Farms, First Jobs, Dance

I was sort of hoping for a chill Monday after a busy weekend but the girls were invited to visit Three Cedars Farm with their friends, Gelie and Luna, and I just couldn't say no. The girls just love their friend time. With the promise of an outing the girls got their school work done quickly and thankfully Tyler was home so I could leave Ruby napping. It was nice to not have to worry about packing a diaper bag. It was a little chill outside but not too cold. We tried the dougnuts at this farm and determined that Longs' doughnuts are definitely better. The girls had fun playing in corn, feeding cows, climbing hay bales, riding a train and just being together. Me and Grams were a bit bored but at least we had each other to talk to. It was a long drive so I am not sure I would return, but I am glad the girls had a good time.

Tuesday the boys had a half day and were home early. Andrea came home with Ben on the bus so they could hang out. Grams and I decided we needed some Longs' doughnuts after the disappointing dougnuts from the day before so we took the girls to Longs' Farm. The boys were not interested in going so they missed out on our fun pics and the cream cider slushies but they did get doughnuts when we got home. While we were there I saw my friend Amy Day. It was fun to run into her, she is always so nice to me. I miss seeing her at Bunco. If only I could still see my Bunco friends without having to be in Bunco. Anyways, Amy was nice and took our picture on the giant chair so all us ladies could be in it.

Tuesday night was going to be a juggle with Steven having his night class and Penny and Ben having soccer but Penny's soccer got cancelled so that helped lighten some of the load. That was especially good since we are still operating on 2 cars. Getting the Suburban fixed is taking some time between having to wait on parts and new problems arising. 

Wednesday the girls had their classes at Renaissance so we did a little adventure just Ruby, Grams and me. We went to the farm at Kensington. It wasn't quite bustling with animals like it is in the spring but Ruby still had a good time. She was really fascinated by the goats, donkeys, hens and ducks and could have stared at each animals for ages. We had to force her to move on each time. We were also going to go to the nature center,  but they randomly closed the road to it, so we ended up just parking and walking down part of a nearby trail. Kensington really is beautiful.

Wednesday evening everyone was at their various activities except for Penny, Ruby, Grams and me, so we watched "Migration". It is a silly movie but was a nice way to spend the night.

Thursday was Grams last day with us. Penny had some particularly explosive drama with her homeschool work that morning which probably made Grams glad that she was getting out of here. We were sad to see her go. It was nice to have her company.

After I dropped Grams off at the airport, the girls had their dentist appointments. The boys originally had theirs too but I had rescheduled for them because they both were supposed to have stuff going on. They did not end up having things going on and so that meant I rescheduled unnecessarily. That was a bit frustrating. Anyways, the girls visit was kind of strange. Instead of the hygenist cleaning their teeth, the dentist did and did a very short cleaning. I am not sure why, it was weird. But I did have a nice chat with the dentist. We have been seeing her since my kiddos were little so it's easy to feel like we "know" each other, even though we really don't. I actually learned a bit more about her at this visit. 

Friday morning the boys had their dentist appointments. Steven was able to drive them both from school and I met them there. It is nice having Steven be more independent. What was not nice, was the Steven has 4 cavities. That is going to be expensive.

Also Friday, Steven had another evening of work. This time he actually got to do some work. He is not very communicative with me, lol, but I think he enjoyed it. He says he does the toppings or cleans up things in the back. He also worked Saturday from 9-2, this time with his friend Max. He is not complaining too much about it and I really like seeing him use his time productively. He wouldn't let me take a picture so I had to sneak one of him in his uniform.

Friday night Lucy had her first dance. She went to the Renaissance Fall Dance with her friends, Claire and Geli. Claire came over before the dance and tried to undo the damage Lucy felt I did to her hair when I attempted to make it wavy, lol. Lucy is not a fan of my "style" and definitely has a style all her own. I dropped Claire and Lucy off at the dance but Geli's mom was chaperoning and sent me some pics. Lucy seemed to have a good time just hanging with her friends. She did not dance with any boys, nor did she want to.

Penny had a soccer game Saturday morning and it left her feeling very upset. They lost 5 to 0 and she had all sorts of reasons for why it went so terrible and all sorts of things to say about how everyone on her team was mad at everyone. Their head coach was gone and I wonder if that was why it went so bad or if it was just an off day for everyone. 

