Three Cedar Farm and Ward Halloween Party

Sunday was the Primary Program. The girls had invited their friends (again) and they all came- Geli and Luna and Mimi's family. I was nervous about playing the piano and I let my nerves get the best of me and I didn't play the greatest. I made mistakes in each song but at least I never had to stop mid song and was able to keep playing. Mandi took over for me for the last two songs which I was extremely grateful for and she did great. However, my brain was still on an anxiety trip and I said the dumbest thing to her afterwards- I basically told her that I noticed her mistakes but I am sure no one else noticed. It was a really rude comment and I don't know why those words came out of my mouth. She honestly did way better than me. Ugh, I felt so bad and later sent her a text saying how amazing she is. Hopefully she doesn't hate me.

Primary after the program was insane. One of the counselors in the presidency came up with the game and I know she put a lot of work into it but it required lots of quiet sitting while others took turns and that just didn't work well. She gave each kid a turn to: ask a bishopric member a question about the talk they gave, choose a costume item to put on the bishopric member and then try to guess how each bishopric member answered a question about themselves. Each kids turn took so long and everyone was so loud and wiggly. It was overstimulating for me and it ended up taking the whole primary time and I was so ready to go when church was over. 

Monday after we finished our homeschool work we went to Three Cedars Farm. Julie had invited us to go and I decided to invite Mimi so that Penny would have a friend too. Well, Julie cancelled on us that morning (sick kids) and I kind of wanted to skip out as well, but since we had invited Mimi we kind of were stuck going. When we arrived, there was instant regret, it was soooo busy. There were lots of buses and the lot was pretty full- we had to park far away. But despite the crowds, the girls had a good time. They played in the corn pit for a little bit before they got too annoyed with little ones throwing corn. Penny and Mimi had fun riding the little trikes around the corn pit- it was pretty comical to watch. After that we went and looked at the farm animals and Ruby played on the little slides. A few of the slides had mud puddles at the bottom so I had to save her from a dirty bum. Next the girls got cider slushees and then climbed on the wooden train- they are all just kids at heart. 

Tuesday Steven's car decided to overheat on his way home from school. I managed to drop Poppy off with some anti-freeze to help him on my way to pick up the girls from school but unfortunately, neither one of them could figure out how to open the hood to put it in. After I picked up the girls, I went back to Poppy and Steven. I let Steven take the Squeak home because he needed to get to work and I stayed with Poppy and the broken car. I could not get the hood to open either- the safety latch on the hood was way hard to trigger. Someone was nice and stopped to help us but Poppy shooed them away since Tyler was coming. Of course, once Tyler got there, he had no problem opening the hood. He showed me how to do it but when I tried, I literally did not have the strength to trigger the latch. Apparently Tyler is stronger than us all. The car still had issues overheating on the way home, even with the anti freeze, but the engine didn't actually feel hot. Tyler thinks it might be a messed up sensor but unfortunatly real or not, the car shuts down when it thinks it's too hot. I really hate that we are always having car issues, it makes getting everyone where they need to go such a challenge. 

Wednesday was a bit of a bummer day. It started out with Ruby begging to take a shower with me and then crying the whole time. That is hard on me because my showers help me wake up and feel ready to face the day. Then I took Lucy to meet a friend at the Farmington library. Lucy's friend had to be dropped off because one of her siblings was sick so the mom couldn't stay. I thought we established she would come pick up Lucy's friend in an hour but apparently we hadn't. She sent me a text over an hour later asking if she should come pick up her daughter.It wasn't that the kids were super bored or anything, they were having a good time and that was a pretty good library, but I hadn't brought Ruby anything for lunch because I thought we would leave earlier. That meant when I got home, I had to rush to feed her lunch and get her down for a nap. 

That that night we had our cake decorating activity for the Activity Day Girls. It was raining and dark and I had to drive the Suburban which is already scary to drive- adding on darkness and rain was not helpful. It was not a fun drive. When I got to the church, I parked in the back of the church because I didn't want to park that big beast by other cars. I decided to try the back doors, even though they are usually locked, because I didn't want to get drenched in the rain. Lucy and Penny decided to run around to the front, because they didn't care. I figured they would let me in if the back doors were locked. The doors were indeed locked. The girls however, did not let me in. I stood banging and yelling at the back door and I swear people made eye contact with me but nobody let me in- not even Penny. I was in charge of the activity and had most of the stuff and I could see everyone waiting in the hall for me to come set things up. I should've just ran around to another door but I was stubborn (and hormonal). Penny eventually realized it was me banging on the door and let me in, and then I yelled at her in front of everyone. It was not a proud moment and the rest of the night I just felt awkward and stupid. I think though, despite my crazy, everyone had a fun time making butterfly cakes.

