Year 7, January 24th-20th, 2022: The Quiet Before the Storm

 Monday - Just Get Through It

- We made it through, but barely.

- Abishai was literally all over the room like a monkey and I literally had to bring him to my side so I could read him a science lesson. Otherwise, he was hanging off the chin up bar and wasn't listening and not understanding the concept. He would then run off with something in his hand, only to run the other way. Tomorrow, we are sitting at the table again. I want to give him freedom, but I can't handle the distractions myself because of my ADHD and he certainly is distracting himself with all of his movements. Large movements are not ok. Small movements of fidgeting in the chair at the table are fine. I even told myself that Abishai is not autistic or severely disabled. I don't have to let him behave like this. He's not a "wild child." He's good for him to sit down and do lessons. It's part of his lessons. I'm not diminishing his personality when I do that. 

- He's also crapped up the living room again and I simply can't work in that room on schoolwork with him. It's too much for my eyes. And then he's sitting down and I'm forced to stand up and it hurts my back. But if we are both sitting at the table, it's much better.

- Keturah got up really late because she played hard at church yesterday, so she was late finishing her work. But I did manage to do our history lesson on Noah before picking up Justin from work.

- I picked up Justin and then he delay fished for almost 45 minutes before he and I went to Kellie and Kya's house. I stayed there talking to Kellie (on purpose) and then came home. I had Jared feed the kids because I didn't get home then until almost 7pm. 

- It was a full day, but not too annoying.

I looked outside and genuinely wanted to know, "Who made those marks in the snow?" Abishai was right behind me and said, "I did, Mom! I wanted to taste the snow so I went out with Socks and did it! I'll show you how!" And then out he went with no socks, shoes, or coat and showed me!

Boy! I guess that's one way to get a good immune system! I couldn't catch him as he went outside either because he's way too fast! He's nuts!

Merry Christmas, Daddy and Abishai! The last of the Christmas presents finally arrived! I bought them a subscription to Motor Trend magazine, one of Jared's favorite magazines he got in high school/college/early marriage because they both love fast cars. It's still a decent size magazine. I don't think it's monthly but there's a lot more articles online. I need to find the email and log in so Jared can access that part. Abishai loved it!

I opened up the weather app to see what the weather was before heading out to Greenfield this afternoon and this is what I saw. Um, what?! What is this?! Do we live in a tunnel?

So I played around with the forecast radar to see how it would change, and for the whole afternoon, these two systems, one to the north of Marion County and one to the south of Marion County were both going directly east. How bizarre!

Snow hole once again!

Here's what the tunnel/channel/snow hole really looks like when I first discovered it. Keturah said it looked like PEI. Great observation, Keturah!

Tuesday - Nothing Much to Report

- Having Abishai sit at the table did help, however, we got started late because Mama was late getting herself together. We made it through just in time for screen time.

- Jared was kind enough to pick up Justin from work because the cold front was already upon us and I was already suffering from it.

- Justin did procrastinate, though, and he and I were late getting to Kellie and Kya's house for some social time. Justin did DRIVE me there and he did an excellent job. He likes to hug the middle line, but it worked out fine since we were on the back roads. I was able to catch up on email and I didn't comment too often. If only we could find more daytime hours with no siblings in the car so we could get him more practice time.

- Justin stayed for the evening at Kya's house. We had the boneless leg of lamb for supper with roasted potatoes and mixed veggies. The leg of lamb was so tender, it was falling apart!

- Abishai can now do a chin up at the bar!

Pretty cold out today at lunch time.

Aww, throwback to 3 yrs ago. I guess I did get the kids to Perry Park and Abishai made it out onto the ice. It must have been the previous year that I had rented skates for him and he refused to go. And yes, that was January of 2020, so just 6 weeks before the world shut down because of Covid. I'm sure there were rumors of it by then though. Look at my baby guy! So little! Just about to turn 5! Man they grow so fast when they are little!

That "I do it my big self" attitude! Love it!

Woah! I guess all three of them have changed a ton! Keturah just said to me today that that coat is too small on her so we need to get her a grown up jacket. And of course Justin is like 6 inches taller. Wowzers!

Learning about the Ice Age (from a Creation Science point of view, so within the context of the Ark and possibly AFTER the Flood) so the kids had to put ice cubes on their stomachs to see who could last the longest. Keturah won. But Abishai lasted almost a whole minute!

Who can keep the ice cube on their stomach the longest?

Gotta love Communist China! And Russia is about to invade Ukraine again and we are teetering on getting ourselves involved through Nato again, so is WW3 about to break out? Meanwhile, Covid is still out there. It never ends, folks!

