Year 5, September 25th-27th, 2020: Where's the Hustle?

 Is it me, or is just Abishai and I who know how to hustle around here? I'm exhausted again. This week has been so full. And I don't get much downtime anymore. If I slow down for even 15-20 minutes to play my phone game or check on my email or go down a rabbit trail of looking something up, the whole day gets behind. Add that to the kids not getting up when they are told to, and yeah, it makes for a whole lot of nagging. BUT, Justin got a phone today! Surprise! I didn't see it coming and when I walked in to drop off the boys at Grandpa's house, there it was! He had bought an iPhone 8 from someone and had already been to the AT&T store and gotten it all set up.  Yeah! But I wasn't expecting to get it all running in between other things this evening, so I'm flustered about that. Same thing with Benaiah's car. It wasn't really on my agenda and I didn't do much, but I did have to lend a bit of time in text messaging exchanges, looking at insurance, and simply understanding what was done. Maybe I'm just mentally done with the week. It's a lot. Going in circles teaching three kids, keeping the youngest one from bothering the others, making up my own curriculum, finding the time to sit and teach vs. all the household stuff that can't be let go of. It's just overwhelming. Either I choose to take the kids out OR we do schoolwork. I choose to take them out OR we stay home and MAYBE do something about a hanging light bar hanging down in our bathroom from 3 weeks ago. Some things are just starting to grate on me, can you tell?

But anyway, it was lovely day to be outside, but my mind is all jumbled when I get home. So I dropped the boys off and came home and told Jared to pick them up. The boys, Keturah, and I did our annual apple picking trip as quickly as we could. It wasn't as fun as years' past though. No apples to pick because the crops were small from the extra freezing we had in the spring. So we loved on the farm and bought extra goodies from the store to make up for it. Support local business right? Then we went to the park for park day, but no one was there. I decided to drive Keturah home real fast and then brought the boys back to the park. No, I would never leave them at the park unattended. Too scary.  We stayed at park day for our normal time. I got to hold baby Benjamin, too, and Abishai loved that I did! He's a sweet baby. It took a minute to remember holding a 5 week old, but I survived. He's being adopted by a family of 3 other boys and Mama is not too particular, so I didn't feel pressured that I was being judged for how I was holding him or whatever. It was nice after seeing all the other babies in our church be born and not being able to have the time to go see them or be at church with them or whatever. I hope that we get them in nursery even. Did I get baby fever? Well, once I got in the grove, it wasn't hard. And, it's easier to sit down and calm a baby than argue with a teen. So,....no, I didn't get baby fever. Four children is plenty. That's why I get upset sometimes because I want to enjoy it, but there's too much work to do to really sit down and take the time to enjoy life unless we are out of the house. I can only ignore the bathroom light fixture for so long. Sigh.

Bible class, supper, and a really bad stomachache. My stomach has decided to rebel. Too much on the go food this week. Too much dairy. Too much anxiety. And it's not happy at all. Which makes me very unhappy and grouchy and "everybody, just leave me alone!" All the kids, mine and the others, were in rare form today. Loud, chaotic, crazy, and sitting too close to us moms. Being on duty from 7am to 11pm is hard. So hard. When do I get to relax? I don't know. Because Mom's Night Out and park day is mentally draining. Fun, but draining. I need a recharge and I won't get much of it this weekend. Lego thing tomorrow, Jared has to go to church for a few hours, church, horse show, kids' Crave/small group. Yup, exhausted. Plus feeding, cleaning, the pantry is a mess. The fall/summer clothes need switching. I haven't prepared enough for history lessons. We are doing a daily Bible study now. The library wants my book back and I'm not done reading it. When do you all have down time? When? Cuz I sure don't. And that's just the basics! Send help! I wish Jared would let me pay for help! The bathroom could be done in a day if we'd just let someone else tackle it. Instead, we are going on 8 months of having the money on hand to do it. Sigh.

Just tired. And whiny. And leave me a-lone-y. Pictures tell a better story.

