Year 4, November 25th-27th, 2019: What Has Gotten Into Them?

It was warmer today, so the kids did get some outdoor time during daylight hours, as well as after dark. Justin finally mowed the leaves today, so hopefully it will be easier for them to break down back into the grass.  I had swept leaves off the deck twice because leaving wet leaves on there has caused some mildewing from the rain we've had off and on. Plus the dog brings in leaves with him because his fur picks up everything! Everyone had showers, laundry got done, and some Christmas decorating was started.  But for the last two weeks, Abishai has gotten really stir crazy, trolling everyone, hitting, stealing, sneaking, etc. and it's driving me up a wall. He won't sit still for very long. It's hard to keep him occupied.  He's jumping on furniture and just out of control.  I don't even know where to start with that kind of behavior. I'm so exhausted and dealing with my own stuff, I just don't know where to turn.

We barely managed to get the Christmas tree up today. Abishai just wanted to goof off and Justin and Keturah nit picked each other. Benaiah did one part and went back to his computer to work on things for work.  It was disheartening. Not very festive, but feeling like it was a task we needed to get done. I'm not feeling great overall and I think it's because I'm emotionally drained. I want to sleep. And take a break from being responsible for everything. But tomorrow I have to put aside the Christmas stuff and focus on gathering up things for a long weekend trip. And then I have Sunday to recover before going out on Monday night for a concert and gear up for other events towards the next weekend. It's going to be busy as usual. Benaiah worked all day and then had team meetings. Tomorrow we will tackle his FAFSA account and then he puts in another long shift. Wow. No time to rest!

(I was in bed at 11pm! Even before Jared moved Abishai out of our bed!)

When it's break week, you stay in your pjs all week!  Oh wait, this is how she dresses every day unless we are going out! Some days I do make her get dressed though, especially if she complains she is cold.

Afternoon sunlight coming through a back window, through the original kitchen windows through a clear container filled with peppermints. So cool!

We all LOVE these mints!  Grandpa has them on his desk and got us addicted to them.  I didn't realize how big the bags were when I bought them on Amazon.  I eat 4-5 of them at night because they are lower in calories and last longer in my mouth than most other foods.  I'm not a gum chewer. After about 5 of them, I get sick of them and will stop.  I don't get sick of eating chocolate (although it can make me sick physically), and it takes me a lot longer to get tired of eating cashews. Although, I hadn't had mints for about a week and I ate like 10-15 over the course of the rest of the day! Whoops!  The kids are allowed 3 a day and I won't refill the jar for a good two weeks either.  I didn't count, but if they don't show restraint, I will count and will refuse to fill it.  Thankfully, Abishai can't open the mints up by himself.  But even he likes them!

Because we are taking a week off of school (thank goodness because I've had other things to do!), Keturah has had more time to play with Abishai.  Justin was mowing all day, so I did ask Keturah to play with Abishai several times so I could work.  They made up a lot of games like this one where Abishai thought it was funny for Keturah to trip over him and fall down on purpose. You would think with an injured arm, she would be more careful!  Actually, when they went outside to play on the trampoline, she did land on her arm or use it in some way and hurt it again! That's twice in the last week! And that's why the cast has to be on at all times!

Gotta have a fire in order to put up a Christmas tree.  Isn't this the way everyone lights their fires?

While we waited for Daddy and the fire, Abishai decided to play teacher and had us all practice drawing "A."

Giggle fights, again.

Daddy showing Abishai that each branch has a color and letter on it.  We sorted the branches out first, but someone wasn't paying attention and they got mixed up.  Daddy had to redo the bottom layers of the tree!

Finally Benaiah came in to do his part, and he helped with the tree stand.

And he's tall enough to fluff the top branch!

Abishai would not sit still! He kept trolling and bouncing.

Abishai fluffed his first branch! And then he said he was too tired to do anymore.  But then he went out to the trampoline to play in the dark with Keturah and Justin while Daddy did the lights!

Justin and Keturah know what they are doing for the most part.

Quit jumping on everybody Abishai! I get you stuck!

Kids outside, lights going on the tree, fire in the fireplace.  This is what you call Instagram worthy.  But, behind the scenes, we were both in bad moods and not talking.  I was on the verge of tears because I was tired of dealing with kids being mean to each other and me all day. I was just trying to get as hot as I could before I retreated to my computer. An Instagram photo does not paint the whole picture, ever.  I appreciate when people on social media share those behind the scenes photos or vloggers share the not so nice moments on their channel.  That's real life.

