Year 6, May 7th-9th, 2021: Spats of rain, Work/Play Day, Rest Day for Mother's Day

 I love Fridays. I don't do school with Abishai and I don't read aloud. We go to park day instead! Today it sprinkled rain off and on, but we survived. Keturah was going to work with Renea again, but Renea had errands to run so she will do that tomorrow instead. We don't have any major plans for tomorrow either. I have a bit of list I could work on, but no deadlines. Ok, I do have one because I promised to look through a homeschooling planner bundle for IAHE. That shouldn't take me terribly long. I think I might get Justin to do the shed project with me while it's still cool outside. He already mowed at both houses this week, so he's got a free Saturday. Otherwise, I read my Bible and tried to cope with tummy that wasn't feeling great. I had to beg Justin to get his rear to my computer to rewrite his paper. I barely got it edited before we had to leave today. He will need to get on and put the corrections in tomorrow as well. Hopefully, that will be the end of it. I was super picky on it because I wanted him to really think about the details this time. Then when  he starts editing his own things before handing them in, he'll have a better idea of what to look for. If we get the other two lessons done in the next two weeks, great. If we don't, then we don't. It's my #1 priority to get them to write well. 

I got the kids to do chores before we left for park day, which was a good thing because it was a bit tricky with timing on the way home. We were at a park 30 minutes away and it was drizzly. About halfway home, Abishai had gotten quiet and Justin said he heard a sound like rushing water. I didn't hear the sound, because I was talking to Justin. Justin turned around and saw that Abishai had puked all over himself. Thankfully, Abishai hadn't had much lunch and had only drunken water at the park, so it didn't smell too bad. He did get parts of the carseat and his pants and shirt, as well as his tablet. I had let him bring his table because he usually doesn't get time on it on Fridays because of park day and karate. I'm so glad we have a decent cover on the tablet. So, I was right near the Post Rd exit on I-70 near the I-465 junction, so I just turned off on the exit to the nearest gas station. I then folded down my seat and cleaned him up the best I could. He said he felt ok. I called Jared to let him know that Abishai might not make it to karate and I warned Keturah as well. We went carefully down Post Road all the way home and then got Abishai cleaned up. He had some animal crackers and immediately felt better. Then he had a few bites of pizza I made. A few minutes later, he was doing his usual upside down trick on the lazy boy. So, yes, he went to karate. Daddy told him to "pace" himself during Ninja Jungle and Abishai took that advice so seriously that he literally walked the whole time. He was a little sluggish, but did ok. He was excited to tell me all about his new teacher, Mr. Nathan, and how he can break boards! I told him he should tell Mr. Nathan that his middle name is Nathan. Then Daddy and he watched more of the first Transformers live action movie and played a little bit of video games before he went to bed. I'm sure he will be fine tomorrow. But no more tablet on car rides that he doesn't have car sickness medication. I asked Justin how my driving was and he said it was fine. I believe him because the traffic was heavy and I had to be careful with the slick roads. I didn't feel like I was my usual herky jerky self. Poor Abishai. But tomorrow is Daddy day, so he'll be ok.

 

Oh yeah, I played some games with Abishai but he wanted to make up the rules. Jared and I were texting each other about stuff, so I put the Queen in front of the King like we were arguing. Abishai just like destroying all the characters on the opposite side of the board. Sigh.

After I did my Bible study, I was just laying on the couch and I got a visitor. He had already snuggled me a lot this morning (Daddy had his men's breakfast meeting as usual), but he got extra snuggles, too.

We were at a park with a skate park area, and Abishai was very excited to run up and down the ramps! No one was there yet, so that's where we hung out first.

On our way over the bridge we heard Mama Duck squawking away and I looked over and there were tons of baby ducks chirping, too! Abishai and I spent a few minutes watching them. He LOVES videos of animals and laughs and laughs at their antics, like when they fall down or when we add our voices to them making them "say" things like, "Hey, ducklings, get over here. You, too, Daddy, come on now."

A couple of the white irises bloomed today! Maybe they will all open on Mother's Day this Sunday!

The purple irises from our Beech Grove house! Just about ready!

Uh, I think little man has recovered from his puking in the car. Kids are so resilient, aren't they?!

I have no idea why Michael is in Italy or how this other person is. But I did watch some short videos of Michael talking about riding some horses at his farm in TN in preparation for this trip. What I didn't know was that he would be riding English style. My first thought was a trail ride through mountains and usually here in the States, most people ride western. I was shocked to see him wearing English riding boots! Not sure if his pants are actual riding pants, which are like skinny jeans, but still. As an English rider myself, this is just so awesome! Smitty just gets better and better! And yes, I'm jealous that he's in Italy, but hey, it's fun to watch from afar as well. Ah! English riding boots on one of the top pop artists of the 90's! CRAZY!