Mackinac

On Monday Tyler and I brought dinner to a couple that just had a baby in our ward. She has a 17 year gap between this baby and her 2 older daughters (different dads) and I think she is having the same rude awakening that I did. Babies are hard when your older. They also had a giant dog that kept jumping up on me and licking my face. I had to pretend that I did not absolutely hate that dog, lol. Anyways they are nice people and I would love to have a friend at church in the same baby boat as me but I am not sure she likes me that much. I don't know why I think that, just a vibe I get.

On Tuesday Lucy got lucky. A desk came up on Facebook Marketplace that was cheap and just the right size so I caved and picked it up for her. The person had me pick it up from him by the police station which should have made me feel safe but just made me feel weird. Lucy immediately cleaned it and filled it up with her things. Lucy uses the desk to journal and is very happy to have her own little spot in her room. That night we had 3 places to be and only 2 cars- the Suburban is having break issues. I dropped Ben off at school so he could take the bus to his game(such a blessing that soccer has this) and then Tyler picked him up from it after Penny's soccer practice. That meant that none of us were able to be at his game which was a bummer but at least he didn't play that game. Steven had the other car for his college class. It is ridiculous how necessary 3 cars has become for us. 

Wednesday was my blessed break day from homeschooling. The girls went to their electives that day, Lucy was looking anxious that morning, she still hasn't made new friendst there. I am really hoping she learns to love Wednesdays and find new friends but I know that is hard when you only go once a week. On the other hand Penny seems to be loving Wednesdays and always has a story to tell- she is full of drama. While they were at school, I made a birthday cake for Grams. It took longer than expected and that was pretty much how I spent my day off. Late that evening Grams flight came in and I had the pleasure of picking her up. It is always nice when she comes for a visit!

Thursday was not an exciting day for Grams. There was homeschooling, picking up groceries, an errand to the Dollar Tree, a walk...nothing spectacular. I did, however, have two dizzy spells that felt like they came out of nowhere and totally freaked me out. One was when I was driving home from the Dollar Tree. I was turning into my neighborhood and it only lasted seconds so thankfully we didn't crash into anything. The other was on our walk and I had to grip on to Grams for a half a minute while the world was spinning. They were very random and thankfully haven't occurred again. The one fun event Thursday, singing happy birthday to Grams when everyone was finally home. Steven was nice and picked up ice cream to go with the cake so it was a yummy night.

Friday night Ben had a soccer game at Northern. Grams, Ruby, Penny and I went. Tyler also went, he was the announcer. Ben's team kicked butt and won 9 to 2 and Ben even got 18 minutes of play time. While he was playing he did a really great kick which would have been a goal assist if the kid he had kicked it to had not been ofoffsides. It was a really good night for Ben.

Saturday morning it was Ben, Ruby and Tyler's turn to go to Mackinac Island with me and Grams. Originally we had planned to leisurely drive up to Mackinaw City Saturday and go to the island Sunday, then drive home Sunday night. BUT rain was forecasted for most of Sunday so we had to switch our plans around. Instead we woke up early Saturday morning and headed to the ferry. The drive there went fairly smoothly. We just did a quick stop at McDonald's for some breakfast. We got to the ferry just before 11am and discovered the parking lot was full and there was a massive line- like past the parking lot, wrapping down the sidewalk. It made me want to abort, I had never seen the line that long and I HATE crowds,but we persevered. We ended up parking at our motel and then walking over to the ferry- it was a very short walk. Ben was nice and walked Ruby around while we waited in line. Tyler went and bought a hat to protect his bald head while we waited in line. Grams went and got tickets while we waited in line (because the line was just to board the boat, not for tickets). I told Grams she should play the geriatrics card and lie somehow- tell them her heart was too weak for standing in line or something, but she was a good girl and didn't want to lie, so we waited. After about an hour, we made it onto the boat. The ticket taker told us she had never seen it that busy in September but it was likely due to the fact that the other ferry was closed for the season so this was the only one running. Ben really wanted to ride on top but it was full. I was ok with the bottom of the boat though honestly, it's less sunny and windy and wet.

