Lucy's Birthday

On Sunday Lucy turned 14! She opened her presents when she woke up as per tradition. Her big gift from us this year was getting highlights in her hair, but we also got her a blanket, colored pencils and a coloring book. My parents got her a sweatshirt and name brand lip gloss. Tyler's parents got her a target giftcard. Penny got her candy and Ben got her a bundt cake. The rest of her day wasn't too exciting with church and a fireside, but we did sing to her after dinner and we all got to eat some yummy bundt cake (I had bought a few other bundlets for the rest of us to share).

Monday night Lucy had her party with her friends. Jenny, Geli, Vera, Mila, and Claire. While the girls were waiting for Geli to come, they went outside and hit the volleyball to each other while I chatted with Jenna's mom for a bit. After about 30 mins of waiting, Geli's mom told us just to meet them at Culver's. That worked out because we all got there at the same time. The girls enjoyed some food and then I took them to Target for a stroll. I wandered the aisles while the girls did their thing and then eventually we met up and left. Her Renaissance friends all bought matching PJ pants for PJ day at the school. Once back at the house we sang happy birthday and then she opened gifts. Most of her gifts were money and giftcards- she was pretty spoiled. All in all I think she had a good party- she just had some moments where friends were sharing inside jokes/stories that did not involve her and made her feel a bit left out. I don't love that. I think the friends that sometimes leave her out are the "cool" kids and I wish she would worry less about them and gravitate to the friends of hers that really do care about her.

Tuesday morning Tyler and I voted. We went at a good time and it wasn't super busy. Unfortunately the candidates that we voted for did not win. I am not excited at all about those who won. After we voted, we took Ruby for a walk to 7-11 and Ben joined us. We ended up walking a little further, into Mill Race park and hung out there for a bit. It was a beautiful fall day and a nice little outing. Except that I stepped in dog poop. Cleaning that off my shoe made me want to puke. And to add salt to the wound- Ruby pooped in the tub later that day and I had to clean that up as well. It was a poop kind of day.

Tuesday after lunch I had my first physical therapist appointment. I got there and explained my leg pain and my inability to pin where this came from. She immediately told me she wasn't a doctor and couldn't diagnose me but she could help me strengthen my leg with stretches and exercises. Cool. I am just going where my doctor sends me, but no one knows what is wrong with my leg I guess? The physical therapist emphasized that I should get an MRI to help with figuring things out so I scheduled it for the end of December. Not excited for that. Then she moved my legs around to assess weakness and assigned me daily stretches to do and scheduled me to come in once weekly. I have been doing these stretches for a bit now and am not really seeing any positive difference but hopefully over time things will improve.

Later Tuesday, we went on our annual trip to Bronners to pick out Christmas ornaments. A bit early but we always try to get there before Thanksgiving. It actually was a really nice outing- very little fighting and the kids enjoyed strolling Bronner's and even took pictures without too many complaints (although getting them all to smile at the camera is still a feat). Steven got a minecraft ornament, Ben got his Game Night Snowman ornament, Penny got a pink Stanley cup ornament, Lucy got a Coca Cola Bear ornament and Ruby got a bunny ornament. 

After getting our ornaments, we got dinner at Wendy's. Both Ruby and I got Frosty all over our shirts. Like mother, like daughter. 

Wednesday Penny had an appointment with her orthopedic surgeon. We had to wait an hour just for him to come in and say her arm looks great and we can get the rods out soon. I am glad I followed my intuition to not bring Ruby to the appointment so I didn't have to entertain her in a small room for an hour. They talked about scheduling her surgery for the week of Thanksgiving. I am not in love with that but we will do what needs to be done. Hopefully they call soon so we can have that in the schedule.

We canceled playgroup Thursday morning because Ruby had a yucky cough. I was sort of relieved because I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. Too many appointments for me and the kids. I ended up taking Ben, Ruby and Grams to Costco instead. It's ok to spread our germs there right? We got our things and then had lunch. Despite my self control with not buying junk food and snacks that we do not need- it always costs us a fortune.

When we came back from Costco, we heard the washer making some crazy load thumps. It was trying to spin but couldn't. So now apparently our washer is dead. It was not as old as our dryer, we only had the washer about 6 years and I really think it should have lasted longer. So now that's another expense for this very expensive year. 

