This Week at Our House # 12

1. John has been sick a lot. I really want him to lose weight and exercise more. I think that will make a big difference for him. Work is still going well, though.
2. I have been at musical practice a lot. Adam and Rachel really like to have me there. Though it makes life much, much busier. The first show is tomorrow night.
3. Ruth had a great weekend hanging out with her friends. She and Kate went to a stake dance in Bountiful and had a lot of fun. A lot of guys asked Ruth to dance and for the first time, Ruth gave a guy her phone number.
4. Kate had the same fun weekend as Ruth. I think she enjoyed the dance, but not as much as Ruth did. Kate got sick at school just as I dropped her off, but I had already driven off. So she had to wait a long time to get in touch with me and to be picked back up. 
5. Johnny has still been busy with school work. I am so happy that he has taken the initiative and has done all of his own work. The end of term is in just over a week and it looks like Johnny has his first 4.0. He has always had a 3.96 or 3.90, so his grades are excellent, but I think he is really starting to care.
6. Adam cannot wait for the musical to be over. But he still says that he wants to do it again. Adam actually got all of his reading for his book report finished on time, but he forgot to write the report. So he wrote it in the morning and as he had time throughout the school day and handed it in by the end of the day.
7. Rachel's doing very well in school. She has tons of friends and tons of stories about her friends. She is adorable in the musical because she is so much smaller than the next smallest kid.
8. Anya is still faking stomach aches. She came to me the other day and said, "I know you won't believe me, but my stomach really hurts." I told her no way and to do her chores and later she forgot all about it and ate dinner and dessert.
9. John got mad that Joseph has homework as a kindergarten student so he ripped it up and told Joseph to tell his teacher he's not allowed to have homework. Well, I think John had the opposite affect on Joseph. Joseph is trying really hard to get all of his homework done while at school and during the car ride home.
10. Joshua's been doing a lot better about not peeing his pants. He likes to sit on John's shoulders, but John always has him check to see if he wet his pants even a little first. Maybe someday Josh will actually get his promised train ride.
11. I have been potty training Arwen. She is starting to pee when I put her on the toilet. She really hates it when she wets her pants but until 2 days ago did not know what to do. Hopefully, she'll be better than Joseph.
12. Suzy loves to be held and cuddled all day long. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I need a break.

This Week's Pictures

This Week at House # 11

I can't believe I missed a week. I will just sum things up quickly and get on to last week.

We've been kind of recovering from the time change. Kind of because we are really enjoying the later nights as well as the little ones sleeping in a little later. I had to wake Joseph up every single morning. On Wednesday, he goes to school between 10:30 and 1:00. I woke him up at 10 and said that he really slept in. Joseph told me that he was not just sleep, but that he was making up a dream. Ruth and Kate have been working hard at school. Johnny has 4 big projects and he has been doing just a little bit everyday.

On the Monday over a week ago, I sat in the car line in front of a car with a sticker that had the sillouette of 2 seductively posed women in a sexual stance with each other. Joseph was sitting right there and I fretted about whether or not I should tell him to look away. I said nothing, but decided to do a family home evening lesson on pornography and what to do when you see it. Apparently Johnny had run into an add with nearly naked women while doing research for his class for the first time in his life. I felt blessed to have thought about doing that lesson that night.

We asked each of the boys what they needed to do if they saw a naked or immodest girl. Johnny, Adam, and Joseph immediately said to look away, turn off the computer, and tell mom and dad. Joshua said kill them.

I drove down to Orem to use my sister in law's sewing machine to get Adam and Rachel's costumes made for their musical. They have been having a lot more practice time, and I have been there volunteering most days. That has left the kids home without me lot and Anya and Joseph's homework more or less undone.

Suzy and Arwen are doing well. Josh, Suzy, and Arwen take turns being extra cuddly with me every morning.

All in all life has just been speeding by and everything has been fine.

