Sunday, February 26, 2017
Week of Feb 19
This was a busy week of projects.
Monday - Andrew was feeling worn out/sick and still covered in his rash from the amoxicillian, but had a competition with his marble run so he went to school and had STRIDE all day. His run worked out and took about 15 seconds - a solid run in the middle. Andrew had running club and was feeling pretty worn out when we picked him up, but we still went to tennis. Noah fell asleep and slept through half of tennis so he was impossible to get to sleep that night. It was the last week of tennis and it's nice to see how much the boys have improved. We celebrated President's Day by making our president day treats and also watching a Mormon Tabernacle music and the spoken word about president's day. Boys were excited to identify all the places across America they displayed as they sang.
Tuesday - Noah and I spent the whole morning at the library (story time was about cars) and then went to the park for a little bit. Then, we picked Logan up from preschool and went to the bigger park. It was a lovely day out - very warm - and we ran into a few friends from church, so we stayed for quite a while. Both the boys feel asleep on the way home, so I was able to get some laundry and chores done, but we weren't able to go to Science Olympiad, which Andrew was disappointed about. We played with friends outside and made a quick dinner and got ready for bed. Katsu had to teach, so he didn't come home till after he picked Andrew up from Cub Scouts, so we all dropped Andrew off at Cub Scouts. He finally got to use his pocket knife and learn to whittle. Surprisingly, nobody fell asleep on the drive, so I put Noah and Logan to bed and fell asleep - I was SO worn out! I ended up falling asleep for the night at 8 pm!!!
Wednesday - a typical day except it was our last day of tennis. Then, the boys played with friends. Nothing very exciting happened.
Thursday - I walked the boys to school in the morning since neither of us had to leave at 7:10 for work. Katsu was kind to take Logan to school in the morning, so Noah and I could catch up on laundry and cleaning. He didn't know what to do with himself - he likes to go out and do things and isn't used to being at home. We played with cars for awhile and did a lot of laundry. We ran to the store to pick up a project board for Andrew's math fair project and then got Logan and went to the park. But everyone was grumpy and driving me crazy, so we didn't stay too long. As soon as we picked Andrew up from running club, we started working on his math fair project while the other boys watched some TV (and were thrilled about it). Katsu was teaching again and home late, but I thought he was going to get home earlier, oops, so everyone went to bed kind of late.
Friday - Andrew and Seth brought their Math Fair projects to school. Neither boy placed - I was surprised about Andrew's because I think he had a really great project, but he took it in stride. Seth was heartbroken and cried for quite a while, poor thing. It was a busy morning at work and then we read books with the little boys till the older boys got home. Then, we had a play date. I invited all the members from the neighborhood, but everyone was sick so only one other family came, but the little boys had fun planning. Andrew went and brought his friend over, so it was chaos. Unfortunately, Katsu came home early and was trying to work, which was a bit of a disaster. Oh, well. We had pizza and then Katsu took the Andrew, Seth, and Logan to see a play - it was a whole bunch of little stories all strung together - the play was titled "Teacher from the Black Lagoon" but it had a lot of stories. None of the boys wanted to go, but I made them so they will be cultured people, but I think they had fun. Katsu is never super impressed with the quality of the shows, but it was not too bad. Then, they went to McDonalds for ice cream and chess. As he says, we are Asians, after all. Noah stayed home and watched some Lego Spiderman and went to sleep and I tried to grade exams.
