Halloween Fun and Lucy's Party

This Sunday was a lot better. My kids behaved themselves while I nursed Ruby and then someone was nice and not only sat by me in Relief Society, but acknowledged Ruby and me. She even held Ruby for a bit.It was nice to be noticed.

Monday was not great. Tyler was working on the shed and I was trying to clean the house but Ruby was refusing naps and was fussy a lot so it was frustrating. Days like that always make me miss my pre baby independence. 

Monday night Mariah's family came over to carve pumpkins with us. Tyler hates carving pumpkins because he feels like he has to do all the work. I usually help with the gutting but I don't mind. It's sort of satisfying getting all the guts out. This year Lucy and Ben even carved faces into their pumpkins with very little help. Steven was lame and didn't carve a face. Just opened and gutted it. Penny drew on the face and then had Tyler carve the face on hers. And Ruby got a pumpkin to sit in because it's a super fun trend right now. I tried her in just a diaper first but it was much too cold and she hated it so we put the clothes back on.  The next day temps went up to the 70's so we tried just a diaper again and were actually successful.

 

Tuesday I went out to lunch with Stefanie. The weather was nice so we ate outside in Milford but then the bees kept coming for our food. I really hate bugs, they always ruin the good weather. That evening Steven had his tennis banquet and Tyler took him. No special awards for Steven but I am glad he made it through another season and this time with very little complaining.

Wednesday after the kids finished their schoolwork,  I took Lucy to Salvation Army to find a boxer outfit for her Murder Mystery Party. We were able to find some baggy shorts, a champion shirt and a robe.  Gotta love Salvation Army. I had wanted to look at some stuff for me but Penny had come along with us and started to get whiney so we left. I was frustrated. 

Thursday I ran a quick errand and did some prep for Lucy's party. Then after the kids got home, we went on an adventure to Tillson Street in Romeo. It's a street that goes all out with Halloween decor.  It was a bit of a drive but I think it was worth it. There was some cool stuff to see. Steven said he had dibs on Ruby and didn't mind that that meant he'd have to hold her in a carrier. He said carrying his massive school backpack prepped him for that. 

Friday I was sooo busy with party preparations- I had to make cake, tidy up and decorate the house and make cookies. That may not seem like much but it is so much when I have school stuff to do with the older kids and a baby to feed every 2-3 hours as well. I was pretty frazzled by dinner time but unfortunately my day was not over. After dinner we went to the nearby playground where they were doing a Trick or Treat walk from the park to the library. We met Lucy's friend Geli there. It was fun at first and I got to say hello to Stefanie who was passing out candy, but then it started to get super peopley and slow so we left the line and went into the woods where they had some fun decorations. Then we hit a couple more candy stations, got tired of the slow lines again and went back to the park.  When we got back there, Mariah's family had come as well. I suggested she skip thr slow line and just buy candy, lol. I ended up sneaking some candy from Stefanie for her kids and taking them on the spooky woods walk. It was starting to get dark though and my goodness, my poor night vision was tripping me out. I should probably go to an eye specialist to make sure everything is ok...

After that adventure, Lucy's friend Geli came home with us and shortly after we got home,  Geli's sister Luna (who'd been at gymnastics) was dropped off- they were both sleeping over. The girls got along well and went to bed nicely but they were all up at 5:30am- I'm pretty sure that was Penny's fault. She said she couldn't sleep because Luna was snoring and then I think she just woke everyone up. I was not happy about the early rising because we had a long day ahead and my kids aren't great on little sleep. I yelled at them to go back to bed but of course they didn't, not really. 

Shortly after they woke up, Ruby did too. I fed her and then went downstairs and attempted to make breakfast for the girls but I was out of eggs and so I couldn't make pancakes and apparently their friends didn't like any of the 6 kinds of cereal we had.  I ended up making some canned cinnamon rolls for them instead and they were happy with that. Super healthy.

At lunchtime we had Lucy's Murder Mystery Party. I was re-using a lot of the stuff from Ben's Party because Lucy said it looked fun. It was a bit more challenging with younger kids. They needed so much help reading the right parts and they got so squirrely during each act. I had to give them frequent wiggle breaks. I also almost blew it because I misremembered who the murderer was and told her to read the "innocent" part instead of the "guilty" one. It felt like a chaotic mess to me but Lucy said it was fun so I guess that's all that matters. After we finished the mystery we did cake and presents and then played some "Cards of Humanity- Family Edition".