Who's ready?  I am! I have bought all the goods, save a few baking things I can get at Aldi's when I need to. I'm officially done shopping!

Daddy used some extra lights in Keturah's room.  We'll put ornaments on the tree tomorrow or another day next week.

Tuesday I spent the morning packing for our 4 day/3 night last minute trip to Michigan.  We knew we were going to Lansing for at least the day of Thanksgiving, but we didn't know we'd be heading over to Muskegon afterwards and spending two nights there until Gary finalized the details with me on Sunday.  Eek! But I worked hard and got it all done. Then I had a few minutes to spare before I took Abishai for his haircut, picked up some groceries, and finished shopping for the nursery party gift exchange. It was a little strange just taking Abishai for a headcut, and he didn't understand why he couldn't play with Mrs. Jennae's toys (because we didn't have to wait on any siblings). Then I took him for some CFA, just as Benaiah was starting his shift.  We saw Benaiah's truck but didn't see Benaiah because he had already clocked in. I let Abishai play for a long while, and then got a text from Jared saying he wanted to get the oil changed in the car before leaving tomorrow.  So we met at Aldi's and switched cars and Abishai went home with him. Thank goodness because Abishai was about to throw a fit over the toy aisle.  We usually avoid that aisle at the bigger Aldi's where Jared hangs out with the kids and the cart while I do a quick breeze down it looking for whatever home goods I had spied in the weekly ad. Thankfully, I was able to then shop in peace.

Meanwhile, Justin was with Bryce at Montica's house for a good portion of the day. And Keturah of course spent the day at home in her pjs not doing much. She did speed read through a school book though.  I told her that if she can't remember enough of the details, she will need to reread it. She won't admit that it was good, but if she read half of a thick book in an hour, I'm betting it was.  At least I hope it was sinking in. Her outward behaviors say that not much impacts her positively. Sigh. Jared has his men's meeting tonight, after changing the oil himself and having dinner.  Then he dropped Abishai back off and retrieved Justin. And we heard thunder! Yes, it's winter, but in Indiana, it isn't quite cold enough for it be a snowstorm yet.  Although, the temperatures are going to drop dramatically as we travel north in the wind and rain tomorrow. Fun times! Hopefully Benaiah will be able to help Grandma drive, as she was given a heavier dose of dramamine for her vertigo.  She says it helps.  I say, well, your body is naturally healing and dramamine makes you functional until it does. Trust me. I've been there, done that. I can't wait to sleep in the car and maybe have some alone time while the kids are at the pool.  We'll see.  But first, we have to finish cleaning up and packing the car.  And Jared said he was going to work and the post office in the morning. Sigh. Which means he will pack at 11:59am when we are leaving at 12pm. As typical. We'll see!  Oh yikes! I need to go make the jello dessert before I go to bed!

Aww, Mom, take a picture!  Socks looks so cute!  And I want to bring this ball with us for the pool!  (Um, nope, you'll be in the pool for 1 hr. No extra stuff).

Brotherly love or brotherly smothering?

Having a screamfest with one another.

Shaggy dog before haircut.

He has so many cowlicks in the back just like my brother!

Ugh, doing an oil change in my car. And he spilled oil and I don't have an old towel to clean it up with. Yeah for saving money but boo because I don't have time for this!

My leg wound is getting there but is so itchy! The moment I touch it, it gets worse!  I've tried all the remedies.  The only remedy is time.  But my huge arm wound is still hurting and itchy.  It all makes me so irritable! Add the whooshing sound of my heartbeat in my ear and I'm not a happy camper.

Mommy, I count the lights!

"Cheeseburger!" After his new haircut.

"Cheeseburger!"

He even said, "Cheeseburger" when he was facing the door! "Cheeseburger" is what we have the kids say when their "cheese" face becomes too squinty and painful looking.

Ah! I tried to hide this in the van but Jared drove it to Jim's house and Abishai saw it! And of course he wanted to open all the doors RIGHT NOW. He can't start until Sunday!  I'm going to have to hide it somewhere else because I don't want him opening the doors when I'm not up in the morning yet. It was the last one at our Aldi's and actually had been opened and two of the doors were gone, but the items were still there. I know that when I bought it. I didn't ask for a discount because it's not worth it but I would have if pieces were missing.