This was the temps at 1 am before I went to bed. WOW! No joke! This is why the township decided to cancel school today and put the kids on elearning instead. This is when elearning is very handy and appropriate. Instead of messing up the day with a delay or calling the whole day off, some learning can still happen through technology. It doesn't help the parents who have to take the day off and work from home so they can be with their kids, but they would have to do that anyway. At least the district made the decision right after school ended today so the parents had the evening to figure it out. This is a positive outcome of Covid and computers and schools. No more snow days or delays for public school kids.

I can't remember if PEI would delay schools because of wind chills or not. I don't think they would cancel school They might have delayed schools to allow the buses to warm up though. But I do know the whole house feels cold no matter how high the heat is running. Every wall, every appliance, every glass surface, every exposed body part. This is way below normal.

Wednesday - Coldest Day of the Season

- We finally got to go to ASL lessons today! Woot! Woot! I kept looking to see if it would be canceled due to the extreme cold, but it wasn't. So we bundled up in our winter gear, turned the car on before we had to leave in order to let it warm up, and away we went on time! The kids even got some homework done before we went! They did their thing, and Abishai and I did our thing, and then we came home. Then everyone finished up their homework after a bite of lunch and all was well.

- It was extremely cold. I told the kids to wear their hats and coats and well, Abishai wore his coat with a hood, Keturah wore her coat and used her hoodie's hood, and Justin wore his thinnest hoodie with a t-shirt underneath, but at least he was wearing pants. He almost left with shorts on. I wore tights under my jeans and my Grandma Howell knitted sweater.

- After I got some coffee started, I sat down at my computer to check something "real quick" and ended up staying on it for 2 hrs! Which was frustrating because I wanted to do other things today, like rest. But, I was helping others and that's more important. I ended up skipping lunch and rewarming my coffee. I eventually spent an hour on my puzzle and listening to a podcast before ushering kids off screens and getting chicken into the instapot. It took forever for it to come up to pressure. But we managed to have another decent meal despite not having milk, butter, eggs, or bread in the house. 

- The kids wanted to eat out on the way home and I said that eating out is not cheap anymore for us because it's usually at least $30 which equals at least 2 maybe 3 pairs of pants. And that's what we need right now, clothing. So home we got for pb & j or rice and beans for lunch. Abishai especially was whining about not having foods he likes. I'm determined to not have spoiled and picky kids. Our pantry and fridge still have several days worth of complete meals. Get over it. I don't have any brownies to eat unless I make some, so, I have to get over that. We'll live. We have more food than millions of people around the world. We are fine. Eat what we have. End of story.

- I'm so tired. I'm so cold. I've got so much I should do and no energy left. It's going to be an early night.

It did get super duper cold last night. BRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

I'm channeling my inner Heromine/Emma Watson  from the first Harry Potter book/movie this morning, lol! Frizz and waves after brushing out my hair this morning!

I'm reading this book to Abishai now. It's from my personal collection.

And it was given to me almost 30 years ago when I was baptized!

Abishai finished another Abeka reader today. However, we are way behind pace wise. We are only 1/3 of the way through the readers and we are nearly 2/3 of the way through the school year (we are on day 115 this Friday). Eke! Gotta pick up the pace and read through this summer. It doesn't help that we struggle to put in 5 days worth of seat work each week. Gym day still counts as school day though, so it's added to our overall attendance count, but we often don't do seat work. Sigh. There's other factors that mess up our pacing, too. We just have to keep plugging along. He's capable of moving faster. But mama's availability isn't always there.

Thursday - Change of Plans

- School for the younger two went fine enough. Abishai got to work right away and tried to shoo me out of the room, but I wanted to stay close by. I allowed him to sit in his "farting" chair, but eventually it became a distraction because of all the back and forth showing me things. It's hard for me to climb back to the spot he was in. That' why I prefer the table. I don't have to do gymnastics to get to him and I don't have to stand up the whole time next to him. But we got those lessons done and had to just wait on Keturah to finish her math so we could do our last history lesson of the week.

- After our history lesson on dinosaurs and how they might have fit into God's big plan, those two went on their screens while I showered. Jared then picked up Justin and took him to open a checking account and deposit a pay check. The bank was able to issue a debit card right then and there, so now Justin can buy whatever without waiting on me to get him to an atm. Yeah! And in 90 days, he can do mobile deposit on his pay checks. Yeah! So now that's done.

- Then, Jared wanted to be spontaneous and take us out to the side retention pond at church because it had frozen over.I had wanted to take the kids skating this week, but the open skates are form 12-2 and that's a horrible time for this family. But Jared saw that the pond was frozen over at least 6 inches deep and he walked across the whole thing to check. So he had us go over there after the checking out thing with Justin. At first Abishai was excited, but then he wasn't because he wanted to do his screen time on the PS5. Well, once we got there, Abishai had so much fun that he didn't want to leave. So, whatever, kid. I can't figure you out. You're coming with us anyway. Get over it.

