Year 7, August 1st-7th, 2022: Starting Over

 Monday - 

- Can I start the daily blogging up again? Is it possible to get back into the swing of things? I'm not sure. I'm exhausting. Can I put two words together? (Well, I couldn't on Monday, so let's try here on Tuesday).

Tuesday - 

- Let's try this again when I'm at my sharpest, coffee enhanced state.Except I've got a stomachache that has me hunched over. Hm,....

- Keturah's been sick for 6 days. It's probably Covid because her symptoms haven't improved and it's ALL the symptoms, headache, stomachache, earache, scratchy throat, cough, she had chills the first night, today she had gunk in her eyes. And she wasn't sick with Covid when we were in October. And it's going around in all our social circles. I finally made her an appointment for tomorrow morning, among the 500 other things we are going to do tomorrow. Yippee!

- But Abishai has also been lethargic today after taking a quick swim in the cold pool. He even slept for 20 minutes! I hope that the pool isn't full of germs! I need to put more chlorine in it, but I've run out of what I think is the chlorine and the tablets don't come until tomorrow. I can't keep enough chemicals in there. No one said I had to add chemicals every day and the buckets cost $30-40 a piece! What?! That's what everybody said about pools costing a lot in maintenance. You all didn't tell me this part! I thought you could get the chemicals up to a certain level and leave it for at least a week. Sigh. But anyway, Abishai was very tired.

- So, what's going on? I don't know. So we aren't starting school until we are perfectly healthy and Justin has a license and his job is figured out and I feel rested and organized. The schoolbooks can be organized in maybe an hour or two, tops. I left it in good shape. I just need their planners, which requires a run to Staples. I hope to get that done this week, so maybe tomorrow when I'm already out. It's nice to just have a day at home not going anywhere. 

- But what else needs to be done to finish out the summer? I don't know. I don't know. I can't take a sick kid to do her bucket list item, go to Ikea. The big pools are now closed. Justin refuses to get in the big pool at our house. I can't invite people over until Keturah is better. Projects. Do I get into a project and which one? I'm tired so I can't read or listen or do much. What do I do? I don't know. Do I really want to continue a blog or not. What about this desk? Do I try to do something with it? What about my bedroom? I guess I could work in there this week. I'll try. And my Bible study is only for this month. And I have a few doctor appointments, so we'll get those done. Yup, school won't start until all that is settled at least.

- But it doesn't make me feel any less guilty for not starting early like the public school who went back yesterday. And some of my homeschool friends did, too. So my Facebook feed is full of it. And I've got FOMO. I feel like there's so many loose ends right now. I don't know what this speech class is going to entail. I don't know if Justin will pass his test on Wednesday and be able to drive to work or if it will mess up our schedule. I don't know which homeschool group to commit to because there's so many great ones. If I do that, should I drop Fridays? But then I betray my Friday moms. I don't know! There's not enough time in the week to do it all! I need to go visiting groups here in August, I do know that. So I'll start there. And then I guess I'll decide based on how Abishai gets along with them. We'll see.

- Meanwhile, yes, we are enjoying the pool. Abishai gets in it most days. He's learned a ton! He's doing back flips from the ladder, which he isn't supposed to do and so we did stop him when we saw him do it. He doesn't know danger, that's for sure. But he swims and swims and swims. He does flips in the water and scrambles up and down floats. The pool has been great to give him so much more confidence about not touching and going under the water and not panicking. He can float on his back a little bit, too. We did buy a pool vacuum, and it's a bit cheap, so it's taking us time to still clean up the bottom of the pool. This has been such a big learning curve for us. More than I thought really. I'm putting in as much effort as I can because I promised Jared that it was going to be my thing. He really resents doing so much for his childhood pool. He's been good and helping me, so we are tag teaming. But I get so upset and frustrated when I can't do it myself or I can't balance the chemicals. I just wanted everything to go smoothly right from the get go. But when the handle of the filter wouldn't move, and I couldn't get all the screws out, and then I couldn't get it back together, Jared had to step in. I could do more of the vacuuming myself, but the suction is weak without a helper, so it's easier if we work together on it. And we have found it hard to be home together as it is. We'll try again tonight hopefully on it. And then the bugs are starting to use it multiply. I didn't want to put the cover on it every night, but if that continues, I just might. I've only go into the pool twice because it's so cold. We haven't had many 90 degree days since we put it up. I'm contemplating getting a heater for next year. I wanted to enjoy it, too. 