Saturday - I woke up early and tried to catch up with grading and my class and then went grocery shopping and such while the boys cleaned house. They also played some video games. Then, we went to the greenway and park. The new section of the greenway isn't open yet, so we went to the park and the boys played tennis with Katsu while Noah played at the play ground. Then, we went along one section of the greenway. We brought 3 scooters and the stroller. Andrew and Seth had a great time racing their scooters up and down the hills, but Logan got tired quickly with his little 3 wheeled scooter, so he went in the stroller for a bit. It was really fun. We went and got everyone a Powerade and samples after the grocery store (which the boys LOVED) and then they played the dancing Wii game and some video games before we had yummy Pad Thai for dinner. Andrew loved it but the other boys would barely touch it. I keep trying to tell them we are lucky that they cook such yummy food! Then, there was a babysitter so Katsu and I could go to our play. Noah was SO tired and I was trying to put him to bed first, but the boys had the TV on and were arguing over what to watch for movie night and then Noah wanted to watch too and was throwing a massive tantrum. Luckily, we calmed him down enough to leave and I guess everyone watched the movie happily (Balto) and then went right to bed. Katsu and I went to see the musical 1776 and heartily enjoyed it! It was pretty long (about 3 hours with intermission), but everyone did a really stellar job and I only got tired at the very end. Noah has been waking me up early in the morning and then I can't go back to sleep (though he does), so I went running 4 days this week, leaving before 6. On Saturday, I woke up at 4:45 for the day. It was a really nice, really warm day.
Sunday - just a nice day at church and a nice afternoon with the kids so far. Katsu is leaving to go speak today so we will have to take him to the airport, but otherwise a nice day so far.
Amanda - busy this week catching up on my class (I gave a test this week, plus had a quiz and a homework assignment or two to grade, plus some project work). Also, went running 4 times this week and am up to running a 25 minute stretch with out stopping (yay for me!). 5k is coming up. Also have been working hard at learning to eat again after a decade of pregnancy and nursing and trying to lose the weight I gained the last year. Down 8 lbs since Christmas so yay! And spending way too much time helping with math fair projects this week.
Katsu - busy busy busy with teaching this week and getting ready for a trip this coming week. He got a new calling as assistant cub master and committee chair which should be great!
Andrew - two competitions this week and busy as always with science olympiad, running club, math masters, stride, etc. The list goes on and on. Has been playing lots of Pokemon with friends and always shooting people with Nerf guns, finishing up Ranger Apprentice series.
Seth - sad about math fair, obsessed with screens, working through a 4th grade division book on own accord, loving the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.
Logan - slowly working through learning to read book, loving all the non-fiction books we picked out this week, especially the biographies, loves playing outside half the day.
Noah - loving the biographies as well surprisingly since they have tons of words (so cute to see him running around saying "Jim Henson" because he wants me to read his biography). Lots of fits, lots of energy, few naps, obsessed with spider man, interested in dinosaurs, wanted to read a batman book from the library about 50 times a day.
Monday - Andrew was feeling worn out/sick and still covered in his rash from the amoxicillian, but had a competition with his marble run so he went to school and had STRIDE all day. His run worked out and took about 15 seconds - a solid run in the middle. Andrew had running club and was feeling pretty worn out when we picked him up, but we still went to tennis. Noah fell asleep and slept through half of tennis so he was impossible to get to sleep that night. It was the last week of tennis and it's nice to see how much the boys have improved. We celebrated President's Day by making our president day treats and also watching a Mormon Tabernacle music and the spoken word about president's day. Boys were excited to identify all the places across America they displayed as they sang.
Tuesday - Noah and I spent the whole morning at the library (story time was about cars) and then went to the park for a little bit. Then, we picked Logan up from preschool and went to the bigger park. It was a lovely day out - very warm - and we ran into a few friends from church, so we stayed for quite a while. Both the boys feel asleep on the way home, so I was able to get some laundry and chores done, but we weren't able to go to Science Olympiad, which Andrew was disappointed about. We played with friends outside and made a quick dinner and got ready for bed. Katsu had to teach, so he didn't come home till after he picked Andrew up from Cub Scouts, so we all dropped Andrew off at Cub Scouts. He finally got to use his pocket knife and learn to whittle. Surprisingly, nobody fell asleep on the drive, so I put Noah and Logan to bed and fell asleep - I was SO worn out! I ended up falling asleep for the night at 8 pm!!!
Wednesday - a typical day except it was our last day of tennis. Then, the boys played with friends. Nothing very exciting happened.
