Warming Up

This week saw warmer temperatures so we were able to get out a lot more. It does wonders for my soul. I feel so  much better when I can get the kids outside. Monday our outside adventure was our traditional walk to 7-11 and the library. All the ice has finally melted so it was just mud now. Does a number on all the kids' shoes but at least we're not slipping and sliding. Later that day Penny had her second online ballet class. I am not sure she learns much. She seems to stumble a lot or run off to grab a drink or some item she feels she needs. Definitely not the same as an in person class. I should probably do better for her. Then after dinner, Tyler and I had a meeting with our seminary coordinator. He is always very positive and tells us how great we are. I would love to take that to heart but he has never actually seen us teach. He probably just likes us because we don't cause issues. He did give us a good idea for encouraging scripture reading, I hope it helps. We are going to partner up kids (strong readers with weak readers) and have them text each other a verse each day. We shall see how it goes.

Wednesday after the kids finished their schoolwork we took a little bike ride to our beach. We had fun breaking off some ice in the lake and throwing it in. We are all anxiously awaiting when it was warm enough for real beach days again. It was nice to be on a bike again. Usually my legs get tired real quick when I haven't road a bike for a long while but they didn't this time. Makes me think that all those lower body work outs I am doing might actually be working. I have been doing good at staying consistent with working out. I work out every Mon, Wed and Fri after seminary and try to rotate between a core work out, upper body work out and lower body work out. I'm hoping it's worth the effort ;)

Wednesday evening all the kids were at the church for activities thanks to my complaining. I had sent a text to the new bishop earlier in the week letting him know the difficulties of having activities at multiple locations. I don't know why I felt so guilty after sending the text, like I was being a problem child, but I did. And for some reason I felt even worse when only a couple hours later the activities were all moved to the church. It was really weird having someone actually listen to me for once. But it really is relieving that the activties are going to be better coordinated from now on. It will make my life easier and save some on gas. I guess so far my interactions with this new Bishop have been positive and that's a nice change.

Thursday while the kids were in school I did some shopping for their Easter baskets and I think I am all set- except for the candy. I am really excited by some cute little jars I got that I am going to give to the girls. They loved "Just Add Magic" and I think these jars will be perfect to use as magical spice jars for some pretend play. When I got back from that Tyler and I went out for lunch and then I actually had sometime to do some painting. I am a working on a sunset/cactus painting, hopefully it turns out nice.

Thursday was St. Patricks day so all the kids were lucky enough to not have to wear uniforms and they got to wear green instead. For dinner that night I decied to try making Shepherd's Pie because I love it and it's Irish. I undercooked it though and the mashed potatoes were still very mashed. It still tasted amazing though. 

After dinner the girls and I went on another bike ride down to our lake. This time it was all melted so they decided to do some "fishing".

Friday night Tyler and I were able to go to the temple with the Bloomfields and the Mays. I have found that I really enjoy going to the temple with my friends. Sometimes the temple can make me a little anxious but going with my friends has helped me feel more calm. This was a tough one for Caroline though because it was her last time at the temple with her husband for a year, he's headed off next week to the middle east for the national guard. Makes me grateful my husbands not going anywhere. Afterwards we all went to Applebee's and had a good time.

Perdiddle

Monday I ran some errands with the girls, and when I went to fill up my gas tank I was so sure that I had picked the worst gas station ever. There was no way gas prices could be $4.25 everywhere. Well I was wrong. Prices had literally jumped from $3.90 over the weekend to $4.25. This price hike happened right as I decided to commit to our GA/FL trip. I was so upset but as of right now we are still going to go. Two reasons. One we have decided to take my car because it gets better milage than his, we're just going to have to skimp on packing. And two, we will be getting an $800 check from our Insurance Agency because of some Michigan court ruling on insurance. Maybe not the best reasons to still go but I am just determined to have this family time before the world gets any more insane. Not to mention gas prices aren't likely going down anytime soon so this might be our last time to travel far before they reach $6 or something super fun like that.