Ok, I'm exhausted. I had no idea when I got up this morning that I would work this hard today, but I'm so glad I did. I did take it slow and sort of rested yesterday thinking we would do a bit of work today, and I'm glad I did that as well. And tomorrow, Mother's Day, I'm going to fully rest and listen to some podcasts and videos. We started the day off slowly with a lazy breakfast, Bible study, Home Depot run, video games, and lunch. Justin didn't get up until after 10am I think because he had issues with his allergies again and didn't sleep well. He had to edit his paper and then come work for me outside this afternoon. Keturah went with Renea for the afternoon during errands, getting ice cream, and shopping at the Dollar Tree. She and Renea are having a lot of fun together and it's awesome! I don't mind it one bit! We really ramped up the work around 2:30pm. Justin and I reorganized the corner of the shed that has the kids' clothes in it. Now I can easily see how many boxes of each size we have for Abishai as he gets bigger. And now that we did that, I was able to put the boxes back into their closet from our clothes switching around over a month ago. Woot! Woot! After that, I swept the deck and the porch and the driveway/garage. Jared worked on weed eating and doing some branch burning. We both dug out the juniper bushes that was hidden by grass. They grow close to the ground and so the grass just grew up around them. But of course we all of that, there was a lot of back and forth, go inside, put this away, bring this outside, etc. I think I got some extra steps in today.

Abishai had a grand time with Daddy all day. We put him to bed as early as we could because he looks exhausted. I had to prod Justin over and over to get moving and he finally took a shower. Keturah is finishing up her screen time. I brought a box of maternity clothes into the house because I thought surely I have some larger shirts or something that I could use now. I spent $100's on a new wardrobe over the last few years and now I'm even bigger. I REFUSE to go buy more clothes. I'm going to make do with what I have. And lo and behold, we found the exact right box I needed. I put on my maternity bathing suit and with a few adjustments, it could work in a pinch. I found several sweaters that are not labeled maternity that I wish I had had this past winter when I had hardly any sweaters to wear. I did find a few maternity shirts and even shorts and pants that might look ok. It doesn't matter how I stand or what I wear, or how it's positioned, I just look pregnant. I think they call it a hormonal belly and that's why this coming Friday, I'm hoping and praying that this new osteopath will have some brand new insight and want to dig deeper on the hormones and figure this out with me. Being a resident doctor, she will be fresh out of schooling and might have some latest ideas to go after. And she can ask any higher ups questions, too. So, I'm praying hard that this is the one that will help me beyond "diet and exercise" and look at my medications and other ailments and make it work. It's just so hard and so frustrating. It makes me want to cry all the time. Seriously, with every bite of food I think it's just going to make me fat but I'm so hungry. I can't enjoy food anymore. 

But enough of that. I'm glad we worked hard in the yard today because it was a gorgeously cool spring day! It's going to be rainy and very cold tomorrow. Blech. There goes my idea of wearing something springish. We'll have dinner with Gary and Leah later in the day because Gary is off preaching somewhere. There's no evening activities for the youth because it's Mother's Day. I'm so grateful for a day of rest because this week is going to be super busy! And the whole month of May! Next Saturday we have a graduation open house, then Justin has a surprise baby shower for one of his leaders on Wednesday after that, and then the next Saturday I have a bridal shower. So I get to buy gifts for all the things! I get to celebrate the whole circle of life, well, the first 25 years or so, lol. From birth through graduation to parenthood. Fun stuff!And thrown into the middle is prom for Ava and Benaiah. And don't forget doctor appointments as well. Crazy stuff, but this is May! And Jared's birthday. And possibly Abishai's baptism. And regular park days and small groups and youth groups and church and 10 more days of school. Phew! I'm making myself more exhausted typing all of that! No more lockdown for us! Time to go and socialize!

I can't wait to hear what all happened over there in Italy! I'm sure a video of it will pop up soon enough. And a new song?! I can't wait!

Justin's new man cave! Perfect!

I was trying to read my Bible this morning and this is the  result of what was going on. Abishai and Daddy were having a Nerf gun battle and all I kept hearing was the reloading of the bullets, i.e. plastic on plastic. Good grief! I felt like I needed to be Susannah Wesley, who when she put her apron over her head, her children knew she was praying so she couldn't be disturbed. Sigh.

