The J6 Journey: Year 6, April 19th-22nd, 2021: Sun? Rain? SNOW?!

Well, I think PEI sent their snow our way because there is a chance of snow tomorrow evening! Yikes! I drank my last sip of coffee at 6pm, so let's see if I can make some real sense tonight. I feel like it's all been jibberish lately because our life is here, there, and everywhere. So, let's see. After some self loathing because of not fitting well into that sweater yesterday, I started the day by quickly eating some breakfast (instead of lounging and playing games and doing email), after I got up right at 8:15am. Well, last night, I laid down on the couch to do one more round of my video games and fell asleep with my glasses on and my phone in my hand! I had even taken chocolate chips out of the fridge to munch on! Whoops! It's a good thing I hadn't opened the bag yet! But I didn't get a chance to brush my teeth and man, my mouth felt awful! I had a ton of dreams, too. And I hadn't fully laid down, so my neck is all kinked up today, blech. But I slept, so ok, that's fine.

After a shower, I had to shut down Abishai's gaming time that I let him have, and in the process, he was mad and threw the controller. Well, no video game time with Dad tonight then. And then he wanted to argue about where to do school, so I threatened to take away some of his tablet time. I need to follow through on that one and lessen the time he can have via the tablet itself, but I was going to be gone for an appointment this afternoon, so I didn't worry about it. I did have to yank it from him when he refused to get off before supper, too. Come to think of it, that little dude got out of doing his chore because he ran outside like I wanted him to. Well, it was gorgeous outside so I shooed them all outside after chores while I tried to put dinner together. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Keturah had finished her IEW curriculum last week, so she had less to do today. I found her lounging with her phone in her bed, grrrr. She can still be pretty sneaky still. The boys aren't so bad. They will ask first. Abishai had gone for his tablet, but only after he asked and I said no and I'm right there. Keturah will do it when I'm not looking at all. She's always been that way. Her homework was ok. I need to get her to read more but that's fine. Justin worked on his papers and math and science and did alright. Because I stayed on top of the clock, and had Keturah, Abishai, and I eat lunch a little early, we were able to get our regular read aloud time in. I was in the "no nonsense" mood today and I was determined NOT to be wasteful of the day. I tried to eat less complex carbs, only at breakfast so far. I'm kind of hungry now but I was going to eat chips at dinner and didn't because I filled up on vegetables. I managed to cook the rest of the old vegetables, clean out and combine the fruit drawers, and bring everything into the main fridge ready for tomorrows Misfits box. We were going to go to the grocery store but it was too nice out. I hate wasting the good weather days by being inside all day, so I opened the windows as I peeled vegetables. And then after supper, I went outside and played basketball with Abishai. That kid can throw the ball and even dribble! So I raised the backboard and he was fine at first, but then when he realized he couldn't tip toe to reach the rim and hang on it, he threw a major meltdown. So much so that Daddy put him in his bed inside while Daddy walked to a friends' house. I finished up the last bit of the mulch that I had saved for the spots that I missed because I didn't want the rain and snow to get to it and make the driveway worse. We secured the rest of the outside as well as the temperature will drop starting tonight. One last cold blast for us. One more.

I had another dermatology appointment and everything looks great. I'll see her again in 4 months when she's nearly due to have her 1st baby! Aw! She also went ahead and suggested the lamisal tabs for my toenail fungus. I didn't realize dermatology covers that, but I guess it does. I tried that for about 1 1/2 months before I got pregnant with Justin maybe or Keturah. I couldn't be on while I was pregnant. Anyways, we will go through that for a bit and see if that helps everything. I'll be fine on it since I was on it before. Just a bit more lab work to check the liver in a month or so. It was a pleasant drive down to IUPUI and back, and I saw a bunch of kids going to class. I'm sorry, young adults, going to class. Oh my and in a few months, that will be Benaiah walking those streets! He did finally apply, so we'll see how that goes. I need to encourage him to also apply to UIndy because he might get better scholarships there. And maybe by having two of them, they can compete with one another. Probably not since his scores say he's an average student. I can suggest it, but I think he might be shocked at IUPUI's price even after financial aid and in house scholarships. It's not going to be great. But, I can only suggest so much. And thankfully, the bridge construction on the highways is just after you turn west on I-70 from north I-65 to go towards IUPUI. However, that are might get more jammed because of the huge shut down over the next couple of years. He'll have to drive it at rush hour, not me. Yup, time for college!