This Week at Our House # 10

1. If I act at all worried about his job, John makes me sit next to him while he explains in detail exactly what he has accomplished, the problems he is having, what he is doing to solve them, and what he has left to do. I think it must be a punishment. But he's doing well and progressing on schedule.
2. I am hanging in there. I am feeling a little impatience about getting the repairs and things done in the house. And of course, we are getting to the point where everyone is tired of school and homework while big projects pile in.
3. Ruth took the ACT on Tuesday. She had a practice on Saturday that she did well on. We'll get her score in 3 to 4 weeks. But I cannot put the score on my blog without her permission. Her 17th birthday is this month. Time has flown!! Ruth will be voting in the next presidential election. 
4. Kate had Tuesday off from school. The littlest kids have been feverish, while the rest of the kids have had a cough and cold. So Kate spent her day off lying on the couch watching movies with Josh and Arwen. I spent that day driving every one to and from school.
5. Johnny has big projects coming at him from all sides. Though, unlike last year, he is keeping up with his deadlines and doing all of his homework without any nagging from me.
6. I had parent/teacher conference this week and as usual, Adam got a glowing report. He's a perfect student, and a good friend. 
7. Rachel is almost to level with reading and while she finds math quite challenging, she is doing well. Currently, she is learning long division. Rachel has no behavior issues and has lots and lots of friends. I volunteer with the musical sometimes, and get to see Rachel interact with her friends. 
8. Anya gets glowing reviews for her academics. She is well ahead for her grade and she tests well ahead too. But she does get a little too chatty. He class is doing a little opera they wrote, and Anya has a big part and is loving it. I did not know about it, though, until her teacher told me.
9. I asked John what he thought the two most non-surprising things Joseph's teacher would say about him. He guessed them without hesitation. Joseph has trouble staying in his seat and getting into the teachers things. We are NOT surprised. He has been rummaging through everyone's rooms and stealing money and hiding it in odd places and then forgetting where he put it. That boy needs the woods explore!!!! On a side not, Joseph grabbed a jalapeno from a jar on the counter thinking it was a pickle. He took a bite and distressingly said,"There is something wrong with these pickles!"
10. I gave Josh a children's benadryl melt away pill. He licked it three times and said, "This belongs in the trash, Mom". 
11. Arwen's been sick with a fever and cold. She's had a rough winter with illness, 
12. Suzy had a very high fever this week and has wanted nothing but lots and lots of cuddles. Her fever has finally dropped.

This Week's Pictures

It's happened! This will be the end of little girl smiles for Anya. Soon she will have her big front teeth.

This Week at Our House #8

1. John's job continues to go well. And since he is working from home, he still has plenty of time with the family.
2. I thought after I quit work I'd get a lot more done. If more sleep counts, then I'm doing well. 
3. Ruth's so stressed about the upcoming ACT. We looked at a website that helps you determine if you have a good chance of getting into certain colleges. I think that made her more nervous, even though it looks like she should get into her first choice. And wow, I cannot believe I am getting to this point with my own children. It seems like this was me not that long ago. 
4. Kate's very happy that she does not have to worry about the ACT for another year. 
5. We are trying to figure out what to do for Johnny for school next year. We might send him away with Ruth and Kate or we might have him go to school for chemistry, orchestra, and seminary and do the rest at home. He'll be 14 just as he begins the 10th grade, so I am feeling a little nervous sending him to big high school. Legacy Prep has been wonderful. I wish they were still going to the 12th grade.
6. Adam's done a great job on some big projects he's had for school. He's basically completed them alone and they turned out well and even comparable to the kids whose projects were mostly done by parents.
7. Rachel's going through something. She has been yelling and screaming and on edge. I've finally gotten her calmed down long enough to have a solid conversation on self control and choices. Hopefully, she'll really calm down and try and make some good decisions on how to behave.
8. Anya's doing better at not lying since we made it a policy to not believe anything she tells us. It seems that she is starting to internalize "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".
9. Joseph has been climbing on everything. He particularly seems to like sitting on top of the toy shelf. He's been playing outside again more. The winter and Joseph and I have never been good friends. Joseph needs to move around and explore.
10. Josh has been pretty awful about primary, so I've started doing a practice primary lesson every morning with Joseph, Josh, and Arwen. I'll see if it helps him with church, but I know it is good for his soul to be getting a more personal gospel instruction each and every day. We spend a lot of family time reading and talking about the scriptures and relating them to our lives and current events, but I think the little ones can get left by the wayside because it is just not interesting for them yet.
11. Arwen's hair is finally growing in and looking nice and that just makes me so happy. 
12. Suzy climbs up and down the stairs. She's such a cute and curious little girl. We all just adore her.