Once we got there, the island really didn't seem any busier than when I have been there before. If anything it was slightly less peopley so I am pretty sure the long line we encountered in the beginning was just because there was only one ferry company open. We headed straight to the horse carriage booth to book a tour and they got us on right away- much faster than expected. Ben chose the front row so we had a great view of the horses peeing and there lovely butts. The tour guide was from Romania and did a very good job telling us about the island. I have done the tour twice before but I still can't remember all the things...but the jokes are all fairly familar ;). Ruby did really well on the carriage. She was very chill.

At the first stop of the tour we got some food and then the boys decided to forge a knife. It was a pricey but perfect experience and souvenir for them both. They enjoyed hammering their knives and Tyler even joined the One Heat Beat Club and made it on their FB page. While they were forging knives, Ruby had a lot of fun crawling on a rock. After letting her crawl on the rock for awhile I attempted to get her to take a nap but she just would not close those big blue eyes of hers. I eventually gave up and we toured the nearby carriage house. 

When their knives were completed, we got some doughnuts and then went on the second half of the horse carriage ride. This time our tour guide was less pleasant. He added too much opinions and feelings to his island information. The speaker was also pretty loud and hurt my ears. On the bright side, Tyler got Ruby to finally take a nap and we got to see the world famous arch.

When the carriage ride ended Ruby was still sleeping so we stepped into a nearby chapel and let her nap a little longer. Then we did some shopping. I had to get Ben another shirt at the Benjamin store but that was all I got. After strolling through a few shops we could see the line to the ferry was already getting pretty long so we decided it was time to head out. We ended up being the last family to make it onto a boat so once again the top was full and Ben did not get to sit on the top like he wanted to. Looks like we'll have to do a ferry ride again sometime, just so he can ride on top. Ruby had the joy of having a cute little boy her age sitting in front of her. It was cute to see the two of them interact a little bit. 

Back in Mackinaw City it was time to eat dinner and Ben said we had to have Subway. By this time Ruby was operating on very little sleep and was super cranky and not a real treat to have out in public. We managed to get her a cup of meatballs from Subway but she had no desire to eat them. After eating there, there were some fun "nerd" shops close by that the boys wanted to browse, there was a little playground that Ruby got to play on which sort of cheered her up and then was a cool Bumblebee statue made from car parts. There was also a place that had a ton of skeleton and pirate figures every where and Ruby did not like them one bit. Halloween is going to be rough on her. By that time, it was late and time to put Ruby to bed. Grams and Ben had their own room so they thankfully did not have to deal with crazy Ruby who did not want to sleep. Tyler ended up taking her on a drive which finally put her to sleep but she was up several times in the night. Nights have been rough lately.

Sunday we got up and went to breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Our motel really was ideally located because we could walk to everything- shops, food places, the ferry...I ended up getting the buffet and it was worth it- just for all the bacon I got. Plus I was able to share my food with Ruby and she was a huge fan of the watermelon. She dripped it all down her shirt. We also had a nice waitress that was coincidentally named Penny. 

After breakfast we did a little more shopping- I was trying to find some souvenirs. I ended up finding a funny shirt for Steven that said "Amazing Michigan- with great lakes comes great responsibility." I also got a t-shirt for me. I ended up not finding anything for the girls though. We took this silly picture of Ben showing off his knife to Grams (or threatening her?) by a nearby knife store.

The last activity request for the trip by Ben, was a visit to Fort Michilimackinac. Grams and I weren't that into it so I decided we would walk around the lake and see if I could get Ruby to sleep while Tyler and Ben toured the fort. Of course Ruby refused to nap but it was a nice walk. When I finally gave up on her napping, Ruby and I went and played by the water. I ended up taking off her shoes and pants so she could get a little wet. She had fun playing with the rocks. At one point I turned to look to the side of me and saw a guy with a telephoto lens pointed at me and Ruby. That was awkward. I didn't know how to handle that so I just turned away and pretended it wasn't happening. Hopefully there aren't pics of me and Ruby somehwere nefarious now. Eventually it was looking like rain and I really wanted Ruby to nap so we got back in the car and drove around until Ruby fell asleep. Not too long afer she fell asleep, the boys were done at the fort and it was time to head out of Mackinaw City.