That evening we had our Ward Trunk or Treat. Last minute I decided to dress up as Ben and Tyler dressed up as Steven. Most people didn't understand our costumes but those that know our kids well did, I thought I was funny. I was pretty exhausted but it was nice to hang with my friends and eat food that I did not have to make. For the trunk or treat part I had taped candy onto a Twister board and then everyone had to spin to find out if they would take the candy off with a skeleton hand or a monster hand (i.e. a pot holder). I always try to slow the kids down because they all try to rush through the trunks---several times. But this may have been too slow. The line built up behind our trunk and Tyler had a hard time keeping up with taping on more candy. I eventually ditched the spinner and just let them pick which one to use. It all felt so chaotic and that probably wasn't helped by the fact that Ruby got super fussy during it. I was grateful when the night was over and I could crash. 

Here are the only pics I got from the night:

Skeletons

Sunday wasn't the greatest. I was thinking about it and it really feels like everyone was more invested in me when I was pregnant. That sounds silly, I know, but it is just the way I feel. A bit forgotten. Anyways, we had the primary program and it went well. Lucy and Penny did not memorize their parts but they are good readers so they were fine. There was a part where the Primary President talked about each kids spiritual gifts and she had them wave at their families. Lucy gave the most over the top,silly wave. She got a good laugh from everyone. Especially when the president said her gift was confidence. The Primary Pres said Penny's gift was empathy. I can agree with that. The last song the primary kids did a descant of "I am a Child of God" while the congregation sang and it was really pretty.

After church we hit up our neighborhood Halloween party. There were not many people there but my friend Julie was there and it was nice to chat with her for a bit. The kids were glad they got to go because there was a cake walk and a pinata- plenty of sugar for them. Later Mariah's family came over to hang out.

 

Monday the kids were up early and got their work done quickly and there was no rain in the forecast so I decided it was at last a good day to go see the skeletons in Northville. We picked up Andrea and then met Mariah and her kids and Cherish and her girls there. It is always more fun with friends. This was Tyler's first time going with us and he wasn't thrilled since it's basically all about taking pictures with skeletons. Tyler had Ruby in a carrier and I wanted to take her out and get some pictures of her because I had put her in a skeleton onesie. Tyler did not want to go through the effort to take her out. When I said to her, "Don't you want to take pictures!?" we swear she said "no". She's already disagreeing with me. After we took a bazillion pictures, we walked back to the park and let the kids play until Ruby started to get fussy and then it was time to get back home.

I spent most of Tuesday hanging with Ruby while Tyler took over chauffeuring the kids to school and back and then taking the girls to their game that night. I know he is on paternity leave and his purpose is to help but for some reason I feel super guilty having him do all the things. Yet when he doesn't help, I feel resentful. Poor guy can't win. The girls did not win their soccer game that night. Apparently the other team was 2 kids short and for some reason 2 of the best players from the girls' team went and subbed on the other team. They got creamed by their own teammates. Not sure why they didn't send over their less amazing players.

Wednesday morning Penny had her annual well visit. She is so quiet with the doctor but the doctor is very nice to her and let her listen to her own heart beat. Penny was very brave getting the flu shot but then spent the rest of the day telling me how much her arm hurt. Penny has been pretty sensitive lately and seems to often be shedding tears.

Thursday morning I got my butt in gear and took the kids to school. I knew that they all wanted to listen to a story I have on my phone so that was mostly why I made such an effort instead of having Tyler do it. But then my stupid phone refused to connect to my radio and we didn't get to listen to the story. It was super frustrating. Later that day I met my friends for lunch at Lena's Kitchen. I will always prefer one on ones to group things but the food was good and my friends had a lot of entertaining things to vent. That evening the girls were supposed to have a soccer game but thanks to the rain, it was cancelled. It feels like there has been a lot of rain this season but honestly, I can't complain. I much prefer quiet evenings at home.

Friday was nothing thrilling. I picked up groceries in the morning (and for the second time in a row they forgot something in my order and I didn't notice until I got home, boo!). After lunch I dropped off Lucy to go roller skating with friends. Originally she had wanted roller skates for Christmas (her friends are big into roller skating) but after a lot of falling and pain, she has changed her mind. Later I picked up pizza at Costco with Penny. It always feels like such a long ordeal but I do like their pizza a lot more than Little Caesars so I think it's worth the 30 minute wait...