- And, I'm miffed that Justin and Benaiah won't use it. And Gary and Leah haven't been over to watch Keturah and Abishai use it. They gave some money towards it. Gary helped put it up. But either they don't want to come over or they haven't made the time. Or the videos I've sent them is enough. They used to love watching Benaiah and Justin swimming in Scott's pool. But now they don't seem to have the time to watch Abishai do his things. It's like we are all just passing each other and leading separate lives instead of doing life together as a family. It's become quite lonely when all you want to do is share with each other.

- I have had fun buying all the floaties though. I can't stop buying them! I hope that they will last for next year. I did find one yesterday on clearance at Aldi for $1.50. It was a hamburger beach ball, only it wasn't perfectly round, but more eggshaped. Our pool looks like a picnic with it's lime slice, popsicle, doughnut, and hamburger. There's too many floaties. But Abishai loves them! And he doesn't mind taking them out when it's stormy and windy and then putting them back in. He seems pretty careful with them. He loves to set them up and jump on them from the ladder. Keturah and he made a sandwich with them and he was in the middle with a lot of them stacked on top of him. 

- When I was in the pool with Jared and Abishai last Friday for our anniversary, it was the first time in years that Jared and I had actually been in the pool together. I got to sit on his lap and hug him and be close. It felt so good. It brought back a host of memories from when the other kids were Abishai's age. Before moving to Canada. Before all the trauma of coming back. Before the hard years of dealing with teens. Before having fibromyalgia. When we were young and naive. When we were just learning about how to be parents and how to live life. And now look at us. Seasoned adults. Not totally matured. Not gray haired. But seasoned a bit, just enough to be able to reflect back and be grateful. To sit there in the pool and watch Abishai do his thing over and over again and actually enjoy it without worrying one bit that he was going drown. He's such a joy. Always the reminder we need to slow down and enjoy life. It helps us get through these teen years with the others.

- But uh oh, today, Abishai came out of the pool very cold. And he took that little nap. And now, I just had to clean up his throw up. Poor little guy! He had only had a huge glass of milk today, and no other food. He didn't want lunch when he woke up from his nap. He went straight to screen time. Bummers! No pool time with Daddy tonight. I've had a scratchy throat and swollen glands a bit today, too. And a little stomachache this afternoon. Sigh. Not good. Grrr....see, we need the time to rest. Not time to start school yet. We need to get through this and build up our immunity first. Then, school can start. Time to putter around a bit this week. And then get out and about next week. Grrr.....

- Justin and Jared were able to finish cleaning out the sand from the pool this evening. Yeah! Abishai took another two naps on the couch. I rested as well. I've got pain going around my whole midsection, right at my ribs, so maybe my stomach/upper abs, like soreness from throwing up but without throwing up yet. I've canceled going to Bible study tomorrow. I don't know who will take Keturah to her doctor appointment. I'm not sure about the rest of the day either. Depends on how I feel. Abishai is now calling for Daddy to watch TV with him. Poor little guy wants me to sleep on the green couch while he sleeps on the shorter couch. Awww, I can't say no! I don't know how long I'll be able to sit upright at this point, so away we'll go.

 

Wednesday - He Did It!

- He did it! Justin got his driver's license! Yeah! I crossed my fingers, sent out prayer requests, and prayed the whole time more than I ever did with Benaiah, and he did it! Phew! The examiner was kind and gave him some great tips afterwards, and even before the test about expectations when they were going to go through the school zone and such, and even told him he could relax now and smile, he did it. Lol. See, this is why we went to Greenfield again. Gotta love the country folk! I mean she was thorough, don't get me wrong, and very serious, an older woman, but got us to relax in the end. I can't believe he passed! He drove out to Greenfield and surprised me by how well he actually drove! But, he still didn't want to speed too much. We did pick up Kya, as planned regardless of the outcome, on the way back, so I had to drive home. Justin can't have passengers besides his siblings, for another 6 months, not that Kellie would let Kya ride with Justin alone anyway at this stage. Um, no, nada, I don't think so! Amy wouldn't let Ava ride with Benaiah alone for a really long time either. We adults all know what happens when boys and girls are alone in cars. We were once teens and young adults, too. So, nope. But really, even if he could drive Kya and I back to our house, I wasn't going to let him because he drives too slow. I wanted to speed! Lol.

