Year 7, June 6th-12th, 2022: Last of the Cool Weather

 Monday - 

- It was a productive Monday. It started with a phone call from the vet asking what I'd like to do with Socks, either an appointment or start a new pain medication, or just come in to be checked. We settled on going ahead with x-rays and be preparing for the worst (cancer) and hoping for the best (just arthritis). But in order to do that, we have to drop him off first thing in the morning, which means driving up there during rush hour. Not fun.  And because we have a busy day with back to back doctor visits. I'm going to be in the car all day! Thankfully we have until 7pm to get him. I hate for him to be there all day.

- After that, I got Keturah a counseling appointment for next week. Then I checked email and got that figured out, until the mail came and I freaked out because the house insurance said it was over do. Well, I don't get the memo that it was even due. So, I had to fix that straight away. And do my normal morning routine.

- I'm trying to remember now what all I did, but I know I kept busy all day. I picked up Justin at 2:30 and heard him tell a story of how someone brought back one of the free kitties because they didn't like how it scratched him and how it wouldn't cuddle when he wanted it to. Clearly this person didn't know how kittens behave. But someone else did because it was already gone again by the time Abishai and I arrived, lol. After that I had a massage today, which felt wonderful. I didn't feel like I was in pain but my muscles felt "crunchy" at first and then "smooth" when she was done. All the nerves and fibers were back into place. Ah....

- I rushed back home to try to put some spaghetti and meatballs together and then take Abishai to karate while Jared had Bbile study. Well, come to find out, the studio is closed for the week and it was announced on the private FB page and through email and we aren't on those. Whoops. So we have the week off. Abishai said he was excited for the break. Ok, But when I asked him if I could sign him up for VBS at New Pal Bible Church and that he would have to give up another week of karate, he said no, and that he doesn't want to go to another church. Ok, fine, I'm not going to make you. I just think every kid should try out one VBS in their lifetime. Keturah and Justin did a VBS on PEI at a different church than the one we were attending. It worked out great. So I know this would be fine, too. But whatever, I can't make him.

- So we came home, and I took a shower instead. And now I'm exhausted and falling asleep, making this entry take twice as long. Grrr. It's been a long day and tomorrow is even longer. I need to start my TV shows so I can go bed. Bye!

Uh oh. Abishai decided to take it upon himself to get the mini pocket knife down from the wall in the boys' room since he's "in second grade" which qualifies him as a "big kid" and do every like the other big kids do. Well, pocket knives don't do so well on freezie pops, bud. He did hang it back up. It looks like Daddy needs to give him some lessons on how to handle a knife. I could, but it's kind of a father/son deal in our household. This is what happens when you have older siblings that already have these things. You automatically think you're older than you really are.

You never know when and where someone's going to talk about your father in law's books. Abby Jackson has been a good friend for years and was part of our small groups until we left for Canada. Knowing Abby, I'm super glad that this book has had a major impact on her life. She actually started a resale shop to get rid of her extra clothes a few years ago. I'm sure it all started with Gary's usual sermons on the topic, and when the book was originally given out and/or available to purchase back then. But I'm glad it's continuing to be life affirming for her as well.

And of course others chimed in in the comments. I've read it, I think, once. Or I at least skimmed it. Pretty basic stuff.

I was walking into my massage appointment today when I realized that 20 years ago at this very hospital in this very wing of this hospital, we were officially discharged from the OB unit to go upstairs to the "Inn at St. Francis" for one night's extra stay. It was a brand new unit designed for those having to stay longer while their loved one is being observed overnight or something. It was built there before all the hotels were built up in the area on County Line. Well, once those hotels went up, and the heart hospital wing was built, the Inn was repurposed again into something else because it's no longer there. There's a new building not connected to the main building but still on campus called, "Hospice House," so I don't know if that's similar to the Inn or maybe it's similar to the Rose unit at Methodist that my mom was on where there's minimal tubes and machines as a loved one dies. Therefore it's much more like home. ANYWAY, we are talking about how 20 years ago to the DAY Benaiah and I were being discharged from here. Wow! Two decades! I feel so old! But I'm grateful it's still here because the hospital I was born at no longer exists. #memories

Tuesday - 

- It was one of those drive lots of miles days, and it started early at 7:45am!!! Yes! Before tea and breakfast! I dropped Socks off at the vet to get x-rays done of his hips, knees, and backside because he's been tucking his legs under like he's in a lot of pain. Abishai came with me and the sensitive little guy did not want to let go of Socks. But Socks was fine and indeed when I picked him up again at 6:45pm, Socks was very tired and I'm guessing it was because he had been people and dog and cat watching all day from his cage all day. I assume he was in a kennel or large cage from just knowing what I saw when I volunteered at a small animal hospital and what I've seen on Bondi Vet's YouTube channel. But, the good thing is that they didn't have to sedate him (which I requested that they didn't because we didn't need to stress out his heart even more and I knew he would lay still anyway) and his x-rays were clean. He has arthritis, but there's rubbing of bone on bone and no bone spurs or cancerous looking spots or anything out of the ordinary for a dog his age. So we are just going to add gabapentin to his medication routine and hopefully that will help. Yes, the same gabapentin I take, just 1 capsule of 300mg instead of the 3 capsules I take. It's probably even going to be the same exact formulation as mine. Oh well. But I'm happy I pushed for the x-rays because now we have a good baseline for any problems further along. And the clinic, bless their hearts, only charged me for 3 x-rays when they took like 7 views. And the vet checked him out, too. The whole thing cost less than $300. Which is a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. And it's not cheap care, not at all. They just don't overcharge you and don't push for extra things to be done. The vet even called me asking why I wanted x-rays because he didn't really think it was necessary. Well, I wanted to see if there was something I needed to address but the vet in me wanted to see my own dog's insides! Yes, Socks is my little vet experiment. I'm glad my dog is very healthy for his age. 

- Then I went home for most of the morning and rested. Oh, I also made taco meat for dinner. We prepped the strawberries we picked last week and put them on tray to put in the freezer. After lunch, we started on the non stop traveling. Abishai had a follow up appointment for his ADHD medication at 2:15pm. We raised his dosage from 4ml to 5ml to see if that will have more effect since he's having no side effects on this medication and 4ml was the minimal dosage. And we will change it over from the liquid to chewable when we finish the liquid. Easy peasy. Then we got back in time for Jared and I to go to Greenwood for our counseling appointment. I was meh the whole way there, during, and after because I was so exhausted. I barely could think and for me, the appointment wasn't very productive. I just kept thinking, "I want to go home, I don't want to talk about this or work on this right now. I've got other things to do." We got home, Justin and I ate quickly, and then I had Justin drive me up to the vet clinic to get Socks before they closed at 7.