This Week at Our House # 7

1. I can't even say how awesome it is to have John working and his work going well and being accepted by his employers. John probably would say the same thing, except that he would add, just how awesome it is to work from home. He wastes no time on driving and he can sleep in and take naps and work in the middle of the night if he desires.
2. I finished my last week of work. I worked with some pretty great people and I liked that I moved around a lot, but I am glad to be back home. The kids are glad that I am back too. Several of them had been praying that I would quit my job.
3. I dropped Ruth off at the mall to buy herself some shoes on Saturday and she came home with a skirt. So I took her to Target on Monday and she came home with shoes, hair dye, and a new hair straightener, some make-up and a little bit sad about how much all that stuff costs.
4. I just love Kate. I love having her around and hearing what she has to say about school and her school work and her friends. When she helps me with housework and the little kids, she always does such a great job. 
5. Johnny keeps John company by playing all of his nerdy games with him. And Johnny is such a good conscientious boy. Every night after the little kids go to bed, Johnny offers to get John or I a treat. I can't believe I have such awesome, easy going teenagers.
6. John made Adam do his own school project and he did a really good job. Adam wanted Johnny to do it for him, but felt much better doing it all on his own. Adam can do a lot and is really smart, but he hesitates to do things in case he fails.
7. Rachel has been arguing with me no matter what I say. But, she is now trying to do better and be more compliant. She made it one whole day without arguing.
8. Anya lost one front tooth. I went to her classroom for her Valentine's party. She's a cutie with a messy desk.
9. Joseph and Joshua drive me nuts. They wrestle all of the time. Joseph has scratches down his face from Josh. Unfortunately, I had to take them both to the store. They kept running off. I almost turned a corner so they could not see me and then it occurred to me that while their little boy antics drive me crazy, I am so glad that I have the two of them right there together messing everything up and driving me nuts. I may actually miss their antics some day.
10. Josh insists on being called Joshua. Then he will say, "I want to be good." So to tease him, and call him Good.
11. Arwen has Molluscum contagiosum, these small wart like bumps. Johnny caught it years ago and we have not been able to get rid of them as the younger kids keep picking it up. Recently I read that lemon juice gets rid of skin tags, so I thought I would try it on these bumps. It is working really well. I think we will finally be able to get rid of them, but the lemon juice burns just a little bit. One morning as I was changing Arwen's diaper I remembered that I needed to put lemon juice on her bumps. I called Johnny to get me a small bowl of lemon juice. Arwen yelled, "No, Johnny! Don't do it!" As Johnny came down the stairs, Arwen yelled. "Johnny, go back upstairs." As Johnny went toward the kitchen Arwen said, "No, Johnny, don't go there. Go upstairs." Then as a last ditch, she pleaded, "Johnny you like upstairs."
12. Susan can crawl up the stairs, oh my. She loves to eat all of the time. She will chase the pile of dirt while we sweep hoping to find a treat, and she always checks out under the table for snacks. She's kind of like the cats.

This Week's Pictures

This Week at Our House # 6

1. I am very late in posting this. I am pleased to report that John's job is going very well and he is making his early deadlines with regular working hours.
2. I am currently on my last week of work. We will be getting a tax return and John will be getting paid sometime in March, so we will be covered. The kids keep praying for me to quit. So Friday will be my last day. I worked with really great people and in a peaceful environment, but I will be glad to have my time with the older kids again.
3. Ruth's so busy will school and working. She's learning that if she wants enough time for school work and ACT practice, she has to say no sometimes.
4. Kate helped a lot with the housework for another week. But she is a champ. She wrote a very sarcastic essay for the writing portion of her common core sage test. It was all about climate change and environmentalism. Kate said she was not going to let the government manipulate her into becoming an environmentalist, so instead of writing how to save coral reefs and help the environment she wrote instructions on, according to scientists, what people can do to destroy the coal reef.
5. Johnny's sure growing up. Right now life is pretty easy for Johnny. He works very quickly, so he hardly has homework and has lots of free time for reading, video games, and books. But I make him work a lot around the house.
6. Adam is a bit swamped with book reports and big projects for school right now. Adam's a bright little guy and does very well, but he thinks he is dumb because academics are so easy for school. He got 100% on a heart anatomy test, and I said, "see, you are smart enough to become a dentist or a doctor!" He another one more exam that he only got 93% on and thought he spoiled his chance for becoming a doctor-- silly boy.
7. Rachel has been arguing non-stop. I can't say anything to her without her yelling at me and telling me I am wrong, and she is only 8!
8. Anya has been lying a lot. We've dealt with this before and made it through. I hope we can convince her that being truthful is better.
9. I had a funny conversation with Joseph as I dropped him off at school. He pointed to a boy and said, "That's Mason. He is nice, He let me help him spell cough." I asked if that was for the spelling test and Joseph said that indeed it was and Mason was so nice to let him help. (Face palm)
10. Joshua LOVES legos and can look at the instructions and put the pieces together with little help. 
11. Arwen draws and draws all day long and you can tell by looking at our walls.
12. When I get Susan up in the morning, she just snuggles up close to me and rests her head against mine. I tool her to get her well check and vaccinations. She is 14 pounds and in the 3% and 26 inches and in the 23%. I guess she will be tall and thin. But she sure does eat a lot!!