Wednesday was travel day.  I love it when we don't leave until lunch time.  That means I don't have to get up super early in the morning or make sure everything is perfectly clean and ready to go the night before. I did have to get up and start moving quicker than normal, but I did have a few minutes of rest as well.  The four adults crossed their communication wires, AGAIN, and some assumed we were leaving at noon and some assumed we were leaving at 2.  We left a little bit before 1. Benaiah got so frustrated that he called one of the other adults himself and straightened things out.  Meanwhile the other kids had nothing to do and kept getting underfoot. I wish I could have delegated things to them, and I did a few times, but for the most part, it was all my work that needed done and it's just easier to do them myself then try to explain how to do them to the others.  Usually I do try to slow down and teach, but not on a day like today.

The ride was pretty bumpy because of the 60mph winds, which made it feel super cold! It was the same temperature the next day, but with no wind and it felt vastly different! We stopped at CFA in Fort Wayne as usual for some fries, stretch our legs, and use the restroom. Jared spent the whole time on his phone trying to track down a package that should have arrived at the buyer's place 3 weeks ago. The buyer lives 2 hrs from Indy. He said he feels super tweaked when errors arise and it makes him look like a fool, and most of the time, it's with mailings and it's not his fault! Ugh! Meanwhile Gary asked Benaiah if he had gotten the information for his plane ticket to fly home in December from NOLA so he can work. Benaiah said yes he did. Gary then asked why he hadn't said thank you yet. Well, I had just forwarded that email two days ago and has Gary and Benaiah had any communication between then and now, no. Benaiah doesn't usually initiate unless it's with me, Ava, his work team or his tech team. Grandpa is lower on the priority list. Plus Benaiah has slept and worked. That's about it. We are also trying to figure out a date to have Ava's parents over for dinner and Leah keeps telling Gary that there's no Sunday that works because this Sunday was too soon and then they are gone and then Dec. 20 is too close to Christmas and then we're gone and then Gary's gone for the next few months every week on Sundays again. Gary teased Leah about this busy social calendar and she retorted, "And who makes the social calendar?" Touche!

Then we moved on and drove to Lansing. Jared took Abishai and Justin swimming while Keturah and I watched a couple of episodes of a pre teen trash show on Disney. I allowed her to watch it with me so I could show her just how a) dumb and b) unrealistic and c) not idealistic they are. And yes, it was worse than I remember them. I did watch a few episodes of the trash kind of tv shows. And I had to be very careful not to assume that relationships were supposed to play out that way. And I still remember taking some of those concepts and "really wanting a boyfriend to lean on and hang out with." First of all, this particular show was accurate of our times. Single moms with two kids, one boy and one girl. Lots of ethnicities (not a bad thing). Moms giving in to teens and giving back their phones because mom couldn't stand her daughter looking mopey. They had all bet that the moms and the daughters couldn't give up their phones. Daughter hadn't begged for it but played by the rules, which is good. She even showed the mom that the mom and her had pictures together in her photo album. Mom had been afraid that they wouldn't have a relationship because of the phone. But there was the stereotypical jock stole girl the other (fat) boy liked behind his back. Fat boy couldn't find the right words to speak to girl. Girls empowerment was a HUGE thing throughout. Blech, blech, blech. All ok on the surface, but sowing those seeds for the extremes later on. Blech. I told Keturah that there's better things to watch. Encouraging things. Movies shouldn't just speak to where we are at now, but how we want to be, and not just a tagline at the end of the show. I told her that even I have to stop watching certain YouTube channels or Instagrammers because of their content isn't what I need or want to hear. They might be ok or even great channels, but if they bring up jealousy or wrong thinking, I need to move on. I don't need to watch someone deep clean their kitchen every quarter of the year. It's called discernment and watching how media affects us. All of media. 

