Walk and Library

Monday Tyler was off for Veterans Day. He had a lazy morning while I homeschooled and then that afternoon I left him with the kids so I could do a quick run to the Outlet Mall. I had a Christmas dress to pick up for Penny and then I wanted to grab some of those silly sodas they have at the sweet shop while I was kid free. The kids really liked trying to guess the soda flavors for New Years last year. I feel like in years past I was always the only one prepping for Christmas things this early but now it seems like everyone is being an early bird and I am not a wierdo anymore. I don't really like it though because having everyone else prepping somehow makes me feel like I am now behind. Anxiety can play some weird mind games with me.

Monday night Lucy had a volleyball game. Tyler stood in as coach since her coach was unable to be there (and I may have volunteered him to help). Mariah came to the game with all her kiddos so between her littles and Ruby it was a bit chaotic. Lucy's team creamed the other team for the first 2 games but the last game, the other team made a good comeback. 

Tuesday after the girls finished their work, Penny, Ruby and me went for a walk at Proud Lake. Lucy said she wasn't that into walks and did not want to come. She is getting very teenagerish on me and reminding me a lot of Steven. The walk was really nice. It was cold but with the sun shining it didn't feel so bad. Ruby actually walked for a good chunk of it and she really seemed to enjoy being out and about. And Penny was a good big sister and had fun finding sticks.

Tuesday night while Ben and Tyler were off at Archery, I took the girls to the library. We lucked out and it was super empty. The girls got free reign of the new fort tiles that were there. They are really cool and I had been considering having the grandparents get them for us for Christmas but they aren't super stable, they hurt when they fall on you and Ruby was terrified to go in the forts the girls made. So I think it will suffice to just play with them when we go to the library.

Wednesday, after dropping the girls off at school, I went pant shopping for myself. Poor Ruby had to tag along with me. I went to three stores and found some good deals and that was a lot of shopping for Ruby. At Kohl's I had to go change her diaper (she seems to always poop when we go out)and I was letting her walk after we left the restroom. As we passed the bedding section she immediately went for the soft bedding and stuffies and grabbed as much as she could. When we went to Walmart, I took her to the toy aisle after looking at clothes. She did not care about the toys but once again, went for all the stuffies. She is obsessed with all things soft and would probably love just blankets and stuffies for Christmas but we do not need anymore of those things. After the shopping, we came home for a bit and then I went to go pick up some Water Wow books from someone and she decided to fall asleep in the car. She took a 20 minute car nap and that was it for naps for the day. I hate it when that happens.

That night Lucy had volleyball practice but there were no church activities that night so everyone else was home. I decided to be the mean mom and not let them watch TV. They had been watching "Teen Titans Go" non stop and it is funny but it was still driving me crazy. Penny was really upset with me not letting her watch it but Ben rolled with it and played a game of Scrabble with me. It was a tight game and he kept refusing to accept defeat, but I won in the end.

Thursday was a super rainy day. After the girls finished homeschool (and it was a dramatic day of it), I took them shopping for some clothes. Now that Lucy has her wide leg jeans, she was feeling like her shirts were too babyish. She told me she needed, and I quote,"my age" clothes. And Penny was having wide jean envy and wanted her own pair. Lucky for them, Kohl's was having a good sale so we went there and were able to get some good deals. Ruby was not happy about being dragged along for more shopping though. She was hard to keep happy but we survived.

Thursday night we had nothing going on so 4 out of the 5 kids went to the library with me. This time we were greeted with a very busy library full of little ones. Ben tried to build some things with the fort tiles but the little kids kept breaking what he built. So he gave up and worked on putting together train tracks instead. It wasn't quite as fun as when the library was empty but it was still nice to get out of the house and kill some time. 

Early morning Friday Ruby woke up coughing and it was a rough next couple of hours. I hate this lingering cough. Friday I was trying to get some projects done after homeschool and was reminded how tricky that is with a toddler. Anytime she sees me doing something she wants my attention and she is not one who is easily distracted or who can focus on playing with something. That night I went over to Grace's house for a girls' night  and we all had a good chat. I vented about the struggles of homeschooling my girls and Grace had some good suggestions for ways to handle their meltdowns. We shall see if they help.

Saturday we watched Mariah's kids so she could get some Christmas shopping done. Jeff is out of town for a couple weeks so I am sure it was a much needed break. That night Tyler, Ruby and I did a Walmart run and got Culver's on the way back. Then I watched the 1980's version of "Poltergeist" with Lucy, Ben and Andrea. It wasn't super scary, just kind of weird and a bit gory at times.

Some silly things this week... Ruby likes to abandon the spoon and eat yogurt from her finger. She also learned a new trick this week- throwing things away. She threw away half the contents of my bottom kitchen drawer before I realized what she was doing. Ben decided he had too much hair so Tyler cut it this week- the pic below is the before when it was driving him crazy. 