Thursday - I walked the boys to school in the morning since neither of us had to leave at 7:10 for work. Katsu was kind to take Logan to school in the morning, so Noah and I could catch up on laundry and cleaning. He didn't know what to do with himself - he likes to go out and do things and isn't used to being at home. We played with cars for awhile and did a lot of laundry. We ran to the store to pick up a project board for Andrew's math fair project and then got Logan and went to the park. But everyone was grumpy and driving me crazy, so we didn't stay too long. As soon as we picked Andrew up from running club, we started working on his math fair project while the other boys watched some TV (and were thrilled about it). Katsu was teaching again and home late, but I thought he was going to get home earlier, oops, so everyone went to bed kind of late.
Friday - Andrew and Seth brought their Math Fair projects to school. Neither boy placed - I was surprised about Andrew's because I think he had a really great project, but he took it in stride. Seth was heartbroken and cried for quite a while, poor thing. It was a busy morning at work and then we read books with the little boys till the older boys got home. Then, we had a play date. I invited all the members from the neighborhood, but everyone was sick so only one other family came, but the little boys had fun planning. Andrew went and brought his friend over, so it was chaos. Unfortunately, Katsu came home early and was trying to work, which was a bit of a disaster. Oh, well. We had pizza and then Katsu took the Andrew, Seth, and Logan to see a play - it was a whole bunch of little stories all strung together - the play was titled "Teacher from the Black Lagoon" but it had a lot of stories. None of the boys wanted to go, but I made them so they will be cultured people, but I think they had fun. Katsu is never super impressed with the quality of the shows, but it was not too bad. Then, they went to McDonalds for ice cream and chess. As he says, we are Asians, after all. Noah stayed home and watched some Lego Spiderman and went to sleep and I tried to grade exams.
Saturday - I woke up early and tried to catch up with grading and my class and then went grocery shopping and such while the boys cleaned house. They also played some video games. Then, we went to the greenway and park. The new section of the greenway isn't open yet, so we went to the park and the boys played tennis with Katsu while Noah played at the play ground. Then, we went along one section of the greenway. We brought 3 scooters and the stroller. Andrew and Seth had a great time racing their scooters up and down the hills, but Logan got tired quickly with his little 3 wheeled scooter, so he went in the stroller for a bit. It was really fun. We went and got everyone a Powerade and samples after the grocery store (which the boys LOVED) and then they played the dancing Wii game and some video games before we had yummy Pad Thai for dinner. Andrew loved it but the other boys would barely touch it. I keep trying to tell them we are lucky that they cook such yummy food! Then, there was a babysitter so Katsu and I could go to our play. Noah was SO tired and I was trying to put him to bed first, but the boys had the TV on and were arguing over what to watch for movie night and then Noah wanted to watch too and was throwing a massive tantrum. Luckily, we calmed him down enough to leave and I guess everyone watched the movie happily (Balto) and then went right to bed. Katsu and I went to see the musical 1776 and heartily enjoyed it! It was pretty long (about 3 hours with intermission), but everyone did a really stellar job and I only got tired at the very end. Noah has been waking me up early in the morning and then I can't go back to sleep (though he does), so I went running 4 days this week, leaving before 6. On Saturday, I woke up at 4:45 for the day. It was a really nice, really warm day.
Sunday - just a nice day at church and a nice afternoon with the kids so far. Katsu is leaving to go speak today so we will have to take him to the airport, but otherwise a nice day so far.
Amanda - busy this week catching up on my class (I gave a test this week, plus had a quiz and a homework assignment or two to grade, plus some project work). Also, went running 4 times this week and am up to running a 25 minute stretch with out stopping (yay for me!). 5k is coming up. Also have been working hard at learning to eat again after a decade of pregnancy and nursing and trying to lose the weight I gained the last year. Down 8 lbs since Christmas so yay! And spending way too much time helping with math fair projects this week.
Katsu - busy busy busy with teaching this week and getting ready for a trip this coming week. He got a new calling as assistant cub master and committee chair which should be great!