- Meanwhile, first thing this morning, I took Keturah to the doctor's office. We had a different doctor than our regular one, but he was super friendly and kind of funny. He wanted to try on a new face shield but this one wasn't as clear as his old one. So when he was looking in Keturah's ear, he finally just tossed it across the room! Bwahahahaha! Poor guy! But he talked a mile a minute. He was already behind schedule for the day and it was only 9am. He wasn't super young or anything, but probably a few years younger than me. Anyway, he checked all the things. Keturah's lungs were clear, her lymph nodes were fine. She doesn't have an ear infection but the tops of her ear canals were "angry" looking which was "weird" according the doctor. She had a bit of wax, which is good because it means she's not using q-tips to dig at them. She didn't have signs of strep throat. So all the doctor could do was to order covid and flu tests which could be done on the same nose swab. He also sent in a prescription for cough medication and encouraged us to get the stronger, regular sudafed that is behind the pharmacy counter. He actually explained to us why they did that, which I knew, but that he doesn't even mess with the OTC versions of sudafed pe and all that because it doesn't do much. Which, I kind of knew, but with my brain, sometimes I need those actual reminders. So, I'm going to go ahead and get the real stuff and throw away the fake stuff. He wrote everything down in his notes and it printed out on the sheet with Keturah's info. Sweet! He also explained what he does with the sudafed vs. the nose spray and how long he uses both etc. I like hearing how the doctors actually use products because then I know they are telling the truth. And for whatever reason, I tend to find most doctors at Barrington are pretty upfront about these things. That's why I'm going to try to find one for me again.

- Keturah's vitals looked good today. The few that cracked me up were her height, which was 59.37in. You realize that's just a tad shy of 4 ft 11 1/2 in. right? And that's basically what I've been telling people my height is for years and years. She is my mini me! Today her weight was 107 lb, which is good. I was 98lbs when I was her age/got married, and then 108ish in between having Benaiah and Justin. Our upper BMI limit is 121lbs and anything between 99lbs-121lbs is fine. So, she's good to go on those things. She's kind of been that height and weight for a couple of years I think anyways. She weighs herself weekly I think and we can obviously tell she's my height. And we know she's done growing. We can share shoes. And if I lost the weight, we could share size 5 clothes. Maybe, just maybe, we could be called sisters one day. Wouldn't that just be so much fun? She would die if someone said that though. It's bad enough that everyone calls her my mini me. Gone are the days where people called her Grandma Leah's mini me. Although, her personality might be a better fit with Grandma's rather than mine. The jury is still out on that one. We should hear back about Keturah's tests in a couple of days.

- Abishai is on the mend. He was very lethargic all day, but he didn't have a fever and he didn't take a nap. We were going to put him to bed early, but then Benaiah came over to talk about selling the electric drum kit and Justin came home for his outing and Abishai finished watching Thor. Daddy did manage to get Abishai to go to bed in Abishai's actual bed instead of the couch though, so that's a plus. Abishai didn't eat much today. Just some goldfish and other crackers for brunch while I was out with Keturah and then milk, ham, and vegetables/fruit for dinner. In fact, Jared came home really early to help me out since my stomach is also still not working right either. It hurts right up under my ribcage and wraps around to my midback, and not in the usual area of a stomach ache, so I can't tell if it's a stomach bug or some other organ or a muscle pain that is radiating from somewhere else. I'm just riding it out for now because the kids have been sick. But if it doesn't resolve, it will be my turn at the doctor's to rule out other organs gone awry like gallbladder and kidneys. With Jared and my sister and my aunt all having issues over the years, I'm a nervous wreck about these things. Plus I watch too many medical dramas. Anyway, hopefully Abishai and I will feel a ton better in the morning. We don't have anywhere else to go so that will help. Abishai did skip Tang Soo Do tonight, and he didn't even protest that. He knew he wasn't up for it. He is so self aware, it's so amazing. I love letting him lead and seeing where he goes because he's usually right. I also hate making decisions, so if someone else can lead and make decisions, I'm all for it, lol.