- Oh my word, I hate teaching kids to drive. When Jared and I were dating, I told him multiple times that I would not be teaching our kids to drive. And then I'm sure I said it multiple times a year since then. So why am I being forced to be involved now? Yes, we were blessed that it worked out with Benaiah and him driving to and from school and work. I doubt he got 40 hrs of daytime driving though. I wish I knew what he actually got. But I think I drove with him twice. But driving with Justin is a nightmare. I'm sure it is with any kid. I'm sure it was for my parents teaching me because I'm scared of the road. But we did take the highway during the end of rush hour, so it was much more anxiety producing for both of us. He needs that experience. But I don't need my heart in my throat for over an hour. Justin likes to hug the left white line and on the highway with semis zooming past, it's scary. I did bring along my cross stitch and got a few stitches in. When we arrived at the vet's, Justin confessed that he almost fell asleep! Oh boy. Not good. So we stopped at a gas station and he bought an energy drink. This kid. He's an interesting one. Very different than Benaiah. I wouldn't say opposite. Just different. Not bad. Just different. And needs to be handled differently. And it's taken us this whole time to truly embrace it. I'm not sure others have realized it yet. But thankfully, some outside the family have and give him more grace than we do. And that serves as an example to me. But yeah, please, please, please, no more long drives with this child. It will be the end of me! Jared is going to take him out driving for an hour every morning at like 6:30am before work to get some of the hours in. He only had 9 out of 40 hrs in and it peeved me off. Sigh. So hopefully, he'll catch up soon.

- Once we got everyone home and settled, we watched Episode 2 of Obi-Wan. Eek! So much fun trying to line up the story with the rest of the Skywalker Saga. They had such a tough job of making it fit the story line but so far, they've done an excellent job! It's amazing! I don't understand the whole inquisitor thing because I didn't want the animated Clone Wars series but I'm enjoying the insight into Obi-Wan and Leia's relationship at this stage. Abishai wants to watch Episode 3 on Friday. Episode 4 airs tomorrow. Justin didn't get to join us because he got a headache from not drinking water but drinking an energy drink and having to concentrate so hard on driving. I think that's where my headaches come from, too. Poor child. He's just like his mama. That's why I understand Justin the best. I know what he's thinking and how to handle him. It's the other three that make life more difficult. Benaiah behaving a lot like Jared, although I've seen some big changes lately that are not traits Jared has. Keturah, wow, no words for that one right now, she's my toughest. And then Abishai is a whole other ball of fire and storm and crazy and I wouldn't have him any other way. I wouldn't call any of them bad. Or any of their traits bad, really. Everything they have, who they are, can be used positively. It's just getting them there that's tough. And it's hard when others try to intervene and don't have a clue. Sigh. That's why it should be just only mom and dad parenting. Their voices matter most, especially as they follow Christ.

I thought this was pretty cool.

Socks is always ready to go for a ride. Since Keturah is not with us, he jumped right up on the seat. What a goof.

Eventually he laid down and put his head in Abishai's lap! I saw Abishai petting his head the whole ride up to the vet. The bond between Socks and all of us is extremely strong because we are home so much. We might only pet him on our way through to something else, but he's a main fixture at home. Dogs like Socks bring a lot of comfort because they just lay there and let you pet them and the repetitive motion of stroking them has a calming effect. And they lead such a simple life. Socks keeps me grounded. He's our buddy.

We finished all the oatmeal in an oatmeal container so Abishai got to have another drum. So of course he wanted to set up his own double drum set! It was too quiet around here anyway without Socks.

Abishai was like a puppy dog today and clung to me like glue all day, squishing his face into mine until both our glasses had smudges on them. And he was so squirrly, too.  I just wanted personal space in my quiet time spot but no, he followed me there, too, and upside down he went.

And then he marched around his cashier station.

Scary stuff. We are in for a deep recession.

I absolutely LOVE this!!! I just wish this was true of my kids.

This was about 75% of the berries we picked. We had a few get moldy. But I had waited to do anything with them because they were slightly under ripe. Now they were perfect. I had about a cupful that didn't fit on the tray that we will eat up in the next day or two.

We also got a load of laundry and dishes done among all the other traveling and housework.

Strawberries!

StrawBERRIES!

STRAWBERRIES!

I got these pretty expensive writing books to help Abishai with his letter and number formation. He really needs help with the number 8, so I thought this would help. The pages have indents in them that the kids have to follow. The pen has disappearing ink so they can use the pages over and over. The set has 4 books, manuscript, cursive, numbers, and drawing. Abishai wasn't happy that they put a little tail on the lowercase t, lol. I told him to just write his t like we've been doing. The cursive is much different than the way he will learn it with Abeka, but it might be fun for Keturah to learn.

I planned ahead and made taco meat at lunch time to serve at dinner! Woot! Woot! Go me! And I'm going to just take photos of what we are doing each day like this to serve as reminders because I'm having trouble remembering by nightfall what went on. So this might seem boring to you, but it helps jog my memory.

Abishai was super quiet after he took his ADHD mediation so I went to go check on him. He was reading this castle book all by himself! I sat next to him and he really did know most of the words and he was reading pretty quickly. The words he didn't know where very big words, probably 3rd or 4th grade words. His ability to read has increased 10 fold in the last 6-10 months. It's incredible! I think it's because he has an exceptionally strong memory. I just need to keep "spreading the feast" and shoving good books under his nose and he'll keep learning. I've got plenty of science books he can learn from. Plus he learns tons from his videos on his tablet.

Later on, I was resting on my quiet time couch, after I told Abishai I needed some personal space and he can be near me, but just not on top of me, he grabbed a magazine and laid down on the floor. His feet of course kept moving, which didn't bother me.

And his mouth kept moving making up a song as he reminded himself of what Lego sets he wants.