Tuesday was Bunco and I was slightly irritated because I got roped into driving my friends there, despite them not really being on my way. I hate driving. I especially hate doing it night. And gas prices are so insane, remember? BUT I did enjoy hanging with them in my car so I should probably be less whiney. If I hadn't driven them I wouldn't have learned the term "perdiddle" that described me only having one functioning headlight. I think we were super tired because I really thought that word was sooo funny. 

Wednesday night we only had 2 places to take kids to activities instead of 3 so that was nice. I once again ended up at the church hanging out with Grace and Caroline, not a bad way to spend a night. Each time we hang out, I realize more and more how alike Grace and I are. I am so glad she moved to Michigan. 

Lately I keep thinking I don't have too much to do on Thursdays while the kids are at school and it will be a nice free day but somehow I always end up getting busy doing things. Picking up groceries and making some salsa and dessert ended up taking the whole morning. Then Tyler took me to the Breakfast Club- which was a nice day date. After that I ended up taking a bag of clothes to the Salvation Army and then picking up something at the mall for an upcoming party and then it was time to get the kids. So much for a day full of watching trashy shows and napping. Maybe someday I'll allow myself to have that lazy day.

Thursday after the kids got back from school I had the Eakin's kids over. She is always having my kids over so when she said her kids were driving her nuts I told her to let me watch hers for a change. She finally did. I was happy to be able to help her out. And so that Etta wouldn't feel weird since her and Steven aren't exactly buddies, I told her to have Alissa come too and we would play Minecraft Dungeons. Yes, I felt like a bit of a creeper being a grown adult, hanging with 2 teen girls but I think their parents appreciated the break. At points I really did feel like a weirdo, especially when Etta didn't really want to play the game but I was told they still had a fun and think I am cool. Ha.

That evening left me drained though and Friday it was a real struggle bus to stay awake while working on school work with the kids. I also had to get food and stuff ready because we were having the missionaries over for dinner. I wish I didn't hate cooking for people but I do. I worry too much about what to cook and if they will like it and if it will turn out ok. It ended up turning out well and the missionary visit wasn't too awkward, sometimes these young missionaries still have a lot of social skills to develop. 

That night we were all over the place. Penny and Lucy were at the Eakins house. We had 2 of Ben's friends over here. The teens went to the Bloomfields house. And us moms went over to the Schneider house for a puzzle night. Musical houses. I was feeling so tired and having tummy issues and once again got roped into being the driver but it turned out to be a good night. 

Saturday Penny had a birthday party, Ben went and did D&D at the library with some friends and Steven was at a friends house. Funny how life changes as these kids get more social. That evening we did a farewell party for Caroline's husband since he will be leaving for the National Guard for a year. Since I figured him being gone on the holidays might be one of the hardest things I suggested we celebrate all the holidays! We did pretty good at hitting a lot of them. We had BBQ food (4th of July), White Elephant exchange with grown ups (Christmas), Green plates and cups (St. Patrick's Day), an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids, Sparkling Cider (4th of July), Pie for dessert (Thanksgiving) and a bin of fun hats and masks for the kids (Halloween). Tyler ended up with a Jesus mask and Virgin Mary candle and I ended up with a button that says "no" in a lot of different ways. Everyone was apparently super tired because no one seemed enthusiastic about anything so I am not sure how much of a success it was. I feel like I probably exherted more effort than I should have with the holiday theme. 

Life

Sunday our ward got a new Bishopric. Our new Bishop is Brother Davies. It will be interesting to see what changes happen with this new Bishopric. I'm hoping he will be a strong advocate for the youth and helping to get the programs back to being youth led. 

Monday after school work was finished I took the girls to Walmart because I had seen some cute dresses there. Usually I get some grief about trying on clothes but the girls were actually really excited to try on dresses and we managed to find an Easter dress for each of them. They do not like poofy,fancy dresses so they are really just low key spring dresses. I also ended up getting them new swimsuits because I ended up booking lodging to GA and FL. All the lodging is fully refundable because gas prices are continuing to rise but I am real hopeful I don't have to cancel.

Monday evening I met Stefanie at the mall- because it was a nice warm place where we could hang out and catch up on things. Hanging out at the mall with my friend made me feel a bit like a teenager again. It was nice to get out of the house and get moving so I am not a complete slug. 