Thursday night was Ben's Soccer Banquet. I had been dreading this for weeks- especially when I found out Tyler could not go with me because of archery. Now that he is being paid to coach he doesn't like to miss it. I have no soccer parent friends so I was feeling very anxious about sitting at a table full of strangers for hours (because it always takes hours). Thankfully I feel like God guided me to a good table. I sat by this really nice couple who chatted with me and didn't make me feel awkward. Their kiddo is a captain on the JV team so they don't quite understand the plight of us bench sitter families, but their kid did come from a small private Catholic school so they related some with the transition to public schools and leaving the shelter of small school. The night was still much longer than it should have been but I am grateful for that couple. Ben was told that night that he was "hardworking and coachable" and he got a paper plate award for being "Tekky Ben". He said it was in jest since his technical skills aren't the best. Also I thought he had dressed too fancy last year so I told him a polo and jeans was fine...everyone was in suits so hopefully next year we remember that he actually needs to dress up.

Friday morning I got my ears cleaned out and my hearing checked. It was grossly satisfying. She showed me the "clog" in one of my ears and then had me look up at the screen while she cleaned out the other ear. Apparently I have super tiny ear canals so that was part of the problem. She recommended I put olive oil in my ears twice a week to keep them clean and to keep them from drying out.. I am hoping this helps and I have less future issues. Afterwards they had me do a hearing test for no apparent reason- I guess to get a baseline of my hearing. I do hate tests like that though, because you can't study for them, lol. They had me repeat things and say "yes" when I heard beeps and sometimes I felt like I was missing things. Also some of the words they had me repeat felt like they were awkward or could be if mispronounced (yearn, ditch..). But I passed the test so that's good. Hopefully it didn't cost me a fortune.

Friday afternoon my parents and Tyler left. I do not like being the only grown up at home. It gives me anxiety. Hopefully life is uneventful until he gets back and they all get there safely. We are going to miss having my parents around. It has been fun having them in our lives- dinners, games, walks, lunches out...At least we get them back in 6 months.

Saturday morning Ben had an archery tournament. I am grateful he was able to drive himself. He was responsible and got himself up and out on time. I know I am blessed because not all teens are good at that. My morning was spent running a couple errands. Then Penny's friend Claire came over. I ended up taking them to the mall, along with Ruby. The mall was so crowded- there is a reason I do not go to the mall on the weekends. I ended up letting Claire and Penny go off together- just checking in on them every 30 minutes. I hope Claire's mom doesn't hate me for that. Meanwhile I chased my crazy toddler around and it was very overstimulating for me but I think she needed to get out. Penny and Claire got pink drinks at Starbucks and shared some pretzels with me and did plenty of window shopping. I think they had a good time. 

Saturday evening I went to pick up a Barbie House for a Christmas present for Ruby. It was 45 minutes away but they were willing to give it to me for less than they were asking so I could stay in budget and it was in really nice condition.  However, I was dumb and didn't measure out my trunk to make sure it would fit. As soon as I saw it, I knew that was not going to fit in my trunk. They were very nice and the husband disassembled part of it for me so it would fit. As I was driving home, I was freaking out thinking that it might not even fit in our playroom and wondering if I should have spent the money and put them through that hassle. But when I got home, after putting it in the basement, I measured where it will go- and it does fit! I am relieved and I think Ruby is going to love it. It has a pool, elevator, door, furniture...it's pretty amazing.

Halloween

Sunday we had the missionaries over for dinner. Tyler and Ben had a meeting at 5pm so we had them come for an early dinner at 4pm. I am really working hard on being good to the missionaries because I know that someday very soon my kiddo will be a missionary and I hope people will treat him well. The nice thing about having them over on Sundays is that Tyler will make the dinner so I only have to stress about him getting it done on time. I always find making conversation with the missionaries a bit exhausting because it always feels like a lot of work but I am happy we have Sister missionaries. I find that they tend to be a little bit less awkward. Anyways it was a nice dinner of fried chicken and french toast and then we had a lesson about seeing God's hand in our lives.

Tuesday I met Julie and Jill at Three Cedars Farm while everyone was at school. The rest of my family had zero interest in going to the farm so I was glad to find some friends to go with us because Ruby always has more fun with people (and so do I). Ruby and Asher spent the first half getting into all sorts of shenanigans together (like chasing a Rooster around) and then Ruby and Leah spent the second half hanging together (they both really enjoyed going down the slides). And despite having her buddies she still tried to make friends with a very shy, random little girl who was not having it (Ruby tried to hold her hand). It is crazy how social she can be. Overall it was a perfect way to spend  our Tuesday.

