Last week was one of the craziest, busiest weeks I've had since the kids were born.
When you have really young kids in the house it kind of (for me) slows down life. Sure, you're doing things all day and night, but they're mostly in your home. The days are lazy, boring, do-whatever-you-want days. You keep the kids fed, entertained, and alive. No one else is counting on you for anything else.
Then they get older. When school comes into the picture life gets 10 times busier. All of a sudden there are school projects, last-minute show & tell emergencies, homework, school festivals. Kindergarten here is 9-12, so there's a scant 3 hour window during which I'm a mom of one kid. But that one kid has her own computer class three days of the week, and I volunteer in Pumpkin's class on Thursdays. That means Tuesday is our only open morning.
Ok, enough silly scheduling mumbo jumbo. It was really the nights last week that were busy.
Monday: D had to check on a kiosk for 7 Peaks Water Park in the mall, so we went over with him to check it out. We ended up wandering around at Best Buy and Michael's afterwards and getting home after bedtime and the kids were tired on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday: D was sick and went to bed as soon as he got home. That means I had the kids all to myself for 13 hours that day. No time to work on the Relief Society lesson that I had to teach on Sunday to the women in my ward.
Wednesday: we went to the circus!! I won tickets online for the Barnum & Bailey-Ringling Bros. Funundrum Circus. It was up in Salt Lake City. We went up early and wandered around Temple Square, then headed over to the circus. It was fabulous!! We had a great time, especially the kids. Princess liked the baby elephant and the motorcycle cage act. Pumpkin liked the tightwire act. D liked his $12 cotton candy. I liked being out with my family and listening to my kids laugh and clap at all the festivities. We got home at about 10:30, really late for the kids who refuse to fall asleep in the car.
Late Wednesday/ Early Thursday: Princess spent the night re-experiencing the very expensive snacks and candy from the circus. It's hard to flush $30 of food down the toilet and not cry a little. At least the Princess thought so.
Thursday: After a long night the previous night, it was a looooong day. Volunteering in Pumpkin's class, grocery shopping, tired kids. It ended with me spending 4 of the evening hours on my lesson and 1 on watching some of the Must See TV events that premiered this week. Couldn't talk D out of it. That means we went to bed at 1 am. YAWN!!!
Friday: Was the Fall Festival at Pumpkin's school! It was really fun, but super crowded. There were baskets for auction, lots of games in which the prized were a uniform "stickers or candy", and plenty of pizza and hot dogs. The kids had a blast. I think D had the most fun making paper rockets with the kids and launching them in the field outside. He also volunteered 2 hours of his expert computer time for the silent auction fundraiser for the PTA. We have yet to hear if he was bid on.
After the Fall Festival, I raced down to Provo for my "little" brother's debut in the BYU Men's Chorus. Poor guy, it turns out that he actually made the Concert Choir, but was told at his audition that he wouldn't make it, so he didn't check the sheet. The call-backs were completed without him and his only choice was Men's Chorus. But he totally rocks in there. And he looks handsome in his blazer. It was a treat to see him sing. The guy is 6'2", but he didn't stand out at all on the back row of bases. I guess bases are tall guys with big voices.
I came back home and worked another hour on my lesson for Sunday. Some intense car-packing and a little TV ends the night mercifully before midnight as we had a big day coming on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was D who spent the night tossing his (considerably less expensive) cookies. Maybe we've caught something that's going around?
Saturday: an all day extravaganza!! We headed to Strawberry Reservoir near Heber for a day of Scuba Diving and a yearly Crawdad Fry with the Scuba Club. We headed up early-ish and spent from 9-3 in the glorious sun and fall weather. My mom came up, too (thanks, Mom!!), and watched the kids for us while we were underwater. The algae was in full bloom, so visibility was only a few feet. A very claustrophobic feeling, sometimes. We picked up crawdads and put them in a mesh bag. The club leadership pulled off the heads and fried up the tails with garlic and butter and fettuccine. It was a glorious day and I have a few pictures. When I find the cord to get the pictures off my camera I'll post them.
The rest of Saturday was spent listening to the BYU football game on the radio (stupid Dish Network, not carrying The Mtn.), putting two very tired and cranky and slightly sunburned kids to bed, working on my lesson SOME MORE!! (Yes, I overprepare, it's what I do.) and watching the Relief Society Broadcast on TV. I love listening to the prophet and the women who lead us. So inspiring.
Sunday: Once a year the children 4-11 are in charge of our worship services. They are the children who attend Primary, and this Sunday was their chance to put on their Program in which they sing spiritual songs, quote scripture, and present an uplifting and quite adorable presentation for the rest of the congregation. Pumpkin sat on the front row of the choir seats. He knew his stuff backward and forward. He know many (if not most) of the songs. He also had some dead skin on his cuticle and for some reason he spent much of the time with his head down working on personal hygiene. Still, he looked up once in awhile and had nothing but big smiles for me, his Uncle T, his Gran, and his dad. He looked great in his bowtie and suspenders. Even his 4T pants fall off his skinny frame.
My lesson went great, too. The women whom I taught had lots of great comments and suggestions. My topic was "our role in teaching the rising generation about the gospel". It was a kid-centric Sunday. Rounded out with a yummy dinner at my mom's, and an hour-long genealogy class that she taught at BYU last night and you have our week.
Busy? Yes.
Fun? Definitely.