Gas prices in Indiana hit $5.25 as predicted but everyone is still freaking out. Candace Cameron Bure, the actress, posted this on her Instagram. She lives in California of course. I keep shaking my head and thinking, "I told you so. (I know that's mean.) I told you we are headed towards trouble." We need a giant reset and we can only do that with a recession and if we stop printing money and handing it out. So, Biden, stop. And Biden, get the oil moving again. And stop being stupid all around, too. And of course, it's not just the actions of one man, but it's the ripple effect of the shutdown of the previous president as well. This is all huge stuff. And having been through business school, I do understand a lot of it. So, I'm not as scared because I know it's coming. And it personally doesn't affect me at the moment. Monies could dry up at e2 and Jared would have to find another job. But at the moment, there's tons of jobs. We've never been without a job. And because our mortgage is with a friend, not the bank, we don't have to worry about housing. Our cars are paid for. We have a tiny bit of credit card debt. And I don't know if we will get into a real depression, so I don't know if I should worry about food shortages and all that yet. But the other recessions we've had, we've gotten through ok. Just as long as the current house that Jared and Jim are flipping is done and sells soon, we'll be fine. And I think they are almost done with that one. So I'm just not as nervous as others. Our bank accounts are more empty, but we do have a little bit saved from our tax refund. And I need to stop spending on meals out and extra stuff at Aldi and online. I can tighten our belt a lot just by saying no, not now, wait. And taking my own coffee to the coffee shop or having playdates at homes instead of the coffee shop or packing our own lunch when we know we are going to be hungry. We won't be changing our traveling that much because that is our social life and mental health and Jared doesn't travel much. I just travel a lot on some days like today. I'm ok with $5.25 a gallon because we lived in Canada and had to pay that there. And I travel about the same amount here as I did there. It's just part of the budget. But those that drive for a living, they have it very rough. I pray for them. And their profit margins. It's not good.

A very tired puppy. He's got FOMO (fear of missing out) and probably couldn't stop watching all the dogs, cats, and people walking by his cage or kennel. And all the different smells, too. Poor thing. And he's really hungry. I didn't feed him or medicate him before we left because I didn't know if they would need to sedate him. He's all tuckered out. He might be a big dog but he's just a little pup at heart, curling up like that. It's much more comfortable than the floor of the car where he usually sits or lays down. And now Keturah will have to vacuum again, oops. He's worth it.

Sad, tired face.

I heard Abishai counting and was wondering what he was doing. He literally counted all the flaps, "Just to make sure there really was 100 flaps, because you know sometimes, book covers lie and there might be more or less than they say." And the result? There was really 100 flaps. At least it kept him occupied and he practiced his counting!

Since Socks was gone all day, our resident bunny was able to go in the backyard and munch on the weeds among the bamboo! Or was it eating the leaves OFF of the bamboo? Either/or, it's the bunny!

One of the things Jared and I can agree on is seeing nature like this. Critters, plants, weather, growth, life, that's what we both actually enjoy together. Nature is peaceful, at least on the surface. The cycles of life keep moving on regardless of inflation rates and joblessness, cancer, or Covid. Life marches on.

Bamboo will be naturally shading my sunroom soon! We will be seeing the fruits of our labors of the last few years!

I just want to pick it up and hold it tight! I bet it's so soft! Pretty rabbit! Munch away while the doggy is away. Although, Mr. Bunny has been right up to our deck lately, daring to get close even with the dog in the backyard. The squirrels, bunny, and birds all like to tease Socks, poor thing.

Wednesday - 

- Finally, a stay at home day! I had so much paperwork to catch up on! In fact I didn't quite finish because my brother called again and wanted to talk for 90 minutes! He's had very little human interaction this week because his fiancee' works 12 hr shifts for the first part of the week and his kids live with their mom. So it's just him and the 5 dogs that live with them. And occasionally his fiancee's daughter, but she is also at her dad's house part of the week. Poor guy, he's all alone! But P-M, I've got a lot to do bud! I even told him near the end of the call that he can come borrow any of the kids if he's lonely. There's plenty of noise and chaos over here.

- Today wasn't as bad as other days though. Everybody kind of stayed in their own space. Keturah finished mowing the lawn before we had some pop up showers. Abishai was outside for awhile with her and practiced on his two wheeler with training wheels. Daddy had raised the training wheels, but they really need to come off because Abishai is still relying on them too much. It would be a good goal to get them off now and practice riding a two wheeler before we ride the trail around Macinac Island on Labor Day weekend. Justin did some homework early after Dad took him driving at 6 am again. Yes, 6 am because that's when we have time to do it. When you don't take the initiative, then you suffer the consequences. And then we went back and forth on what was happening for evening activities.

- The kids were supposed to have small group time/late night at 8pm at Ritter's but they canceled that because of the tornado warning. Justin's small group decided to go get Chicago's pizza instead earlier in the evening, so Jared dropped him off and then took Keturah and Abishai to Meijer to look for shoes or something. I'm not sure. And then they picked Justin up an hour later. I should have told them to go to Aldi and get some supplies because we are out of bread, oatmeal, and nearly out of milk, cheese, and eggs. It's time to hit the store again and I don't want to. I don't have time to. I can't even get there to drop off the dog's prescription and pick up my own. I needed to do things at home. And they wouldn't have had time to get it done before the pharmacy closes anyway and I didn't want them going back and forth wasting gas. I'm really trying hard to work on conserving gas. So I'm learning to go without or delaying as much as possible.

- But, I did get a bunch of stuff done. Everybody got to take a breather in the middle of the week. And the plants did get watered a bit. It wasn't too bad. Certainly not as bad as they had predicted, at least not where we live. I'm sure other places got it worse. Overall, it was a peaceful day.

This photo earned me $50 in product! Yes, seriously, it did! I just had to join their private FB group and post it and say just a snippet about what it was about and I could get $50 in free product! I already have the email with the code! Wahoo! I have the hemp bars already and I buy the capsules every month so I don't know what I'll buy, but I'll come up with something. I take one capsule every morning to help with fibro pain. I used to eat a hemp bar almost every day for lunch but then I got tired of the flavor. And they stopped selling a mixed pack. But they have a new flavor, so I might get that and something else. We'll see!