- Justin, too, had a major attitude. His leg was hurting because of probably something at hurt and he wanted to just come home and rest. Well, there are just some days, you can't rest. I didn't today. And I'm exhausted, too. I can't keep my eyes open and it's only 10 pm. But once we got him there to the pond, he had some fun moments. It was fine. And then after dinner, we went to the grocery store and he spent the entire time on his phone and not paying the attention.

- Dinosaury is under 12 and cannot be left unatttended." - Abishai, age 7

With temperatures in the single digits and teens, and windchills below zero lately, it's time to bring out the Mommy sweater. Aka, the sweater my mom made for me. She gifted me the yarn one Christmas and had the sweater made by the next Christmas. I wish she had made my sisters things like this and the dresses she made for me. But I think she was tending to my dad because of his strokes at the time. (which happened just two months after I left for college). Anyway, I'm sure it was one of the most complicated things she ever did. It's sturdy and super warm, that's for sure. I put it in the regular wash maybe once a year. And yes, it's so stretchy I can wear it partly through any pregnancy and now at my current weight. I can't wear it most of the year because it's too hot. So I beg for a day or two of these temps so that I can. It's one of my most treasured possessions. And these colors are my absolute favorite colors still to this day. Rose especially, but dark green, country blue, deep red or maroon. I still pick these colors out when choosing new t-shirts or blouses. It's the colors I have in my fireside room as well. They are comforting colors to me.

I can't even imagine how many times she had to change the yarn on her knitting needles. Oh my stars! Wowzers!

Little man was excited to watch his math lesson on DVD again. He even paused it to write stuff down on his paper.

And then he insisted that he needed background music while he worked. So he let the PS5 background music play. I finally had to turn it off because the music only lasts a minute and he kept having to touch the controller to start it playing again. Also, he insisted he had to read his reader by himself. So, he probably missed a few words. But he read 10 pages and could tell me what the story was about, so I call it a win.

I need background music!

I hate Covid. I hate Covid. I hate Covid.

I'm only brushing once a day because of this. But this is brushing before my shower, what came out during my shampooing and conditioning of my hair and brushing it out afterwards. It's devastating. I know Jared keeps reminding me that hair doesn't make me a woman, but I can't help it, it makes me cry. That's why I stopped brushing it as well. I can't deal with this. I'm putting collagen in my tea every morning and I finally got the right essential oils to make "Mermaid hair serum" to put on my hair to help it grow. I just need to get some spray bottles to put it in. I've never used serums on my hair, so it should be interesting. I don't like oils because I had oily hair, but perhaps this will help with my frizz, too. I have to get it to grow back. Please grow back.

Jared's spontaneous adventure! He texted and said he just walked across the retention pond on the south end of the church. The ice is 4-6in or more deep! So we arranged a time for us to go over there with the kids' ice skates to have a little fun. I hope we don't get caught! Technically, somewhere on the church's property, I think there might be a sign that says "no ice skating." But I'm not sure. I didn't see one today.

It snowed a little bit before we got there, but that didn't stop it. Justin didn't want to go because he was tired and his leg was hurting (and he didn't know why), but he actually did have fun anyway. Look at how solid that ice is!

I'm so glad I actually purchased skates! I wanted to take the kids ice skating this week because I had no appointments but then somehow the week got full again. The ice skating time is not a great time for us, 12-2pm, so it's hard for us to go anyways. Too bad we don't have any skates for Justin or Jared. But Keturah had a blast! And she's fast!

It's been 3 years since Abishai's been on skates. The skates fit but it was a bit tricky getting them on. The kids wore snow pants for warmth and in case they fell, they would be cushioned. We know the drill when it comes to ice skating.

Abishai wasn't very sure of himself at all. He kept widening his legs instead of keeping them together. He got better towards the end of the 5 minutes he was in skates, but it was a struggle.

Justin decided his job was to release all the big rocks that had gotten stuck on top of the ice. I guess on the slightly warmer days, the top of the ice had melted a bit and the rocks that people had thrown kind of sunk down and then the water had frozen again. Both Justin and Abishai got all the rocks unstuck, put them in a pile, and then we were all day, we put all the rocks up on the land so that when the ice melts, they don't sink to the bottom of the pond.

Interesting crack in the ice.

Frozen retention pond with a bit of snow on top. Keturah said it wasn't any harder to skate with the snow. But there was a ton of goose poo she had to avoid.

https://youtu.be/tZPuhG-azNo

 

 

Boys chasing each other.

My babies.

The rock pile.

Abishai's pet rock. He insisted that he needed to take it home. We told him that Jesus needed it. Poor thing just didn't understand.