Over? Thank Goodness.
When you have really young kids in the house it kind of (for me) slows down life. Sure, you're doing things all day and night, but they're mostly in your home. The days are lazy, boring, do-whatever-you-want days. You keep the kids fed, entertained, and alive. No one else is counting on you for anything else.
Then they get older. When school comes into the picture life gets 10 times busier. All of a sudden there are school projects, last-minute show & tell emergencies, homework, school festivals. Kindergarten here is 9-12, so there's a scant 3 hour window during which I'm a mom of one kid. But that one kid has her own computer class three days of the week, and I volunteer in Pumpkin's class on Thursdays. That means Tuesday is our only open morning.
Ok, enough silly scheduling mumbo jumbo. It was really the nights last week that were busy.
Monday: D had to check on a kiosk for 7 Peaks Water Park in the mall, so we went over with him to check it out. We ended up wandering around at Best Buy and Michael's afterwards and getting home after bedtime and the kids were tired on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday: D was sick and went to bed as soon as he got home. That means I had the kids all to myself for 13 hours that day. No time to work on the Relief Society lesson that I had to teach on Sunday to the women in my ward.
Wednesday: we went to the circus!! I won tickets online for the Barnum & Bailey-Ringling Bros. Funundrum Circus. It was up in Salt Lake City. We went up early and wandered around Temple Square, then headed over to the circus. It was fabulous!! We had a great time, especially the kids. Princess liked the baby elephant and the motorcycle cage act. Pumpkin liked the tightwire act. D liked his $12 cotton candy. I liked being out with my family and listening to my kids laugh and clap at all the festivities. We got home at about 10:30, really late for the kids who refuse to fall asleep in the car.
Late Wednesday/ Early Thursday: Princess spent the night re-experiencing the very expensive snacks and candy from the circus. It's hard to flush $30 of food down the toilet and not cry a little. At least the Princess thought so.
Thursday: After a long night the previous night, it was a looooong day. Volunteering in Pumpkin's class, grocery shopping, tired kids. It ended with me spending 4 of the evening hours on my lesson and 1 on watching some of the Must See TV events that premiered this week. Couldn't talk D out of it. That means we went to bed at 1 am. YAWN!!!
Friday: Was the Fall Festival at Pumpkin's school! It was really fun, but super crowded. There were baskets for auction, lots of games in which the prized were a uniform "stickers or candy", and plenty of pizza and hot dogs. The kids had a blast. I think D had the most fun making paper rockets with the kids and launching them in the field outside. He also volunteered 2 hours of his expert computer time for the silent auction fundraiser for the PTA. We have yet to hear if he was bid on.
After the Fall Festival, I raced down to Provo for my "little" brother's debut in the BYU Men's Chorus. Poor guy, it turns out that he actually made the Concert Choir, but was told at his audition that he wouldn't make it, so he didn't check the sheet. The call-backs were completed without him and his only choice was Men's Chorus. But he totally rocks in there. And he looks handsome in his blazer. It was a treat to see him sing. The guy is 6'2", but he didn't stand out at all on the back row of bases. I guess bases are tall guys with big voices.
I came back home and worked another hour on my lesson for Sunday. Some intense car-packing and a little TV ends the night mercifully before midnight as we had a big day coming on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was D who spent the night tossing his (considerably less expensive) cookies. Maybe we've caught something that's going around?
Saturday: an all day extravaganza!! We headed to Strawberry Reservoir near Heber for a day of Scuba Diving and a yearly Crawdad Fry with the Scuba Club. We headed up early-ish and spent from 9-3 in the glorious sun and fall weather. My mom came up, too (thanks, Mom!!), and watched the kids for us while we were underwater. The algae was in full bloom, so visibility was only a few feet. A very claustrophobic feeling, sometimes. We picked up crawdads and put them in a mesh bag. The club leadership pulled off the heads and fried up the tails with garlic and butter and fettuccine. It was a glorious day and I have a few pictures. When I find the cord to get the pictures off my camera I'll post them.
The rest of Saturday was spent listening to the BYU football game on the radio (stupid Dish Network, not carrying The Mtn.), putting two very tired and cranky and slightly sunburned kids to bed, working on my lesson SOME MORE!! (Yes, I overprepare, it's what I do.) and watching the Relief Society Broadcast on TV. I love listening to the prophet and the women who lead us. So inspiring.
Sunday: Once a year the children 4-11 are in charge of our worship services. They are the children who attend Primary, and this Sunday was their chance to put on their Program in which they sing spiritual songs, quote scripture, and present an uplifting and quite adorable presentation for the rest of the congregation. Pumpkin sat on the front row of the choir seats. He knew his stuff backward and forward. He know many (if not most) of the songs. He also had some dead skin on his cuticle and for some reason he spent much of the time with his head down working on personal hygiene. Still, he looked up once in awhile and had nothing but big smiles for me, his Uncle T, his Gran, and his dad. He looked great in his bowtie and suspenders. Even his 4T pants fall off his skinny frame.
My lesson went great, too. The women whom I taught had lots of great comments and suggestions. My topic was "our role in teaching the rising generation about the gospel". It was a kid-centric Sunday. Rounded out with a yummy dinner at my mom's, and an hour-long genealogy class that she taught at BYU last night and you have our week.
Busy? Yes.
Fun? Definitely.
Over? Thank Goodness.