It sounds like Jared did a lot of reading with Abishai, so they made up. Little guy just wears himself out all day. I wasn't even awake yet and there was a plethora of toys strewn about. Nerf bullets, shoes, action figures, water bottles. He even pulled out the ball pit by himself after I said no and then wait. Crash boom, ok, I hope it was just toys that I heard, and thankfully it was. And when he wanted me to get the Pikachu hat down off Justin's dresser, he wouldn't wait and got the stool out himself. And then I called him Cheek-a-poo. I was thinking of Cock-a-poos I think. I was trying to wake up Justin at the time, ok?

So now the day is done, all is quiet and wow, I'm tired again. I need to do some photo to CD copying, and checking now that it's been three weeks since I did a CD check. Grrr.....tomorrow we will stay home until I have to go get groceries in the afternoon. I have Mom's Night Out, so it can't be done tomorrow night unless Jared magically volunteers to do it himself. But then I would have to write up a list. And he never deviates from the list. And that's no fun. So, we'll see.

Oooo, I'm loving these stickers! Keturah even said that she put it on the phone so she can see it all the time! I say, I'm not mad at all. It's an old phone. I didn't tell her she can randomly decorate it with anything else however. Just the stickers are fine.

This mass shooting not far from us has made front page headlines, been in the national evening news (I assume), and now I see it on this weekly Christian news thing. NOT a good way to show off our city. I didn't even realize that the photo is of our downtown until just now. That's not nice. So sad. Our city is so much more than this!

I guess the highshcoolers have to sign in when they go to youth group and the thing automatically prints off a tag. I guess it's one way to take attendance, and I guess in any emergency, it would be easier to know who's in the building. I just think these kids are old enough to not need these tags. They don't have to wear them though.

The antics from Abishai started super early today.

Wait a minute, were we transported back to PEI or something? Did they teleport their snow last week to us? What is this?! And then it's going to be in the 70's a week from now. Indiana, you're weird.

I should have gone inside to get Justin's medication. Thankfully, it wasn't a bunch of people getting a Covid-19 test but picking up medication like me so the line went quickly. There is no vaccines at any CVS location they said. Just the test and regular pharmacy things. You still have to have an appointment for the test though.

This is what Keturah did during read aloud time today. Ok then. I told her I took a photo and to put it away because Jared and I need that spot tonight. She had actually stacked all the letters individually so she had a high stack of each vowel and low stacks of the less used consonants. I so should have had her do the mean, mode, and median like she's been doing in math! Bwahahahaha! Mean mom!

This little booger not only can make basket after basket on the lowest setting but on the next setting up! And he can run and jump and get it in! I'm so signing him up for basketball next winter! I know I said I don't want them to do sports when they are really little, but he needs places to use all this energy. And he's GOOD! I told him he needs to keep practicing with basket this higher and even higher because the baskets at even the elementary schools will be higher than this. He's a natural! And he can dribble. We just need to find the ball pump (which I just saw two weeks ago and now I can't find it!) because the balls are barely inflated enough to dribble. He has been crawling around on the basketball gym floor since he was 10 months old when Justin did basketball in Charlottetown. And then he watched Keturah's games here a few years ago.We literally watched him crawl and then learn to walk by going up and down the sidelines at Justin's practices. Too cute! Natural Hoosier in him! Or Tarheel! Imagine! Him going to UNC Chapel Hill like his Grampa Howell. Wouldn't that be something!

Last look of the Easter lilies before the cold gets to them. I'm glad the secondary blooms bloomed after I planted it. That means the roots are happy and it should come up next year. Yeah for a free plant! I might snag them to bring them in first thing in the morning. We'll see.

Let's just show you the day because I was grumpy from going to bed super late. I didn't finish emails until 12:30 am and then putzed around for awhile and wasn't sleepy and still had a hard time following asleep. Drinking coffee at 6pm didn't help and honestly, I did it again today, so here I am. I had Mom's Night Out, so I was able to get away and procrastinate on my to do list, which will probably bite me in the butt tomorrow when I look around at all the undone stuff, but whatever. I did get a few groceries though and made it to the library, so there's something. Kids had a normal day, although I probably was a little bit harsher because of my own attitude. Also, my left pinky finger still hurts and it makes typing difficult. I'll type more with the photos below.