When the boss is away, the kids will play. Ssshhhhh, don't tell on us! Actually, we already told the boss.

Abishai didn't want to come at first because he wanted his screen time, but by the time we had all that fun, Abishai didn't want to go home. Of course.

Another interesting change in color because of how the pond froze.

Come back here, buddy, it's time to go home!

A snow angel!

And another one!

And another one that "never ends!" Lol

Abishai took Dinosaury in the car to the grocery store. He wanted to take him into the grocery store and his reasoning was, "Dinosaury is under 12, and you can't leave kids under 12 unattended." Well said, kid, but we still want you to leave him in the car so he doesn't get even more dirty. Abishai was disappointed, but he also understood and left Dinosaury in his chair in the car. But what a smart kid to pick up on that! And for wanting to protect his stuffy!

Friday - Snowy Gym Day

- We woke up to heavy snow falling, but we trudged on. I think we got 1-2 inches. It was a pretty slick drive to gym day today. In fact, I fishtailed for the first time, on a highway ramp, and it scared me to death! I was really, really scared that I was going to lose control and hit the side barrier and flip, maybe even up and over it. It was so scary. My heart was racing afterwards. But I still had to hit the gas to get up the ramp! Ugh! Thankfully, no one was behind me. And I guess I should have taken my foot off the brake instead of on the brake my friends told me? Whoops. You would think I would remember that. But I really don't go out when it's actively snowing. Normally I would stay home, but it's GYM DAY. The one day of the week where I can relax and be surrounded by people who don't argue with me. Like seriously, even Abishai now argues with me about my bedtime because he overheard Jared talking about it to me. But gym day is where I get to share all about homeschooling and do my ministry work, at least some of the time, and the other times, I get to just listen to the other moms talk to each other about it. So, it's my most uplifting time of the week. And the boys just go off and play and don't bug me for two whole hours. So I have to go. I just about die if I don't make it. Ok, I don't die, but it's basically my small group time. Some people look forward to going to their church small groups, and gym days are my small group times. We don't study the Bible, but we mostly come from a Biblical worldview so I know that we are on similar pages with the added lifestyle similarities that homeschooling brings. So I can let my guard down and just be myself. I can talk and talk and talk and people will listen and ask me questions and they want my knowledge and advice. I can't say that about other small groups I've been in. So Fridays build my confidence and self worth, too. So snow or no snow, we make the effort every single week because Mommy needs it even more than the boys need it. No matter how much I've socialized otherwise that week, I have to go. 

- The boys look forward to gym day, too. They like to run around or hang out with the other boys (Abishai) and girls (Justin, and other boys, too, but the girls tend to flock around my handsome, kind hearted, sweet boy, although most of them are 3 or 4 years younger than he is). The usual crew did make it today, and we had one new family, whom I got to spend some time with. I remember their story from a recent Facebook post. Another new family was supposed to come but they wanted to go play in the snow today. They will come next week. 

- The roads were much clearer on the way home and it was smooth sailing.

- I felt like I didn't have time to really enjoy the snow today because I had tried to answer email this morning and then get on here and finish blogging from yesterday. And then time got away from me and I didn't get a chance to eat a proper lunch. I feel like I've been answering questions on social media and talking to somebody all day and I'm just over the chaos. I loved being with my people today, but I'm done. I'm tired from the week and we need to go shopping tomorrow, too. Then it's Sunday craziness, a quiet Monday, and then a full week of full days of crazy. I'm exhausted thinking about it. I've got to carve out some quiet time and let some projects slide this week. And I'm hurting physically, too. I just want to be left alone.

- We all had some quiet time this afternoon but it was short lived before it was time for chores and pizza/salad, then karate.

- Abishai got to do a front kick and broke a reusable plastic board into two pieces! Wahoo! That's big stuff! He's definitely ready for the big kid class!

- TGIF! Now everyone go to bed so I can wind down. Please and thanks!

#truth

One of Abishai's favorite positions, the "I'm dead" position. Works great when big brothers get 'em and also works great when you don't want to do what Mommy says to do something.

Why yes, I'll gladly try these new cereals. Thanks, Aldi's! I didn't know I needed these in my life, but you did!

It's snowing!

Nice snow coverage!

Oh, it really IS snowing!

Why are all the good snow days on the days I want to leave the house?

Why yes, Justin, go ahead and clean off the car when it's 22 degrees in your gym shorts, sneakers, and a thin hoodie. #smh #heatismyarchenemy #thiskid And I wish he had cleaned off the hood better because it literally blew off into my windshield for the first mile of driving. He'll learn. I knew he was going to be hot at gym day so I didn't make him change. But those skinny legs! He's always been like that though. Skinny little guy, my Justin.