Alrighty, I'll write the blog, here goes. I woke up to a bit of vertigo. And now my throat hurts. If I wake up feeling worse, well, I don't know if going to church would be wise or not. I'm not serving this week, so that's good. We'll see. It's a fairly light week on appointments so I wouldn't be putting anyone in danger. It's next week that we have some things. Oh wait, I have a concert on Thursday. I keep forgetting and now it's going be like 50 degrees out and it's an outdoor concert! Yikes! See, this is why I'm not a fan of the outdoor concerts. But anyway, I've pulled together a few people to go with me and we'll make the best of it. But I digress.

I had made it known last night that the light fixture hanging down in the big bathroom was really starting to stress me out. SO, Jared did manage to get more drywall mud up there before we left for the Lego exhibit. He had to work for a few hours this afternoon so I knew he didn't have a lot of time today. He has a hard time getting more than a few things done a day, aka, he lacks efficiency, speed, and doesn't care. So, I'll take what I can get. I did get him to agree to going for a getaway when Grandma and Grandpa take the kids to Macinac, Michigan in October. I did a lot of research last night after I came home all huffy that I have a million things to do and can't remember them all.I just needed to be left alone for awhile and figure it all out. Anyway, I'm going to plan this little trip myself and work it out and he's just going to be my driver and he's going to like it. Period. Lol. I gave him 3 options, so here we go. Hiking and historical town of Madison, IN, on the Ohio River. It's actually the town I need to go in for the Levi Coffin house, which was part of the underground railroad,  I plan to take the kids there in the spring during our Civil War studies. So, there's that.

We went to a Lego exhibit, with a donation to a guide dog training organization. It was put on by that Lego buy/trade/sell place that Jim was talking about. So, we've made some more connections and am excited to take Justin to the actual store to do some buy/sell and maybe that will lead to some more conversations with the owners and other builders around town. Maybe there's a Master Builders' club or something. A few of the personal builds at little name plates made of Lego bricks that said which Brickworld events they attended and such like you get ribbons or pins at other conferences and events, kind of like credentials. By far, the kids' favorite area was the mini figures and that you could buy all kinds of accessories, as well as the retired sets. We purposefully didn't bring any money. There was great builds and I'm excited to see if we can't get things going a bit. Maybe Justin could even work there! Who knows. Their store isn't that far from us, maybe 15-20 minutes max. 

Then Justin and Keturah went to work for Grandpa and Jared and Abishai had lunch and watched "Black Panther" "because I don't remember all the parts, Dad!" Oh! Now I know why he asked yesterday if the black kids knew our language! They speak a different language sometimes on the Black Panther movie! Ah! But we love that he loves this incredible movie with such fantastic actors and awesome story. It was so well done and saw a completely different side of black culture, that they can be regal and sophisticated. They aren't slaves or poor some indigenous backwards tribe that we need to feel sorry for. And now that the main actor passed away, it's kind of sad to watch. He did such a great job and was an outstanding actor playing outstanding characters. Some actors are so desperate that they will play the raunchiness stuff. You don't have to sell your soul to Hollywood. There's many actors that haven't.

Then it was more screen time and leftovers for dinner. Then a bit of outdoor time while I made a phone call. Time for bed because church in the morning. Just a bit of a different Saturday. But well spent I think.

Smitty's doing the prayer walk in Washington, D.C. this weekend. Very much needed.

National pancake day! And then I told Jared there was sugar in it just when he took a bite and he spit it out! Brat! It was a mix of protein pancakes.

The Coliseum!

Lord of the Rings! Or is it The Hobbit?! It's the Hobbit, and I see a favorite actor of mine, Aidan Turner's character in there. Sweet!

Justin was taking mental notes of how you take your base plate and then add other flat plates on top to make the different colors for things like the beaches.

Tall build!

That's $20 per mini figure! Some go for $40!

Look at all the cute animals! $1 a piece.