Abishai was being his normal crazy morning self and assked for two eggs, one IN the bread, and on TOP of the bread. He didn't eat the second piece of bread, but he did eat the two eggs!

Plus his big bowl of frozen fruit all while reading his Lego catalog. Oh, and I woke up to Grogu and Valetine staring at me. Thanks, kid.

Michael W. Smith wrote this song to sing at the Columbine memorial. It then became the title track for his next album, This Is Your Time.

I don't know where I exactly was, but I can tell you I was graduating from high school that year. And I was grateful that I was homeschooled and didn't have to think of this threat that day and all the days since. This event triggered a lot of new security measure in the schools around the country. I do remember the video footage pretty vividly.

I'm thinking this a little (or a lot) photoshopped or maybve a time lapse? But it's gorgeous!

This IS insane! What in the world?! This would be something I would expect on PEI, but not here in Indiana! In fact, PEI did get some flurries this past weekend.

I had to bring out the winter coat!

Abishai has the better idea.

It's April 20th, y'all! And the snow magnet is on the weather space!

This is when the snow starting falling, right around 5:30pm. Note the purple tree and very green grass that's been mowed several times already.

First big snowflakes hit as I was walking out the door to Mom's Night Out.

Good-bye, lilies. It's been nice knowing ya!

I bit of ice build up on my way into McAlister's at 6:30pm.

And this is what I came out to, 2 1/2 hrs later. Oh my word! It's a good thing I haven't put my snow brush away!

You would expect this in January, not the end of April!

What is all this blue stuff?! It's a good thing I never fully change out the seasons in my wardrobes. I hadn't switched the winter gear with the summer gear yet, either.

Well, these lights and this snow would be appropriate about 4 months earlier than now, or in another 8 months perhaps. We leave the colored bulbs in all year round.

Oh my beautiful flower garden! Where did my beautiful red mulch go!

My poor lilies are UPSIDE DOWN drooping!

I do have the night mode on my phone, so all of these photos look brighter than they actually are in real life. I love that, though, because I can show things like this (which will surely change by morning) without waiting until the morning to capture them.

Even the patio furniture is out!

Now look at the purple flowered tree!

I just bought this thinking we would need it soon! I guess not! Although the forecast says that in 10 days, we will hit 70 degrees or warmer. So, if you don't like the weather in Indiana, wait a minute.

Phew, another one of those "hustle or we won't get it all done" days. But, one of my Bible study ladies has had those kind of days and weekends, too, with her job. Just a few more weeks and I'll be able to breathe and catch up. Or I just have to get over myself and not watch YouTube and Amazon Prime. Or something. What a weird weather day though. It felt like the calendar had flipped back a few pages, and then sprung forward again after all the melting was done. Very weird. Thankfully my flowers like the irises will be fine. The lily was going to be finishing off soon anyway, and everything else is just starting to grow. The daffodils were done, and sometimes I've heard you cut those down, and sometimes people don't, so I'm lazy and I don't and they still come up every year first thing and super strong. I just don't have time to tie them off and cut them. I think people do that so the nutrients go back into the flower bulb. I like the greenery to be honest because it takes a bit for the those tall purple ones with the prickly seeds to get big and they don't have much foliage. Oh, you know what I should have done with the mulch? I should have put it around the daffodils where those grass patches are. Shoot. I might go transfer some of the mulch after it dries out a bit. Anyways, I'm so grateful my flower garden is finally at a low maintenance stage. Even this spring I had way less to pull. There's still a bit of other places that need some help, but I don't see it when I look at the window so it's secondary. Like the rocks around the foundation of the house and all those weeds around the chimney and a/c unit. I have no desire to keep pulling all those weeds so they stop growing. We use the week whacker on them, but they seem to be multiplying more each year. Maybe that will be a new project. Jared didn't like the idea of mulch being up against the house, so perhaps I need to go for a fresh layer of rock after we actually pull the weeds and get the junk out of there. The a/c unit area is fairly clean of junk, it's just the area around the hose where outside stuff has accumulated like the water table that we haven't used in two years. I don't have the heart to get rid of it. I don't know if Abishai would want me to try to clean it up again now that he can fill and unfill it himself probably. I'll ask him. Maybe that will be a good goal this summer. I can have Keturah and Justin pull the weeds because all of it can go. I don't want them pulling weeds in the flower gardens because they don't know what is a weed and what's not. So, hm,...I'll add that to my summer list.