Keturah's wedding work paid off. We'll just have to keep picking off the leaves and stems of the weeds until they really die. Soon enough, we'll have lots of bamboo and some shade for the sunroom!

The worst before and after photos because nothing really was removed, but at least I can find the boxes I need more quickly and easily.

Time for the "whoosh!" Because, you know, you can't just light a fire with a match. You have to use gasoline and a blowtorch.

While Jared was finishing up his part of the yardwork, I drank my late afternoon coffee on the deck I swept off and listened to the birds. Ah.....

I did do two things for IAHE today. First, I helped look through the printable planner that they put together last year to see what needed improvement. There was a few things with fonts, but otherwise, it is actually a very thorough resource that includes information about high school diplomas and graduations as well as how to use the planner. These two photos are what we used this year which was student planners by 5-Star I found at Meijer. I LOVE these! The two page calendar spread helps me plan for when our days will hit. And then the individual days were the perfect length. I was able to use each block separately for 95% of the time. I'll be looking for and purchasing these again in June or July.

Renea and Keturah picked up some goodies for me for Mother's Day. I think Keturah really enjoyed picking things out because she was describing why she picked each one. How sweet and thoughtful!

Awww, so cute! The sign int he back says "Weed It And Reap." Lol! I put it above the washing machine where a few of my gardening tools are. She even signed her name to the card and forgot how to spell her middle name. Goof!  We had a good laugh. Thanks Keturah and Renea!

Abishai's awkward smile with his electric hair.

Say, "hamburger." There's a better smile.

Awww

Puppy was kept busy today with all the ins and outs of everyone. He's ready for bed. But look at how big and fluffy he is!

Guard dog on duty.

Keturah's girl cave!

Her second nook!

This set of juniper bushes were covered in grass that had grown between them. Jared and I did our best to cut the grass and not the plant itself.

The fire burned out. All done!

Abishai didn't want to take a bath and get ready for bed. So he took Daddy on a wild goose chase!

That's a good hiding spot!

Haha! You're tired!

Mother's Day weather looks a bit gloomy this year.

Justin's otehr man cave. He shares a room with Abishai so he can't stay in his room after 8:s0.

Some of the larger shirts and sweaters I found in my maternity box. I had some great looking maternity clothes, didn't I? We'll see. We'll be fine. I weigh what I weigh.

It was as perfect a Mother's Day as I usually can get! Justin pulled a Benaiah and got up at 8:25am when he was being picked up by Grandma at 8:35am. But he did it! So I guess the boy CAN hustle once in awhile. I got to shower and we went to church. Actually, we stopped at Kroger first for flowers for Grandma and me because Jared thought the selection would be worse in a couple of hours and he was right. Benaiah went AFTER church and the flowers were picked over. Church was fine. Keturah sat with me in the balcony while Jared did nursery. Good songs, decent sermon. And they had some yummy lavender lemonade courtesy of the Mocha Nut Cafe' for moms and whoever else! And a photo booth of course, which seems to be very popular now at our church. Too bad my family is NEVER in the same place at the same time for it! Benaiah was actually playing drums at Shelby St. today. Grandpa was somewhere near Chicago preaching. #ministrylife  They had a special Mother's Day video that had clips of kids in the different Sunday School classes saying, "Happy Mother's Day," as well as staff members, some with their babies on their hips, saying it, too. Our favorite one was Luke Green's when he said, "Thank you, Mom, for being patient with me." He's such a big kid at heart, and so humble. I bet he makes the best dad to his 9 month old, too. Anyway, cute video. One staff member even brought her 5 month old on the stage when she did announcements today. Sweet! And then you'll see below what Abishai did in his class today! He made sure to say good bye to his friends and especially his favorite teacher, Esther. 

After church we dropped of Leah's flowers before she got home, and then went home for a light lunch of pancakes made with leftover mashed potatoes and eggs. The kids then had screen time, Jared took a nap, and I listened to some podcasts on medical freedom, vaccines, and masks while I played my phone games. I love Sunday afternoon quiet time! It's been a tradition in our house for 20 years! Anyway, then we went to Gary and Leah's house for dinner with them and Benaiah. We had some major rain come through this morning, but it was just cloudy when it was time to grill the pork steaks. They were delicious! I'll eat steak any day of the year, pork or beef! Grandma made an ice cream cake of sorts, too. And the usual salad (but she made it look like a photo out of a magazine, I should have taken a photo), fruit salad, green beans, and baked potatoes.  A pretty traditional Johnson family Sunday meal. Benaiah then presented me with some flowers and told us tales of working an almost 12 hr shift at Chick Fil A yesterday because of a staffing issue. He said he worked 56 hrs there this week! Good grief! But he also made time to go with Ava to pick out a suit for prom and got a great deal. $358 for a suit coat, pants, vest, shirt, tie, and shoes!!! That's my boy! I think he went to Men's Warehouse.

