Year 2, Day 266: Going Pink!

I wasn't as tired from our busy day yesterday as I normally would have been.  In fact, I have had more energy lately.  I think it's the B vitamin complex that I am taking, plus the Plexxus pink drink.  In fact, today, I signed up to be a Plexxus "Ambassador," but just for the discount.  I do like their some of their products so this is the cheapest way to get them.  I don't plan on selling them, but I could.  It's not recommended to be in several DS companies at once though.  You can only work so many businesses as once.  So, for now, it's just for the discount.  The pay structure is different and I do have a monthly PV I have to make, which, I will make based on what I want to buy every month.  So, it shouldn't be a problem.  But Lilla Rose doesn't have that requirement, and I am so happy about that.  It's one less thing to stress about.  I think they have a yearly one, but it's something like $50 PV and I have easily had that every month anyway.  So, we will see!

Well, what else did we get up to today?

Eating birthday cake for breakfast - Johnson tradition.

So, today is another major construction project day, and of course it starts with destruction.  Sigh.  Under the linoleum was this gorgeous tile that they laid down with mortar.  Yikes!  Why oh why do people just throw one layer of something over another?  Save money? Absolutely not!  It's a sham! And a shame!

Oh my word.  Ugly.  At least we have a very nice construction guy who spends the time to clean up his messes so we can at least shower in the only shower we own.  This is going to take longer than planned!  Maybe we should be adding 2-3 days to every project from now on!

It's September 25th, and it's still 90 degrees.  So, we blow up the pool again.  It's a good thing I procrastinate on putting away things.  But I also do know it's Indiana and there's no cool weather until Christmas.  Seriously, it takes a long time to cool down to sweater weather.

The pool water straight from the hose is freezing!  But this kid doesn't care.  He loves it!  The other two were working on their schoolwork inside.

Smile!  Ok, don't smile because I want to see your eyes!

That's better!  If I knew how to edit, I could fix this color right up and make those eyes as bright as they really are!

Ready, set, go!

Cold, cold, cold!

Let's do it again!  Actually, he was going down the slide headfirst on his back, meaning he was blindly going into the water and under the water.  What?! And he kept doing it over and over again.  I couldn't leave him for a second because I was scared he would drown!  Daredevil!  Check out that grin!  Reminds me of my brother Paul-Mike's devilish grin when he was making trouble!

Push sissy down!  The middle two didn't not last long in the water.  Probably because they ended up fighting and I had to tell them to take a time out.

Daddy long legs with a skinny butt can go down the slide still.

Just hiding, just because.

Poor trees.  It hasn't been very rainy at all here in September and we've had quite the warm spell.  And we've forgotten too water them every day.  I hope they last because we've spent some money on them!  (not top dollar, but still, it's money).

Brothers.

Doesn't every toddler eat their snack in a bucket or box of some kind?  I think most do that at least once.

I told him to look up at me for a picture and of course he went over backwards.  I had already moved toys because I had a feeling that he was eventually going to fall over.  And he did!  And he laughed it off!

12 yr old or toddler?

All the flooring had to be removed.  Thankfully not all the subflooring has to be replaced.  They used mortar in the seam between the tub and the tile when you are supposed to use caulking.  I guess caulking is a little bit flexible and allows for the tub to expand and contract when you fill it with water.  Well, since the seam wasn't probably sealed, there was a ton of water damage from many, many years worth of showers, not just our own "lake Keturahs" as we call them.  Keturah is notorious for soaking the bathroom rugs.

Yuck.

Whoops!  It's starting to shrivel up!  Time to get it off the plant!  Except, it wasn't easy.  I hadn't grown peppers before so I don't know what the right way to harvest them is.  So, I tried the twisting method you do with apples, no luck.  I tried the plucking method like you do with berries, no luck.  So I eventually did both and yanked really hard leaving the stem on the plant.  Grrr....

But our tomatoes are ripening!  I'm not going to attempt a real garden until we have the current flower beds under control.  Right now, I just want to put dirt in and make it look "clean."  Then next year I'll spend some time planning and going through what's there.  I'll just keep buying our produce at Aldi's, thanks.

Climbing, again, because that is what he does, constantly.  And perching, just like Justin used to.  And Abishai can climb on Daddy almost without help!  Fearless!

Circus act!

One lonely pepper.  See how I had to twist and pluck it right off of the stem?  Whoops!

Stepping and off of Daddy.

Take note of the red shorts.  I asked him to put them on again because Facebook showed this throwback picture from 5 years ago:

Keturah aged 4 and Justin aged 7 and Jared with hair.  I can not believe how skinny Justin's arms were!  We have always fed him as much as he could handle.  And he eats fine now.  But wow!  He can still wear the same shorts he wore 5 years ago!  Ok, he does have a muffin top now but he wouldn't let me take a picture of it.

Then, Abishai found them because Justin forgot to put them away.  I couldn't decide which picture I liked best.  Sometimes a series of pictures tells a better story.  He did walk all the way to the fireside room and back before he walked out of them.

"Show off your waistline so I can compare!" I didn't really say that, but I said something about seeing how they really fit and he was the one who pulled up his shirt to show them off.

Those baby blues!  And blonde hair! Reminiscent of my mother's side of the family, as well as Gary's side of the family.