Weird summer weather today. Sunshine, downpours, big change in temperatures. Even the tornado siren went off! It scared Abishai to death, but that's why I pointed it out to him. The storm really didn't warrant a tornado siren, but the national weather service had sent out a warning for the whole county so it was done anyway. The rain had stopped by the time late night at Ritter's was supposed to happen for the high schoolers, but they cancelled it anyway. Justin's group had already decided to meet at Chicago's Pizza earlier than that so Jared dropped him off and took the other two to Meijer. Mommy got a much needed break from the chaos.

That's me!

Yup! Me!

Now  this one is PERFECT! I need this in my kitchen!

Thursday - 

- Ok, creatures, we are NOT going to waste this beautiful day! It's only going to be 74 degrees outside so we are ALL going to take a hike with our friends! Yes, ALL of you! Tomorrow it's supposed to rain and starting on Sunday, the hot, hot, HOT weather arrives. Now is the time to go outside and enjoy it one last time! Everybody up! Actually, Justin had to work first, so out he went to drive with Dad and then off to work. I wanted to get some computer work done, but I barely scratched the surface of my daily stuff before it was time to go. I choose instead to play a couple of board games with Abishai before he went onto his screen time early since we were going to be out during our normal screen time hours. Time well spent for sure. He is less clingy when I do that. And it's the whole point of being home with the kids, right? I'm a happier mama, too. The paperwork can wait until next week when it's 98 degrees.

- But, we made it out, barely. I think I yelled hard enough and loud enough to make Keturah move out the door. She had flip flops on and took a book, but I grabbed her water bottle and filled it and took her socks and shoes because once we got there, I was going to make her get out of the car and hike with us. You can't leave a child alone in a car in a state park anyway, and that was going to be how I was going to phrase it. But thankfully, she didn't put up a fight once we got there. Going with our friends helps to keep the fighting down both for my kids and for her older daughter. The grandkids and Abishai will still put up a fuss once in awhile, but that's younger kids for you. The teens get embarrassed in front of other adults. And shoot, I meant to tell Keturah thanks for hiking but I forgot. My friend is ALWAYS good at making the kids feel special and included. She greeted Keturah with a "I'm so glad you're here!" And then I lower my head in guilt because I forgot again to be nice to my own daughter and speak positively to her and encourage her rather than fight with her. Thankfully, Kellie and I have a deep enough friendship where I know she fights Kya in the same exact way at home, so I'm actually in good company. We tag team to help our girls and little ones learn better social skills and raise them up well. So we are on the same team and not in competition. I learn from her, that's for sure. I'm grateful for the reminders and for her example. That's why we do things together. I NEED Kellie to lead the way since she's a slightly older mom. She has the skills and words I need. So, I'm glad Kellie was excited to see Keturah and I'm glad we tag teamed the whole hike so our kids would enjoy it rather than complain the whole time.

- Because let me tell you, we would have both had complainers if we had gone alone. Oh goodness me. her grandchildren were hungry the instant we hit the trail. Keturah took off walking way out in front and if Kellie hadn't been there, I would have yelled at Keturah and it would have ruined the whole hike. Justin would have complained about being there at all because he was so tired. Abishai would have dragged his feet. Instead, Abishai became the official leader of the littles. Although the other two like to try to become the leaders, Abishai usually wins the role. They aren't all best friends. There's some conflicts. But because we are right there, we can work through all those things right then. Loads of learning in the middle of the woods. And shoot, I meant to also tell Keturah not to get so far ahead when there's littles with us. I had totally forgotten to remind her in general of rules about hiking, too. But that was just my brain this week. I got her there. That was enough. I'm not perfect. She stomped through the woods. If she got lost, she had her phone. It was a closed loop anyway. And the park is surrounded by the city and there's a golf course nearby and the Fort itself. It's not like it's an endless forest. And lots of things could happen, sure. I choose to trust that it wouldn't and focus on the littles and conversation with my friend AND not falling. 

- The state park was ok. The ponds and streams were kind of blech. It's in the middle of the city of Lawrence, on the east side of Indy. There's some run off. It felt more like a city park, not a state park you find out in the rural areas. It was kept well enough. It wasn't like there was a lot of trash anywhere. There were a lot of old guys fishing in the pond, weirdly enough. We also found some large feathers from some Canadian geese and some small fluffy down feathers as well. But when you compare the amenities to other parks, there's not much to the trails. There's a paved "trace" where you bike and ride horses that's big enough for cars. Then there's the wooded trails that's more typical of hiking. It was a moderate trail, but a pretty basic loop. The other side of the park had stables and things, which looked good when I accidentally took a wrong turn and had to use their parking lot to turn around. I guess for a park inside of a city it was alright. It's good for some land to be preserved for wildlife in the city. I did wonder if years ago the land was used for training exercises with the fort. I have no idea what the history of Fort Benjamin Harrison is and actually, it was still in operation as a base until I think 20 years ago or something. Some of the buildings have been turned into apartments and shops now. And there's a museum on the state park grounds that would make a good field trip again someday. The city of Lawrence also is using some of the buildings. 

- But I think I prefer Eagle Creek Park on the westside, which is a city of Indianapolis park, not a state park, because it has the bigger cleaner reservoir where there is a beach and there was a gigantic slide for the kids with a big blob on the end. There is also kayak rental and all that. I think I've heard of some friends kayaking possibly in Fall Creek near Fort Benjamin Harrison but I'm not sure. Plus the ornithology center is at Eagle Creek and it just seemed bigger and more actual shelters and trails, with less pavement. I mean, it's nice for bikers to have pavement vs. dirt I guess, but for hikers, pavement is cheating as far as I'm concerned. I need a small path in the woods to count it as a real hike. So, spend $5 to go to Eagle Creek or spend $7 to go to Fort Benjamin Harrison. And they are about the same distance from me. Eagle Creek is a tad further I think. Hm,......Eagle Creek gets my vote.

- We did get to take Post Rd all the way down from 59th St. to it's end where it becomes Northeastern in Wanamaker though. That was fun. I skipped going on the highway altogether because the traffic looked bad, stop and go, and I didn't want to deal with aggressive drivers again this week. And since Post Rd started right at the park entrance, I didn't have to turn off anywhere until we got close to home! Yes it was stop and go because of stoplights, but it felt like we were making progress the whole way. And it took the same amount of time without the headache of the highway. You gotta love Indianapolis with their preplanned city! Lots of straight(ish) east-west and north-south roads that go all the way through. Some don't. So you take a detour. Been there, done that. But when it works out, it's awesome. And I knew Post Rd. did. I've been on it pretty much the whole way before. It is parallel to the highway. Easy peasy. I gotta have taken Franklin Rd as well but the bridge near our house is being worked on. Plus Franklin Rd has curves in it hear and there. Post Rd is much more straight forward. 

