This Week at Our House #10

Green Eggs and Ham for St. Patrick's Day

1. John took Kate and Johnny down to Provo High for the MyTech High show case night. Johnny and Kate displayed their Flash programs. John said that their projects compared favorably to the other students. After that, John showed Kate and Johnny his old locker from his highs school days.
2. My sister Amber came to visit this week. I had a lot of fun having her here. My kids loved her and fought over whose best friend she was. I had a great time going out to dinner with my sisters, Amy and Amber and my sister in law Marie. I don't spend much time with my own siblings. I really enjoyed getting to know them and about them a little better.
3. Ruth's  getting the meaning of "studious". I think she now realizes that when she studies, she needs to study until she knows that topic completely. I was really pleased with Ruth when she stayed home Thursday night to study for her English exam and thoroughly learned the subject matter.
4. Kate's discovered "Dr. Who". I can get her to do anything by promising her a number of "Dr. Who" episodes. John gave Ruth and Kate 6 episodes if they put all of the kids to bed and cleaned the entire downstairs. Kate even dusted and decluttered. I'll be sad when we run out of "Dr. Who" episodes.
5. Johnny played around a lot this week, mainly because my sister was here. I had a very hard time getting Johnny to be productive at all. I wonder if he was ever as unproductive in public school as he tries to be in homeschool. Why is it that smarter kids are the lazier kids?
6. Adam had a lot of fun with my sister showing her all of his gymnastic stunts on the tramp. Last night, we got home from John's brother's house at 1am. When John checked to make sure all of the kids made it into their beds, he found Adam huddled in the corner with a book light reading the Book of Mormon.
7. It's such a wonderful thing seeing your kids grow little by little and become a little more responsible. Rachel is beginning to be more reliable. Since Rachel is only the 5th child, this is a relief to me. I need her to care for herself and her things and she is slowly beginning to do that. In the last few months I have had many conversations about taking care of her things. Rachel combs her dolls hair and tries to keep her things in order. She is working on proving that she can have nice things like Ruth and Kate. I am pleased with Rachel.
8. We spent some time up in the mountains this week. Anya cried whenever we had to leave. She was just a little fairy playing in the woods near the river exploring and discovering all of the wild life.
9. Joseph, my get into everything boy, had a good week. He loved hanging out with my sister and hiking in the mountains. As a result, he got into less trouble.
10. Josh fell into the river (up to his waste) got chilled in the cool spring air and developed a fever. He may have developed that fever anyway, it just didn't seem unrelated. He spent the next two days crying and being grumpy. Ugh 2 year olds!
11. Baby Arwen was as cute and as happy as ever. We are very blessed with such a relaxed, happyy little girl.  

This Week's Pictures

 