Ok, then. The things that Jared comments on on Twitter can be quite interesting. Ska? I like ska. It was quite interesting in it's heyday in the 90's. I went to a ska concert. Basically ska has a cross between the big bands of old with lots of horns with some rock/pop in it. That's what I remember at least, the horns, mostly. It was a fun sound.

Technically the Dunkin' cereal has no gluten in it, but I am taking a risk because it doesn't claim to be gluten free.

But I do find this history of Dunkin' Donuts to be quite fascinating. I'm going to save the back of both boxes and keep one for myself and send the second one to my sister. Quincy was or very close to where my mom grew up, and Worcester was where I went to my first concert, Michael W. Smith, in 1993. Tim Horton's is pretty much the same as Dunkin's, so that's why it resonated so much with me when I discovered it in Canada.Coffee was my mom's thing, especially since the Finnish drink a lot of it. She would occasionally get a plain coffee with milk and sugar at our Dunkin's in our town. We never, ever went out to eat, so it was a rare treat for her. And coffee was last the last thing she tasted before she died. And I still love coffee and donuts. And it's still my preferred way to spell donuts, instead of doughnuts. And munchkins! Instead of doughnut holes or timbits. I never knew people called dwarfs "munchkins" until I was a grown up. Jelly munchkins were my favorites! Anyway, we do have Dunkin's here in Indy now, and one not too far away actually. And it's ok. I'm a snob and prefer Starbucks, plus it's closer. But I also prefer my sugary white girl coffee and need my almond milk.

But back to the actual cereal. I couldn't resist. I had to open it. And man, it was so good! Quite sugary as expected, but perfectly tasty. Just a bit coffee flavored, but not burnt flavored at all, so not dark roast. It actually has coffee in it. This is the caramel macchiato one, which is not what I usually get anyway, as I'm not a huge caramel fan, but it was perfect tasting. I can't wait to have my favorite, mocha! I could have eaten the whole box in one sitting. And I was just eating it dry, imagine what it would have tasted like with almond milk! Addicting! I let the kids have a taste and only Keturah wanted to try it and she didn't like it. So, all the more for me! Yeah! Sweet!

I was barely in school (half day kindergarten). But, years later, I learned about it from the Christa Mcauliffe Planetarium, which is in New Hampshire, because she was the teacher that was onboard Challenger. I am still proud to know that she was from NH. And it was that planetarium that started my interest in astronomy. We went on a field trip probably from public school in 3rd grade when we were studying them. I vividly remembering doing a poster board on the planet Uranus that year. You'd actually be surprised how many famous people actually have come from New Hampshire. She might be a small state, but she's made her mark over the years.

This is a moment in history I don't want to forget. I don't know the numbers but truckers, semis and other trucks and vehicles, have been making their way in a convoy from somewhere west in Canada to Canada's capital in Ottawa and plan to peacefully stay there in Ottawa, abiding with whatever rules the local authorities have agreed with them to have, until the government relaxes whatever Covid mandates they currently have. I watched an interview yesterday with the original organizer who did this last year with just a few vehicles, and he was adamant that he had talked with ALL the police departments in whatever areas they were driving through as well as everyone in Ottawa and they have permission to do this and know specifically where to set up camp and made it absolutely clear to those participating how to conduct themselves to make it safe and appropriate and respectful to all involved. I think it's amazing. Just simply amazing. It's how it should work. Allow people to demonstrate but work together to pull it off well and peacefully so that no one gets hurt and it's not a riot. 40,000 people just marched in Washington, D.C. about medical freedom. Same thing. Peaceful protest. No one got hurt that I know of. They were right there at the Capitol Building with their signs and everything. And when this truck convoy gets what they want, they are going to turn south and head to Washington themselves. I just love watching history in the making. I don't enjoy watching war, like Russia gearing up to invade Poland. But these kinds of things, seeing how the world changes because people rose up and wanted their voices heard but want to do it in a way that shows integrity like Martin Luther King, Jr. did, that just fires me up. It fires me up to go to our own state house on Tuesday with the IAHE and show our homeschooling faces and remind them that we exist and we exist in droves now and we care about them and what they are doing and the people that we have designated to represent us in the committee meetings are really representing 10,000 families now. The wordings of those bills really do matter. And we don't want their financial help. We want our freedom. Let us decide what is best for our families. It's going to be a long day for me on Tuesday, but it's worth it. I need to be there. I'm sure I'll have a grand day. I'll be with my people. And that's what matters. I'll be at the heart of our state government. In the middle of the chaos. Who knows what else will go down that day. It's already been a crazy session. Just yesterday, the house banned transgender athletes in K-12 athletics. So it'll be over in the Senate next week. Maybe we'll see the transgender group there. That would be something. Exciting times. It does matter. So, 200 plus semis driving across Canada in a convoy makes a humongous statement. A simple, yet profound act. "We matter." So cool. So humbling. Let's do this!

