- John had a phone interview for a job in Orem, UT that he said went well. He was also contacted by Microsoft for some more information, but we aren't so sure that would be a good place for our family as it is very liberal with a high cost of living.
- I spoke too soon about Susan sleeping. She has been letting me get around 3 to 5 hours of sleep a night. The main trouble seems to be that she will not go asleep before 2 or 3 and then she keeps waking up to eat every hour or two. I have been hazy from lack of sleep and feel a bit like things are out of control because of it. On a nice side, my mom bought me a laptop and now for the first time, I have my own laptop to do my writing on. I love it!!
- Ruth is such a big help. While I was trying to make up for 3 hours of sleep during the day on Friday, she secretly cleaned 2 bathrooms. Ruth is currently spending a lot of time writing and drawing for a contest. I haven't peeked too much yet, but when she did this 2 years ago, she did an amazing job. She is an even better artist now.
- Kate really hates her online gym class. It makes her cry pretty much every time she sits down to work on it. Poor girl. 14 to about 15.5 seems to be an emotional age for my girls.
- We finally got back to the library and Johnny has been reading Agatha Christie books with Ruth, Kate, and I. Johnny has really expanded his reading in the last several months. In the past, he would only read fantasy and comics. Now he reads classics and mysteries as well.
- Two weeks ago I told Adam that if he stopped sucking his finger for 30 days straight, we would find a way to purchase either the lego set or the Go game he wants. Adam has gone 14 days without sucking his finger. Given that, I am pretty sure that Adam is stressed about John's job loss.
- I am having Rachel do a lot of reading, summer reading worksheets for Legacy Prep, and now she is learning cursive. I feel a little bad about it because she just finished school. I am so glad that we will not have to deal with year round school anymore. She is being a good sport about it all and not complaining or anything.
- I gave Anya the Book of Mormon stories for her to read for scriptures. I told her she only needed to read one or two squares a day. She has been sitting down and reading it for about an hour a day.
- Joseph has been easier and a lot more helpful recently. There are still those times of day where he is moving all over the place and being pretty wild, but it is nice to see that he is starting to mature. He turns 5 next Sunday and starts school exactly one month later. I am a bit nervous about sending my wild boy to school. Hopefully he will do well. I was worried about Adam too and he is just the greatest in school. Time will tell...
- Josh says "I love you" whenever he does something he knows he shouldn't have, like poop his pants. At this point I am hoping that he will potty train by kindergarten.
- The reality of having a new baby and a high maintenance baby at that has finally set in with Arwen and she is having a tough time and needing a lot of reassurance. Arwen's new phrase is "stop it," and she is saying it to everyone all of the time. She picked it up from me because I have been saying it to her nonstop as she picks the baby's face or tries to grab her up or lick her or all the other things she is trying to do to Susan right now. We are having a bit of a difficult cycle with that because as soon as I get Susan settled down and asleep so that I can get some things done and spend some time reading to Arwen, Arwen comes and attacks her and wakes her up. Arwen calls Susan Sues and that is just cute.
- Susan is a high maintenance baby for sure. She is sweet and we all love her, but I doubt we will look back longingly on her newborn time like we have with some of our other babies. She is smiling and holding her head up and straightening into a standing position when I put her on her feet. She also rolls to her side when I lie her on her back. She is definitely a strong little one with a strong personality.
This Week's Pictures
- We had a nice 4th of July celebration with John's family. If we move away from UT, I suspect we will plan to come for this about every other year.
- I was able to do a lot more this week. I think some days the kids definitely thought, "mom is back." Some days I was just too tired from just giving birth and having a newborn.
- Ruth and Kate both had a nice time visiting with the cousins who are their ages who came to the 4th of July family reunion. I also had fun just hanging out with the teenage girls. They are cute and are at a fun time in their lives.
- Kate enjoyed the family reunion. She has gotten really good at keeping Susan calm.This year Kate was a main helper with the fireworks.
- Johnny has a 9 year old cousin who adores him and follows him around. Johnny is very patient with him, even when I know he wants to be hanging out with the older kids.
- Adam has spent as much time as he can in the pool at Grandma's house. He also enjoyed helping with the fireworks.