- The ride home was filled with lots of giggles from Justin and Kya in the back. Justin was delirious from being up so early in the day. He made absolutely no sense to any of us and Kya was giggling a lot about it. Aw, young love. Justin sat in the middle of the back seat and blocked my rear view mirror view though! That was pretty funny until I actually needed to see out the window! Abishai was trying to take a nap because he was tuckered out. Keturah started laughing because Justin and Kya were laughing so much. It was great! We came home to Jared finishing up a hodge podge of dinner. We got dinner and chores done. Rested for a bit. And then it was actually bedtime before Jared and Justin took Kya home. 

- It was a great afternoon. Very much needed for all of us. Let's do it again sometime!

Good point.

Gorgeous weather! Need to get outside!

Because next week, the heat of summer comes!!! EWWWW!!!!!!

Playing games or reading a bit with Abishai seems to help him not be so clingy with me. Also, his medication was taking effect at this point and he seemed calmer. And I think that's why at first he resisted to going on the hike, he wasn't feeling energized. Oh, and he felt a tad nauseated. But he got over it and we went and he had a great time. Then he had lots of energy right before bed when the medication wore off. So, we know it's doing something.

Keturah as dying for something sugary so she decided to make something. She did clean up after herself, very well in fact.

The next set of flowers are blooming in my flower garden!

I told them to go outside. This is where I find them. I meant use your bodies! And then Keturah declares that she's been outside enough for the day. Um, no, it was not even 10 minutes worth. You are still going hiking, get your shoes on. They are reading, I'll give them that.

First bumble on the tall purple flowers!

"I'm going to sit on these benches in the shade and as far away from you as possible because I don't want to be here because I'm 14 and I don't want to do anything my mother says."

Notice how far Keturah is along what they called the "trace" or paved trail. She was that way the whole time. I hardly saw her. She says she wants mad and she wasn't pounding her feet. Well, she was walking with authority or attitude or something.

Baby goose feathers? Goose down that lined the nest for the babies? Evidence of Canadian geese!

I'm nearly 100% sure these are Canadian geese feathers because they were quite large and there were some geese further up on the pond.

I noticed several different plants this time that I haven't noticed on other hikes around Indiana. Maybe it's this specific wetland or preserve or something.

Not the cleanest pond and waterways around, that's for sure. But, it is in the city.

Some great places for birds to nest.

I honestly couldn't tell if these were bamboo stalks or some other kind of reed plant since we were near the water. They are notched like the bamboo but I don't think bamboo is native like this in Indiana unless someone threw some out there or something. I'm not familiar enough with plants to tell.

Indiana wildflowers of some sort.

Eww, must you little peoples? That water looks so gross. We didn't stick around for long near the water, thank goodness.

Most of the creek beds were dry. We've had rain off and on, but I would imagine they only run during the early spring. Here's your basic Indiana forest with all the basic trees, poplar, oak, maple, beech.

You're not supposed to feed the animals but someone left peanuts out for the squirrels on this stump in the middle of the trail. The squirrels didn't seem to run away when we did seem them in the woods. I'm sure they do actually get fed quite often.

Typical brown woodland squirrel.

Abishai playing the part of leader, as always.

We parked at the Cherry Tree parking lot and then went down to the beginning of the Harrison Trace on the left where it crosses the road. We took the south route of the trace past the Delaware Pond. Then we took the Camp Creek Trail all the way to the Duck Pond. We took the northern part of the Camp Creek Trail back towards the Delaware Pond and then took the Harrison Trace back to the playground and played there for about 20 minutes. Then we walked on the Trace back around to our parking lot. All told for my day, my pedometer says I walked 2.72 miles. The trail map here says Camp Creek Trail is 2 miles, so I'm guessing that with the extra parts of the Trace and such it was a probably closer to 2.25 or 2.5 miles that we walked today. Yeah! I'll be super sore tomorrow, but that's ok. It's just park day so I'll get to sit for most of it.

This is the sweet treat Keturah made. I have purposefully not bought a lot of chocolate or restocked the pantry of certain items so we would get to making these things when we were craving sugar. I'm thinking this is a bit past it's prime. She whipped it up all by herself. She said the whipped topping was fine, but the Twinkie pudding does not taste like a Twinkie and is just funky. I'll have to check the ingredients before I taste it, but yeah, it probably doesn't taste like a Twinkie. It's pudding, not cake, dear. I'm just glad the box finally got used. Eat what you want of it and throw away the rest. Although, it did use a lot of milk.

Mama got some major mileage in today!

Amen to that! I don't have the time to do what I do, but I do it anyway!

Friday - 

- Well, I'm delayed in starting because I had a thought about what was smelling in the freezer, only it wasn't in the freezer. I thought maybe we had another rotting dead mouse behind the refridgerator, so instead of writing a note and putting it off until tomorrow, I had Justin pull the fridge out. And lo and behold, there was one! Now, it had been dead for some time, so I don't know if it was the culprit of the smell we are smelling, however, Justin said it did smell when he picked it up into a plastic bag and carried outside. And now the back of the fridge, the walls, and the floor are clean, for the first time in years. It was mainly dust back there, yeah, but some sticky dust, and the mouse and something else had stuck to the floor. I tried not to gag as I scrapped up tufts of hair. It was nasty. And after not feeling great today after a very long week. But it's done and it looks fantastic back there. Hopefully, this means I won't have to scrub out the freezer, which I don't have time to do this weekend. 

- Otherwise, it was a decent day with park day out in Shelbyville. The temperature was maybe 70 degrees and it was overcast so we didn't need the splashpad. Justin stayed in the car too long, so I used the car remote to lock him in and turned on the alarm, which makes the horn beep, in order to scare him. Well, when he did finally get out, even after unlocking the car door he said, he set off the alarm! Abishai and I were in the bathroom, so I had to race out there and save him. He was standing next to the car mortified (he says frustrated that I was laughing at him) and I couldn't stop laughing. I finally hit the right button again to turn off the alarm. Poor Justin!