Meanwhile, the urgent stuff is piling up and I thought I had this Saturday open to tackle them, but I don't because we are going to the Civil War thing. Crud. I need to work on that tomorrow maybe while the kids have Grandpa class. Yeah, I think that would be good since it's already 10pm. I still haven't done the photos and such I do every weekend. I'm really behind and getting concerned with that. It's just that I don't seem to get us up and going no matter how hard I push. And today, Abishai took two hours to do his work. Two HOURS. So we still didn't finish until noon. It's ridiculous. Threatening to give him less screen time helps. And maybe perhaps starting at 10am with him and then letting him have screen time on the PS4 for his "missions" while I do something on the computer might be a way of rewarding him. I had to hide Lego catalogues from him today because he wouldn't stop talking about them. And when he gets onto something, he won't stop talking. I hate to get out the apple cider vinegar, but the constant interruption and fighting as gotten to me a lot lately. Probably because there's not as much wiggle room to be patient with these things. It's not like I haven't tried to train them to "Obey right away with a good attitude every day." I'm just on edge lately and Keturah's attitude is really kicking me in the face, too. She did say that I never tell her she's doing something right, and she's right. I don't very often because she isn't very often. I have this standard that I don't think is that high to keep and she won't match it. She refuses to see the dog hair on the floor saying she got the hose out and vacuumed it all up. It's physically right there. Are you blind? Are your glasses clean? What is she trying to control? Maybe she needs to understand that she controls the cleanliness of her room, but when it comes to common areas, and her hygiene, it affects everybody else. I did have to tell her today that she seems to care more of the dog than she cares about humans. I don't know. I need some time to think on it and I don't have the time.

Oh, I had a revelation today that maybe this is a great time to switch to a new PCP aka an osteopath when my current one is moving on to a different practice. I'm sure that would be mean I wouldn't necessarily be recommended to doctors within IU, where it's a bit cheaper and all in one system, but I've done it before, so, who knows. I'll have to look into what my co pays would be, too, before I drop my current and very conveniently located set of doctors. Just something to think about. I couldn't figure out why the endocrinologist didn't say something about the cortisol test results on the online patient portal when the other numbers had indicators on them. Or why I haven't received a phone call yet either way. We'll see.

Now, onto this crazy weather! We had the snow this morning that fell last night and then another burst of snow hit around lunch time! And then a 2 minutes brief squall during Bible study time as we all sat watching it out the front window of my friend's house. It was crazy! And it's cold. I'm so cold. I'm just thawing out now. I was pretty cold at Bible study and we ran overtime and there was no convenient way to get up and leave. That's one of my worst social problems. I never know how to butt in so I can excuse myself. And now, it will be 80 degrees in just 5 days! So, yup, everything is upside down and weird. At this time last year we were in lockdown and trying to do things like put up decorations on our windows and leaving rocks for others to find on their walks. And now? Everybody is back to the rat race. Barely seeing anyone out and about. No one wants to do anything extra for each other, at least not many. It's just go, go, go, from morning to night. I miss lockdown. Sometimes, I really, really miss lockdown. At least then I wouldn't be considered a party pooper. Or a recluse. Or weird. Or man, thinking about that. I forgot to put a mask on when I had to go into the gas station because the pump wasn't working right, so I panicked for a second and then said, "No, you are going to be fine. Maybe they will ask about it, but they probably won't." Well, this particular station didn't care. The guy behind the counter wasn't even wearing a mask. The kids buying drinks and going in and out weren't wearing them either. Phew! I think I'll forget my mask more often!