Anyway, hotel stay was fine. Abishai had a hard time falling asleep because of my lights on the electronics and he had napped in the car. No one got sick. Everybody ate well at our dinner at Applebee's. The boys joked around in the booth, Abishai couldn't sit still because he had been sitting still for 4 hours. Jared and I made sure we had big salads because we knew we wouldn't be getting much veggies this weekend. In fact, (I'm writing this on Friday), on Thursday, no one brought green beans or sweet potatoes or even corn! It was all tan or brown carbs or protein or sugar carbs except for a can of cranberry sauce, my cranberry sauce fruit dessert, and pop. I'm sure it will be similar this evening (Friday) with the Johnsons. I didn't think we J6 were that healthy but at least once a day I do serve vegetables! And usually it's frozen mixed vegetables and the kids do eat raw vegetables and fruits throughout the day. I'm the one who struggles with the raw, but I shouldn't anymore. I got my tooth fixed which was half of the battle because of the cold sensitivity. I know my jaw isn't perfect and it tends to hurt from time to time, so I prefer soft things over hard. I need to get over that of course. Anyway, we felt stuffed and ready to sleep. Early to bed! Tomorrow's Thanksgiving!

Yup

This is where Jared and Benaiah differ. Jared hates peach juice and flavors! He'll eat a raw peach, but that's it.  Benaiah bought this juice himself.

I didn't take a picture of the cranberry jello mixture I make, and I always have to look up the recipe for the amounts of water and jello, but this it give or take.  I used very cherry mixed fruit, drained the juice, and dumped it in. No walnuts this time. Strawberry jell-o. Not many people ate it, so I left it in the car in the trunk (it's 35 degrees outside), and bring it inside right before dinner on Friday night.

I did a thing!  I bought another new tablecloth!  This time, it covers the whole table and there's no plastic involved.  A little nervous, but it said that liquids bead up on the top making spills easier to clean up, plus it's washable. We haven't spilled things often, so hopefully, we will be ok.  It looks pretty though!  The placemats came from Great Grandparents Johnsons, the green party hat was from last year's Happy Birthday Jesus celebration (yes, it sat out all year), and Abishai's memory verse from this week.  Also note the Thankful Turkey and new Jesse tree Advent calendar on the wall. I haven't switched out the wall decor yet.

Sleepy cold puppy.

Just plain awful and cold.

Yikes.

Great, we will be traveling on Saturday.  Fun times! I just want some snow!

Oh this is heavenly! When I go back to Aldi's, I'm stocking up and bringing some to Aaron (who loves PB) and Evelry (who is GF)!  Keturah liked it, too!  It's just the right amount of PB and sweetness!

Abishai kept swinging back and forth and tipped over in his booster seat at Applebee's!

Grandma kept teasing him and saying, "Get off! Personal space!" and they both laughed.

Nice face, Grandma, lol! We barely fit into a booth anymore!

Hm, what are you talking about, Dad?  I think Jared was trying to get oil out of an oil and vinegar jar.

Yes, Leah brought a pie uncovered that had just been in an oven. And yes, we brought it into the hotel instead of putting it in the cooler in the back of her van. SMH. I love how Jared and Benaiah put backpacks on both their fronts and their backs to save their hands for other precious cargo like pumpkin pies.

We never travel light.  Sorry, not sorry. Gotta be prepared when you have food sensitivities and health issues like I do.  I didn't bring cold medicine this time though.  And there was space in most people's bags.

Watching dumb pre teen TV shows with Keturah to show how politically correct they are and she shouldn't fill her brain with them.

Cheesey face! "I'm hungry!" after he swam for an hour, which was right after he ate a big bowl of mac and cheese and chicken tenders at the restaurant.  Yikes! Nice stool though in this fancy, what looks like brand new hotel.

Abishai made himself at home.  He spread it out all by himself.

Justin didn't bring his phone but he would have missed this anyway because we were traveling. His small group went over to their small group leader's house, Ron Hittel, just to cheer him up.  He had open heart surgery to remove a tumor and now has to go through some vigorous chemotherapy. He's our age and Melissa, his wife, and their boys, were in MOPS with me a long time ago. They are 7th and 2nd grade now. So, this is Justin's boy/jock crew!  I think he fits right in, don't you think?

Keturah said that Abishai kept rolling in closer to her throughout the night even after she kept pulling away.  Yup, that's what he does to us.  He likes to snuggle in close. Keturah also brought her small horse pillow to prop up her arm like a good girl. Just as long as her cast doesn't hit Abishai, lol.  They slept fine.

The End