- I was able to get some cross stitching done and hang out while the boys played or sat with their friends. I did end up with a migraine before we left, so it only got worse being out there, so I was hitting the wall of "I can't do anything else" by the time it was time to leave. We brought Kya home with us again today since they didn't get together earlier in the week and Justin has to skip youth group on Sunday for family supper for Keturah's birthday. (Next time, I'm making someone else give up their social time in order to accommodate the family's schedule because this was a nightmare to accomplish again this week.) We stopped at the Aldi that was nearby and did the minor grocery shopping I needed to do. Jared suggested it. Then I wouldn't have to go back out after I got comfy at home. And it's a good thing, too, because once I did get comfy, I was nearly asleep.

- Yes, I hit the wall with all my healths and then some. I can't get rid of the headache, the itchy skin is bothering me to no end. My pants are digging into my hips. I can't think straight. I need to think straight in order to maintain relationships and be intentional and work on them between very expensive counseling sessions. I haven't had any time to just listen to podcasts. I'm 8 days behind in reading anything related to the Bible because I've been on the go. Etc. etc. I'm pathetic and miserable. It's a good thing I bought a pizza because I was in no way going to prepare a meal tonight. Tomorrow I'm sure my kids will fill up at the open houses and on Sunday, we'll have something lite since we'll have a bigger supper with Gary and Leah. So yeah for no cooking! 

- We watched the 3rd episode of Obi-Wan and then it was time for Abishai to run around a bit. After that bedtime routines began. Justin and Kya had plenty of fits and giggles about silly stuff, so they're happy. I'm tired of all the driving but it's only for a short while, right? Then I will never see Justin again, right? I hardly ever saw Ava so I better count my blessings. 

- Man, I wish I could just sleep tomorrow instead of wake up, take a shower, and go to open houses and be social. I know you don't have to stay long at each one, but I usually do. Plus kids have to get up early and do yard work for Grandpa. I'm exhausted and my whole body is showing it. Next week isn't any better. This summer is already going by quickly. But we enjoyed the outdoors again today and that's how all that matters. We'll hole up next week with the really hot weather. Now, to get off before my head explodes from this migraine.

Fine, I had had enough, the foam pieces were all over the place now and the Lego pieces were starting to spread. So I took the 10 minutes and cleaned up the area. Although later in the evening Abishai wanted to fill the hole back up with other things. No!!!!! You can't do that!!!! Nothing goes in front of this bookcase, people! Nothing! Sigh. It's been a major struggle to keep this clear and I haven't won the battle for more than a couple of weeks.

Today's flower that is about to bloom. Perhaps tomorrow's sunshine will make it really pop open.

They took down the shades, maybe for the winter? But hanging with our homies!

I commented on Justin's strength as he pulled himself up on the bar next to where I was sitting. Next thing I know, Kellie and I are encouraging him to show off and climb up the whole road. He climbed nearly to the middle of the structure! Way to go!

All very true and Jared has become much, much better at saying these things, especially in the last 6 months.

So busy I even got 8 days behind in my Bible reading.

Giggle, giggle, whisper, whisper, what did you just say? These two kids just hang out here in Justin's crowded room most of the time Kya comes over. But, I often hear the best laughter coming out of Kya and it makes it all worth it. And Justin gets to laugh as well. What a goofball he is, but he's great for Kya and that's what matters.

I didn't think to take a photo of the piles of dust beforehand, but proof that I can and do deep clean sometimes when the opportunity arises. I just choose not to spend my limited energy on it. Long story short, we thought we smelled something coming from the freezer so I had a thought that it could be a rotting dead mouse and it was. So I don't do things halfway, and so I made sure I cleaned the vents on the back of the fridge, and the floor, and left in decent shape. I did have to go back there and scrape the mouse hair off the floor that was left behind when Justin picked it up to throw it away. Ewwww!!! But yes, it's best to just get the mini cleanup project done right then and there. Much better than adding to a list that will never see the light of day. Nice and clean!

Ta da! 5 years of dust and grime, gone. Hopefully it helps the fridge not work so hard as well now that I cleaned the vents out.

Saturday - 

- Open House day! Easy start to the day, then two open houses, one being within walking distance so it was easy for the introverts to leave early, and our normal at home evening routine. That's it! Yup, that's it! Details below.

Jared and Justin went out driving so I was left to scratch Abishai's itch of making this crescent rolls that had been in the fridge since Easter. Yeah, I know, I don't bake stuff, ok? I threw some cinnamon in one set just to "spice" things up. Bwahahaha, I know, bad joke. But everybody had breakfast for today and tomorrow. Yeah!

Wakey, wakey, sleepy head! The smell didn't wake her up because they had cooled off, but I tried. And it's much better than telling her to do something as soon she woke up. She did act a bit better today, so I'll call that a win.

I guess since it's going to be 98 next week, we should put away the flannel snowflake sheets for the year, right? Ok, we got these sheets in like March, and they are super comfy and I just didn't want to change them back to the boring old plain cotton blue ones, ok? Maybe I should buy some nicer bedsheets for our anniversary this year. Now that's a thought.

When you forget that you have a regular monthly meeting that you could have prescheduled in your phone and then you buy movie tix for that evening instead, you make sure you go overboard and put in the dates for that meeting for the rest of the year so you don't forget again. Whoops. I usually am better about this. And I check my calendar 98% of the time before I schedule anything. And since there wasn't anything going on, I clicked, "buy!" SMH

Dog, you're pitiful. Just pitiful. Yes, she does pet him often. She's not really ignoring him. That's why he lays with her all the time.

A new record low this side of having kids! Yeah! Nearly down to my fully pregnant with Benaiah or Justin weight. Down 28lbs or so since I had Covid in October. At least something good came out of that. But I did these few lbs with really starving myself of any calories, so I need to put the fruits and veggies in that I always forget.

Daddy is trying to teach Abishai how to tie his shoes, it's just that we don't have the time/patience/don't remember to go after it unless it's time to leave. But, it's our goal this year.

Sure, yes, both/and. We were a Bible based nation to begin with. Our nation was founded on Bible based principles like the Ten Commandments, which actually serve as the base for most judicial

Pet me, I'm cute! Justin's hair was on point today! Major bedhead for the win!