So, here are the fancy snow pics and videos. I don't think I'll journal much because well, it's just snow. My kids didn't even want to go outside in it. Keturah said, "Mom, it's just snow, big deal." Meanwhile Jared and I both took photos and posted it on social media and shared the pics with the family. Abishai said it was too wet and cold. It was very wet. And we did have other things to do. But, it was gorgeous! Enjoy!

Have you preordered the book yet?

GORGEOUS morning!

What month is it?!

My poor irises!

Brrrr

But the warm up is coming....

What?! One Tuesday we have 30 degrees and snow and the next Tuesday we have 81 degrees and sunshine?! 50 degree difference!

If it's going to look like Christmas, I might as well where this Christmas shirt, lol.

Abishai was talking about being a sniper and I came across this set up #lifewithboys

Yup!

See, at least the husband and I agree on something.

Lunchtime break. I can see the colors again.

Yup, breaking records!

Then a few minutes later, another squall came through!

Is it ice like hail? Big snowflakes?

I don't think I would call this hail. It is ice crystals though, so maybe?

Maybe it's the first part of a piece of hail. But hail lands much more "plunck, plinck" and this more like wet snow.

Good bye snow! See you in 8 months, maybe!

Life with a boy, who is all boy, and before anyone is up, his guns and nerf bullets are spread out everywhere. Here's the living room.

Living room.

Dining room table.

Countertop.

Fireside room.

Couch.

See, I think the snow picked up some of the pigment from the mulch.

Jared's excessive pruning is making the rose bush look more like a bush instead of a tree. Filling in nicely.

I totally need to have Abishai do this! He's never been to a VBS. The only VBS Keturah did was in Charlottetown. Justin got to do a couple at Indian Creek and Benaiah did several before they discontinued it.

Truth.

Because Uncle Ben's Wild Rice mix contains wheat as a filler, and because Jared was telling his mom that he misses her chicken and rice dish, I decided to buy the wild rice when I saw it in the Misfits produce box list. So I mixed it with other rice and added my own random seasonings and voila! Wild rice mix!

Wild rice is actually the black grains in the mix. I didn't measure anything, but I made sure there was a ton of water and cooked it for 20 minutes. I knew the brown rice needed the longest time. I didn't even check what the wild rice bag said. I'm pretty good at eyeballing it and I was in the kitchen the whole time watching it anyway. It was nice and soft, but needs a tweaking on the spices.

Aww, my poor droopy lilies.

Confession time. I like this migraine app a lot. It was helpful in identifying my menstrual headaches. But it also keeps track of my sleep. I know the iPhone has a way to do that, too, but this one is easy because it reminds me to accept the log as it is or to tweak it. I often tweak the morning time because I don't always pick up my phone right away. But the "sleeping at" times are fairly accurate. Yup, some weeks are better than others.

Thursday we were all up probably an hour earlier and you know what, the day went a lot smoother. I made sure we started read alouds early because they had Grandpa Bible class at 2:30. I wanted to give Abishai some time on the PS4 while I showered AFTER we did his schooling, but even before we did school, he snuck into my corner of the sunroom with his tablet and had it on! Um, no, not cool, child. He did get some tablet time before and after his Grandpa class, but he didn't want to get off it and walk to Grandpa's class. Both Justin and I had to force his shoes on him and push him out the door. That electronic time has its' pros and con, doesn't it? While they were at Grandpa's house, I was able to focus on cleaning up my email and finally doing my photo cd checks and backing up photos on the hard drive. That's been sitting on my desk for 2 1/2 weeks. I also cleared away a couple of other things and double checked bills and such. I need to do a bit more on that, but I think we are ok at the moment. I still have to start the enewsletter again, but I don't know when I can, maybe Sunday? Tomorrow is park day and Saturday is the Civil War thing. At least we'll live without a grocery run until maybe Monday. Or Sunday night. I should have grabbed two milks and some meat. Oh well. I picked the turkey fully tonight and got a ton of meat that will last another 3 meals at least. And we have some frozen fish. I just don't have a lot of vegetables that Abishai will eat. Sigh.