Not too far out of Mackinaw was a fun seashell shop that I decided we should stop at. I figured I could the girls some things for their fairy garden there and I did- a few seashells, a skull, and turtles made from seashells. They had driftwood sticks for 25 cents and Ben joked I should buy one for Ruby. So I did. Yes, I bought a stick, but at least she got a souvenir too. And she plays with her 25 cent stick quite a bit. It also had a fun pirate boat playground that Ben had to pose at. Ruby was sleeping still so she did not get to enjoy it.

The drive home was rough- full of traffic and a whiney baby- but we survived. It was nice to come back and see that the rest of my children had survived too. Steven did a good job taking Penny to her soccer game, taking the girls to church and he even had his first day of work at Jersey Mike's- he watched training videos. Mariah was nice and took the girls to dinner Saturday night while Steven was working. It was nice to see that we can leave them for a bit and they will be just fine.

Surviving

On Sunday we picked up a corner desk for the guest room from someone on Facebook Marketplace. I originally had a desk in that room but I got rid of it because people were just stacking stuff on it so I thought some shelves would be better. However, recently Steven set up a table in the room so he can game in there and Penny used the table for homeschooling. The table was set up right in front of the closet and door to the bathroom so that was super annoying. So it looked like we needed a desk again and the corner desk was my solution. I got rid of some of the junk we have accumulated (including the birds ;) ) and consolidated some things and now we have a desk again and much better feel in that room.

The 9 cube shelf that was in the guest room is now in the front living room because with Ruby, we are starting to get way too many toys for the room. I think everything just reverted to the way things were when we first moved in here but I guess that makes sense since we have reverted to a life with a toddler. I feel happy about the rearrangements though. It is amazing how little changes can make a space feel better.

Homeschooling was a little bit better this week. The brain growth points seem to help  but still, some days are harder than others. Monday after doing our work, in the spirit of reorganization, we went through the girls stuff. They never want to give away stuffies and the stuffies were genuinely taking over their room so I finally came up with a solution- they could keep the stuffies that fit on their bed and in the "shoe" holder we have over the door and the rest would go in the basement. If they want any in the basement, they have to trade out with one from their room. They were actually very willing to do this and their room feels so much less cluttered now. With it feeling a little more roomier, Lucy is convinced she needs to clutter her room with a small desk. I am not convinced but I do understand wanting your own "space" in your room. I am considering getting her one for her birthday. Later that day we went to Walmart so we could Lucy some new shoes for church. She ended up getting these black platform shoes that remind me very much of things that were popular when I was growing up. It's funny how styles cycle back.

Tuesday Penny had her first soccer practice of the season. Lucy is not doing soccer because she wants to focus on volleyball but I totally failed her and didn't sign her up for volleyball in time so now she is doing neither. I feel terrible. Anyways, Ben had a soccer game that night so all the girls came with me to Penny's practice. Ruby, Lucy and me hung out at the library nearby for most of the time. It was a nice way to kill time. We came back for the last half hour of practice and watched as Penny spent most of her time chatting with friends instead of playing *sigh* I am pretty sure is only in soccer to socialize.

Wednesday the girls had their second day of electives and they both came back feeling really good about their classes.I felt really good about having a nice, calm, unscheduled day with just me and Ruby. We didn't do too much and that was ok with me. After school, though, Penny was very emotional about things. First she mispronounced a state ("Virginia" she said "Vagina") which was very funny so we laughed and then she cried. Then she slammed the bathroom door which made a glass bowl fall from above the stove and shatter everywhere. No one was mad at her (because believe me, I know about breaking things on accident) but she still burst out in tears. I am having a hard time handling all her emotional outbursts. I don't know how to get her to not make mountains out of molehills. That evening the kids had to be in 3 different places and I ended up with the job of chauffeuring Lucy to the church. It turned out to be a good thing because Caroline was there too so I was able to have a nice vent. She was a good listener and had some good advice for me too.

Unfortunately, when I got home from the church, Tyler was cleaning up throw up from Ruby. She threw up on him and all over her bedroom floor. It was a mess and the room still smells off. I am not sure what caused it. Maybe cantaloupe- it was her first time eating it that night. After throwing up she was all wound up and would not go to bed. It took an hour to get her to go down. And for some strange reason, the next night- she did not throw up again- but she did fight going to be again. We didn't get her to sleep until almost 10pm. It was awful.