Awww

Abishai wasn't sure about these open house things, but he did get to play with two small dogs and found a couple of kids his age to play with. So he eventually warmed up to the situation. I had also given him his ADHD medication and so he was showing the lethargy of it, too. So now we know what dosage he needs to be on. Yeah! This is Miss Minnie at Mrs. Ellen's house. Yes, that Mrs. Ellen from the e2 office. Her twin boys graduated this year. They were in MOPS with us when the older kids were toddlers. I was hoping to bump into old MOPS people, but didn't recognize anyone that was there. We stayed for almost an hour, unsure what to do, too. Oh well. We liked looking at all their photo albums and school papers though.

We drove home from Mrs. Ellen's house to drop off the van and top of water bottles (use the restroom, too) before walking over to the Smiths for Devon's open house. And I noticed that the _____ are rebudding. Yeah!

Loads of popping blooms!

On towards Jim's house. Abishai was excited to play with Bristol and Lucky, the little dogs, but Lucky was having a visit at the much calmer neighbor's house. He got to play with Bristol though. The teens and I stayed for about an hour again but once again, there really wasn't anyone to talk to. Jared and Jim started up a great conversation and I was listening in until Jared moved seats to a chair out of the sun and to the far end of the table, essentially cutting me out of the conversation! Hey! I was using you as a buffer! Sigh. Ok, then, time to go home I guess. Again, it was fun seeing all of Devon's photos from show choir and theater and growing up things. And it was good to be outside. But I think the pollen is really starting to give me even more trouble this year because I had a headache by the time I walked back.

Right before we walked back I motioned Justin to come over and climb the tree to get a piece of the game the other kids were playing down. It's two small balls tied together with a string that you throw on the goal looking thing on the left. One of the other dads was a genius and put a basketball on his shoulder and then under the tree limb, giving the limb much more strength so Justin could safely walk over to it. And after a lot of effort, Justin was able to get it down with a broom handle. Yeah!

Good thing it's not terribly high off the ground and Justin is a willing big brother. And then he got to ride his motorbike back to the house that he rode to Jim's house.

Abishai finally found a couple of kids his age to play with. Just have to give Abishai some time to scope out the situation and then he'll make himself at home. He did spend some time inside the Smith house with Bristol, which was fine. I made the other two kids stay outside where the party was knowing how Adrienne (well, Jim, too) likes to keep everyone outside when she can.

Walked home to find my fellow introverts waiting for me on their devices. Yes, this is a teen thing. But it's also very much my introverted teens' thing. It's just easier to control life and the words you say when you can pause and correct your grammar as you type and then send it over the airwaves, rather than think on your feet. We, three, were drained after just two open houses that weren't even that exciting or overwhelming. I can't imagine next year going to more of them for Justin's small group buddies. Oi!

Finally found a nice cami to underneath this shirt and an occasion to wear it. Yeah! I still had the tags on it from when I bought it last year.

Perfect weather for open houses! We saw many other parties in the neighborhood as we drove through. Typically we've already hit 90 degrees by now. That's coming in a couple of days. We've enjoyed a very cool and beautiful spring!

I got to wear my plum colored capris again. It is a hard color to match with when your tops in your wardrobe are mostly colored themselves. I don't have black/white/gray that would easily go with a colored pant. But I like that I can fit into a size 12 petite that isn't stretchy and have it not be super tight. It's still a little bit tight and I was glad to get out of them and I don't prefer to sit with them on, but I can still make them work. And my rear end doesn't look huge in them. You can't tell just how flatter I am now, but when I do a crunch, I can actually see my abs muscles on the outside (at least the top set right under my ribcage). Woot! Woot! That's what happens when you don't have time to eat, so you just don't. I don't like it though. It makes me feel sick to my stomach. But once I get to a weight, I tend to stay there, so here's hoping I stay closer to 140lbs now, rather than 145lbs. I weighed 138lbs fully pregnant with Benaiah and/or Justin, so I still have a ways to go to get to the top of my healthy BMI range (which is 121 lbs, but at least it's within my sights now).

Make to our happy places. Introverts were done with extroverting limit for the day. We hit our 2 hr max limit. Time to relax in the quiet before Abishai and Daddy get home.

Teenager is still socializing, but with nerdy gaming friends he actually knows. He's much happier when he's sitting in his "man"cave.

And I also "talk" to people online even during my quieter hours, but it's from a controlled environment and on my terms. Time to rest!

And there he is, Mr. Noisy. Actually, he needed the quiet, too. He was happy to just play with his cars by himself, no parent needed. He doesn't like the way the medication makes him feel tired, or not himself, so I'll dial it down a tad and look it up to see if I can only use it on school days after this initial 30 days or so trial period. I'm grateful we only had to go up 1 time before we saw a change. We'll see how he sleeps tonight though. He played hard enough I think that it shouldn't be much of an issue. But he was in a meltdown kind of mood after Jim's house. Lots of stimulus, but not feeling the right kind of energy for it, probably produced some weird internal emotions and uneasiness. At least he knew to go into Adrienne's quiet house when he needed to in order to calm down. And he was raring to go when bedtime hit, so the medication had fully worn off. If I could just get it into him a bit sooner. I think it was 8:30am today though, so not bad at all.

Now, if only Justin would take his mediation on weekends and if it would last longer so he doesn't do things like rinse his dinner dishes and put them in the sink dish drainer instead of the dishwasher, that would be helpful. We did talk to him (while explaining to others how it was going, so it was really him offering the info, too) about not quite paying attention the whole time he's driving. And that's what I'm really worried about. I know I get nervous when I lose track of my driving. I'm just getting really nervous for him. I think we will need to start slower with him, aka, short distances, when he does go out on his own, before I let him go all the way to Greenfield. I didn't have to worry about that part with Benaiah, but Benaiah also was fully aware of life, whereas Justin isn't. It's a toughie. We'll see how the next 25 hrs of driving practice goes. (I still can't believe that he is that far behind, ugh!)

Sunday

- Well, that was an interesting night. I was not sleepy at all until after 4am. I had a lot on my mind and had to get up and write it all down. I was wide awake. And then Abishai got up at 7am, so I had 3 hrs or less of sleep, so I've felt ill all day, nearly fell asleep at church, battled nausea because of the migraine from messing up with my migraine med (which I thought was my blood pressure medication so I thought I could go off of it), and still had to be "normal" for the rest of the world. Not a great day physical wise, but I got through it one step at a time. I definitely called dibs on our bed today and had a real nap. I had to use lots of acupressure on my headache points, resorted to the extra headache medication, and even used a cold pack on my forehad, which really helped, btw. It was a rough day for me.