- Let's see, what else? That pretty much sums up the day. Keturah's appointment. Justin's license. Abishai's low key day. Benaiah stopping by to talk about drum kit. Jared bailing me out, again. Oh, I didn't go to Bible study because of Keturah's appointment, and then I was too tired/sick by the evening session so I stayed home. Kellie came and got Kya in time to go to the evening one, because that's the time they've been attending. So, it was a bit of back and forth, and that's what kept me a bit occupied, but it all worked out. Again, tomorrow we stay home and rest up again. It was super hot outside today and it would have been a great day for the pool but no one felt up to it. I thought we were getting the big bucket of chlorine today and we only got the one tablet version. Grrr. How am I supposed to keep these chemicals going if I don't have them all in the house at the same time?! I'm just going to go go spend $200 next time I'm in a physical store and buy one of each kind! It's so frustrating! And now it's going to storm tonight. Whatever, there's a chlorine tablet and balancing tablet in the pool now so it's got something in it. I had to skip a couple of days because I was completely out of chlorine. I just don't always have time to stop by the store. Anyways, I'll try to pick some stuff up if they still have it at Kroger when I pick up Keturah's prescription tomorrow. They had the pH down stuff. But if I still feel this crappy, it makes it hard to do anything but sit or lay down. I don't want to eat either. Ugh. 

- Let's finish with Justin made it to small group at Culver's, then to CVS, and then home, without using GPS, and without an accident! Way to go! I did use the "my iPhone" app to track him a) for fun and b) because he barely made it out of the driveway alive. Benaiah didn't like that I was tracking him. Grandma didn't like that I was sharing the screenshots of me tracking him. Why do they have to be so Debbie Downers? I was trying to share something new and fun and lighthearted. They didn't have trackers when we were young. I'm sure Gary would have used it if we did. And after all the debate this week so far about Justin, this is huge! Maybe Benaiah and Leah didn't realize how much a big deal today was, but this is HUGE. Many people discouraged me from even putting Justin on the road. But Jared was fine with it. And after seeing Justin drive to Greenfield today, and after he actually passed, and after Jared said it was ok to use the van, and knowing he would use the backroad to get to Culver's, I thought it would be ok to give it a try. So he did. And he did fine. And we proved the naysayers wrong. Now, I didn't put it on Facebook that he was very near the same intersection that he almost had a wreck at just a few days ago that prompted my very concerned post that caused them to have a very severe reaction. But just the fact that we accomplished this milestone is a miracle. A huge relief. And we can take one step at a time further. It was a team effort, Jared, Justin, and I. We made it. And if we hadn't been sick, we would have all gone to Culver's to celebrate. So, whatever, I took the photos and videos that are necessary for the occasion. I tracked him and took screenshots. Because the second born is just as important as the firstborn, and this second born in particular was much harder than the first born. We needed this win. Today was a huge victory for us as a family. And it's finally over. All the nagging and arguing. It's done. He has a license. Now it's his responsibility to get to work on time. And to get home. And to get to small group. And to get to youth group. And Mommy is free again. Praise the Lord!
 

He did it! First try! Just like big brother Benaiah! At the "Greenfield Stars" branch! Serious, but super nice older lady examiner. She gave very clear expectations before the test, like, "Be sure to give yourself plenty of cushion when going through the school zone, like I'd rather see you go 17mph because if you got 21mph (it's 20mph), then I have to automatically fail you." And then several pointers after the test as well like, "After the light turns green, you can go into the intersection to turn left to wait for the traffic to clear, so you can go as soon as you can." and "Don't hesitate to go when the traffic is clear at stop signs or people will honk at you." She was great. The relieved looks on our faces must have told our story because she told us we could relax now, he passed. Phew! Ah! But he said no one will see the photo on the license itself. Of course it's just a piece of paper until the actual card comes in the mail in a couple of weeks.

Well, you know they don't give you the actual license these days. You just get the printout first. They have to make the license all special in some weird office so they can put all that special crap on it with the shiny star or something.

Sigh. Do y'all think I would take a photo in front of the BMV sign if he had NOT passed?! How cruel would that be?!

Hold on a minute, people! I'm dealing with wifi issues! It's not fair when the husband can tell where you are at any given moment....and yet, he won't let you see him at any given moment.....

Time for the first solo flight! Thankfully Jared agreed to let Justin drive the van instead of the truck. Justin can't get the truck started out of 1st gear just yet. A few more practice runs should do the trick.