Saturday morning the girls had their last soccer game. It was a cold once again. Since it was the last one everyone came to watch them. I honestly can't remember the score but I think both my girls were too cold to be playing their best. Lucy was running with her hands in her pockets most of the time.

After their game we came home for a quick minute and then it was off to Ben's game. Poor Ruby was done with the outside but we survived, it was at least a little warmer. Only one more soccer game for Ben and then we will be done with sitting in the cold. Next month Lucy will have volleyball and Steven archery but those should both be all indoors. After Ben's game, I dropped him off at a friend's house and then Tyler and I were able to go out on a date (with Ruby). We went to a new place- Filling Station. I liked it. It was super close, small, not busy at all, nice wait staff, good food...the only drawback was that it is pricey so we can't go too often. 

Light Week

Sunday I decided to pump before church so I wouldn't have to nurse at church. It worked out okay. She drank the bottle when we got to church and then slept through most of sacrament. However, she woke up the last 10 mins of sacrament and was fussy. Tyler was doing tech stuff so I left the other kids alone to take her out. Turns out my older kids are irreverent and when I got back I had 2 separate people telling me how naughty they were. I brought Ruby to Relief Society and she didn't want to be quiet so we left. I was OK with that,  I haven't really been feeling like I fit in at church lately.  I probably need a new calling, even if I don't want one. Or I need a ward with more young moms so I'm not alone in the halls.

Sunday night Mariah's family came over. It had been awhile since we had seen them so it was nice to have all the crazy over. I ended up disappearing near the end so I could feed Ruby though. She gets overstimulated with all the people. So do I ;)

Monday I was going to try to be a fun mom and take the kids with some friends to go see the Northville skeletons but their friends couldn't go. Honestly, I was relieved.  Instead the kids decided to earn money doing chores around the house. Lucy and Ben mowed and Penny cleaned the car. Then they had to go spend their money so we went to Target and Meijers. The girls got yet another stuffie (we've got to work on their money management) and Ben got Pokémon cards. He's been having fun doing Pokémon battles ever since he did some with Oliver. Ruby was also especially smiley Monday.

I spent too much of Tuesday and Wednesday scrolling Prime Deals on Amazon. In the end I bought a few craft kits for Christmas presents for Lucy and Penny, Fisher Price "Christmas Story" Little People and some warm pj's for Ruby,  a lego set for Christmas for Steven, church shoes for me and we got an air fryer because Tyler wanted one for lunch. I'm all about the deals.  

Thursday morning Ruby woke up a little later so I had Tyler take the kids to school since I wouldn't be ready in time. It was a nice break. Later I had him watch Ruby while I went to lunch with Caroline. Honestly it was so nice to have some baby free time with a friend, no worrying about a fussy baby. Caroline caught me up on her Ireland trip and all the things. After we ate, we ran a quick errand to Meijers together. It was just the sort of day I needed. My hormones have been a mess lately and I needed some selfish time. That evening we watched Mariah's kids, they were easy, at least while I was there. Ben and Steven got to do some babysitting while I picked up the girls from soccer because Tyler was at a mtg about high school Archery for Steven. Looks like Steven's going to do Archery. It's one more thing to add to the calendar but Steven seems to enjoy archery and it's good for him to get out of the house.

Friday Lucy had a good day doing her schoolwork and earned an extra privilege. She really wanted to go to the mall to window shop, so we did. Tyler watched Ruby and the other kids so it was just us. Of course we couldn't go to the mall and not get pretzels and then Lucy was thirsty so she "needed" a soda. When we got back I complained to Tyler that all Lucy wants to do is spend money and have treats. He gave me the side eye because I literally just described myself. Ugh. Friday night the boys had a temple night so us girls watched "Lilo and Stitch". Penny had decided recently that she wanted Stitch toys but she had never actually seen the movie so I figured she needed to. I forgot what a cute movie that was. And now Penny loves Stitch even more. 

Saturday was a rainy, cold day so all the kid's soccer games were canceled. Honestly, that was such a relief. It was a nice, chill day at home. I even got to bake some pumpkin bread that no one wanted to eat except me...

Ruby is still not much for schedules. Everytime we have a few good night, she decides to break the cycle with a super awful night and I can't pinpoint what leads to it. She also is finicky about naps. Her favorite way to nap is on me which is not conducive to getting things done, even if I do enjoy the snuggles.