Sunset on snow.

I was looking through photos of when Socks was little and found some pics of Jared with long hair, plus Justin when he was young. He was 5 years old in this pic. Yes, Jared has gorgeously curly hair. I can close my eyes and feel it between my fingers. Ok, since Benaiah has the same kind of hair and I try to sneak my hand through his hair sometimes, it almost feels like it's been more recent, but still, these pics are 12 yrs old. Those curls. Ugh! I want them back so badly! That mop head is so mine!

So, if you ever doubt where Benaiah's waves come from, it's from this guy, aka, from Leah's side of the family. Definitely not me, nor my side of the family. My Dad, my mom, my 3 siblings and I all have stick straight hair. Justin has it, and so does Keturah, except that one piece of hair that has had to grow back after she had picked part a boo boo open for months. That came in curly at first and now has straightened out. Abishai's is fairly straight, too. But Benaiah's is kind of wavy. I didn't remember Jared's hair was this curly until I saw these pics today. I thought it was more wavy. I do know that there's a photo of Aaron in Gary's office when Aaron grew out his hair one semester in college when Benaiah was just a baby and Aaron's hair became an afro it was so tightly curled. It was amazing! And everyone wonders why I let my boys keep their hair longer. It's because the Johnson men keep their hair too short, in my opinion. Leave it long while you can! Thankfully, my boys will never grow bald. Baldness doesn't run in my family.  Anyway, Jared cringes at these photos and tells me to get over it. What he doesn't understand is that it's always been a weakness of mine, guys with longer, and especially curly, hair. And I miss it, a lot. And I always will. His baldness is something I've gotten used to, but I don't like it. And that's ok. I'm not sure contentment and liking something are exactly the same thing. I could be wrong. He doesn't like that I'm fat, and yet he tells me that he's content with me. So, what's the difference, eh? We still love each other and look past it, or at least do our best. It just makes me sad. I miss his gorgeous hair. I really, really do. And that's ok.

Saturday - Shopping Day

- 2 adults, 3 kids, 3 hrs, a 45 minute drive to 1 mall, 2 stores, 0 meltdowns, to buy 5 pairs of men's jeans, 3 lady's shirts, 1 adult lady's coast, 1 pair of boy jeans, 1 lady's sports bar for $280 = VICTORY! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Granted, 3 pairs of the men's jeans were $120, and the lady's coat was half off but still cost $60, so that was the major chunk of the bill, but still, we got it done. And it was name brand stuff. And it felt SO GOOD to just walk in a store, buy something, and walk out, and not fuss over money. Seriously, we've lived on hand me downs for 20 years. And Goodwill. And yard sales. But to go in to a Columbia brand outlet store, take a lady's coat off the rack, and buy it 15 minutes later, that feels sooooo good. It was originally $120 and we paid $60. And Keturah can now wear it for the next 20 years if she wants to and if she takes care of it. And Justin's jeans cost $40 a pair, but that's really a mid range price for jeans. He tried them on and he said they fit well. So, he could have those for 10-20 years, too. So, break that down per year, it's a good a price. Old navy brand. Jared still has some Old Navy jeans and shirts from 20 years ago. I knew my price point on shirts, so I splurged on some things for winter. Abishai got a pair of jeans that are slightly big, but I think I'm going to find a belt for him. I don't think we are going to find another solution otherwise. 

- I wish I could have explored the mall more, but Kellie and I will do that by ourselves in the spring. I know how to shop, thank goodness. I knew that there were probably still items that were close to the regular store prices, despite it being an outlet store, so I looked for the clearance racks first. And I know what I'm willing to pay for different items. I also know what the store's clearance prices usually are like on their websites, especially Old Navy's. Or for Columbia, I generally knew that coats are in a certain price range because I've heard other parents talk about it. So I know a name brand coat for $60 is a pretty decent deal. And divide it by at least 10 years and well, yes, it's a really, really good deal at this point. I've paid my dues in cheap and "let's make do with what we are given" clothes. It's time to invest in long range strategy for the older kids. Same for me. No more cheap fashion or throw away fashion pieces. I know how to do this. 

- I'm proud of the kids and Jared for hanging in there and getting this done today. Jared even found some jeans for himself. It wasn't on my list, but yeah, he did need them. His jeans are kind of stained and worn out. Even Abishai was decently behaved. He was ready to go sooner than I was of course, but that's why I needed Jared there so when I was trying to add up everything and think through my purchases, I didn't have to worry about the floppy kid on the floor. Or worry about where to park or the snow or hunger pains, etc. We did stop at McDonald's for a snack on the way home.