Tuesday night was Book Club. Becky brought scones, jam, clotted cream, honey and tea. The scones were so good and I decided a fruity tea wasn't actually awful. Grace also brought some decorations so my table looked real cute. I loved the atmosphere of it all. After enjoying our food, we had a good discussion about our book, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. We didn't necessarily love the book but we felt like it was really well written. After the discussion I had them take a Kahoot quiz on random facts I had Googled about flowers in the book. It was fun trying to get ladies of all ages onto this online quiz. Then they all had fun guessing answers since these were not facts they could have learned from the book. My mom was winning up until the last question. She ended up missing the last question and my friend Cherish got it and won the quiz. I had Lego flowers as a prize of course!I am really enjoying our book clubs and looking forward to next month.

Wednesday everyone went out to lunch with my parents (except Steven because he had a class). I like my kids' "different" schooling situations because it allows us random lunches together in the middle of a weekday. Afterwards we picked up doughnuts at Longs because I was having a craving. I always get a dozen thinking this means the kids can have more than 1 but usually I end up eating a half a dozen by myself. I have a problem.

Wednesday afternoon Ben had an orthodontist appointment and since Penny lost a bracket eating chips she came along as well to get that fixed. This is the third bracket that she has lost since getting braces. I did not think my rule follower would be the problem child.

Thursday was playgroup at Tana's house. The kids came in their costumes and she served pumpkin muffins (which were much healthier than any muffin I have ever made). She has a great big Barbie house in her basement and the girls mostly played with it the entire time. Ruby kept getting mad at one of the little babies that wanted to play with her and the older girls. This is a common problem that I defintely need to work on with her. She is not nice to babies.

Thursday evening Lucy went to Grace's Salon to get highlights (an early birthday gift). Tyler now has archery with Penny and Ben on Tues and Thurs evenings and this is making my nights more challenging. I ended up bringing Ruby with us to the salon but after Ruby bumped into the hair dresser next to Grace, I knew having Ruby there was not a good plan so I left Lucy. Ruby and I went to the middle school to wait to pick up Penny (since she has practice before Ben) but practice was much longer than I expected so that was more of a wait than I wanted and I was getting frustrated with my wiggly toddler. Once Penny was finally done, I took her and Ruby home and then went back to the salon. My timing was pretty great because I got to hang with Grace while Lucy's hair sat under the dryer. In the end Lucy's hair is blonder than I expected but it looks really good on her. Almost too good because she could probably blend in with the cool girls now.

Friday afternoon Ruby had to get get stuff "painted" on her teeth. It's supposed to prevent the cavity that she has from growing so they can wait until she is older to take care of it properly. She literally ran down the hall to her room but then got all shy with the assistant and dentist. Then they painted her teeth and she got a little anxious about the length she had to keep her mouth open. After they were done she was suddenly chatty and told them all about a youtube show her siblings watch and the Zelda game her dad plays with her. Why can't she talk about the farm we went to or the alphabet letters we are learning? She always comes off as a TV junkie...which isn't completely incorrect.

Saturday morning Grams, Ruby and I walked to Scarlet's Park. Poppy was worried we would freeze to death but the weather was really nice to me. Ruby had a good time at the park and so as usual, it was a struggle to get her to leave. She didn't throw a tantrum but she was on the edge.

Saturday evening it was time to trick or treat! The Mays were orginally not going to come with us but their other plans fell through at the last minute and so they came with us. This will be our last Halloween with them since they plan to move in December. I went down a street with everyone just because I wanted to and then headed back home to pass out candy. The weather was honestly not too cold and I probably could have stayed with them longer but I also really like passing out candy. I love seeing all the different costumes. I puzzled and watched "Hocus Pocus" while passing out candy- we didn't get a ton of kids this year. Then eventually everyone came back from trick or treating and they properly gorged on candy. 

Trunk or Treat

After church on Sunday, we had tithing settlement. In the middle of it Ruby randomly shouted "My dad kills piggies!"  We had to explain to the Bishop that the piggies Tyler kills are in Zelda. We do not have frequent pig roasts.

