and excitement and then an hour of wrapping up everyone's characters. There definitely should've been more excitement but it wasn't the worst ending. 

After the finale I went up to my room and fell asleep about 5 minutes before midnight. I blame Ruby for disrupting my sleep pretty much every night this week.

Thursday morning I had to get a few things from Walmart and it was nice and empty thanks to being New Years Day. Then I made a cake from scratch, something I rarely do but wanted to try again. It was a very particular recipe but I think all the details helped make it a great cake. That afternoon Geli and Luna came over for a sleepover. AJ also came over to hang out with Ben. Our house was very loud. We ended up getting pizza because I didn't feel like cooking for 3 extra people. We were going to get pizza at Costco and realized, just after leaving the house, that they are one of the few stores to close on new years. Failed outing. Anyways after eating little Caesars instead, the girls had a good time playing games with their friends and watching TV and even did a face mask. Don't Penny and Luna look great!? 

Friday, after Geli and Luna left, I took Lucy to Chuck E Cheese to meet her friend Mila. They were there for 2 hours so Mila's mom and I got to exchange our life stories. I learned that her family is very healthy eaters and would probably not approve of my family's diet. We are different in many ways but that made for an interesting conversation I suppose. Honestly though, I was a bit exhausted from all the noise and socializing when we left. 

Friday afternoon Mimi came over because we were having another date night at Grace's house with mimi's parents. I frosted the cake I had made the day forever because we were doing a little surprise birthday celebration for mimi's mom. The cake turned out pretty dang good and I feel proud of it. I also think we helped Nahoko feel special and I'm proud of that. The night itself was loads of fun. We played a game called Dixit and it was one I was actually fairly good at. I think my kids would like it too so I'm probably going to buy it. We also played one of Ben's games, Liar Liar. I am not good at that game because I cannot tell when people are lying to me, but I did learn some interesting things about everyone. 

Saturday the girls went over to the Mays to play DND. They seemed to have a have a good time. While they were there, I took Ruby to the library to get her out of the house. She had some good learning how to share experiences and actually was a good listener and didn't throw a fit when I asked her to share. It was nice. At lunchtime Ben had a soccer game. I didn't go but I was told he got creamed. Bit of a bummer. 

Saturday afternoon Tyler and I celebrated our anniversary by going to eat and doing a little shopping. We ate at our favorite burger place, The Filling Station. And we shopped at the great lakes crossing mall which was insanely busy so not a super fun place to be. But Tyler did but me a winter hat and some warm socks for our Italy trip so that was nice. After the mall, we dropped by sonic for milkshakes. It was a nice celebration but the true celebration will be next month when we go to Italy!!

Christmas

Our Christmas Sunday was nice. I like it when sacrament is mostly singing. The final musical number, a rendition of I Heard the Bells, was a big one- there was the adult choir, the primary choir, chimes by the ym and yw and a soloist.  I was anxious that it wasn't going to turn out well with so much going on but it ended up turning out really well. After sacrament I had a nice chat with Caroline- for once she was upbeat and it was refreshing. While I was chatting, Lucy took Ruby to the bathroom with her and had the joy of Ruby saying to her very loudly: "Lucy poo poo" "Lucy wipey wipey". Toddlers can be embarrassing. 

Monday was everyone's first day of break. I had thought about doing something fun but all my ideas required doing things outside and it was much too cold for that. Instead, I decided to just take Ruby and Penny to the library. Super exciting. 

Tuesday I made the crescent rolls for Christmas dinner and failed as per usual. They turned out very flat and were not delicious. I stink at making bread. I also ran to Hobby lobby to get a couple puzzles for the break. I've decided at this time of my life 500 piece puzzles are more my jam because I just don't have the space for bigger puzzles to sit out for days. Unfortunately I gave away all my smaller puzzles when I was on a big puzzle kick and only had 1000 piece puzzles so I had to go but a couple new ones. 

Tuesday night we decorated cookies for Santa. Tyler kept telling them that Santa likes red hots on his cookies so there are quite a few cookies covered with red hots.

Wednesday was Christmas Eve. Tyler and I spent the day making our fancy dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, mac n cheese,  banana pie and Christmas punch. It was nice not having anyone coming so I didn't have to worry if things didn't come out right or if timing was off. But also we had way too much food. Tyler got one of his Christmas presents early- a blue tooth cooking thermometer- and it was a hit. It made it so much easier for him to monitor the temperature. 

After we had feasted and the food had settled, we had pie and then opened up our Christmas pj's. This year we all had shirts with quotes from the TV show "psych" since the kids had binge watched it this year and loved it. Ben's was the most rude,  it said "suck it". Dad's was the most fitting, it said "c'mon son". Steven hadn't actually watched the show so he was confused by his, lol.  And all the psych shirts for toddlers were mucho expensive so I decided against buying her one and just got her footie jammies that matched our pants. 