Tuesday evening Tyler took Steven to a presentation at the high school for incoming freshman. He came home seemingly excited about it all. He wants to take German (because his friend is taking it) and some class about ethical hacking (interesting...). He also agreed to doing tennis, basketball and golf. I have a feeling that basketball won't pan out but I have hope for the other 2. I am hoping him going to high school will be good for him and get him out of the house more.

Wednesday the weather was warmer (40's) so I took the kids out for a walk to seven eleven. I was feeling soooo good being outside with the kids for the first time in a long time and then I got a phone call from the kids school counselor during the walk. Totally dampened everything. Apparently Lucy had searched on her computer "I am done with life" and since their school district is currently being sued because people feel they didn't do enough to prevent their recent school shooting, they are definitely going to look into a search like that. It was a really uncomfortable exchange. The lady told me what Lucy searched and I don't know what she wanted me to say. She kept pausing and using an incredulous sort of tone. I told her I would talk to Lucy about it and she said ok, and told me to call her back after. 

When I spoke to Lucy, she tried to make up excuses (because she felt like she was in trouble) and finally she said she was looking up "I'm done with school" and got curious when she saw "I am done with life" come up. I can totally see that happening because she is constantly unhappy about doing school work and she also likes to google things. She also told me that is showed bad stuff so she immediately clicked out. When I called the counselor back and told her what Lucy said seemed concerned with the bad stuff and asked me what bad stuff she saw. I really didn't know so I said, probably self harm stuff. SO then the counselor looked up Lucy's history and said it was just phone numbers for suicide hotlines. Ugh. This made me seem like a liar. Then she wanted to talk to Lucy who was immediately sobbing because once again, she thought she was in trouble (even though I told her everyone was just worried about her). It was such a messy phone call and I have a feeling this may not be over but I have to tuck that thought away so as to prevent anxiety from taking over.

Wednesday evening our kids had to be at 3 different places for church activities which was obnoxious. Thankfully we were able to arrange rides and make it work. I ended up at the church with Steven and while waiting for him, I had a really nice conversation with Grace. I needed that after the drama with Lucy and I also found some comfort as we talked about a lot of similar struggles we have due to anxiety. It's nice to know I am not the only one with issues. 

Thursday I suffered from a major allergy attack. Not sure what caused it but my nose was ridiculously itchy and runny, my eyes were a dry, light sensitive mess and I had a throbbing headache. No allergy medicine seemed to help though and I struggled just to pick the kids up from school. That night I passed out fairly early and I felt so much better the next day. I have no idea what caused all that awfulness.

Friday after schoolwork I took the kids to see "Sing 2". It was a pretty fun one and I think we all enjoyed it. I enjoyed that Penny climbed onto my lap during it and we had some nice snuggle time. That doesn't happen so much these days. Later that night I went to Target with Caroline- once again, a nice, warm place to mingle with a friend. 

Saturday was another "warmer" day so we went on a walk with the Mays at Proud Lake. Despite temps in the 50's the trail was covered in slush and ice and was quite the adventure. I fell once (I am sure I will feel that ache tomorrow). Penny fell 3 times and decided it was the worst outing ever. And Ben slipped and grabbed a thorny plant that punctured his hand, good thing I had bandaides. But despite all the falling, I was still really glad just to get outside and breathe the fresh air.

That night Tyler and I got a good date night. We grabbed some dinner and then went out to South Lyon. There is a cotton candy place that we wanted to try out since Tyler loves his cotton candy. They were selling it at a Mardi Gras Festival so we got to watch a guy juggle knives and fire sticks while we ate some amazingly flavored cotton candy. Since the Cotton Candy Shop was out at the festival their store was closed but sometime we will have to go back to the store, where they have an even bigger selection of flavors.

While we were away, Steven was at a friend's house so we left Ben in charge. Ben ended up going across the street to Jacob's house with his sisters and than playing outside with them and his friend- not what we had planned. When we came home there was a nice track of leafy, muddy footsteps leading from our front door to our side door. Apparently they had thought they had heard us honk and had run inside from one door to the other to check- without taking off their shoes. It was not a pleasant discovery and made us pretty grumpy. We might have to rethink him being in charge of the girls again.