Monday night was craft club. This time Emily (the RS Pres) hosted since last time was a bit of a disaster with Tana. I had my mom come with me because I had a feeling it might just be me and Emily and I was pretty much right. The only other person who came was Jean and she was late as per usual. Once Jean came she did a great job of keeping the conversation going so it never got awkward. It was a nice night but I have decided to cancel Evening Craft Club indefinitely. I was hoping it would be something to bring the young moms in our ward together but it has kind of flopped as of late and does not feel worth the effort. It had a nice run though.

Tuesday Poppy took Ruby to lunch and she got to see her skeleton friend there again. Sne also got more Hello Kitty toys and has quite the collection. The guy there likes Poppy and made sure we got new toys to add to her colletion. After lunch, Ruby and I went on a nature walk at Proud Lake with baby Amelia and Kara. It was a perfect Fall day for a walk. The colors were in full form and the weather was just the right touch of cool. We chatted a bit about the work that goes into a Ward party and how it usually rests on the women. It seems lately I have been frequently hearing how woman have an unfair load compared to men but I think we just carry different loads. Most men in our ward have full time jobs and then come home to big families with moms that need help (and the moms want their husbands to come home and help) and that makes it hard for the men to also put time in to a party. I also think many men are not great at the sort of things that make a party work so I just think it makes sense. And also I don't think it ever works out well to try to tally up who does more in a relationship. Usually both parties will leave that sort of thing feeling hurt and resentful. 

After dinner Tuesday Grams and I went for a walk with Ruby, and the neighbor that lives across from our front door happened to be out walking too. She started talking to Ruby and so Ruby immediately wanted to follow her and be her best friend. I have chatted with this neighbor maybe a handful of times since we moved here, but I always get this feeling she just wants to get the lowdown on us. I feel like all the questions she asks are less about caring to get to know us and more like wanting the latest gossip. I don't know why but that is the vibe I get. I did learn some about her and her own kids but mostly she turned the conversation back to me. 

Tuesday night I went over to Grace's and she seemed to be in a much better mood than last week. She said part of it is that she is sleeping better at night and things feel less impossible. I wonder if that's what I am missing in life- sleep! If Ruby doesn't wake me up at night, my brain does. Maybe if I just slept through the night, I would be a whole new, patient, happier person.

Wednesday at lunch time, the girls and I went to Grace's. Lucy and Penny helped rake leaves while Ruby and I hung out with Grace. Ruby spent most of the time doing toddler puzzles that Grace had. After about an hour though, Ruby was done with the puzzles and the girls had had enough raking. It was a nice littl lunchbreak with my friend.

Wednesday afternoon I went to the eye doctor. I had to get my eyes dilated which is never enjoyable. My pupils stayed huge way into the evening. I also wanted to get new glasses while I was there because I had broke my newest pair in Italy and have been wearing an older pair but I just couldn't stomach the price tag for something that wasn't absolutely necessary. I think Tyler's new eye insurance is not as good as what we have had in previous years. 

Wednesday evening Lucy had her first volleyball game. That night the church activity was torture trivia (with questions from general conference). Linda and Brooklynn said they didn't watch conference so they didn't want to come. Lucy jokingly told them they should come to her game instead...and they did. That made Lucy a bit nervous because she has a less than skilled team and was worried about judgement. They were of course nice though and cheered her team on. Lucy's team did not end up winning but Lucy has really improved in her volleyball skills and even scored 5 Aces in a row when she was serving. It was fun to watch and honestly her friends watched Ruby for most of the time so that was really nice.

Thursday morning Ruby and I had playgroup at Kelli's home. Her home is small but so cute. Jill, Tana and Jean came. It was a nice hang out. Tana talked about a podcast that she has told me about before that is supposed to help with anxiety and sleep issues and things like that. It sounded nice and I started listening to it one night and ironically it put me to sleep. I will have to try to listen to it again so I can actually learn something. Also during the playgroup, near the end, Ruby was leading all the kids around with a shopping cart and telling us they were going camping. She loves to be in charge and I hope they don't mind it.

Thursday evening Ruby, Tyler, Grams and I, went to Ben's last soccer game. There could have been more games if his team had won, but they lost 0 to 2. Ben did not get to play and since he had spent the last couple of games sitting on the bench, he was actually rooting for his team to lose. He loves soccer but he was also ready to be done. Ruby spent most of the time treking over to the bathroom, and the concession stand which really seemed to wear her out because she slept amazing that night. 