This Week at Our House #9

1. John was sick half the week, which means he slept half the week.
2. I feel redundant by saying it was a busy week for me. Actually, I am wondering when things will calm down, and this next week is not it. I started running outside early in the morning for the first time. I ran 2 miles and walked 1 on Monday. I ran 5 miles and walked .5 on Tuesday, and I ran 3.25 miles on Thursday. I was supposed to run Saturday, but I cleaned the fridge instead. One of the biggest events of my week was my trip up to the State Capitol to see the committee meeting on the non-discrimination bill. This is what I wrote to my fellow United Families Utah friends: I have to complain about the meeting today. The author of the bill said that it only effects jobs and housing. He was deceitful in that statement.  (No one thinks that people should not get and retain jobs or get a home because of sexual orientation. There is actually no documentation of this being a problem in Utah. If there was there would be lawsuits. Gay people use judges all the time.) The fact that the other senators took him at face value made me wonder if they read the bill. I read the bill last night. The Bill also stated that employers had to allow people to use which restroom or dressing room or shower room according to the gender they feel like with maybe some medical record documentation. The bill also said that this applied to selling goods. The selling goods could mean a fertility doctor that only wants to help married heterosexual couples conceive, or wedding photographers that only want their art to support their beliefs, or t-shirt companies that don't want to print gay pride shirts.You guys know this has been a real problem in other states with these sorts of laws. It really seemed like most of the senators had their minds made up before they came and really they just want to feel like they embrace diversity and so does UT, without any serious reflection on how this will affect UT families and businesses.
3. Ruth got contact lenses this week. Yes, I skipped the whole glasses thing. I bought glasses for her 2 years ago and she lost them after a mere 3 months. She also complained about how ugly she looked in glasses. This time, I went straight for contacts, but since she is know seeing at 20/40, she will need glasses as a second choice for when she begins driving soon.
4. Kate came with me to the State Capitol. She left feeling rather unhappy. One of the people to speak for the bill declared that she is a good Mormon, the Young Women's president, and apparently one of the leaders in her chapter of Affirmation and Mormon's Building Bridges. (They are a group lobbying the church leaders into accepting gay marriage. They feel like the homosexual lifestyle fits in well with the gospel. They also participate in gay pride parades.) This is the first time Kate has been exposed to this. We've spent much of the last few days reading talks and scriptures on the matter of sexual purity.
5. Johnny has been spending a lot of time building intricate lego ships. It is nice to see him doing something creative without prompt. I am always very glad that I made the computer/wii 2 days a week rule. Johnny does a whole lot more these days.
6. Adam's enjoying reading!!!! For months, Adam has been telling me that he hates reading and it is just not his thing. Since he has been off track (3 week school vacation as part of year round school), I have been making him read an hour a day. After a week and a half of forced reading, Adam is reading on his own in the mornings and at night before he goes to sleep. Then Adam tells me about what he's reading because he's excited about it! Yay!!!!!!
7. Rachel is reading on her own too. Rachel yanked for a long time on one of her top front teeth and got it out with some of the root still part of the tooth. She really wanted a dollar. I always think it is cute to see those two front teeth missing and hear the lispy talk.
8. Anya is having a hard time right now. I think she really just needs more personal time with mom and dad. I have been trying to find ways to work in some one on one time. I think it is hard being in the middle of a large family. Hopefully, I can peacefully help her work through her little issues. She is such a sweet girl.
9. I am now Joseph's primary teacher. I am actually glad to have those two hours a week special for Joseph. I have been making Joseph spend a lot more time around me and doing chores with me and such in order to keep a better eye on him. Hopefully, we will have fewer things broken by the time he turns five.
10. Josh looked at the seams down Kate's jeans and happily declared, "A Track!" Josh LOVES cars, and trucks, and trains! He sleeps with a couple of cars every night. Josh learned how to jump out of his crib this week. Fortunately, he is still staying there long enough to fall asleep.
11. Arwen came with me to the Capitol too. She was really great the first two hours, but she fussed on and off the next two hours. Still, she's such a cutie and so friendly with everyone. I quite love bringing her along with me.

