Year 3, October 22nd-25th, 2018: The Weekly Review

Oh, what a Monday it was!  I had some bad brain fog and was pretty indecisiveness and didn't prepare well for the week.  Therefore, Monday was chaotic, frustrating and overwhelming to me.  The kids were fine.  They were trying to ask me what to do for this or that assignment.  They were trying to pay attention.  But I ran out of time.  When I did finally give up because I had to leave my weekly appointment(s), I told them just to do the best they can and find something to do that isn't a screen.  They needed my help on assignments and I didn't take the time to prepare or get off my phone in time to help.  But having that clean break, going out to my appointments and having time to myself was the best thing to do because it stopped the anxiety in it's tracks.  I picked up the smallest cup of coffee I've ever gotten at Starbucks (almost $5 for an 8oz cup of white chocolate mocha! good thing I had a gift card!) and made it to my appointment on time.  Self care at it's finest.  I decided on the Starbucks because I hadn't had my second cup of caffeine yet for the day.  I always get half caff with almond milk so it doesn't hurt me too much.  When I got home, Leah had helped with making supper (which again, I hadn't planned out groceries or a quasi meal plan for the week because of brain fog) because she could and their garage door wouldn't open and she couldn't get in her house.  I love that I can just leave on a dime and either Leah or Jared can pick up where I left off.  I couldn't do it without them, that's for sure.  I mean, I usually don't leave dinner that unplanned or the house in that much chaos.  But having a quiet weekend made me a little more relaxed and less on top of things I guess.  Plus I had some other things bothering me that aren't that important.  I started on the Zoloft, but it makes me lethargic and have more brain fog.  Good thing there's essential oils to help that!

So, it wasn't the worst Monday and having that break right when I was at the height of my anxiety made all the difference in the rest of the day.  And Tuesday went smashingly well.  I made some decisions on upcoming appointments and activities, laundry and dishes were done, school was done, supper was a bit late but ok, and everyone had showers.  Ok, maybe 4 out of 6 people.  Abishai woke up with a fever and saying his stomach and throat hurt.  I'm actually glad he can tell us exactly what's wrong now.  So I got him on some Motrin and put some RC essential oil on his throat with eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, and other oils in it.  He felt a little better for awhile and we even played outside for a good portion of the morning while the other kids worked independently.  He ate ok today despite having a sore throat.  Then when it was time for TV time and me working with the other kids, he just couldn't decide on what show to watch.  Eventually I convinced him that we should turn it off and he take a nap.  And lo and behold he slept for more than 1 1/2 hrs! Then the Motrin had worn off, so he was pretty warm as he sat on my lap while I finished up with the others.  All told, Keturah, Justin, and I got through a ton of material in 3 hrs.  We had a couple of frustrating moments, but we punched through so much stuff!  A full history lesson, all the parts of the Latin lesson (which I had neglected in the last two lessons, but that's ok, they are still getting a good deal of it through worksheets), and a good review and preview of worksheets for animal biology science stuff.  We also made it through going over their own work, too.  Woot! Woot!

Supper was a bit tough as the meat hadn't fully defrosted and I honestly didn't know what to put with it.  I just cooked up a bunch of ground beef, some chicken, and a big of rice, enough to have leftovers tomorrow with the rest of the leftovers from the past couple of days.  When I do somewhat meal plan, I do try to think ahead and plan meals that take more prep work on days I'm not strapped for time and I always, always try to make enough for leftovers.  So today, we could have eaten just leftovers, but, I know that tomorrow we will be crushed for time because we are babysitting some kids for an hour and Justin and I will rush out the door for church by 6pm.  I thought I had more time today to cook up the meat and then reheat it tomorrow. Our kids are so used to that now, and I'm so grateful for that because I've heard moms and wives say that their husbands and kids will not eat leftovers and that makes me sick!  Jared and I both grew up eating leftovers for lunches and sometimes dinners.  Anybody like cold meatloaf sandwiches?  Well, I do! I still don't have a complete plan for the week, including when to grocery shop and Friday/Saturday/Sunday are very full days with Thursday being a prep day for all that.  I think we'll go grocery shopping Thursday night and buy a little bit more of the convenience type foods (2 or 3 frozen pizza instead of just one, and more frozen meatballs, and more deli meat/cheese and bread), just because we'll be in and out more.  And that's ok. I had a GREAT meal planning week last week, so it all evens out.

Phew, I hadn't planned on sharing all of that.  Abishai is now resting, but he's also had a ton of tummy gurgles so we've made sure his bed is well protected with towels and free from the baby gate and the dog and all his stuffed animals because it could go either way.  Poor thing!  His tummy gurgles were so loud that even Justin could hear them and it made Abishai and Justin giggle!  It was kind of nice to not have a super high energy baby today, but it's also sad to see him sick.  Keturah helped him with his breakfast on the couch and Justin took the time to play with and make him laugh on the trampoline (pretending to get hurt by the balls Abishai would throw).  At least tomorrow is an at home day again for most of us and Abishai can take the time to get better.  He did have the energy to strip off the blanket and sheet off our bed and walk down the hallway with it just because he wanted to.  Sickness slows him down, but not completely, lol.  I hope he feels better soon!