Friday morning the girls went to the dentist. The hygenist raved over how cute Ruby was. Ruby soaked that up. A song came up from her playlist while we were there ("I like to Move It") and Ruby shouted: "I know that song! That's on my Ruby Raps!". It was cute. Lucy and Penny got lucky and have no cavities but Ruby, unfortunately has the start of 2 cavities between her molars. He told us to floss and use flouride and we will do a procedure next week that might help. The negative Nancy in me thinks all these things are not going to help and we are going to end up traumatizing her with fillings soon.

Friday evening we had the Ward Trunk or Treat. My Cat Woman costume ended up being a disaster. My mask was weird and did not fit right or look good. Then I had Penny give me fake nails that looked like cat claws but I literally could not function and get myself ready after she put them on me. I was a mess. At least all my kids turned out cute though. The party itself was fine. Melissa did not want to sit by me, Grace was a chili judge so I didn't really see her, my friend Nahoko came but spent most of her time chatting with Naoko from church, and so...it wasn't a super social night for me. Our white chicken chili did not win any prizes but the costumes did. Ben won the spookiest costume and Tyler and Ruby won the best duo. That made me happy. 

For Trunk or Treat we set up our skeleton baby Chad with a cape flying over a city. Then I had some boxes that I painted that looked like buildings in front of our trunk. I made the kids fly (or jump) over the buildings to get candy. I gave bonus candy to people who jumped extra high or did fancy jumps. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday morning I cleaned the house. Then I went and did a little shopping for myself that I probably should not have. It was nice to do some child free shopping though. After that splurge I picked up Penny from a friend's house. They don't seem to get along very well at school but they have a ton of fun when it's just them hanging out. That evening Tyler and I went out to Chipotle's. That location was a hot mess. Food and trash everywhere. You could also see into the kitchen and that was a mess too. Thankfully the food was still tasty. After dinner, I went to Grace's for a girl's night. Caroline and Melissa were both supposed to come as well but Melissa flaked out at the last minute. Chatting with Caroline makes me realize how grateful I am for raising my kids fully in the church. I don't have a perfect testimony of the church but I see the difference it makes. She has a lot of ideas that contridct the the Gospel and you can see the influence it is having on her kids. I am glad my kids think marriage and having a family is a good thing and see it as something to strive for rather than a punishment.

Skeletons

Monday night I went to Fancy Nancy's birthday party at the Blue Cactus. It was at 7pm but I apparently was the only shmuck who couldn't wait until 7pm to eat dinner. I ended up being the only one to order dessert so that was cool. I got a slice of Tres Leches Cake and it was good but probably not worth the $10 price. I also felt silly when Amy announced that she had brought a cake for Fancy Nancy. The party/conversation itself was fine. Sometimes it was a struggle to make conversation with the ladies around me and sometimes we got a little silly and that was fun (like Amy and I joking about who was Nancy's best friend- obviously Amy but I love to tease). The waiter spilled rice and water on me but only a little bit so not too big of a deal. When she brought out a big flaming candle for Nancy, I was worried she might light me on fire...but she didn't. Overall it was a good time and I was glad I was able to celebrate Fancy Nancy. 

Tuesday Ruby and I met Kara and Amelia at the park we had went to the week before, Drake Park. This time Ruby was better about doing the walk first but she also seemed less impressed with the park the second time around. And she also had to pee again which meant we had to make the long trek to the bathroom again. This time I pushed her there in her stroller which made more sense. I don't know why I carried her there last time. I think if we meet up with Kara and Amelia again next week, we'll have to try somewhere new. 

Tuesday night I went to Grace's. She is really having a hard time with Etta and I feel for her. I wish there was more I could do for her. She is so nice and gave me a hat and a book to read. So I tried to return the kindness and brought her flowers the next day. Hopefully they brought a little sunshine to her day.

Wednesday I took Lucy and Grams to Kohls so Grams could figure out what Lucy would like for her birthday. Penny was nice and watched Ruby for us. Lucy is a different shopper than me and doesn't pick things up that she wants and then decide which to get. Instead, she wanders around the whole store looking at things and then goes back to get what she wants. I saw some cute coats for me but I refrained from buying something I don't necessarily need.