Daddy Daughter Dance 2013

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This Week at Our House # 8

1. John spent a lot of time finishing the floor. John hates house projects. He really doesn't like anything that takes him out of his usual routine and he especially hates staying up late at night doing manual labor. John hasn't complained once during this big project. He hasn't said that there are other things he would rather be doing, he has just done it. We still have all of the transitions and a little more trimming to finish. But the floor is completely usable and we can now get all of the furniture in place.
2. I spent a lot of time on the floor this week too, but not as much as John. I took it pretty easy exercise wise this week and will be picking up full speed starting tomorrow morning. The half marathon is in 12 to 13 weeks from now and I will be starting on a pretty intense training schedule. I am nervous about this, but I have prepared. I have run 5 miles now, even though it took a full hour. Actually, I really pushed it in the end to make sure I got 5 miles in an hour. If I keep that up, I think I can plan on 2.5 hours for a half marathon time. My only goal is to run the whole way. The rest of my week I spent playing with little kids, helping with homework, cleaning and cleaning and cleaning some more, and running errands-- such is the life of a mom of many.
3. Ruth focused on homework and grades, and resting this week. Ruth cares about sleep a lot now. She comes home from school and immediately puts her pajamas on. If she has to go back out, she will change back. This amuses me because in kindergarten she came home and stripped down to her underwear. Once she turned 6, we told her she had to stay clothed.
4. I just love having Kate home with me. Every now and then I wonder if I should have sent her to school the last two years rather than homeschooling her, but I wouldn't give back these two years of having a lot of time getting to know and hanging out with my Kate. She's one amazing girl. I love watching her interact with her younger siblings. They all love her. Kate was one of Joshua's first words and she deserved that honor.
5. Johnny plunged along all week in his school work. Some days he gets everything finished in a couple of hours and some days he stretches it out until 5 pm. Johnny is my best kid on the piano. I think he has talent here and I am glad that he so willing practices.
6. Adam is off track, so he did not have any school this week. I told him that I would pay him $5 at the end of his vacation if he reads one hour every week day. He's been very honorable about it. The weather is still on and and off and Adam, not being able to spend much time outside, seems to prefer to spend his free time picking on Rachel and Anya. I wish he'd choose to focus on another talent. Yes, he's pretty good at annoying girls, but I don't think this will help him with future career and family.
7. Rachel has the same "read one hour/earn $5" deal. And, wow! By Friday, Rachel's reading had improved 100%. By Friday, Rachel was enjoying reading and spent extra time reading books to the younger kids and John.
8. Anya loves our little neighbor, Gracie. She asks to play with Gracie everyday. Unfortunately, Gracie was either sick or not home everyday this past week. Hopefully, Gracie will be around more this next week. Anya has definitely gotten to the point in her life where friends are important.
9. Joseph had a better week. I think it had something to do with the fact that he actually could go outside some. As far as I know, Joseph didn't break anything besides other kids lego creations and that would be a record for this winter. That boy has a lot of curiosity and energy. I have been reading things to help me take care of him and be more patient with him.
10. Josh is at the stage where he doesn't eat anymore. It always surprises me when the piggy little one year old turns two and quits eating. Three weeks ago, Josh ate more than Ruth. Now all Josh wants right now is milk and apples. I suppose if that is what he wants to survive on, I should be happy.
11. Arwen turned 7 months this last week. She is still not crawling, nor does she seem interested in doing so. She does mimic our sounds, and she now has two top teeth and two bottom teeth. Arwen is still our contented, happy little ball of sunshine. I am ever grateful, we got our lucky number 9. I never expected to have more than 8 children, and now I cannot imagine life without my perfect little daughter, Arwen.

This weeks pictures

This is Adam wrapped up in an air compressor, telling Anya not to play with the wood.

 And just for comparison: Here is the old floor

Removing Carpet and Laying Laminate

 First we moved out all of the furniture. This is where the couch was. I promise, I clean out from under my couch, I just have too many kids who put things under the couch as a way to "clean up".

 Next we removed all of the carpet and pad. We cut the carpet out in small pieces to make it easy to take to the dump. We removed the carpet and pad, put it in the back of the van, and drove it to the dump. I saved a few remnants for the garage.

 Once the carpet was removed we got to see the condition of our slab foundation. There was this large red spot. I joked that someone was killed there during construction. John didn't like the joke and told the kids someone spilt fruit punch. Really, we have no idea, but it did look gross.

 We stacked all of our furniture neatly in the kitchen. You can tell we have moved a lot because John didn;t have to think twice about how to stack a room full of furniture in a very small area.

 We cleaned the cement and filled in the cracks before putting in the foam underlaying.

 John is filling in the holes made by the carpet nail strips.

 Putting in the underlaying was trickier then we expected. It bubbled and moved too easily. When we started laying the floor, we had to be careful to offset all of the seams in the boards like bricks. We had to put things in for spacers or the entire floor would move as we pounded together more boards.

 We set the table saw up in the garage and good thing too. I couldn't believe how much saw dust a few cuts make.

Some parts around corners and such were tricky. We had to make patterns and trace them on the boards before cutting.

We ran short by about a box of wood. So we will buy a couple more boxes tomorrow and finish the project. I did not realize there would be so much waste from fitting the pieces in so the seams were not next to each other. Next time, I will know better and buy enough wood to begin with. We will finish laying tomorrow and trimming on Tuesday. I look forward to getting my kitchen back from our furniture and not having to fret when something spills. I think the floor looks good and I am so glad to get rid of the carpeting on our main floor.