Bronner's

Monday we did homeschool in the morning and then we went to the Great Lakes Crossing Mall to try and find Lucy a pair of jeans that fit. That was an ordeal that no one enjoyed. Ruby and Penny were bored to tears and Lucy was sick of trying things on by the end. It is just so hard to find something that fits her tall and thin body- I can totally empathize with that. At first she was all about the flare pants but then she tried on wide leg pants and realized how comfy they were and we ended up finding a pair of wide legs that fit her (it just requires using the adjustable waistband). So after an hour of trying on things, she ended up with one pair of new pants. We got pretzels to make up for the frustration of it all. Later that day we did one more shopping trip to Hobby Lobby so she could use the giftcard she got for her birthday. She ended up getting nothing crafty and instead bought a makeup bag, eyeshadow and lip gloss that were all candy themed. Not quite what I thought she would buy at Hobby Lobby but she was happy with her purchases.

Tuesday the kids all had off of school for election day. Tyler and I went voting after I got Ruby breakfast. The line wasn't bad at all so it was a quick outing. After voting I did a workout and then we all got ready to go on our annual outing to Bronner's to pick out new ornaments. Unfortunately, Steven did not want to go with us. He claimed he had too much homework but when we got back, he was long done with it and gaming. It makes me sad that he doesn't want to spend time with us anymore. Other than not having him there, it was a good outing. 

Ben picked out his usual marshmallow snowman ornament. This year he was able to find one that was a soccer player which was perfect. Lucy took ages to decide what she wanted but she finally chose one that looked like fruity candy. Of course, Penny picked a Stitch ornament. Although there was a marshmallow snowman that placed a close second. Ruby actually had an opinion and turned down a few dog ornaments before choosing one that she did not want to give back. There was a baby shark one that she held for a bit but in the end, she ultimately put it down for the dog ornament. She is choosy. And the kids picked out a nerdy marshmallow snowman for our no show Steven.

After Bronner's Lucy still had a giftcard she wanted to spend so we went to Home Goods. She ended up finding a mushroom bedding set that she loved and bought. She was tired of her "little girl" bedding that she had. Then I made her go to Old Navy and try on another pair of pants. She was not happy about doing more pant shopping but we did find her one more pair of pants that she loves.

That night I stayed up too late watching the election results. When it seemed like it was pretty promising to Trump, I went to bed. When Ruby woke me up the next moring at 6:00 (thanks Daylight savings, for the earlier wake up calls) the results were in. Trump ended up winning. I honestly don't love him, but I am going to be hopeful that he does good things for our country. I trust him more than the other candidate.

Wednesday while the girls were at school, Ruby and I ran a couple of Christmas errands. When I got back home I was going to try and get outside with Ruby but I got distracted by the kids' rooms and did some cleaning. Both rooms needed more cleaning than I had time for but I did slightly improve them. The boys had a half day which was nice. It meant I did not have to wake up Ruby from her nap to pick up the girls. Wednesday night Lucy had volleyball practice while everyone else went to the church. I was feeling a little cranky so Tyler watched Ruby and I went and got a few things at Krogers after dropping Lucy off. It is amazing how just a short moment of kid free time can recharge me. 

Wednesday night was rough for Ruby and me. She woke up at 5:00am coughing and would not go back to sleep. I ended up downstairs with her after an hour of trying to get her to sleep and eventually she climbed onto the couch and fell asleep on me. Tyler almost woke her up coming home from seminary and so I almost murdered him.

Thursday Ruby was super fussy because of the rough night and to make the day even more challenging, she had a dr's appointment. Ruby found the whole appointment traumatizing- she did not want to stand on the scale, be measured and most of all she did not like getting 3 shots. I was glad that Lucy had come with me. She was really helpful. Ruby was pretty cranky for the rest of the day and did not like her legs to be moved or bumped. That night,after dinner, I took the girls to the library. I am struggling with it getting dark at 5:30. That means no more going outside so I thought the library might be a nice alternate. It was alright but I miss the outside.

Friday was rough. Ruby woke up at 5:30am coughing and did not go back to sleep. Since this was day 2 of interrupted sleep, I was extra exhausted and on edge. Then to make matters worse both girls gave me grief during homeschooling. Lots of anger and frustration. I don't know why it has to be so difficult. Then it was Penny's turn for a doctor's appointment. She was really anxious but only had to get one shot so it wasn't too terrible. Later that afternoon I left the kids and went painting with Debbie. It was nice to get away  and do something creative. I have missed our painting "dates". She was dog sitting for a dog that actually did not annoy me too much- although some of its hair got in the paint. I came home for a bit after that and then ditched my kids again to go on a last minute hang out with my friend. She is officially filing for divorce and it's such an emotional rollercoaster for her. We just picked up some Sonic's and talked in the car for a long while. My heart hurts for her.