Oh, and lastly, Benaiah's week is going fine so far.  Kids are lethargic at school and Jared said that half of the kids that he was actually asking questions of today put their heads down on their desks to sleep.  There's a big difference in teaching high school and college students, at least the college students we knew.  Benaiah gets fed up with his peers, too, sometimes.  We are glad they are in an environment where there are students and teachers that can model good behavior for them, but it can be frustrating, too.  Jared handles it well, and administration does what they can.  At least our kid is a little bit more mature.  He even said he has much more financial handling skills when Grandpa offered to teach a money class at the school and Jared and I both looked at each other and guffawed.  You do, son?  You just spent how much on souvenirs in NYC?  And on a gaming hoodie? And? And? And?  No, I'm just teasing. Beaniah KNOWS how hard he has to work in order to treat himself.  His goals keep getting pushed a bit, but not completely.  And I'm a spender and feel the pain of overspending just like he does.  He works hard and he understands what it takes to be financially independent.  And one of the people on the NYC trip called him "wise" and "smart."  And yes, relationally, he does understand a lot of that.  But it's come at a high price of learning it the hard way at home and being shaped by his parents and grandparents, and watching us interact with our peers at church, and watching other church leaders handling things.  He's not a dumb kid.  But he still some maturing and guidance.  He's definitely getting there and I have no doubt he'll be perfectly ready to launch when he's 18 or 19 (if he takes a skip year between high school and college, which we are all for it! One more year at home, earning money, keeping up with gaining experience at church, family time, etc. etc.).  Love that kid!

Aww, Abishai went to sleep with new best friend, Baby-8, all tucked in next to him.  Cute!

The crossover event for the CW DC superhero shows are being filmed right now.  The green arrow is in the flash suit and the flash is in the green arrow suit.  It's being called "Elseworlds."  So confusing! The shows' seasons just started back up a couple of weeks ago.

Pew-pews with Daddy.

The "don't take my picture!" look that came out to be the "I have binoculars on." look because I used flash and it reflected off the controller.

Upside down goofiness.

Benaiah boxed up that big bag of just marshmallows (the kind that comes in Lucky Charms) and wrote all kinds of memes all over the box for his friend.

This kid was sick with a fever, sore throat, and yucky tummy.  And yet, he still wanted to bounce and be outside.  With help from Motrin and R.C. essential oil blend from Young Living he was nearly 100% well in about 24 hrs.  Fresh air did help, too.

Pj's, favorite sweatshirts, bare toes, sunshine, and Mommy pushing him on his tire swing.  This is the stuff of childhood.

We found a bug on his boot!

This is a new sitting position for him.

Just look at those cute toes that aren't afraid to be outside in 55 degree weather!  Busy, dirty feet!

Then I looked over and saw this big guy on the tree!  These photos are from my phone, too!  It's a katydid, although I called it a leaf bug at first.  I left Abishai on the tire swing and told him to hold still and ran inside to get Justin and Keturah.  They excitedly ran outside to see it and oohed and aahed for a few minutes with me.  That's nature studies right there! Love it!

So fascinating!

It really looks like a leaf!

Then Abishai crashed for the afternoon.  He got really upset and couldn't decide on a TV show so we finally turned it off.  He slept about 90 minutes (and what a blessing that was so we could do our schooling without him watching TV) and he still fell asleep at night at the normal time.  Poor sick baby.

We can't wait to give this to our favorite middle school youth minister who looked super, super tired this past Sunday.  We got him and his wife a giftcard to his favorite pizza place (his username on video games and Instagram has Pizza King in it).

Justin drew these!  They are characters from Fortnite that kind of go along with the theme of the gift card.  I love his little signature at the top.  Cute!

Sweet note from Justin who wrote it all by himself.

Socks was a bit more curled up before I took the picture, and looked more like a puppy than ever.  He typically stays near me or is in the boys' room at night.  Then he'll finally settle down when I go to bed, typically with Abishai if we let him.  He likes Benaiah's bed the best though (when Benaiah isn't in it).  Sweet old puppy.

Wednesday was a moody day for me, but we got 'er done.  We babysat Bailey and her siblings for while in the afternoon while her mom went to an appointment.  Then Keturah went over to Bailey's house for the rest of the afternoon.  Bailey is in Bible Bowl, and her parents are going through Rooted, so they brought Keturah directly to church.  Keturah just sat in on beginner Bible Bowl and actual one was treats for answering questions correctly!  For me, we only had 3 workers and all 9 kids in the rooted class (mostly 3 yr olds) and by where they wired!  I told Keturah and Justin imagine if there were 9 Abishai's running around and how chaotic that would be.  They just laughed and laughed thinking about 8 clones of Abishai in the same room!  But we seemed to manage just fine.  The kids and the babysitters were all looking out for parents way before it was time for them to be picked up.  We were all late getting to bed which Thursday crazy.