Socks wanted to know why everyone went outside. No, Socks, you can't go with Justin.

Are you ready? Get set! Go!

After almost hitting my car and then almost landing the van in the ditch, he's off!

I've never been more scared in my life! Benaiah was easy to trust. Justin is easy to trust to do the right thing, but he's so distracted sometimes, that I'm just afraid he'll do the wrong thing by accident.

What? Since I have the ability to track him, why not use it? I won't track him on every drive. Or at least I won't take screenshots every time. But this one is kind of a big deal, right?! He made it to Culver's just fine to spend the evening with his small group friends. He was supposed to ask if they had job openings but forgot. That's ok. He made it there at least.

Wait a minute! He passed by our street! He's at the roundabout near our house! Where's he going?!

Now he's passed our neighborhood! Stop! Where are you going? Did you have permission? Does he need to have our permission? How did we handle this with Benaiah? I don't remember.

Oh, it's his favorite store he was after. CVS. Gotcha. I'll let it slide.

And he's back!

He's back safe and sound! And here comes Benaiah for a chat, too! All 4 of OUR vehicles in the driveway and all 4 of OUR kids in the house, for a few minutes at least, lol. We can't wait to see how high our bill goes after we add Justin on it! We just paid our car insurance bill so this should be quite interesting. Hm,......

Thursday - 

Friday - 

 - Park Day at Southeastway and only Brenda, Kellie, Collin's dad, and the other new family who is about to have a baby came. It was decent weather but quickly warmed up. I almost didn't get Abishai there. There wasn't many kids his age, but he played a little bit. The port a potty had been pushed over, and the permanent bathroom is further away, so I actually waited to use the bathroom until we got home. That meant we didn't stay as long as we usually do. Plus Kellie had to get home and I think everyone just seemed lethargic and tired this week. Collin's mom didn't come because she hurt her back at work. So Collin had been up at night hanging out with her when she couldn't sleep.

Saturday - 

- My hero is at it again. He's making the kids get things done and working on his own projects. God bless him. He's been really stepping up to the plate lately. He's making me feel like the lazy one. I feel like I owe him something. I mean this is the kind of man I've wanted for years and years, but I'm not used to it. He's not looking to be rewarded. He's just finally matured. It's very, very attractive. Recently, I got multiple emails about upcoming concerts and all these presales and I had to quickly make some decisions if I was going to get good seats. But they were pretty expensive and I didn't really feel like spending all that money again on concert tickets. So, I decided to skip both Michael W. Smith concerts, the fall tour that was going to be 2-3 hr drive anyway, and the Christmas concert, which was downtown at the Murat Theater but really expensive as always, and bought tickets for us to go see Rend Collective, the Irish worship band Jared liked from the big concert we went to a few years ago. It's just general admission and it's just them, so two tickets doesn't even equal one Michael W. Smith ticket. Jared had just shared one of their songs in our family text string and he often has the cd in the player in the van. The concert is at a church about 1 hr away. Date night! And, special since I'm giving up two very expensive MWS concerts for it. The 4th concert is For King and Country Christmas and it is also expensive but I didn't know if Kellie and Kya would want to go to that. I would love to go to that one. It's downtown. So we'll see.

- And my hero made a very brave family decision after we learned more details about our trip to Michigan. It was never going to be just Gary and Leah and our family. It was a replacement for Gary's hiking trip, so he had invited that whole group and then kept inviting other people as well. That was not clearly communicated. And because of the many other physical factors for us like sleeping in a tent and driving all that way, and my concern about leaving Socks for that long, and Jared needing electricity for his heating pad, and yes, having to socialize with 5-6 other families that I don't really want to spend 4-5 days with and having to coordinate all that and then just learning yesterday at 4pm that there's a meeting planned right after church on Sunday to discuss the whole trip but no one invited or told us, Jared, as head of household, decided that we aren't going. Ok, I gave him my initial emotional reaction, and then he cut the cord. Say what? Wait a minute, you aren't going to let me stew and come to a more rational decision? Or maybe you were just looking for a way out yourself. Wow, ok. I didn't know you were halfway against the trip. We were going to the upper peninsula which is an 8 hr drive, spending 4 nights in a tent on an air mattress, doing tons of walking, and then driving I guess 8 hrs after walking 5 miles on the bridge. I didn't know that part. I thought we'd spend the night on Labor Day. And I hadn't even been part of the discussion of if we'd walk the whole bridge or not. At least the walking of the bridge, Macinac Island, Ste Saint Marie, etc are there every single year. Jared and I could do it on our own. I honestly don't know if Gary was going to help pay for our part of things like the campsite. So, that's over. I'm relieved, honestly. I'm sure Gary's going to ask if he can take the kids anyway. I don't know the answer to that. Jared said we could camp somewhere around here if we wanted to, and that's definitely something we could do. Well, we have the gear now and I didn't spend a lot for it. No love lost. Oh well. Jared will have to deal with the after math. And Gary and Leah need to realize that we don't want to spend time with all their friends all the time. We don't socialize like that. Less is better. And communication needs to improve. Praise God for a protective husband who has become decisive for me and doesn't make me feel bad when I have a gut feeling. Just as long as I can stand behind him and dodge the arrows and daggers of icy looks that will come my way. 