Saturday we had no plans so I was able to be somewhat productive and then Tyler and I went out on a date that evening. We went to the Filling Station which is so pricey but their burgers are just so good that we have to go every now and then. It was a lot busier than it usually is which is good. I want them to stay in business. After dinner, we did a quick stop at Target. I am also looking for pants but I did not spend as long as Lucy did shopping. 

This is Halloween...and Lucy turns 12!

At lunchtime on Monday, I got a vist from the RS Presidency. They were really sweet with Ruby and it was a nice visit. I wish I had more people come over to talk to me and play with Ruby...That night Lucy had volleyball practice and I decided to take Ruby. Tyler was working on the Suburban (which is now finally fixed!) and I figured it would be good for Ruby to get out. It was not so good. She walked around staring at people and making introverted me super uncomfortable. There was also this loud guy who felt the need to comment on things she did and say he felt like a "nervous dad". Barf. She kept trying to get her finger in a plug nearby and that seemed to scare him a lot, even though I was right there and always got her away from it. Like calm down buddy.

Tbe weather was nice Tuesday so I decided to let the girls do only 1 subject that morning and then we would go to the zoo. We have a pass that we have barely used and I figured the weather is about to turn soon so we might as well use the pass while we can. Well the weather was really really perfect and it was nice to be outside, but the zoo is just not our favorite anymore. So much walking for so little reward. I think out of all of us, Ruby probably had the best time since she just got to be pushed around in her stroller. She got excited by the penguins, was fascinated with the butterflies, and said "hi" a bunch of times to the lion. We stayed a couple of hours and then headed back home so I could take Steven to the dentist.

After the zoo visit, I had some frustrations with Steven. As we were driving to the dentist I found out he had procrastinated his speech for his college class and hadn't even started the power point that he needed for the speech that day. At that point the class was in 4 hours and he still had to get a cavity filled. Argh. After his *very expensive, not covered by insurance* dentist visit, he managed to pull something together but he was fussing with emailing the power point to his professor just minutes before he had to leave. He gives me so much anxiety. 

Tuesday night Ben had his Soccer Banquet. These things are not my favorite but thankfully Tyler had been busy making friends while announcing at soccer games so he actually knew some people for us to sit by. We apparently sat at the table where everyone seemed to be originally from Germany so we were oddballs but they were nice people. After the dinner the JV coach gave a really long speech and by that time it was Ruby's bedtime and the girls were texting me that she was fussy and I needed to come home and put her to bed. I figured the end of that speech was a good time for me to leave. Moments after pulling out of the parking lot, Tyler sent me a text that Ben had received an award. I was so mad that I missed it by minutes! He got "Most Improved Player" and got a plaque and everything. I am so proud of him. Here's a pic when he got home of him and his fancy award.

Wednesday the girls had their electives and were able to wear costumes. They did not want to wear their Stitch and Angel onesies because they are not super comfy for school so we put together costumes just for school. Apparently only the adults understood Lucy's costume (pumpkin pie) and it was obvious that Penny was a cat but not everyone realized she was Hello Kitty. I thought they were fun though. I even used Penny's hair to make the ears.

While they were at school, Ruby and I ran errands and then went on a walk to the beach to play at the playground there. Ruby has started doing this super cute excited face.

After school, I picked the girls up and took them to the little stream that Ruby, Lucy and I had played at before since it was another warm day. Lucy does not like to share things and I guess that includes sharing places. She was not happy having Penny there and they kept fighting over getting in each other's space. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing them a disservice by giving them so much time together. It seems like it makes them more crabby towards each other. I did get some fun pics though.

Wednesday night Lucy had her first volleyball game and her team did really well. They won all 3 matches and I was impressed with how many times Lucy went after the ball and got it over. This might just be her sport...Meanwhile Ruby was tromping around, and making friends with another little one. This one was a few months younger than her and not walking yet. She tried to stand up using Ruby and that did not go well for either of them. 

Thursday was Halloween! The boys had a half day so at lunchtime I thought we would carve pumpkins. Steven was not interested and Ben barely was and honestly it was a bit of a disaster. Penny's pumpkin had started rotting and it lost part of its back side when she was scraping out the inside. I decided to carve Steven's and something was wrong with it because it smelt awful inside and leaked all sorts of nasty juices everywhere. And Ruby painted hers but the paint was not really washable and she still has colors on her. I think we all concluded that this should be our last year or carving pumpkins. None of them seemed to love it.

 Lucy made a stabbed person, Ben said his was a Chad, Penny attempted a Stitch face but it did not go well at all and I made a sad pumpkin because carving was no fun.