Thursday, while the girls were in school, I went on another walk with Kara. We talked about her mission in Thailand and how it changed her. It was a good conversation and I am enjoying our walks together. What's funny though, is we hardly converse when we see each other at church. It's like we're secret friends, lol.

It's been getting cold, the weather is changing, so I moved some of Ruby's things into my parents garage Friday night to protect them from the weather that is coming. I ended up making a "road" in my parent's garage for Ruby to drive her cars on but, honestly, Lucy had more fun turning it into a town and driving on it, than Ruby did.

Saturday morning the girls, my parents and I went to the mall. My parents went for the food (especially the pretzels and cinnabons). The girls were happy to tag along so they could also eat some yummy food and do some window shopping. There was a Hello Kitty Truck outside the mall that brought in a lot of interesting characters while we were there. I also rode the escalator up and down at least 20 times with Ruby while my parents and Lucy ate lunch. And we went to Toys R Us because apparently it is back and in the mall but it is not anywhere close to being the Toys R Us of my youth. It was just like any other toy store in the mall. And it had a huge section of calendars which didn't seem to fit the brand.

Saturday evening we had our Ward Trunk or Treat Party. Some before pics...

Grace came to the party with her whole family because she had been invited to judge the chili. It was so nice to have her at a church event, I miss having her to hang with at church. She sat at my table but was gone for quite a bit in the beginning to judge. Geli and Luna's whole family came to the party as well and sat with us. Cherish and Roberto were up a lot, wandering the halls with Izzy. I was up a lot wandering the halls with Ruby. Then it was time to eat and I rudely cut in front of my mom and Cherish so I didn't have to wait in line- totally worth it. Ruby ended up eating two cookies so that was pretty much her dinner. So healthy. She sat with Grace for awhile- I love that she feels comfortable with Grace but I hope we didn't disease her. Ruby has had a runny nose the last couple of days and has not been sleeping well. It's been rough. 

On a high note- we won the best family costume for the second year in a row. I was a butterfuly, Ruby was a ladybug, Penny was a bumble bee and Ben was a bug catcher. I guess they didn't care that our whole family wasn't dressed up in theme- Tyler had no costume, Steven was working and Lucy wanted to be a Minion. Tyler won an award for the most interesting/unique chili. He doesn't think anyone liked it because it tasted so different but I think he should be happy he won an award.

After dinner it was time for the trunk or treat. I set up a plank that the kids had to walk before they got their treasure (a ring pop). It was an easy set up and I think it ended up being fun for the kids. It was cold that night but not too bad. I think all in all it was a good time for everyone.

Northville Skeletons, Pumpkins, End of Soccer

Sunday was a bit harried in all accounts. First our Primary Chorister skipped out after sacrament so the Primary President stepped in for her. That was very nice of Tana but she isn't super musically inclined and she didn't know the words to the songs so it was a bit of a disaster. I had to stop playing the piano at times to get her back on track with the lyrics or to explain what verse we were singing. When singing time was over, since they finally got teachers for my class, I was able to step in to catch the end of Lucy's lesson in young womens. When I walked in to young womens, Lucy beckoned me to sit with her and then proceeded to tell me that she had finished her lesson and needed me to take over. There was 20 minutes left of church for me to adlib a lesson. I had helped her come up with a lesson so I kind of knew what they went over but I had no idea what I could really add to the lesson. I am pretty sure I just rehashed her whole lesson. It wasn't great but we survived. At least I looked professional in my shirt and vest I got from Salvation Army.

Monday morning all the girls had dentist appointments, even Ruby. Usually they put all the girls in a seat and they get their cleaning done at the same time. This time they had them all scheduled at different times. I did not like that. I especially did not like that they had Ruby go last. By the time they got to her she was so wiggly and ready to go home. The hygienist was nice and had a motherly feel to her but Ruby was not having it. She did ok for the flossing but was not happy about the brushing and wiping off of her teeth. She definitely threw some fits. After that we had to wait again, until the dentist came in. At that point Ruby was asking to go home. Thankfully she seemed to like the dentist and had no problem opening her mouth for him so he could "count" her teeth and paint flouride on them. I wish the waiting was done then but there was even a line to check out. It was such a long morning and it really messed with our homeschooling that day.