- In the afternoon, we went swimming on this hot, humid day. I spent a good portion of my swim trying to clean the scum off the bottom of the pool. It's just along the edges and sides but I think I'm going to add some algaecide tonight. The single chlorine tablet has lasted two days so far and will probably last another day or so. Yeah! That's great! I can't wait to add more ph down to it later. We'll see get there. I just need all the chemicals in the house at the same time. Then I'll be able to balance it. And by the time I balance it, it will be time to close it. That's ok. We'll keep learning! I just wish I had better strength to take care of the pool by myself. I had promised Jared I would do all the work, and bless his heart, he's helping me out by cleaning up all the sand sentiment that is still in there from the filter, and now we've got other floatie things, which I think are the leaves disintegrating finally, and we found the algae that I scrubbed today. He even had to push the filter handle for me to backwash and rinse the sand in the filter. My arms are sore from trying to pull off the solar cover and then cleaning the pool and of course playing in it. Grrrr. I guess I had thought I would get more help from Justin and Keturah. I didn't think Justin wouldn't get in. And Keturah hasn't been getting in as much as I thought she would either. And Abishai won't know how either. I'm a bit disappointed that the pool has now gotten so dirty over the last few days. I've got to work diligently this week to clean it. 

- But, we did have fun making whirlpools, throwing balls as bombs, and swimming after each other, just the three of us. I wanted to be near Jared again today and I got to be. Nothing beats lots of hugs and cuddles on the weekend when you hardly get any during the week.

It's Daddy Day! Learning how to make eggy toast with Daddy!

Dinosaury has a new friend! Meet, well, I don't think he has a name yet, but it's a triceratops backrest pillow I got Abishai from Aldi because I couldn't find what I wanted. He had seen it in the ad, and then I told myself no when I got groceries, so when we went in a second time, I said yes because the first thing he talked about using it for was read aloud time. Awwww. He's already laid all over it, used it in his yellow chair as a pillow, and on the couch to read.

Black Cherry ice cream in a cone for breakfast! Because he was a good boy and had eggy toast first. You are so spoiled kid!

Trying to learn a two wheeled bike going downhill is difficult. We'll have to do more practicing on the street, I'm sure.

He's not too sure about all of this. And it's been a long time since Jared taught the others. I think we'll try something else soon.

Sunday - Regrets

- Oh how I hate days like this! I overdid it in the pool yesterday! I need one of those hats I can wear in the pool. Yes, like a darn baby. I woke up with a horrible migraine. Well, I think it's because I hit my head directly into a piece of wood sticking out over the recycling basket. I literally went from being fine to crying and being mad in a second. I was actually going to be more teasingly mad, but Jared thought I was really mad. It just hurt sooooo much. And Abishai had hit me in the same spot a day earlier with his tablet because he wasn't looking where he was going and I was laying down on the green couch. So between my normal late bedtime, deep sleep and dreams, being outside in the pool and playing hard in the sun so I had really sore muscles, I woke up in a lot of pain. I felt woozy. And I have a couple of friends who have legitimate concussions, so I'm more aware of it being a thing. I mean, I used my whole body force to slam my head. I did eat an ice cream bar before bed as well, so I thought I could have had a stomach ache still from that, but that's not usually the case. And the wooziness and sleepiness lasted all morning today. I couldn't look at my phone. I couldn't stay awake to listen to the sermon. I felt ill even eating toast or drinking tea. I managed to put baked potatoes and fish into the oven when Jared texted me at 11:30am as the lunch idea. I didn't wake up again until 1pm when everyone came home from church.

