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.