This Week's Pictures

This Week at Our House # 5

1. Well, what a crazy week it was. Arwen starting throwing up Monday afternoon, and soon there after most of the rest of us got sick too. John began his new job on Monday and was sick on Tuesday. This is where the perks of working at home come into play. John worked half days and Saturday and the middle of the night when he was up, and got his full work week in even though he was sick about 4 days.
2. I took work off Wednesday night for illness and I rarely get sick. I didn't have influenza or the last stomach flu with the kids. But this time, I had a fever for about a day and a stomach ache and some nausea for about 3 days.
3. Ruth felt sick and stayed home from school on Wednesday.
4. Kate was one of two family members to stay well. Because of the sickness, I did not get my usual deep cleaning done during the week. Kate helped me to catch up on Saturday. I think it was a bit of a shock for her. I get the downstairs decluttered, reorganized, thoroughly swept  and washed once a week. It takes about 2 hours. Kate helped clean off surfaces, sweep the stairs, reorganize the toys, clean the desk, and wash the floors. I cleaned out from under couches and the piano, did the laundry, reorganized the toys, swept out the pantries, swept the floors, and washed the floors. Then we cleaned the bathrooms together. I usually do this all myself. I loved having a cleaning buddy, but I don't think my cleaning buddy loved working with me.
5. Johnny stayed well until Saturday. When he knew that he was sick, he quit eating anything and ended up being okay stomach wise. But I think he may have been a little fevery.
6. Adam was sick Tuesday night and better by Friday. He has really bad excema on his hands. I've been using eucerin all winter and it is just not working. I recently switched to coconut oil and that seems to be working just a little better.
7. Rachel was only sick on Sunday. She did not miss any school at all. In fact, I would say that with all of the sickness going around in our family since December, Rachel has probably stayed the healthiest and I think she is proud of that.
8. Anya has been saying that she is sick everyday since October. I know that she is not being honest, and it is getting very frustrating. It started when she had a UTI and got to skip her homework and watch TV. Now she says she is sick before school, at homework and chore times, and before church. We have called her out and talked to her about it, but she still persists. Right now we are just ignoring it and making her do everything no matter what she says. The funny thing, though, she told me the story of the "Boy who Cried Wolf". She seemed to really like it and find it meaningful. I wish she'd learn the lesson in it.
9. Joseph never got sick either. but now he has a very runny nose and a cough. Blah, we have had too much illness this winter!
10. Joshua threw up twice on Tuesday night, and once in his bed on Thursday night, but he never woke up. I find it so odd that I have some kids who sleep through puking.
11. Arwen brought the illness into the house. I think she must have picked it up from nursery. It seemed to have about a 24 hour incubation period and it was pretty much 24 hours from nursery to Arwen puking. Arwen threw up 5 times. We have not had that much puking in a row in a long, long time. Ruth, Kate, and Johnny used to get the stomach flu where they would throw up every 20 minutes for hours, but the younger kids really haven't had that much.
12. I knew Susan was sick because she would not be put down. I knew she was better when she went off to play again. Now Susan has a very runny nose, but I am going to take her in to get her next set of vaccinations soon anyway.
    
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