Thursday Ben had a game at Northern so me and the girls went (Tyler was announcing). We sat in the front- just where I like it. We were right next to the stairs that go under the bleachers so Ruby spent most of her time down there with Lucy, playing with rocks. Although, Ruby did give her beaming smile to some teenagers at one point and won them over. Ben got to play for 7 minutes and it was fun watching him out there. I know he feels better when he gets a chance to go out on the field. His team won 1 to 0. They are doing good this season. At the game I was haunted by the loud, obnoxious mom from CW3. Apparently her son is on the opposing team. She wasn't directing like she used too but she was still super loud.

Friday Steven had an interview with Jersey Mike's...again. He didn't get hired last time they interviewed him but apparently the manager changed and his friend Max, who works there, put in a good word. On Saturday he found out he got the job and he was asked to come in at 5pm next Saturday to learn more about what he will be doing. Because of the whole Jimmy John fiasco I feel like I won't believe he has the job until he has his first official day. 

Friday evening I went over to Grace'e house for a last minute girls night. I was late and everyone left by 10pm so it was just a short outing. We played Scattergories and chatted. 

Saturday morning we had two soccer games to be at. Tyler went to Ben's game and I went to Penny's game. Ben did not get to play and his team tied 1 to 1. This was an extra bummer because the bishop had come to watch. Penny's team, on the other hand, creamed the other team 8 to 0. When they scored in the first minute I was pretty certain it was going to be an easy win. Penny even got some time with the ball. She is good when she is focused. I am glad Penny is back on Coach Wargo's team. He is really a good, fair coach and works hard with the kids.

Saturday afternoon the kids all had friends over. I took Lucy and Claire to Marshalls and Krogers. Marshalls had a lot of things I wanted to buy but did not need to buy and I was proud of myself for my restraint. That evening Andrea, Lucy, Ben and me watched "The Others". I think it properly scared them all.

This week Ruby discovered the joys of dirt and mud. She enjoyed digging dirt with her stick and then playing in it when it became a mud puddle. She also has really enjoyed playing with her breakfast yogurt. Who needs toys when you have dirt, mud and yogurt?

Renassiance Festival

Monday was Labor Day and we decided to go the Renassiance Festival. Steven was not interested in going and I just didn't feel like forcing him and having there with a bad attitude so we left him at home. The weather was beautiful and it ended up being an overall good time. The 3 middle kids dressed up a little. Ben wore his hood and arm cuffs, Lucy wore some steam punk goggles, and Penny wore a pretty "princess" dress. Tyler and Ben got turkey legs which turned out to be more than they could handle but Tyler was very excited because it was his first ever turkey leg at the Renaissance Festival. The girls all made fairy wands and Ruby's wish was to sleep through the night (she had a really bad night Sunday in which she decided she wanted to be awake for an hour in the middle of the night so I was willing to try fairy magic). By the end of our adventure somehow only the ribbon tip of Ruby's wand was left, who knows what happened to the rest of it.

Us girls had to go and see the mermaid- she wasn't in the water this year because it was too cold. I'm suspicious that she might be a fake. Pretty sure water temperature wouldn't affect a mermaid. While we were meeting a mermaid, the boys went to look at swords and various weapons. Tyler really wants a war hammer. After the mermaids the kids watched a "circus sideshow" while I pushed Ruby's stroller back and forth and got her to take a nap. I was not a huge fan of what I saw of the show but the kids thought the guy was hilarious- definitely more for the kids. There was juggling, hammering a spike in a nose, walking on knives barefoot and a 6 foot man eating chicken... I left a little early and watched the "birds or prey" show with sleeping Ruby. Ruby woke up during it and the rest of the kids eventually joined me. Lucy was not impressed with the bird show. She asked me at one point, "Is this show just facts about birds?" It had a lot of those but it also had a really pretty owl, a kookaburra that makes awesome noises, a vulture and a falcon. Penny took a picture with the falcon and the trainer at the end. The trainer recommended she read "Meet Me at the Mountain". Maybe we will have to add that our homeschool books.