- Rachel finished her final week of school. She also had tons of painful dental work done and had a swollen mouth for 3 days. We were actually able to get her to take ibuprofin after that. Rachel is swimming great and does not need any flotation help this year. Rachel was so excited for the family reunion that she asked us to put her to bed early on Thursday so that the Fourth of July would come sooner.
- Anya had tons of fun with her cousins and swimming during the family reunion.
- Joseph went around hammering walls and floors and things with a toy hammer until he broke one too many things and I threw the toy hammer away. He put a hole in the wall and started crying like he had been really hurt because he knew that he would be in a lot of trouble. I think he got in less trouble because he was so sad about it.
- On Thursday, Josh caught a small slug in the back yard and held it and talked about it for at least an hour. Josh told me that it was sticky. He also described it as "Beautiful".
- Arwen is just so independent and cute. She is still absolutely loving Susan.
- Susan gets fussy every night around 6pm and stays that way. She can really scream when she wants to. She is a lot like how Kate was as a baby, except Susan basically sleeps through the night. She will not sleep in her own bed at all, but as long as she is in my next to me she will stay asleep from around midnight until 7am.
This Weeks Pictures
- I sure wish I could say that John at least had a job interview, but nothing, and while he will continue to apply for at least five jobs a week, I am sure we will not hear anything until after the holiday. John has had lots of time to spend with baby Susan. He has taken care of her while I took my mom and the kids out shopping and to the dentist.
- I am slowly healing. Susan is not a great sleeper yet, so I am still constantly tired. I look forward to getting back to my normal routine. For now, my 4 oldest children have been helping a lot by doing a lot of extra chores and helping with meals and the younger children. I am am very blessed with all of my children. Even when life is rough, I have blessings uncountable.
- Ruth had a great time shopping with my mom. My mom loves to take the teens shopping and they love that time with their grandma. I am glad that Ruth had that opportunity. She has done so much for her family since I got pregnant. She makes my life so much easier.
- Kate got to go shopping with Grandma too. Kate has always had a good relationship with my mom. I am glad she has that. My grandparents all died while I was quite young. I love that my kids are getting more time to know their roots and who they came from. Kate and Ruth started an online gym class. On the second day they had to run a mile and record their time. They did it in less than 7 minutes and both swore they would never run again. I sure wish I could run a 7 minute mile or even run a mile straight.
- Johnny got to spend a lot of time with my mom too. My mom bought him new shoes. He is wearing just one shoe size smaller than John-- crazy! Johnny has been spending a lot of time studying his scriptures. He reads and takes notes and then tells John and I his insights. He is an incredible boy!
- Adam seems to be having a rough time. He is sucking his finger constantly and being very wild. John and I are planning to try and get more one on one time with Adam through Joshua. They all seem to be having a hard time between the unemployment stress and the adjustments of a new baby.
- Rachel has 4 more days left to the school year. I am so glad that we are finally coming to the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Rachel has been arguing constantly with me and she is only 8. I really need to figure out a way to get this under control so that Rachel and I can have a good relationship.
- Anya absolutely adores Susan. She has become my go-to for holding the baby even though Anya is only 6. Anya just does such a good job with her. She is gentle and holds her correctly. Susan seems to really like Anya too. She is very relaxed when Anya holds her.
- Joseph has been on and off. Some days I feel like he is amazing and doing great and other days I feel like I am constantly getting after him for pulling the house apart.
- Josh definitely is in the tantrum toddler stage. We have been working on his screaming fits. Josh had this really funny conversation with Kate this week. It went like this: Josh: Kate, I love you.
Kate: I love you, Josh
Josh: Then don't play with my things, Kate.
Kate: O...kay
Josh (coming in with the lego bat mobile that Kate designed and built herself): This is mine, Kate. Don't play with it.
- Arwen is doing great!!She loves, loves, loves Susan which is a surprise to us all. She has also been talking a lot more which is a relief to me because she is almost 2.
- Susan is a sweet baby. I am so glad to have her here safe and sound and a part of our family. She is held constantly and very adored!
This Week's Pictures