The kids' favorite area, the mini figures. Justin's already plotting how he can afford the ones he wants. Now he doesn't have to buy a $30 set just to get the mini figure he wants. A lot of them cost $10-15, which is still cheaper than buying the whole set.

All Star Wars mini figures.

This cabinet is made entirely of Lego pieces and holds all the ships of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Incredible!

The Black Pearl

All Lego pieces.

I can't wait to get to know these people better. Maybe Justin can work for them!

You now how I showed you my disorganized pantry floor a week or so ago? I cleaned it up today! I just needed to get the stool out and do all the reaching and filling in of gaps. It took 45 minutes I think. I did put a small box of the leftover chips from Benaiah's graduation open house in there, too. But, yeah, everything is back to normal, easy to find, and edible.

Look! I even have a bit of room next to my mixer, which I haven't used much yet. I need to remember I got that so I can bake more without feeling like I have to mix the batter all the time.

Do you think we can do this? I booked us a little trip while Grandparents take grandkids to Michigan in October. Jared was rolling his eyes, but I know he's going to like it. We'll hike, we'll visit some historical homes, we'll walk the boardwalk next to the Ohio River, and sleep in! 3 days, two nights. This hike will be on the longer, full day, I think. And we'll get there in time to explore some a historical site or two on Day 1, hike on Day 2, and do more sightseeing on Day 3, ending at maybe a fire tower for sunset on the way home? Jared doesn't have many romantic cells in his body, so I do have to do the pushing and planning. BUT, ever since he told me that it's ok to pull him along, I have felt a bit more freer to push the envelope. He hates spending any kind of money. I told him I would use some of the money I've been saving for our long NH trip so it doesn't interfere with other monies we promised other places. I don't know why it's such a big deal to him when we know tons of people who go on these kind of getaways all the time and don't blink an eye because it's healthy for a marriage. Or even date night. He hates spending money on a date night, so we don't go like Benaiah and Ava do. He's always been that way. So, we are going. The Cliffy Falls Inn is booked. I read plenty of reviews and saw lots of pictures. Made my best guess and booked it. I did get a bit of a discount. Woot! Woot! And leaf peeping is my FAVORITE and we had such a good time two years ago when we did it with that free cabin and cooked our own meals. But this time, we will go out to eat. And didn't book the cheapest hotel in town either. But one that is inside the park. Because, why not?!

Fall is here! The rain and cooler temperatures come on Monday! Just in time for an outdoor concert on Thursday. Brr!

Abishai had the first three lines down the last couple of years. He added the 4th line a few months or maybe a year ago. He added the 5th line a few weeks ago. And tonight, he added the last night, "Let's Go!" instead of Amen! He claims that's what Amen means! He's not wrong necessarily. Usually Amen singles you can eat or leave or whatever. He also sometime talks about and prays about the good angels fighting the bad guys/angels. The Brick Bible that Jared reads to him includes Revelation, so Abishai has been paying attention and remembering scenes for there. And sometimes he's very concerned about it. He asks tons of questions, and ones we can't always answer, too. Smart cookie!

She rolled up her pancake like a taco and then wouldn't let me take a picture of it.

I see the gate for the gladiators and lions! They were working on the midsection piece I think.I'm not sure why they have it raised like that because I don't see any special rooms underneath or anything. Interesting support system.

 The hustle left the building before I woke up. It was a vertigo day. Sore throat. Cramps because of monthly. Nausea and sleepiness because of vertigo. So stayed home. Tried to listen to sermon, but fell asleep the first time through so tried again the second time. I didn't write notes, so the content didn't stick. Oh well. I did do my Bible study. I tried to read Poldark. I tried to rest my eyes. But I just wanted to lay there and play around on my phone. I did take a little nap and got up around 10:30 to get dressed and eat. I had already taken Dramamine, my anti anxiety pill, and some Aleeve for the pain. Jared left me a cup of tea before he took the kids to church. Abishai ended up staying for two hours and unfortunately, they did have to turn a kid away from his class because it was full. I told Jared he could bring him home in between services, but it's a very quick turnaround and hard to do. I enjoyed the quiet though. I did a little texting about the horse show this afternoon and then fell asleep again. Bad idea. They were going through the different classes at the horse show pretty quickly and Keturah missed one of Quinn's two classes. But she did get to see a little bit and Debi brought her home. The kids did have lunch with Gary and Leah and I told them to reveal to the kids about our fall break trips. The kids didn't seem that excited about it went they came home nor were the disappointed. Oh well. And I guess I missed out on talking to Benaiah. Ok fine. I can text him. Nothing special.