We had some time after the shows before the joust so I felt generous (with Tyler's money) and let everyone get up to $20 of something. Lucy chose to get a henna tattoo of an arrow on her arm and Penny decided to get a flower crown. Ben got his later as we were leaving, but he chose a 100 sided DnD die. Lucy posed by the really cool dragon that was by the place he bought his die.

After the shopping it was time to watch the joust. The sun was really shining and even though it wasn't necessarily hot, it did feel like we were all going to get sun cancer. The joust is basically the same every year but the middle 3 love it. This year they rooted for "the bald guy!" He did request they shout that. Ruby wasn't super interested in it but she did want to eat her sister's hair.

When the joust was done, we all decided we had our fill of the festival and headed out and home. It was a really nice outing and the middle 3 are already talking about going next year.

Tuesday it was back to school for the boys and back to homeschool for the girls. Homeschool with the girls this week was still rough, the bad attitudes persisted. On Friday I enacted "Brain Growth" points to try to help turn their frustrations into celebrations. I told the girls that anytime something felt hard or they learned something new that meant their brain was growing and they could get a point and then after they get a certain number of points they can get a brain break (which will probably include a treat). I am hopeful this will help some but I still have a toddler that wants lots of attention.

Tuesday night Ben had a game and since it was at Northern, the girls and I went to watch it. Mariah and her family were there as well. We came later then her family (surprising, I know) and they had sat up high in the stadium. I was not a fan of sitting up high in the stadium because I really had to watch Ruby to make sure she didn't fall and die. Ben's team won the game 5 to 0 and he even got to play for the last 10 minutes which was awesome.

On Wednesday the girls had their first day of electives at Renassiance. I dropped them off and then went and picked up a slide for Ruby (that ended up being smaller than expected) and I picked up the groceries. I did miss having the kids there to help me unload all of the groceries but other than that, it was really nice just being me and Ruby. At lunch time Grace and Caroline came over for a visit. Ruby woke up from her morning nap during it and ate some food and wasn't too attention hungry so it was a nice visit. Cherish picked up my girls from school for Geli's birthday so that was nice, They seemed to have a good time celebrating Geli---except Penny got in the car and cried because she felt Luna and Mimi were leaving her out. I don't know if that's true or if she is just feeling that way because they are still in class on Tuesdays and Thursdays together and she is not.

Friday,Tyler and I had some frustrations with Steven. He is dragging his feet over finding a job and it finally came to a head. He basically lost his computer until he either finds a job or starts making more of an effort. It was not a fun fight for any of us and Ben had Andrea over, so she got to witness it too. She really is becoming part of the family. That evening we- Lucy, Ben, Andrea and me- watched, "When a Stranger Calls". It's become a bit of a tradition for us to watch "old" movies in the evening. It had a slow start but I think in the end they really enjoyed it.

Saturday morning Ben had another soccer game and it was at Walled Lake Central so Tyler and I went to watch it while Lucy and Penny stayed home to watch Ruby (Ruby was napping). This was a fun game to watch, even though Ben didn't get to play. The teams were very evenly matched and the game ended tied- 0 to 0. At the end they did penalty kicks to determine the winner and Ben's team won again. After the game Ben's coach came up to him and let him know that he would be playing him more. I don't know exactly what "more" entails but it sounds like a step in the right direction. While we were at the game Mariah came and took Steven out with her to run errands. I just had this strong feeling that he needed some time out and away from us, with someone who was not frustrated with him and loves him lots. I think this was a good choice. He came back in a better mood and more ready to communicate with us about the job situation.

Later that day Tyler and Ben went to Northern to practice some soccer (since Ben hadn't gotten to play). Ruby and I tagged along with them so Ruby could get some time outside. She had fun walking around the football field, playing in the bleachers and we did a little walk around the track. I even jumped a hurdle just to see if I could and I was successful. But there were some taller hurdles that probably would have killed me.

Saturday afternoon I was having a bit of a mommy melt down- I was just tired and needed a break from the kids- so Tyler watched them while I went and strolled some shops. I found some things I wanted but they weren't on sale so I just couldn't justify buying them. I made a stop at Culver's on my way back home to get some pretzel bites because I was major craving them but sadly, after I had already driven away, I opened the box to discover chicken tenders instead. I knew it had felt unusually heavy.