After kohls, we finally got our new dryer! Home Depot had kept postponing delivery so finally I just cancelled with them and ordered from Lowes. Lowes ended up delivering it only 2 days after I ordered it. I will miss my mom's excellent laundry service but I am sure she won't ;). The dryer is nothing fancy but it works.

Thursday's playgroup went much better this week. We met at my new library friend's house, Jill. Kelli came and Jean came late. Jill, mentioned some Mormon artwork at one of the houses we had been at and asked if we were all Mormon. I told her not everyone but a lot of us. I promised not to convert her (but that doesn't mean I won't tell her all about the Gospel). Kelli started talking with me about how we do marriage for an eternity and not until death- she thought that was cool. Then the kids derailed that conversation and we went on to other things. Kelli's youngest kept trying to take Ruby's sandwich and Ruby took issue with that and pushed her. Ruby can be such a bully. I am hoping these play dates help her to work on getting along better with others. I guess if a majority of these play groups turn out well then I will stick with them. Hopefully last weeks awful one was just a fluke.

Friday we went to see the skeletons in Northville. It was a little cold and we got misted on at some point, but it wasn't the worst Michigan weather ever. At first Ruby wanted nothing to do with the skeletons and refused to join in pictures but eventually she came around and had a good time posing with the other kids. Maybe by next year she will be totally cool with them. After the skeletons we got lunch at Culver's it was a nice outing with Grams and my younger 4 kids.

Friday afternoon the girls met some church friends at the mall. It was kind of an inconvenient time because Ben had a soccer Game but they got a bit of time with their friends. I ended up hanging with Ruby in the play area for the first bit and then we spent a majority of the rest of time going up and down escalators and elevators. Soooo boring for me.

After the mall I went to Ben's soccer game with Grams (Tyler went too but was ball boy the whole time so we didn't really see him). It was absolutely freezing but I am glad I went so that I could see Ben play for a few minutes near the end. His team ended up winning 5 to 0.

Saturday I cleaned the house in the morning. That afternoon Ben, Lucy and Tyler went to a stake dance (Tyler was security). While they were there, Penny, Ruby and I went to Chick-Fil-A. One of the workers upon walking in gave Ruby attention so she got real chatty with them and told them she wearing "Asher's coat". It was a hand me down from Julie. I think the lady thought she said something else and looked shocked for a moment. Then another worker, later on, gave the girls both free ice cream (she did not take their toys in exchange like they usually do) and then she even gave them both mini cow stuffies. She was really nice.

This week #2 was still an issue with Ruby but in other ways. She did not poop her pants or smudge her undies (because I used pull ups when it seemed like she needed to poop) but she only pooped like 3 times all week. I ended up having to use a suppository on her Saturday because she hadn't pooped since Tuesday and was not drinking the drinks that I put Miralax in. The suppository worked almost immediately but I really wish pooping wasn't such an issue. I also wish she would sleep in her own bed. She has pretty much come into our room every night this week. She is exhausting. But on a more fun note- she watched this video from last year of her with "Baby Chad" (our skeleton) and in it she said "he's kind of scary". In the video she said it in a silly way so she thuoght it was funny and kept imitating the way she had said,"He's kind of scary." It was cute.

Good Weather

Sunday was more General conference. Tyler made himself a mohawk out of air dry clay between sessions. It was a beautiful day so after conference we were all outside playing soccer and volleyball and all the outdoor things. Ben ended up scratching his knee on the fence so Tyler wrapped it up. Ruby wanted a "wrap" on her knee like Ben so she went inside and put on Lucy's volleyball knee pad. The older kids were having fun showing Ruby how to fake getting hurt in soccer. At one point I decided to trim Penny's little side bangs. Everyone laughed when I cut them so she started crying but I really didn't do an awful job. They just needed to be blended into the rest of the hair better. I ended up asking Grace if she could help touch them up. She was amazing and had us come in Monday morning and now Penny's hair looks fantastic. She trimmed my bangs too and I really should always have her do it- she is so much better at it than me since she actually knows what she is doing.

Monday Penny got a sports physical so hopefully she can do archery with the middle schoolers. She is thinking of leaving Renassiance and this feels like a good way for her to meet some kids that go to our local middle school. Tyler thinks he is a cool enough coach that he can introduce her to the kids. I hope it ends up happening and is a good help for her to make a decision for schooling next year. 