That night for dinner we had Mummy Dogs and then Mariah's family and the May family came over. Mariah did the girls' makeup and then we all went out trick or treating. The weather was really nice so even I went for a bit with Ruby. Caroline volunteered to stay at our house and pass out candy. Ruby had no interest in the trick or treating. She got one candy from one person and then gave it to the next house we visited. Most of the time she just sat in her "car" and watched all the things. I got bored after a bit (Mariah's kids are a bit slow at each house) and we had someone in front of us smoking and the smell was obnoxious so when we were back by our street Ruby and I headed back home. We stopped at Christy's on the way and she spoiled Ruby with candy. Back at our house I chatted with Caroline while Ruby took candy out of the bowl and then put it back in. She was really more about playing with it then eating it. Although sometimes she would put it in her mouth with the wrappers on...

Friday was Lucy's birthday. She was lacking in the patience department that day and did not want to have a relaxed morning- she wanted presents ASAP. From us she got a fashion design kit, Polaroid photo paper, stickers, and a fanny pack. We also gave her some spending money. From her grandparents she got a clay charms kit, giftcard and money.

After the present opening, I did a work out and that was probably a mistake. I had promised to take Lucy shopping and as I said, she was lacking in patience. She stressed me out with her need to go as soon as I was done with my work out and shower. It's so much harder these days to leave somewhere now that I have Miss Ruby so it took me awhile to get ready. Anyways, when I was finally ready, we went to Target and she got a few more things- Mini Brands, colored pencils, sticker that you can color and candy. She was a happy girl. By that time it was lunch time, so we stopped for some Culver's. She is really loving cheeseburgers lately.

When we got home, I put Ruby down for a nap and then finished prepping for the party. I had to decorate the cake (a smiley face), put up decorations (they need some backdrops for pictures) and last but not least, tidy up the house. Lucy had made the invite and that meant she picked the party time. She chose to have it from 3pm Fri to 3pm Sat- early start time and LONG party. Claire and Geli were first to arrive. Jenna came late because she didn't get out of middle school until 3pm, Jenna's mom stayed for a bit to chat. We were outside and I had just told her how excellent Ruby was at going down the deck stairs when Ruby decided to just take a leap. She rolled pretty good and got a bump on her forehead. It was not great. Shortly after that, Mariah arrived with all her kids. She was there to give the girls all makeovers so they could do some dolled up bestie pics. I watched her kids while she did the girls' hair and make up. She was so nice to do that but our house just felt like a mad house- watching both Maverick and Ruby is a lot, especially now that Maverick is mobile. Mariah did some pretty over the top make up for Lucy. I don't think the other girls make up was quite as over the top but she did use a lot of mascara (the girls complained it was itching their eyes) and they all looked so much older. Claire had to leave for a couple hours to a volleyball banquet and she came back with no more makeup and her hair undone. Apparently her mom thought it was too fancy. At least we got pictures of all of them before Claire left. I only took a few but Mariah took a bunch with her fancy phone app and is going to send me them when she gets a chance. 

When makeovers were done, it was pizza, cake and presents time. She kept switching the 1 and 2 because apparently the makeup made her feel like she was 21. Her friends spoiled her. She got a sweatshirt, slipper socks, a giftcard to Hobby Lobby,a Christmas Tree, Dr.P and some cash. She will definitely have some shopping to do later.

Then they all watched "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and gave eachother manicures. When the movie was done, Jenna had to head home because she wasn't able to stay for the sleepover and around that time Claire returned from her banquet. I helped set up beds and wished them all a good night. They said they went to bed at midnight but I honestly have no idea since I did not hear them for the rest of the night.

Saturday morning they woke up slow and then made a movie on Geli's Ipad. They did good entertaining themselves until about lunchtime. Around noon, Claire's mom picked her because apparently she thought that was when the party ended. That was actually a good thing she made a mistake with the time. I think Geli wished she was picked up then too because Lucy and Geli started to get bored, and honestly, I think Geli was missing home and in need of some quiet time. Instead though, Geli's mom ended up picking her up late because she had some things come up. Poor Geli and Lucy had a very LONG and BORING afternoon in which they watched a movie and then Geli played on her Ipad while Lucy did her own thing. They were socialed out.

I ended my Saturday by going to see the new Venom movie with Ben and Andrea. It was really nice to have some baby free time and escape in a movie. It was an entertaining watch- a good mix of comedy, action and a tiny bit of drama. 

Ruby slept through all but one night this past week. The one night she didn't sleep through, she was coughing a bunch and she went to bed after snuggling with me for 20 minutes so it wasn't a totally awful night. I am hoping we have turned a corner in nights with her but I just can't count on it yet. I am not trying to be a pessimist, just trying to be a realist. Her is a pic of Ruby with her buddy Chad.