This Week at Our House #7

1. John had a busy week-- again. But seriously, does anyone ever not have a busy week??? However, this week happened to be busier than the average because we ripped out the living room carpet and began replacing it with a laminate floor. This "get rid of carpet and replace it with wood" was completely my idea. I bought all of the supplies and said I was doing it. My dear husband, who hates house and yard projects, did the bulk of the work and he did it with a smile. We went to bed with about 98% of the laminate laid and after we ran out of boards at 5am Sunday morning. John is a hero. Oh, and on the way home from picking up a table saw, we got caught in a blizzard, slipped off the road and burst a tire on the curb. "Eventful" is an understatement for our week.
2. My week began a little rough with sick kids, and ended with a bang of a house project. Thankfully, John's parents, brother and sister in law came to help. They even changed our tire, and they are coming one more time to help us with the finishing touches. Between sick kids, furniture moving, carpet removal, school volunteering, parent conference thingy, floor laying, and Ruth and Kate's musical performance, I did not exercise at all the whole week. Ah well, I will try to do better this week.
3. Ruth played an orphan in the school musical "Annie". She looked lovely on stage. I really enjoyed watching Ruth sing and dance on stage. I think Ruth had fun doing the show. I know Ruth is glad the show is over because she missed her free time. 
4. Kate played an orphan in the school musical "Annie". She looked adorable on stage. The main reason Kate did the musical was to help her make friends before returning to public school next school year. Mission accomplished. Kate had a ton of fun, and made lots of friends.
5. Johnny was one of the sick kids this week. He actually enjoyed being sick and taking time off from school work. By Friday Johnny felt well again and helped a lot with the floor. On Saturday, Johnny helped put in the floor until about 11:30pm when he begged to be sent to bed. Hmmm... is that how you get kids to go to bed?-- tell them to work until they are begging to go????
6. I volunteered to do an art project in Adam's second grade class this week, and then I stayed for lunch. I took Anya along. When Adam saw Anya he picked her up, spun her around, and introduced her to his friends. Adam showed Anya an empty desk near him, and helped her. At lunch, Adam found Rachel and gave her a big hug. Adam ate lunch with Anya and a bunch of girls because all the girls thought Anya was cute and wanted to sit with her and Anya. Saturday, Adam eagerly helped lay the floor. He excitedly learned how to do it and about all of the tools. He was downright excited and energized about the whole thing.
7. I ate lunch at school with Rachel and then went to recess with her. She keeps asking me to come again. I liked seeing Rachel in her school environment. I really like that parents can eat lunch at school with their kids. Rachel excitedly told me on Wednesday that she finally made it to the "B group" for reading. She said that she had to work really hard for a long time to get there. Yay Rachel! Rachel, Anya, and their cousin trashed the upstairs of our house while the floor was being layed. Ugghhh...that is why I don't like big house projects.
8. Anya played the adorable little angel when I took her to school. She quietly soaked up all the attention with absolute bliss.
9. Joseph had a crazy toddler boy week. He didn't wet his pants at all but he purposely ran into his brother's puke, stood in the toilet bowl, played with the toilet fixtures in the back of the toilet, wrestled hard enough to get a big bruise on his cheek, played in the snow in boots and underwear only, and put makeup all over his face. Joseph really tries my patience and punishment doesn't work for him at all. I have to keep reminding myself that he is just curious, not malicious and that "this too, shall pass".
10. Josh was sick this week and as a result super, extra cuddlely. He wanted to be held all day everyday. That is tough to do. I hate turning my babies down for cuddles, but I have to do other things besides sit and hold a fussy baby.
11. Arwen is really getting around now by scooting on her belly. I wasn't quite prepared for this, so Arwen got away and touched the burning hot gas fireplace. She cried in pain for about three hours. After that she was fine. She has several blisters, but is healing well. I having been keeping her hand smothered in neosporin with a sock over it. 

This Week's Pictures

 

Marriage blah, blah, blah

I'm guessing because of Valentine's Day, there has been a lot to read about marriages-- how to save them, what an uphill battle it is, what to do and how to behave, etc. I have never felt like marriage is uphill or a battle or hard. I know that life is an uphill battle, and often hard. But marriage, well I feel like marriage is what makes the battle through life better. I wouldn't want to climb those steep hills without my companion--partner--bff--spouse-- climbing right there beside me. Sure, sometimes we want to climb in different directions, but hey, sometimes I can't even agree with myself which direction is best. I just wouldn't want life without my spouse. He makes everything feel better.