Steven 17th Birthday

 Monday I took Lucy and Penny to Chuck-E while Ruby napped. It was really nice to not have the baby with me so I could just hang with the older girls and play games with them. I didn't hate Chuck-E quite as much as I had our last couple of visits. Monday night Lucy had her first volleyball game (with Tyler as coach) and they won all 3 matches. It was close on the last one but here's hoping for another good season.

Tuesday our excitement of the day was a trip to the library. Ruby gravitated towards the area where they have a bunch of tunnels and ramps attached to a wall that you can make a little course to put balls through. I think she likes that area because she usually gets it to herself. We got Ruby a bunch of "Baby Shark" and "Daniel Tiger" books, her current obsessions. At dinner time, Ruby really hammed it and was having fun making everyone laugh with her silly faces. That night, while the boys were at archery, the girls and I watched "Gilmore Girls" because all of Lucy's friends are watching it. The first season is pretty tame so I think we might just watch that season.

Wednesday the older girls had their classes at Renaissance. Penny had her theater auditions which she was super nervous about but she came home saying she did good, she just talked a litle fast. Her friends cheered for her when she finished. Lucy told me that she joined in with a group for script writing and exchanged contact information with her group members. Maybe she will finally make some Wednesday friends. While they were in class Ruby and I ran a few errands. She is not the best errand runner. She does not love being in a cart these days. 

Thursday the kids all got a snow day because of icy roads. I ended up running a few more errands and the roads were just fine. Dang kids get out of school too much. 

Friday Ruby had her 18 month check up. As much as I love the nurse who usually does all her stats (she is super nice), we had different one and he was much more efficient and much better at helping her stay calm. He took my temp first to show her it was ok, had the head measure thing all set up so he only had to put it on her for a sec and measured her length last because he knew that would upset her to be away from me. The rest of the check up went well until she got her shots BUT I was prepared and after the shots I gave her a lollipop (they never give her one there) and played her favorite song "Police Car" on my phone. She calmed down pretty quickly and happily walked out of the office.

Friday evening Tyler and I went to Leo's because I was desperately craving chilli cheese fries. They hit the spot and we had a fun time out. 

Saturday morning the boys went and helped their friend David pass out flyers for his Eagle Scout Project. Apparently Ben and his friends were looking pretty suspicious and someone called the cops on them- I mean the boys were in black and messing around people's doors. Ben had a cop pull up to him and see what he was doing. Thankfully he articulated things well and the cop realized he was not a threat, ha.

Saturday afternoon Steven had his 17th birthday party. He invited Max, Renee, David and Noah (a friend from school). Noah had never been here before and so I wasn't surprised when his dad came to the door. However, I was surprised when his dad took off his shoes and jacket and came inside too. Noah's dad stayed all 3 hours of the party- he said it wasn't worth it to go home, even though there home is near the high school and not super far. Thankfully he wasn't awkward and was easy to make conversation with but I still hadn't been expecting to have to be so present. It was a bummer though that Tyler was at an archery tournament with Ben for most of the time so it was just me and the dad. The boys played video games most of the time- they had a little tournament where Max and David won. I made some pasta and mozzarella sticks and had out Zebra cakes. Steven's friends are weird and didn't eat much. At the end we did the traditional happy birthday with cake. I think it was a success. After the party Steven and Max and Ben went to a stake dance. Steven said the dance was super lame. Ben said he danced with a girl because some in the ward told him to, ha.

Saturday evening I had the Caroline, Grace and Melissa over. It was pretty fun, the conversations were light and silly. I ate a lot of junk and after they left I started to feel queasy. I attempted to sleep but 2 hours later I woke up and spent the rest of the night throwing up. It was miserable. Throwing up was painful and gross and did not make me feel much better. I alternated between toilet, bathroom floor and couch- I went downstairs because that bathroom is not so gross. It was a long night. Sunday after 6am I did not throw up anymore but instead suffered from diarrhea. Needless to say, I did not go to church. I am hoping this was from something I ate and does not get spread to the rest of the family. Tyler was nice and taught my primary lesson and let me rest in bed most of the day.