- I'll definitely go back. It's worth the extra bit of time and miles to get the deeper discounts and to have all the stores right next to each other. It was quiet and the stores we went into were clean and neat like the regular mall. It's an outdoor walking mall, so not ideal in the winter. It did remind me of the outlet mall in NH where I bought the first shirt I bought Jared though. Fun times because I had to take that shirt back and get a smaller size! And that outlet mall was over an hour from my house! 

- Otherwise, I woke up a bit late, so we didn't go down to Edinburgh until 12pm and got home about 3pm. We had quiet time, screen time, and nap time. Leftovers for supper. Showers/bath for kids. Gary and Leah are away for the weekend so Jared has to get the kids to church super early for Keturah to do KP worship. I think Benaiah is playing drums, so I'll try to get there for 11. 

This is the $120 coat we got Keturah for $60 today. She's very picky. She couldn't stand to have anything that had any pink or purple, or even red or orange in it because it was part of the pink family. She thought this was a rain coat at first because of the material. It looks thin because it's made to be thin, but it is a winter coat. I told her that she doesn't need anything heavier anyway because of where we live. It's fitted to a woman's curves. She didn't want anything too long, but I wanted something a little bit over her rear end for when she is sledding. She'll thank me later when cold wind is going up her jacket right at the waist. It also has a hood and inside pockets. Not bad for $60.

Just smelling this cereal is heavenly! Actually, I think the coffee in it and maybe something else in it is making my stomach feel off. But I ate it anyway because Jared had it sitting on the counter for me, along with my tea and almond milk for my cereal. I would have chosen a bagel for breakfast, but I didn't want to disappoint him or disapprove of his efforts.

I spy with my little eye, a wavy hair on Keturah's head! Woot! Woot!

I resonate with this description of an Enneagram 6.

Abishai brought Dinosaury along for the long car ride again today, but Dinosaury stayed in the car while we shopped. He got to ride up in the dashboard for a few minutes on the drive home.

This is why there is a truck/car convoy that arrived in Ottawa today and will stay there on Parliament Hill. This is what they want done. And people in other countries are organizing their own convoys. It's really neat! I saw ones in Italy and even Australia! And again, the organizers on the real Facebook pages are heavily pushing that this is a peaceful protest, and everyone is to respect all police forces and to not destroy any property and to not leave a mess. I watched some videos and saw some photos and the support that the truckers had the past couple of days is phenomenal. Then I watched a clip of PM Trudeau saying that it's a tiny minority that wants medical freedom and I just laughed and laughed. It's kind of hard to completely ignore what is going on with this convoy. The city streets are now FULL with these truckers honking horns and yelling. You can't ignore them. And then they are going to come down to the state. It's so amazing. I love it so much!

Meanwhile, back in New England and PEI, they are getting another Northeaster. Stay safe and stay warm! Yikes! It's winter everyone! Jared let Justin practice fishtailing on the little bit of snow that was left on our neighborhood streets today. And Jared did doughnuts in the parking lot of the Edinburgh outlet mall, too. I wish we had these big dumps of snow. Where's my snow?! Sigh. Enjoy it for me, friends!

Sunday - Busy Day

- Jared took all 3 kids with him at 8:25am so Keturah could be there early for KP Worship Team rehearsal. She was in the preschool rooms doing worship room.

- Abishai stayed for his normal two services. Justin, I assume, sat with Jared, and volunteered in 2nd grade. Keturah did KP Worship Team. Jared had 21 kids in nursery 2nd hr. I made it to 11am service. And Benaiah played drums in big worship at Franklin Rd. He also started the click tracks for the songs.

- Lunch was whatever everyone could find because I didn't put the meat in the crockpot in time for it to be ready for lunch. Keturah had KP worship team reahearsal for the month, so she wasn't home for lunch.

- Jared's back was hurting so he laid down and I picked up Keturah from rehearsal. He did the evening trasnportation as usual. Only Keturah went because Justin's group was technically under a caution flag because someone tested positive last week for Covid. Therefore, no one was going to show up to Crave. Well, Justin has had zero symptoms all week and we continued life as normal so I let him volunteer as normal this morning. Instead, I made him help me take down the Christmas trees (finally) instead.

- I did my best to get ahead for the week by doing some little things like decluttering the countertop, taking down Christmas trees, putting away laundry, writing emails, ordering stuff on Amazon, writing to do lists, etc. I brushed the dog, too. Now I'm sore and starting to regret my decisions. I did also work on my puzzle for about an hour.

- It's going to be a super busy week, and I'm starting it off very tired. I'm not sure how I'm going to keep up. It's going to take a miracle and me saying, "No," a lot to things at home to things like taxes or dusting or an extra read aloud. I'll catch up next weekend or the week after this week. That's how it goes. I do have a massage this week and I heard that there's a big snowstorm predicted this weekend, too, so we'll see. Tomorrow I rest a little and focus on school work.

