Spooky Skeletons

 This week has flown by! Sunday was a nice day of relaxing as the boys recovered from camping and we all watched Conference. The kids are doing a better job at sitting quietly during conference. They still draw/color but they aren't as rowdy as they used to be and we didn't even have to use bribery. For me, the main theme of the talks was having charity for all and that trials are for our good. Uchtdorf let us know that things usually get worse before they get better so I guess I should just come to terms with the fact that 2021 probably isn't going to be a whole lot better than this year.

Homeschooling this week went TONS better. I made some changes and I am hoping those changes attributed to the better week and that this week wasn't just a fluke. Here are the changes... For Ben I got rid of the sentence dictation in his LA's program. This was the programs way of doing spelling but he was constantly getting frustrated when he made a mistake in the sentences so we went back to a traditional spelling list. No more frustrations with spelling. Also I now require the boys to do math with me. They no longer do it on their own and have me check it later. Now we learn the math topic together and I check the worksheet as they work. No more having to have them redo. 

They were really just simple changes that I was being stubborn about. The dictation was easy and I didn't want to put forth effort to find a new spelling program. And for math I thought working with them on it would make my day so much longer but it really isn't since now I am not having to help them fix all their mistakes. I am also trying to not stress myself out about getting everything done and just setting my expectations lower- especially on the extras like piano, coding, read alouds.... I hope that if we continue doing these things, we'll just continue to get in a good rhythm for homeschool. I have decided to just commit to homeschooling all year (I want to keep their year consistent) so I would really like it to not feel like torture. 

Other things that happened this week...Monday I took Benny and Penny to the Doctor for their well check up. We are now going to a Family Practitioner that is right by our house because I just did not like our Pediatrician. I think that the switch was good choice. The doctor really talks things through with me, seems to value my thoughts and the nurses are so patient with kids who are terrified of shots. Penny literally screamed at me "I don't want it!" while I forced her to take her arm out of her shirt for the shot. That was fun. And Ben just cried and grimaced. I really wish I could figure out how to help them be less terrified of shots.

Tuesday I met with my surgeon because I have been having some anxiety and doubts about getting my uterus repaired. I still have my worries and in some ways things were amplified- I mean apparently there's a possibility that he could mess up my bladder in the process- but at this point I am still planning to get it done because if we do try to have another baby it will definitely be safer if I get this surgery done. The only reason I would end up canceling is if insurance doesn't cover it- still waiting for verification on that.

Wednesday the youth activity was cleaning up a road that our ward has adopted. While mostly fun, 2 girls decided to run far ahead and we literally couldn't see them/find them. They also were not answering their phones. Gave me a fair amount of stress. Thankfully one leader managed to track them down. The one girl was quite repentant but the other was full of excuses. Teenagers can be so frustrating. 

Friday we finished school by lunchtime so I took the youngest 3 to Northville to check out all the skeletons they have set up downtown (Steven was not interested in going). We had a really good time- the kids loved posing and taking pictures with all of the skeletons (except Lucy got a little scared of some of them)- and there was an added bonus of playing at a playground by where we had parked. The kids are hopeful that this will become a Halloween tradition. I am hoping we can rope Steven into going with us too sometime soon.

Saturday was a difficult day because it was Isaac's due date. Just a reminder of what am I missing out on. I spent the morning cleaning, and went on a nature walk in the afternoon with a few of the kids. The weather was perfect and the Fall colors are so beautiful. It's good for my heart. Afterwards my friend Corinne popped by with flowers and a loaf of bread. It was really thoughtful of her. She stayed for a little bit with her kids but that wore on me a bit. Goodness I love hanging with her one on one- she had come over to watch Women's Conference with me Sat and we had such a good chat afterwards- but I struggle with her kids. Mostly the baby boy that's just hard for me to look at and not feel sad. I wish I didn't feel that way. After her visit, my friend Jessica popped by with Taco Bell and doughnuts. Also super thoughtful. She stayed for a couple hours and we had such a good visit. I really am blessed with some amazing friends.