Then the kids opened their gifts from each other. Ben was the most excited by his gift from Lucy, it was a gorilla that you can throw and punch. He had wanted one since last Christmas when someone stole it from him at a white elephant party. Ben got Lucy a really cool themed gift of Mike and Ike candy and socks. Steven got a Mentos watermelon car air freshener from Penny and it had a very strong fruity smell. Penny got a pink blanket and barbie socks from Ruby (she picked them out with a bit of help from me). Steven got Ruby a stick pony and she loved it!

When we were done opening sibling gifts we loaded up in the car to go see neighborhood lights. We ended up in a neighborhood across the street from us and it was actually a really good one. Lots of homes were decorated and the kids were able to get most of the things crossed off their Christmas light scavenger hunts. We ended our drive at a house in our neighborhood that has a light show with music you can tune into on the radio. It turns out one of Tyler's co workers lives there, he found that out earlier this month. 

That night the kids watched "Christmas Story" while I put out presents and filled up stocking. I went to bed fairly early, I was pooped.

Christmas Day Ruby was up at 7:30 so we all got up with her to go see our gifts. The kids had various little things in their stocking and Ruby got a baby doll. She didn't get super excited but she did seem to really enjoy opening gifts. She's become a pro.

Ruby got princess dresses (and is constantly having wardrobe changes), fake make up (she loves applying the lip gloss and doing her siblings make up), a fake cup cake kit, fisher price Moana, and her baby doll.

Lucy got a wicked lego set, a dr p shirt,  a teen cookbook, a burrito blanket, a snoopy doll and socks, a necklace, a volleyball desk buddy and fake nails. 

Penny got a new comforter and sheets, a necklace, a soccer desk buddy,  an angel lego set and fake nails. 

Ben got a sweatshirt with a quote from the TV show psych,  a soccer desk buddy, Mario socks, stranger things brickheadz, and a Zelda game.

Steven got a minecraft lego set, a computer microphone, Mario socks and cereal. 

Dad got the Harry Potter train lego set, a grilling kit, a blue tooth cooking thermometer, a minecraft cookbook and some mini fruity syrups. 

I got a sweater, an anti theft bag for Italy, a puzzle and new balance shoes (which weren't in time for Christmas, but came a couple days late.

After present opening, I made a cinnamon roll casserole and bacon. It went over pretty well, but the casserole was a little soggy on the bottom. Then I cleaned up all the wrapping and boxes and then went back to sleep because everyone was busy with their toys. The rest of the day was full of lego making, and rotting our brains with movies and stranger things. 

For dinner we had our traditional Bethlehem meal. The only problem was I bought our pita bread too early and it molded so I had to make some pita bread. It turned alright but I'd rather just buy it. 

Friday the kids finished the massive lego set that Tyler's parents had gifted us for Christmas- the Weasley house. There was some frustration from Tyler because the kids had alternated bags and Penny wasn't always the best at following directions so he had to fix some things she did.  But overall I think it was a great gift, they loved putting it together and it's a great addition to all our Harry Potter sets.

Also Friday I took down all of Christmas because I'm Scrooge- but really I just can't handle all the clutter. It felt good to have our house back. I did also go to a couple stores too looking for Christmas clearance deals (sweaters, books, crafts) but I only found a couple things, not much luck. Tyler was nice and drove me to the store because we had freezing rain all day and the roads were slippery. 

Saturday Grace and I went to Ann Arbor to go thrift shopping. We went to a new store called Kiwanis first. It was huge and I found a couple great sweaters and some good books for Ruby. But it was also a bit more peopley than I like.  After we shopped there we got some food at Dos Hermanos. Grace was nice and bought my food. It ended up being delicious, I wish it was a little closer to home. We ended up chatting for a long time about Legos, we are both obsessed nerds. After eating, we went to a nearby Salvation Army. I found some shirts for the girls there. Then we headed home. I really love thrift shopping and it was fun to hang with Grace. She's a good friend. 

That evening Ben had a soccer game. I didn't go, but  apparently Tyler confronted the dad who is always yelling loudly at Ben's team. Dad kept his cool but did not seem to get through to this man. He thinks his mean and unhelpful yelling is beneficial. It is not. 

When Ben came back from the game,  Ben, Lucy and me stayed up until 1am watching the latest batch of stranger things. That was way too late for me but now we're all caught up (we rewatched all the seasons for Lucy) and no one can spoil anything for us. 

And in light of stranger things I made these amazing stranger things pics of all of us in chat got. Only one I couldn't get was of Tyler because for some reason it was totally changing his face in the pics I gave it, even though I said keep his facial features.