Thursday we finished up school and prepped for the weekend.  Our Friday plans actually changed from hiking to a museum because of an 80% chance of heavy rain showers.  I'm totally bummed especially since Benaiah took time off and he really can't take anymore time off right now.  So, we are still going "out of town" for the day to Bloomington to a kids' hands on science museum down there.  And if we have time, we'll drive through Brown County, another state park that has a couple of 80-90 ft watchtowers you can go up in to see the scenery.  Both are near the park entrance, on easy paths, so we don't actually have to hike in the rain.  And then Benaiah is playing drums for his prinicpal's church again, so that is the other disappointment on Friday that we have to rush back to Indy to get him there on time.  So not ideal, but I'm sure we'll give it our best shot.  Then, lots of stuff on Saturday from craft fair, basketball clinic, and work to all day Sunday normal stuff, rehearsals, meetings, etc.  And that's the week!

Yup, I'm always in the kitchen or the sunroom if the kids are outside and I listen for them and I look out the window often.  I worry more when it's just Abishai outside, but it's awesome when the others are outside with him so I can relax.  I don't take a shower or do a project in a far off bedroom though.  I just don't always have outside things I want to do.  That's why we have a dog and a fence and lots of playthings in our big back yard.

Ugh, the boxes need to go away again!  Some need to go back to the shed because they are clothing boxes, and the rest are leftovers I haven't touched yet.  But, the point is, I like the brick.  I like unique.  And I have it.

Bailey's siblings, Briar, Colton, and Charlie (a girl) with Justin and Abishai on the trampoline.

 

Bailey and Keturah watching The Greatest Showman.  They took it to Bailey's house and finished watching it there.

I have to finish up my book on sleep first.

Laura was the guest on this episode, but Mary and her friend have an excellent, honest, intelligent, deep thinking podcast.  Love it!

Everyday shenanigans.

P.S. I had the best helper with putting away groceries away tonight!  Abishai put away 1/3 of the groceries in the right spots all by himself!  He even looked on the veggie/fruit drawers for the pictures to make sure he put them in right.  And he put the breakfast sausage in it's place on the freezer door.  And of course he knew where the cereal went, including moving a raisin countainer, putting the cereal away, and then replacing the raisins back in front of the cereal.  He also asked Daddy (who was in another room) if the chips Daddy bought were for home or the office and then came and told me Daddy's answer. He's one smart cookie!

P.P.S. And in the madness of the every day, Abishai sat on top of two large rubbermaid tubs like he was an eagle in a nest, and literally made calling noises like some large animal at the tops of his lungs just to interrupt our school lessons.  It was cute and very frustrating all at the same time.  He's just something else, isn't he? Crazy kid.

Blankie used as a head covering, pj shirt, corduray Sunday pants, no socks, one boot facing forward, one boat facing backwards: yup, that's our Abishai!  And he says he's not cute, only puppies are cute.  And he's not Hulk or Spiderman, he's Abishai.  Justin went through a phase of saying he was "Just Justin."  I'm glad they like being who they are.

Abishai added another family member to he dinner table: the school bus! And Baby-8 is there, too.

Oh my goodness, I'm loving cooking with essential oils!  So much flavor!

I'm so bummed I've been inside all week and haven't taken the time to notice the trees around us!  It's going to rain all day Friday and maybe part of the day on Saturday, so I hope the leaves stay with us! I might have to drop school work next week and force us to go to a more local (but larger) park while the colors are at their peak and just take a couple of kids.

I finally gave in and bought this set of three bins from Aldi's, intending to try them out on the toy bookshelf in the sunroom.  The shelves are deep enough for them, and Abishai was excited to fill them.  However, I realized that they are pictured and meant for books, too and a lightbulb went off.  How about storing Abishai and Daddy's bedtime reading in one of them!  I was going to leave the books and bin on my dresser where the books have been stacked, but then saw this perfect space between the bed and the nightstand.  Bingo!  Problem solved!  A problem that I wasn't really looking into solving.  Thanks Aldi's!  Once again, if Aldi's isn't selling it, I don't need it!  I also bought new cookie sheets and a splatter mat for the bottom of the oven once I clean it up.  18 months of caked on mess and I don't even cook that many mess things.  That will be a fun project!

Tada! Dresser cleared!  There used to be two stacks of books here!  I put some away (and thankfully Abishai didn't notice I did) and put the rest in the bin beside the bed.  Yeah!

Baby-8 watching over our baby who is such a big 3 1/2 yr old.

Cute little crossed arms.