Tuesday my dryer died so that was a bummer. Even worse, the new one we ordered isn't coming until next week, Wed. I'm grateful to my mom who has been doing my laundry in the meantime. 7 people make a lot of laundry and she has been helping me keep up on all of it. She even ironed my boys' dress shirts which is something I never do. She definitely wins extra Grandma points for that.

Tuesday we had lunch at Burger King with Poppy. They had some pretty awesome Halloween decorations up.

Tuesday after lunch, Ruby and I met Kara at a park we hadn't been to before. It had a great play structure- so great that when Kara and Amelia came, Ruby did not want to go for a walk around the grounds. She was really unhappy about me making her go so it wasn't the best walk but we did have a good talk about all our ailments (she has arthritis issues and me and my dumb leg pain- she inspired me to schedule a PT appt). After the walk Ameila and Ruby swung on the swings- until Ruby had to pee. The bathroom was soooo far from the playground and I about died rushing her there but thankfully she made it. When we went back to the playgroud, Ruby started playing with some other kids. She led her own made up "lava" game with the kids- it was very reminiscent of a game my dad used to play with us.

Tuesday night Ruby, Grams and I went to Ben's Soccer game. Ruby was having poop issues so I almost didn't go. She is making me crazy with getting poop smears in her underwear. I tried making her go bare butt around the house and it sort of helped but was also slightly terrifying. Anyways she ended up pooping in the potty so we could go to the game. At the beginning of the game Ruby saw Ben and shouted "Ben! I see you!!!" until he turned around. It was super cute. In the end, Ben did not get any play time and his team lost so not the greatest game but it was nice to get outside and support him nevertheless.

Wednesday both Penny and Ben had orthodontist appointments, but thier appointments were not at the same time. I'm glad the orthodontist is only minutes from our house. Ruby came with me to the second appointment because she always likes to see what movie is playing. We also all went out to lunch with grams and Poppy that day. Some of us got subway, some of us got tropical smoothie. The subway people brought their food to tropical smoothie so we could all hang out. Even Steven came so it was a good family outing. 

Thursday's playgroup was not a success this week. As I was driving to the indoor playground that we had planned to meet everyone at, I got multiple texts from people saying that they wouldn't be able to make it. Only one person said they'd come and they said they would be an hour late. I had rushed out the door to make sure we would be there on time for basically no reason. That was frustrating. We got there and it was a really cool indoor playground but it was a tall playground and Ruby was too anxious to climb up in it by herself. She ended up just playing in the toddler area. An hour after being there, Kelli showed with her girls and shortly after Sam came. Sam pretty immediately pretended I wasn't there and gushed about how excited she was to see Kelli and didn't allow me to part of conversations- talking quietly, showing pictures to only Kelli. I felt pretty excluded from my own playgroup and it didn't help that Ruby wasn't clicking with their kids and was being very needy. It's weird because Ruby usually makes friends with strangers. Anyways,I'm pretty sensitive when it comes to being left out and Ruby wasn't having a great time so I decided we would leave. I tried my best to act not upset when I told them we were heading out, I'm not sure if I was successful. It was easy to get Ruby to leave because the church that this indoor playground is in offers free drinks so I just promised her a chocolate milk on our way out. We sat at a window while she drank it and then left. I felt pretty disgruntled by it all and I'm not sure I have it in me to continue this group.  

Thursday Steven helped me make sloppy joe's for dinner without complaint. This week I have seen him making small changes in his behavior, for the better, and I hope he continues on this upward trend. 

Friday was a pretty chill day. After school work we went for a walk to 7-11 for slushees. It was a beautiful day and I always enjoy walking and talking with my kids. We have some good conversations on these walks.

Friday night the girls had a dance at Renassiance that night. It was Penny's first dance and it had a country theme. They both came back saying it was super fun- even if they don't actually dance with anyone. 

While they were at the dance, Tyler took Ruby out of the house so I could clean. I'm actually really enjoying this new routine. I like being able to plug into a show and get the house clean with no one around to bug me. 

Saturday at lunchtime Ben had a soccer game. Ruby got there and immediately started whining for candy. I thought it was going to be a rough game but she got over it pretty quickly and even made a friend. Ben got to play for 20 minutes so that was really awesome. And even better, his team won.