Then another rest period while kids were on electronics for a little bit. I set it up so the wifi would get off in an hour. Meanwhile, a texting string got started about Christmas vacation and now, it's all settled. A cabin is rented for us in western TN near the KY border. Done. Decided. Unless Aaron's boss says no. Then we got to talking about our other cabin vacations. Jared wasn't happy because it kept waking him up. Well, sorry, if we have our monthly conversation while you are resting with a headache. I have a headache, sore throat, vertigo, tired eyes, cramps, and ugh. So, yeah nap however you can. Anyway, yes I was pretty snappy about it. I did try to spend some time outdoors because tomorrow it's going to turn rainy and much colder, yeah, just in time or an outdoor concert on Thursday! I did do another round of asks for that, and hooked up with a fan from Ohio, so that will hopefully help with costs. And if not, then it doesn't. It is what it is. Thursday night just isn't a good night for many people. We'll make the best of it, I'm sure. 

I'm just glad it was a low key day with little commitment and the same for most of the week. I'm sure I'll be over the vertigo part in a day or two. Hopefully it's just my normal run of the mill head cold. I would hate for it to be anything else! Eek!

Spoken word with improvisational music. Oct 9th. I already preordered mine of course. No hestiation there! It's actually going to be awesome! He did something similar for one of his Covid-19 "live" from home nights and it went over very well.

I waited to try this until I was sitting at my computer and I can feel the peppermint and whatever is in the Valor tingling. But Jared got a whiff when he was in the kitchen and said, "Thanks for the headache!" Good grief, this stuff cures headaches. Your body is just not used to it.

12 years ago, in a cabin in the eastern KY mountains. Everly slept in the laundry room in a pack and play (21 months old) and Keturah slept in a pack and play in the master bedroom closet/bathroom. Can't remember where the boys slept. Hm,....

Winter, so hiking was colder. I actually can't remember the hike for this one.

That window is in the master bathroom and I remember looking out at the spot I'm standing at in the picture and seeing a bear! We were high up on a hill, and it was hilly driving to the cabin, with a pond on our left.

I think those Trasnformer pjs are in the next box for Abishai. Benaiah would have been 6 1/2 years old and Keturah 6 months.

Justin was 3 1/4 yrs old. Abishai was confused with Daddy having hair. I miss that hair! And he thought the boy was himself. Abishai still has the shirt in his drawer. Jared still wears that pullover.

Shauna said we should recreate this picture. I said, well, no one wants Benaiah on their shoulders! Lol!

Babies!

And more babies! But we are missing two babies!

Uncle Aaron called and of course Abishai got right up into Daddy's face to "talk" to a real live person!

I was outside trying to close my eyes and listen to an audio book. No such luck. They always find me.

Rain is on its way! And cooler temps! I'm glad our apple picking trip is done! The zoo next week should have some good weather, cooler, so the animals will be up and about, hopefully.

Always climbing. He did come home singing some songs from Sunday School and dancing but he won't dance in Sunday School. He was pretty good with having Justin and Grandma being the leaders during 2nd hr.

Sunset.

I see the moon and the moon sees me. I can't wait to get a new phone and maybe I'll capture this better.

Nice and bright moon.

Patriots win!

Colts win! With only 2,500 fans in the stadium but whatever. Oh, and we are in stage 5 of the reopening of our state but masks are still mandatory. Whatever.

 

The End