Monday evening I went on a walk with Rudie and Rosie again. Rosie wanted to pull the wagon the whole time and that became a bit of an issue but Ruby was no picnic either. Toddlers are a lot and even trickier when together. I feel old when I chat with Rudie but I think it's good for Ruby to spend time with other toddlers so I think I will continue to make an effort to walk with them every couple of weeks.

Tuesday, after I dropped off the girls at school, I went for a walk with Grace to the library. It was fun to hear about her amazing trip to Scotland and catch up on things. She even brought me some candy from Scotland and a fox dishtowel. When I came back from our walk, Poppy, Grams, Ruby and I went to Culver's for lunch. Ruby was a bit of a booger about eating her chicken strips (because she apparently prefers nuggets) and had some tantrums before finally caving in and eating them. The tired mom in me had a hard time not caving in and giving her the french fries she wanted but I am glad that I persevered.

Tuesday, after I picked up the girls from school, we met some friends in Northville to see the skeletons (Mimi, Nahoko, Cherish, Gelie, Luna). We always meet at the park by downtown but were sad to discover they had bulldozed it. We love that park! Apparently they want to make it more inclusive but it was such a cool old wooden park. The skeletons were fun as usual and the girls loved getting lots of selfies with them. All the girls except Ruby. As much as she loves our "Baby Chad" skeleton, she was not a fan of these skeletons. We only managed to get her picture with one and that was with a lot of coaxing. Ben was also grumpy. He said later it was because he was hungry and annoyed that Ruby was not being fun. My parents did stop at a bakery near the end and they bought all the kids cookies so that helped us to have slightly happier kids all around. The cookies saved the day!

Wednesday I took Penny to the dentist to get her cavities fixed. Originally they were only going to fix one but they decided to do both at this appointment. I think that was a good choice because I am not sure I could have gotten her back there without lots of dramatics. The dentist, Dr. Tommy, was really good with Penny and very patient. She cried for both shots but she did good after that. He let her watch "K Pop Demon Hunters" on his phone which was a big plus. He also talked with her about the movie and it's songs and I think he just did a good job of distracting her and helping her to feel comfortable. Afterwards I got her some Wendy's because she felt she deserved it ;)

Wednesday night Penny had her last soccer practice. It was cold but Ruby just loves the park so Grams and I took Ruby to the park while Penny practiced. The park nights have been fun but with the weather getting cold, I am ok with our nights out in Milford coming to an end.

Thursday while the girls were in school, I went for a walk with Kara. This walk kind of came about slightly awkwardly. Kara just had a baby and was at church last Sunday for the blessing. I had come over to ask her how things were going. I had also asked her about nursing and she had said it was going great. Later that night she sent me a text and told me she had lied, and felt bad for lying. She wasn't nursing, she was pumping. I could've cared less that she lied or about any of it, but anyways, I offered her a walk if she wanted to talk. She is kind of an introvert so I didn't expect her to take me up on the offer, but she did. Anyways, I had a good walk with her and her baby. She is 34 with her first baby so we definitely have been on different life paths but she was easy to talk to and I like that she actually seemed interested in me as a whole. When I walk with Rosie and Rudie it seems like all we talk about is the toddlers. It was nice to have someone ask about the teenagers too. Anyways, it was a good walk and I wouldn't mind going on another one with her.

Thursday night we went to the library and then went to Kroger's to get pumpkins. I took 4 out of the 5 kids to get the pumpkins and I know they're older but it still feels chaotic when I take them all out. We even managed to set off the alarm and have the cart wheels lock on us on the way out. Super fun.

Friday morning their was a mix up in communication and we thought that Caroline was not going to come to the primary program. That caused me a lot of anxiety and emotions. The primary president was offering to step in but since that didn't go well on Sunday I was super worried about it. It was not a good morning. Thankfully it was just a miscommunication and so all that panic was over nothing.  

Friday afternoon we painted our pumpkins while watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Carving pumpkins was such a disaster last year so I had decided we were not going to do it this year. I think painting was a pretty good substitute. Although I wish we could put a candle in them and see them glow- it was way less stressful. Usually we have to help so much but painting was something they could all do on their own- even Ruby! 

Saturday morning was Penny's last soccer game. I thought it was going to be cold but actually the weather was pretty perfect. Penny's team kept their status of being undefeated and creamed the other team. They won 7 to 1. It was another good season. Afterwards they did their paper plate ceremony which was nice for the kids but boy did their coach get wordy this year. He gave a little speech on all 18 kids so it took forever. He does so much for the kids so I will give him a pass on this one.