- I hate being sick like that. I had to stay in the house all day out of the sun. I finally went out about 7:30pm to check pool chemicals. I used the other testing kit and actually what I thought was high pH was lower pH so I didn't add anything tonight besides more clarifier because the water was still murky. I think we'll have to try to vacuum up the aglae now that it is neutralized, but I don't know how because the suction is weak. Maybe Jared will have to carefully go in first and suction the bottom without disturbing the whole thing. I don't know. But there's that. At least it's been neutralized and it's not green. My soreness did eventually ease up. But the headache is still there. I haven't drank enough water today. I've barely functioned. I HATE migraines. I HATE chronic illness. I HATE relying on Jared so much for the simple things like taking kids to places. Keturah went to see her small group friends for a couple of hours this afternoon. I wish I could have done one of the trips. 

- BUT, Justin was able to drive himself to and from youth group all by himself and not wreck my car! You should have seen the grin on his face as he left! It was priceless! He'll wave me off, but he also won't yell at me when I get my phone out to photograph him either. He did practice using the truck around the neighborhood today, which is good because he needs to use it in the morning to get to work because Jared and I need our vehicles tomorrow. But we let him take my car all the way to New Pal. He did fine. Smooth is what he called it. Smooth like Han Solo flying his spaceship. Um, I don't remember that being a smooth ride. And as I have been starved for adult interaction the last few days, I had a one way conversation with myself and the Johnson text string this evening about the adventures of the afternoon and Justin's driving and going on a tangent about Han Solo and Justin being like him. I mean, Justin has the haircut, the chaotic lifestyle, the always getting in trouble because he doesn't know what he's doing, and he says, "I know." a lot. Oh, and then he told me that he doesn't need Chewbecca as a side kick, aka, Daddy and I are Chewbecca, all growly and hairy and yelling at Han Solo about his driving. Thanks, kid. It was nice to at least transport one less kid today when I was sick.

- Jared didn't take a nap though as I suspected. He did, however, start a painting project in the little bathroom and he won't share with me what that's all about. That wasn't planned. Meanwhile, I put a window dressing up in our bedroom and some photos of us when we were young. He also finished the red J again and put wheels on the bottom of it. Keturah did a little bit of mowing. Abishai had his usual screen time plus he and Keturah and Daddy finished Thor: The Dark World. They also all swam this evening. 

- I told myself I will start planning school tomorrow, but that will depend on how I feel after driving to Brownsburg for a homeschool playdate meet and greet and how my headache is doing. Tuesday might be a better day. I lost a day today when I couldn't do much. It sucks big time. I couldn't read, I couldn't do anything on my phone, I couldn't type, I could hardly move. I just slept and only because everyone was gone and it was quiet. I did check my lists and got to check off a few more summer things. So we did do some stuff. Oh, and I guess there's a couple of things I need to do tomorrow like send a gift to Stefanie for her birthday. I think I need to set some deadlines, too. But I can't even plan anything when I can't look at a screen or think straight when my head hurts like this. It sucks. But tomorrow is a new day.

Let's just say this is in response to the one thing Jared shared with me about today's sermon that I didn't actually listen to. But really, Enneagram 6's are very critical of themselves first and foremost anyways. They don't need anyone else to do it. So this Instagram account is one of THE best accounts because it's constantly affirming the positives that we have.

Ooooo, I actually did get up to something today. And I styled my DIY project just for you! I did not actually use the glue gun. But this is proof that I own one. I think I do have a bigger one somewhere. But this little guy does the trick and I pull it out maybe once a year.

I totally pulled this off with the twine and the flowers themselves. I totally impressed myself! Way to go, me! No hot glue needed! I didn't want to glue everything down because I might want to put the flowers back around the candle holders again since they were part of the mother's candles of the unity candle set. Again, I'm impressed that I got it together in just a few minutes and a few knots of some twine.