After dinner, Grandpa got out his Lego set to work on with the kids, Justin and I played Yahtzee with Grandma, and Benaiah went out to briefly see Ava. It's been a full day, but we had some rest, too. Now on to a very busy week!

Big storms came through today, especially during 1st service. We had some lightning at the house, too, and Abishai was asking if people could die for it. Yes, some do, and some don't.

Ah, finished the clothing project yesterday so this area is cleaned up again.

Someone saw that he had a pocket on his shirt and immediately found some guys to put in it. He's NEVER without a friend tagging along.

Abishai wrote all the letters on his Sunday School paper this morning. It says, "Practice hearing from God."

He also drew Daddy and himself jumping on the trampoline! See, I never have pushed the art on the kids. No one has really wanted to draw and such when they were young. But when they do, it's very cute and special. Abishai said they were to draw something about trusting God and he said, "I already trust God. And I trust Daddy." So I said, "And you trust that the trampoline will hold you up, that's trusting God, too." Just that fact that he says, "I already trust God," melts my heart. He is also adding specific praises at the end of his normal set prayer at dinner, just like Daddy has demonstrated and that Daddy encouraged him one night to say. It only took one night. And now he does it all the time. Sigh.

"Take a picture of Grogu wearing my headphones and send it to Stefanie and Auggie!"

A friend's son made and sold these at a fair yesterday and he has leftovers, so his mom told her friends and I purchased some today. I can't wait to try them!

Here is my first set of roses, a light pink, from Jared.

Here's where the clothing boxes that were on the floor went.

This is Benaiah at 6 or 7 yrs old. He's wearing the same shirt Abishai wore today. This is why I like to keep my favorite clothes that the kids wear so I can get photos of them all wearing it. I think Justin wore it, too, but I'm not 100% sure.

Abishai built his Geotrax set all by himself today and he says he isn't done. But he remembers how the pieces go together. He asks for them often from the shed.

You know you're a boy mom when....your flowers sit next to the good guy figures on the dining room table.

The flowers Jared Gave Leah. I really love this color! A peachy red!

The storms are moving east! But it's pretty cold today.

So I wore a sweater that I found in my maternity clothes box. No comment on why I still keep maternity clothes but at least I can make use of some of the larger shirts right now.

I'm just waiting for them all to bloom. I can't believe this massive amount of irises came from 3 bulbs like 3 years ago.

This one might be a bit more lighter colored purple/pink? I think it was part of the set Alisha gave back to me.

And these are definitely the deep purple ones that came from the Beech Grove house, to Alisha's house for 5 years and to this house, all from originally Leah's house. These plants have traveled (or these could be the offspring of the mother plants, who knows, but it's the same batch.)

See, I keep these things for this kind of photo! Big almost 19 yr old brother, with little 6 yr old brother in the same shirt that big brother wore when he was that age. My biggest and my littlest. I can't believe they are both mine.

They do look a bit alike, don't they?

Aww, he got me roses, too! That's a great son! I love him so much!

THIS is the smile I keep trying to capture from him but never seem to get! (see his smiles previously) Last grandchild that can use this rocking horse. The rest are all now too big! And it will be a while before the great grandkids come along. And Leah says not to rush it. Lol.

Playing chasing games with big brother.

And with Daddy. Abishai said, "Daddy, your turn!"

Aww, so much fun!

Me and my babies, that aren't very babyish anymore. Benaiah will be 19 in June, Justin is 15 1/2, Keturah will be 13 in June, and Abishai just turned 6 in February. I will have 3 teenagers in the house for exactly 353 days! Yikes!

Well, they got a few more steps done on Grandpa's first ever Lego set.

Playing Yahtzee IRL, aka in real life!

And, I still won! 216 to 209 for Justin and 199 for Grandma. I play Yahtzee on my phone all the time, several games at a time. I have my tricks.

His and his? Jared's and Benaiah's. Same price. Same kind of flower. Different colors. Like father, like son. I don't have a favorite flower or color of flower. I just like getting flowers. I don't care if they are free, cheap or super expensive. I love all flowers! Thanks, men!

Sorry, but this one is gorgeous! Apparently they used CGI to dress it up a bit in the TV show, but just imagine. These are older than the settling of America. Craziness! And anything with a sunset and water, perfection!

The End