What?! I look over and this plastic toy knife is ON my puzzle! Abishai! Actually, come to find out, Jared put it there when they were playing. I've been trying hard to keep the fireside room, our bedroom, the bathrooms (of course) and even the dining room table free and clear of toys for my own sanity. And for hospitality purposes. I mean I'll let them accumulate for a day or two, but at least weekly, if not sooner, I'll clear up the messes. And no more bins of things are to be stored in these areas. Ok, there is a bin of kitchen play stuff in the fireside room that needs to be removed, but there's too many bins in the sunroom right now, period, so that's a different problem. Abishai doesn't usually get into the bin anyway since we haven't been doing schoolwork in that room at all. Point is, it looks like a room for adults. And it makes me feel like an adult, that I've made progress in my life some how and that I'm a sophisticated person. All the while, my kids can have some freedom to destroy the rest of the house. Does that make sense? Probably not. But the knife has to go, so it did.

Yup, the truckers made it to Ottawa and main stream media is not even mentioning it. And if some odd station has mentioned it, they downplay it. When it's obviously from the raw footage that there was literally 10,000 people there on Saturday. Or maybe along the driving route. Point is, it's not a small minority. It's still so awesome! Can't wait to see what happens this week when Parliament returns!

#truth

Little Justin, cracks me up what antics he got up to. And now a days he yells at Abishai about it. Well, kid, you were the same way.

That's exactly how I say it.

I am, but I'm not always recognized at being so.

I got home from church first, and when I said the kids were coming home in a minute, Socks wanted to look out the glass door so I kept the front door open. And then when the boys got home, he was so excited, he followed them to their room. However, I guess they both wanted to change into their house clothes aka pj's, and he got shut out. Poor doggy! He just wanted to see his kids! Lol!

See how nicely the new winter coat fits Keturah? She's growing up! Wearing a lady's coat now! Although she doesn't want to be called a lady. But it looks so good on her!

Jared shared this photo of Abishai sleeping with me today. I think it's from this morning when he had to wake Abishai up. Abishai had tucked Dinosaury in under his favorite ducky blankie. Dinosaury definitely is Abishai's favorite stuffed animal friend these days. I'm so glad I bought him after Abishai liked the one that I think Benaiah got Ava a couple of years ago around Valentine's Day. Something like that. Abishai even has a pillow out for Dinosaury. Plus lots of other friends on his bed to hang out with. just as it should be.

On a final note, Abishai told us yesterday, that when he's old enough, he wants to volunteer in the nursery that Daddy volunteers in, primarily so he can spend even more time with Daddy. And during 1st service, he said he would sit with Daddy and listen to the sermon with him. He doesn't realize that there's a middle school service just for him yet. Now, I know that's a pretty selfish reason on the surface, but beneath the surface, there's a lot of thinking going on there. First of all, he recognizes our Sunday routine and doesn't question it or bemoan it. It's just what we do, it's part of our DNA. And it's just also part of our DNA that everyone volunteers at some point, particularly in the kids' areas. So I guess he just assumes that he will be taking a turn when he's old enough. How precious is that? I'm glad that my routine and my lack of volunteering hasn't been a hindrance. Nor has Grandpa not always being there or Benaiah playing drums instead of being in the kids' area deterred him from thinking about being with kids. I mean he's already leading and helping Grandma in class. He's listening to the adults share prayer requests in the KP volunteer meeting between services. He even told us today that he knew there was more than 20 kids in his class and that someone brought a friend, so he's mentally taking attendance. Surely, this is the kid that will go to Bible college and be a pastor someday, right? Surely, this is the one! 

He also said in a sad, but mater of fact voice, when I was asking Justin if he was going to change classrooms again next year when Abishai moved up to 2nd grade, "Justin doesn't want to be with me, so he'll move back to Grandma's room." Aww, it was so pitiful! So I told Justin that he really shouldn't move. He should give his brother a chance. It will be Justin's senior year and it would be a great bonding experience that Abishai would remember for his whole life that his big brother was his Sunday School teacher. Abishai has promised not to troll Justin and we can ask Grandma, but I think he's been well behaved in class. And if Absihai doesn't leave Justin alone, I'm sure Justin can switch classes after a month or two. I'll bring this subject up again probably in April and May. I hope the boys can be together. It would be awfully special for them to do that. Just like it will be special for Justin and Keturah to be at Move together this summer and next, and at Crave all next school year. They may not think so initially, but hopefully they will look back and remember something that bonds them. Maybe. I hope. It's just hard to grasp that we are coming down to the last few semesters of Justin being in high school. I'm not ready. I don't know if he's ready. But we have another 15 months. Let's keep going with it.

The End