And Keturah is complaining about her tooth/teeth again. She looked for the oragel but didn't reach into the tin far enough. I found it in two seconds. She said she was sleepy during the history DVD we were watching, so I told her to take a melatonin and go straight to bed. I know she can't fall fully asleep at 9 pm, but she also can't keep sleeping in until 10pm either. I wonder if she has some ear/allergy issues and it affects her gums or something. I'll have to keep my eye out for a pattern. We know she doesn't have a cavity or infection because this pain has come and gone and she was checked a month or two ago at the dentist. It could be molars still growing in. There's not much I can do.

Meanwhile, we got our read alouds and memory work done. Keturah cleaned up the back room really well and I did compliment her on that. I actually did a bit of that in the living room and the fireside room as well today. That was on my list for the weekend, so yeah! I can cross that one off early. The only thing I didn't do was my Bible study. But I can do two lessons tomorrow, two on Sunday, and then one on Monday or whatever. No big deal. I am caught up on my audio Bible. I do get overwhelmed a lot when these daily things aren't done or I'm several days behind. Phone games, too, which is so silly and stupid, but it's the truth. I think I might need to find ways to cut back on the routine stuff because if my routine gets off, say when we sleep in, I'm so angry the rest of the day. That doesn't bode well for traveling or crisis time. I don't leave myself enough white space. So, I'll be looking at that, too, as school winds down and we shift into the summer routine. Then, and only then, can I give full attention to that and my problems and learn new things about food or exercise or health and have the time to fully implement them. I'll learn stuff but can't find the time to fully integrate them and then I forget them. So I have to learn about them again. Just like not remembering what trees are where in our yard. Not my job to remember that stuff. Not my babies.

Speaking of babies, I showed those photos below of Abishai and Gary says, "Well, just have another!" I don't know if I want to laugh, cry, or smack him upside head. My last conversation with him included the fact that I'm overweight and him suggesting that I "just get over it because Leah, Jared, etc. are genetically like that." He can be so ignorant sometimes. Yup, I could still have babies. Sure, I would welcome another one. But no, I'm not pursuing that or adopting right now. I don't have a huge desire for adopting, but I definitely love seeing those big families that just keeps adopting kid after kid after kid, especially the teenagers that are close to aging out of the foster care system. So, who knows. I'm content with what I have. Abishai still snuggles a lot. I'm good over here until grandbabies come.

Ok, I better go before Jared interrupts me a 10th time. He said to be ready at 9pm but he doesn't realize that if I don't start the blog at 8, then I won't be finished by 9. We were watching a history DVD tonight and then I had to do the normal house checks before I sit down, like final clean up of the kitchen, lock the doors, shut off unnecessary lights, etc. It's not my fault he wants to go to bed early so he can meet men at 6 am for Bible study. I did do some photo loading this afternoon and that's why I did the backing up procedure as well so that was not staring at me anymore and I could relax. Just hold on a minute, dear. You aren't the only thing that requires my attention. And it's barely 9:30. Chill. You'll live.

Here's the couple of photos I got today. I'm glad I had a good afternoon. I needed that quiet, focused time to get my head on straight when the caffeine was flowing through my veins. Because now, it has departed my veins and my brain is mush. Enjoy the video of Abishai reading!

And this is how a very busy kid reads his reader. Just as long as he can see the letters. Which reminds me, he needs an eye exam. He was having trouble with some of the letters when he was that far away. I don't think he really needs glasses, but it's good to double check at this point.

Also, this story was about "My Pet Dick." No joke! It's an Abeka reader from the 80's or 90's. So, I told him that it means something else (but I didn't tell him what that something else is) and maybe we should change it's name. So, he choose letters of his handwriting alphabet page A-d-g-i-o. No joke! I added an "a" and made it Adagio! And every time he recognized that the name was there, because of the capital "D," he changed it to Adagio. The pet was a duck. Fun times!

I tried to take a photo with the zoomed out view, but all you got was my big belly. So, here's two photos to represent how big this kid has gotten. But when he and I slow down just a bit, he's the most loving, compassionate, cutest, kid I know. He wanted to watch the Civil War documentary with us. I'm not sure he was getting much because it was about the reconstruction period, but he wanted to be near us, just like the dog does. And I saw him hug and kiss Dinosaury randomly, too. He just likes to "check in" with you to tell you that he loves you and give physical lovin's. This caboose kid is the best! Those other kids, well, they are challenging but are so unique, too. I don't appreciate them as much as I should.