Winter Break

Sunday after church one of the Bishopric members pulled me aside and gave me a calling. It's not necessarily a bad one but it was a little unexpected. I know that both Primary and Young Women's Presidency need a shake up and so I was sure I would end up in one of those but nope. I am going to be in charge of Parent's Teacher Council. I don't love the idea of teaching adults, they make me nervous. And I hate the crazy comments that can come about. But I know the nerves usually leave once I get started and I do love writing lessons. I'm sure once I figure out what exactly I am supposed to do it will be a good gig.

Sunday evening was New Year's Eve. I had bought some weird sodas to taste test with the kids and I was going to use them for Christmas but things  were already so busy that day that I decided to save them for New Years Eve. We've decided we're going to make this a New Years Eve tradition. We all had a shot glass full of every soda to try and then we guessed what flavor it was. No one was a fan of the "Christmas" flavored one and "Gamers Goop". But surprisingly "Pirate's Piss" (which actually tasted like banana) and "Unicorn Yak" (a mixed berry taste) were favorites.  After the taste testing we watched the "Amazing Race" (I got all my kids into it, my Grandma Brady would be proud) and then I went to bed while the kids all stayed up until midnight. I thought I was going to get more rest than them but Ruby was up at 12:30 and then two times after that. She has not been sleeping well at night.

Monday was Tyler's last day of leave so I told him I wanted to do something as a family for a last hurrah. He had some quarters he was willing to spend so we went Marvin's Mechanical Museum and played some games. Even though Steven didn't want to come, I think everyone still ended up having a good time. Even Ruby got to ride on a camel. The kids decided to pool all their tickets together and still, with 400 tickets, they could only get candy to share.

After our fun at the arcade we took Steven to his friend's house and I picked up a really fun activity center/jumperoo thing for Ruby (a FB Marketplace find). She might still be a little too young for it because she gets tired pretty fast and flops over a bit but the toys come off so she can still use it now. 

Tuesday Tyler headed back to work, only to find out that he hadn't notified HR properly and he could not get into the building. I didn't mind too much because that meant I still had him at home for help for a bit longer. BUT I do hope that he will still get a paycheck for this past week. He made sure to join meetings and make contact with lots of people so there is evidence that he was working. His manager will be back in town this coming Tuesday and hopefully everything will get worked out then. 

Wednesday I went to Mariah's to drop off a gift and finally meet Maverick. Holy cow he is one small baby, so light- he almost doesn't seem real. He slept in my arms the whole time while Mariah got some things done around the house. She says he is always sleeping and she has to wake him up to feed him because he is on a tight schedule as a preemie. While I held him, I entertained her other kiddos. They love to talk and talk and talk, lol. They are adorable and also exhausting. I don't know how I made it through those days of having a bunch of young kids. Ruby is more than enough for me right now.

Wednesday was our anniversary but we didn't really do anything because we had plans for Saturday. However, Tyler was nice, and came home from taking the kids to their church activities with flowers and candy for me. I wasn't expecting anything since I had exerted no effort so that was really thoughtful of him. Made me feel like a stinker for not doing more.

This week we have been trying to get ahead on school work so the next 2 weeks at home weeks won't be too full of school work. I think we made some pretty good progress. We had nothing Thursday so it was a good productive day. Friday we did some more school work and then the kids had friends over in the afternoon. I never mind Ben having Andrea over. They are not needy and they stay out of my hair. Lucy and Penny had Geli and Luna over and the first few hours were good but I probably shouldn't have planned such a long play date. By the end they were all having drama with each other- fighting over toys and turns and games...I had a big discussion with my girls after their friends left about being a good friend and a good hostess. I feel like I keep having this discussion with Lucy and I am hoping things start sinking in soon so that her having friends over doesn't feel like such a burden. I want to be the home that their friends want to hang out at. But I also have a little baby so I need their friends not to add to the stress.

Saturday we celebrated our anniversary by going to Benihana's for lunch. We left the kids in charge of babysitting Ruby which made me super nervous since usually we stick closer by. But they did good watching her and Tyler and I had a nice time watching our food be made and eating it. Our chef wasn't too entertaining and we were probably the oldest people at our table but the food was good. Later that day there was a ligth snow fall so Penny and I took Ruby out for a short walk in it. I need to get better at taking her out, even when it's cold out, the fresh air is good for us all.

This week Ruby turned 5 months old! She has fully mastered rolling from her tummy to her back and can do it like a pro and often. As I said she has decided sleeping at night is overrated and I am not a fan of this regression. She still gives the best smiles though and some good belly chuckles and she can hold her own bottle like a champ.