- For the rest of the crew, it was pretty straight forward. Keturah started volunteering in the 2's and 3's room at 11am service now that she is in 9th grade. She, and I guess Eliot and Wolf, sat with Grandma and Justin in the front row at church during the 9am service. I think that's kind of funny to think about. Grandpa is off somewhere at another church, and here comes Leah with her little/big in size entrourage of young people that want to sit with her because they all volunteer in KP together and they all don't mind sitting on the front row together! It's like a Grandmother with her little brood of grandchildren. Totally adorable! I don't know how protected she really is because they are all a little goofy, but it's cool to think about having 3 teen boys all there surroudning you, serving Jesus with you. Pretty neat. I told Keturah to check in with Alison about serving in preschool every other week when she doesn't do worship team. Hopefully it all works out logistically.

- I listened to the tail end of the sermon on the way to New Pal, but I don't recall what it was about. New Pal's sermon was prerecorded because the pastor and his wife have Covid. It was on Daniel 7 and the corresponding passages in Revelation. All fascinating stuff but not when you are dead on your feet. I didn't stay afterwards because I didn't have the energy to engage strangers into conversation. So, I slipped out and went to Goodwill, the library and the pharmacy. I was able to wait on Socks' medication to be filled and it's the same kind as mine. So, we'll have to see if he'll take it or if we'll have to open it up and sprinkle it on food or peanut butter. We'll wait until the morning to try the first dose so we can watch for side effects.

- Then I met up with the rest of my crew at McDonald's to pick up a single item per person to help round out lunch at home. We were having a big deal supper for Keturah's birthday in the evening, so we wanted to keep lunch light. It's at this time that I really started to feel horrible. Lightheaded, stomachache, migraine worsening, etc. So, I came home as quickly as possible and let the boys' bring the food home. We ate lunch and then headed for our rest spots and screen times. Jared and I did take an actual nap. I was utterly exhausted from stay awake so late last night. The nap didn't last long enough and when I got up, I still felt horrible. I was going to take Justin to his youth group, but Jared had to do it for me instead because I was so unsteady. Thankfully Gary was going to arrive home sooner than expected, so he was able to grill the meat for supper and Jared was able to go back out and pick up Justin as well.

- I was able to get through the IAHE newsletter training I was asked to look through before the rep meeting on Tuesday which I have to skip because I bought tickets to a special movie about homeschooling showing at the regular movie theater. And then I pulled myself together to get in the car and drive over to Gary and Leah's for dinner. It still took me awhile to feel ok being upright but I did feel ok after I ate dinner, which was later than normal because Gary was out of town until late. That's why Justin was actually able to go to his youth group still. Then Keturah opened a small group from Gary and Leah to go along with the big gift of going to CIY (see photos below). I went ahead and purchased the Converse brand shoes she found just two days earlier because they were reasonably priced and I got a new customer discount. She also wants to go see the new Buzz Lightyear animated movie that comes out this Friday that shows his background story. So, we'll see how it goes. I have Mom's Night Out and a friend from out of town will be there, so I need to go to that. Daddy can take her on a date though. And her small group friends can sing to her at Ritter's late night on Wednesday night, the night before her birthday. 

- We listened to Benaiah tell some stories about his trip to Texas. We heard about Abishai eating a sleeve and a half of fig newtons that afternoon and then had to ban him from the homemade ice cream cake Grandma made. We watched Grandpa give Benaiah and Jared Monte Carlo cigars just because someone he knows keeps them in his portable humidor in his car. Jared took them to put in his humidor at home until Benaiah is 21 next June. Blech. I didn't get to ask my question about Gary's retirement. I wish it was soon. But I doubt it. He will be gone again next Sunday, Father's Day, until 3 pm! It's a good thing we don't have youth groups that day! Sheesh! You would think his family would get the best of him in his autumn years. But maybe someday. Maybe someday. Just not today.

- Well, no insomnia tonight. I had to actually finish this blog post the next day because I was so tired and couldn't put two thoughts together. Yeah! Gotta love imbalanced hormones, erratic behavior, bad habits, etc. Life goes on. And hopefully this migraine will stop by the morning.

Someone was anxious to get to church this morning, so he got started on making his own eggy toast! He pushed the biscuit/circle maker into the bread all by himself, then pulled it out, then pulled the circle piece of bread out of the bigger piece, all by himself!

And he was about to reach for the dial to turn on the stove when I told him no, I don't think so, not yet. We're awake, let Daddy do it.

All prepped and ready for church. The teens are waiting on Grandma. Abishai is waiting on Daddy. Then I have 1 hr until I leave for New Palestine Bible Church's service.

Ooooo, this pretty thing opened up!

It rained last night and it didn't dry up, leaving these couple of droplets on the flowers just so perfectly!

These grow so fast!

Yup.

All curled up in a ball like a baby in his favorite spot in the house, right in the middle of where everyone walks so he doesn't miss anything. And he's enjoying the cross breeze between the two fans.

Such a big baby.

Pop up thunderstorms, so typically in the Midwest.

Happy 14th birthday, Keturah!

It took her several tries because she was laughing. And remember, don't count the candles, because Grandpa doesn't care to count them anymore. I need to remember to bring our own candles from now on.

Homemade ice cream cake because Dairy Queen doesn't make Keturah's favorite flavor of ice cream into an ice cream cake. And because Grandma is a special Grandma.

Keturah enjoying her ice cream cake, although she's totally going to have stomachache later because she is sensitive to dairy.

Another New Orleans gift! Grandma did a lot of shopping for birthdays while she was in New Orleans! Lol! But it was handmade and Nora was the one who helped pick it out this time!

Hand forged horse shoe plus hand stamped name.

Dog, you're pitiful. But we love you anyway. And we probably won't have another dog who can do this as easily. So, go right ahead.

What in the world? How did you do this all by yourself?! While the rest of us were at the dining room table talking through dessert? He's so silly! Those are cushions for the outdoor furniture.

They make great barriers for sumo wrestling your brother who is laying down on the couch with a very full stomach. At least Justin played a long with Abishai for a bit this time. And these two are getting along in Sunday School as I had hoped. Well done.

Pit stop to watch ads for video games on Daddy's phone.

 

 

The End