Before: This is what our bedroom windows have looked like for 5 years. I wanted to put blinds up because of privacy but unless you have the lights on at night, Jared reassures me you can't see in. And for me and my height, they are high up enough that you can't see anything anyway. We haven't opened these windows in a couple of years because of allergies. We do open the side window if we want to use the whole house fan. I didn't put anything on that window because I didn't want to crowd up the corner. Also, this is supposed to be my crafting corner. Jared took it over during Covid. I finally removed the extra dining room chair, a tub of clothes I brought in over a year ago, and other misc things that had got dumped here. I'm supposed to be able to scrapbook in here, thus the beautiful desk I purchased a year after we moved in here. The bins hold my handicraft supplies like knitting and plastic canvas and extra cross stitch stuff, as well as scrapbook stuff. I have tons and tons and tons of Creative Memories supplies from when I sold it.

Voila! Done! I had to really work on the right side because I was a little off in my figuring, but I did it! I used the previous nail and rod holders and some string to attach to them because our walls are old fashioned original to the house plaster and you can't use push pins in them, which is my go to. You can't even use nails that well. I just realized by looking at this that it is whimsical because of the diamond pattern on the windows, like medieval windows. I have loved that part of the house. There is tons of things I really don't like about this house, but it was the best find we could find in the housing market 5 years ago. But the lt green sheer fabric with the "forest" behind it does say "cottage." Nice!

The clock is from Jared's ministry ordination in 2011. As you can see, we have lots of mature trees in our mature 1960's neighborhood. I don't think Jared ever wanted blinds on this window anyways because it faces east and he likes to be woken up by the sun. His window in his bedroom growing up also faced east.

There's the little bouquet in place.

Justin driving off for the first time to the New Pal youth group. He drove around the block a lot in the truck to practice the stick shift, but we aren't comfortable just yet for him to be on the big roads with it. So, he took my car. He had a big grin on his face as he got in. It was a little less scary for me to let him go this time. It's a 10-15 minute drive to New Pal and all backroads along farm fields.

Off he goes!

Jared finally finished this project! He's been repairing and repainting this J all summer long. We found this paint when we were looking for paint for the big bathroom in April. It's called "100 mph." We knew we didn't want it in the bathroom, but Jared wanted to use it on something. Well, other wives would say it doesn't quite match the decor of the porch or the brick wall or whatever. But I knew he was thinking about how Abishai said those words, "100 mph" when he was 3 and running around and I didn't want it used anywhere else, and really, what a statement piece. All I have to say to people is, "Look for the bright red J on the front porch. You can't miss it." Jared also put wheels on it now so it's not so hard to move around! And they are red, too! The paint wasn't rated for outdoor use, so Jared had to put even more glossy clear coat on it. This bad boy is not going to need paint for a really long time now.

Sweet wheels!

I also added some photos to the bookcase in our room. I hadn't displayed any wedding photos besides our wedding album in our house. It was about time. My last summer bucket list item was to make our bedroom more inviting, less cluttered, and less like a dumpster. And yes, there's still dust on there, but there will always be dust so I left that for another day.

Parenting win/fail. Abishai enjoyed his afternoon playing Lego Marvel and being oh so comfy with his $15 new stuffie backrest friend. I just KNEW he would eventually put it in the yellow chair!

Uber comfy gamer.

This was a DIY we did NOT discuss. What are you doing in here? Why all the painter's tape? Why two different kinds? And why up the side of the vanity? I don't want my vanity changed. Boy! Stop it! When he said to trust him earlier and he had a blue color in his paint pot I thought he was going to paint some parts for a new cabinet in the big bathroom. He said he was taping something off. I hadn't been in this bathroom all afternoon. Um, what the heck!? Stop. Just stop. At first, I was like, ok maybe he's just doing the border there, but now that I'm looking at this picture, I realize he might be doing the vanity. Um, no, now I really do need to step in. You can't undo that if I don't like it. Back it up, boy!

The new driver has returned! In one piece! And the vehicle is also in one piece! Yeah! He says, "I'm the best navigator. I'm Han Solo!" as he walked back out the door because he forgot something in the vehicle. Justin! You are such a goofball! And as far as I can remember, Han Solo was exactly the opposite of a smooth pilot. So, that started a whole host of memes I sent Justin. He does have Solo's haircut, confused look, catch phrases like, "I know," and demure smile. And he has a fluffy side kick, Chewbecca/Socks. So, he could pull off Han Solo. Maybe. Anyway, I'm glad he made it there and back, safe and sound. My 2nd born is on the road! Crazy! Two down, two to go! Freedom!

 

The End