Math homework was done on the board again because of Keturah's eye issues.  I'm seriously thinking that a) it won't go away and b) Medicaid is going to choose patching over surgery.  Either way, I'm actually not very happy that we are just having to go through this process.  Is this normal?  I guess I didn't get my glasses until 9 years old either come to think of it.  And my eyes crossed a bit.  Not as much as Keturah's though, so a slightly strong prescription and fully growing up took of that part of my eye issues.  So, perhaps it does make sense and at least it is being taken care of after we have insurance.  Our eye doctor doesn't take medicaid, but we've been going there for 16 plus years and one of the doctors there did or still does attend our church.  And, the price is reasonable.  And the location is less than 10 minutes away without going into high traffic areas.  So, I don't mind going there versus somewhere that medicaid will cover.

Abishai helped me with the laundry today.  I've been trying to keep better tabs on him in the morning so the others can work.  That's why we were outside with the pool and they were inside.  Abishai stood on his slide and attempted to put the clothespin into place.  And then when it was time to take the laundry down, I would hand the clothespins to him and he put them in his bag.  By the way, the clothespins "bags" I have are actually these mesh bags that came with dollar store water balloon kit.  I love how I can just wear it over my neck and away I go.  I did find that putting all the clothespins in just one bag didn't allow enough circulation for them to dry after a rain.  I know some people just leave their clothespins in a hanging bag on their line, so I thought that I could too.  So, I just loop them over one of the deck posts near the clothesline.  Perfect!

Someone decided to do a little room rearranging of her own.  I need to teach her the "FlyLady" method of decluttering though.  Basically, only take out what you can go through in about 15 mintues and/or put away quickly.  Don't set abut decluttering the whole dresser full of clothes.  Set a timer, work for 15 minutes and then stop.  Now, I have a very hard time stopping at 15 minutes because if I don't finish certain projects right away, I know I won't be able to get back to it for a week or so and I'll forget where I left off, etc.  When I did my room rearrangement, I knew I wouldn't be able to take everything out and put it all back on the same day, so I purposefully put the boxes in a certain way in the living room so we could still live.  When I have packed up and moved, I take it in chunks as well.  If you don't break it down, then you get all this stuff out and all of a sudden it 's dinner time and you don't have time to put it all away.  And this happens frequently with Keturah.  I try to ignore her room as much as I can so she can have creative freedom, but she knows there has to be a wide path free of all obstacles, to her bed, her window, and her door.

Aw, naptime snuggles.

Benaiah and Jared are enjoying interacting about their experiences at Southside.  Now they can share a special bond over relationships they have formed with the same people there.  It helps that the classroom that Jared teaches in is right next to the classroom where Benaiah has Algebra 2.  Benaiah has said that he has overheard Jared say things during his lectures or when he shares something like a song.  Benaiah got teased about knowing the song Jared used in class the other day because he said something about it when he heard the song being played.  Or, try out this exchange from today.

A student was trying to crack a joke in Jared's class and in typical Jared fashion, he said, "Look at all the funny on my face." as he circle his face with his finger.  It's a sarcastic remark, and yet meant to put the kid in his or her place.  Later on, that student or another student in that class was telling the story to Benaiah and misquoted Jared.  Benaiah was able to correct that student without hesitation, which made everyone laugh.  There's a lot of sarcasm that goes on between the kids and the staff.  It's pretty awesome to have close enough relationships with most of the others in your entire school that you can have inside jokes and make wise cracks at the father/son bond.  And how awesome is it that Benaiah is happy and excited that Jared is there instead of embarrassed?  It does help that the principal's kids are there and another teacher's kids also attend, but still.  It's pretty awesome.

But, the best part is when Benaiah spoke bad English during math class, and the door was open between the classrooms for a moment, and Jared hear the kids laughing about it (or at least Benaiah laughing) and said, "Boy, settle down."  That's also said very sarcastically, but also sends out a warning.  I know Jared is enjoying teaching students again.  He loved interacting with the students at MCC.  I mean LOVED it! We've always known he has the "teaching" gift (vs. preaching, which I believe there is a difference.  Teaching is more of a conversation and interaction and "on the ground" with the people versus preaching which is lecturing from the pulpit and has less relationship building in it.  Now, you can be and do both of course, especially in smaller ministries.  I believe they have always been separated on the gifts assessment test.  And if I'm wrong, I apologize.  I just know that I've always seen Jared do better in a classroom vs. a pulpit.  He's a Mark Miller, not a Gary Johnson.  Anyway, I've probably messed it up, but that's what I know.   I'd rather talk with two children and their studies than give a talk or speech on a topic and not get any feedback.  Teaching is on my gift assessment, but for a long time, I thought it was just because I love to gain and then share knowledge.  I never wanted to be a "teacher" in a broad sense beyond my own family.  I certainly don't want to get up on stage.  But, give me 1 or 2 or 6 homeschooling moms with questions, and I'll teach them all I know.  I work much better with one on one time with someone, than I do with a large group.  I talk much more and can judge where the conversation is going better.  I also have more of an opportunity to say something where as in a big group, someone else usually speaks up first and asks or answers the question I had. 

Anyway, all that to say, they are having a grand time being at Southside together.  And I hope it cools off soon!  This heat is for the south!