Andrew - two competitions this week and busy as always with science olympiad, running club, math masters, stride, etc. The list goes on and on. Has been playing lots of Pokemon with friends and always shooting people with Nerf guns, finishing up Ranger Apprentice series.
Seth - sad about math fair, obsessed with screens, working through a 4th grade division book on own accord, loving the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.
Logan - slowly working through learning to read book, loving all the non-fiction books we picked out this week, especially the biographies, loves playing outside half the day.
Noah - loving the biographies as well surprisingly since they have tons of words (so cute to see him running around saying "Jim Henson" because he wants me to read his biography). Lots of fits, lots of energy, few naps, obsessed with spider man, interested in dinosaurs, wanted to read a batman book from the library about 50 times a day.
Monday, February 20, 2017
Week of Feb 12
Another sick week, but much better than the week before.
Monday - Seth was feeling sick with a fever, so he went with Katsu to work and then Katstu dropped him off at my office before 11. He was happy watching movies on my computer while I graded but was starting to feel sick (not too sick that he didn't beg for donuts!). We picked up the boys and then rushed home. Seth threw up as soon as we got home. He was mostly lethargic watching TV on the couch the rest of the day. Noah had his valentine's day party and was super excited with all the valentine's he brought home. Noah really doesn't like chocolate at all, so Logan was excited to eat all of Noah's chocolates. Noah has really really enjoyed Valentine's Day this year. Andrew went to school, still feeling worn out, but then refused to skip running club. So, he went to the first running club meeting for this semester and then went for a run, but was worn out the rest of the day. We, meaning I, ended up getting together everyone's valentines for the next day. Andrew didn't like any from the store, so we had to make some (just a printable with a kitkat stapled to it) and no one wanted to label their valentine's, so I had to do it. I made a heart shaped meatloaf that no one wanted to eat and Katsu had a doctor appointment after work, so he wasn't even home for dinner. I got baths for everyone by the time he got home and was thoroughly worn out. But I had this crazy idea that I needed to get ready for Valentine's Day, so I set the table with everyone's chocolate boxes and made valentines for all the boys and then decided (I have no idea why ... sickness plus steroids was clouding my judgement) to make homemade poptarts. Crazy me.
Tuesday - We celebrated Valentine's day, but it was crazy hectic in the morning trying to get Andrew ready for school (and try to convince him to take Seth's valentines which created a huge fight, plus he has to be at school by 7:15 for his battle of the books practice). We had candles and chocolates and juice and hot chocolate and decorated fruit and homemade poptarts (which no one wanted to eat, in the end). Everyone except Noah liked the chocolates (Noah thinks chocolate is "disgusting"). The boys were sad we didn't have chocolates, but then we ended up both having bought chocolates for each other, so it worked out. Seth stayed home, so he and Noah watched movies most of the morning. Then, we had to run to the store to grab a few things and then get donuts (the boys insisted on getting Valentine Krispy Kreme donuts, but then Seth was throwing a fit because we didn't get enough, so we won't be doing that again for a long time). Logan went to preschool and had his Valentine's party and was super excited to show all he got once we got home. The rest of the afternoon was the boys going through their valentines and candy and watching TV until we had to pick Andrew up from Science Olympiad. I am amazed at how many people send in whole gift bags! Andrew has started playing with the neighbor kids more this week and so they spent a lot of time playing Pokemon this week - almost every day. By the afternoon, everyone was playing outside, so I figured Seth was better and ready to go back to school. We had fondue for dinner. It took forever to melt and didn't work that great, but the boys loved it anyways and want to do it again. Then, it was off to bed. Nothing too exciting, but the boys had a good day. I was off of steroids today and felt kind of awful, but felt a little better again by Wednesday. Still stayed up to watch This is Us because it is my favorite but not too exciting for a valentines' day episode.
Wednesday - normal rainy day. Crazy picking the kids up from preschool plus the two we carpool in the rain. First day everyone was in school in a week and a half, so yay! No tennis due to rain, so we just had a chill afternoon at home.
Thursday - Katsu had a dentist appointment. Logan had preschool and I tried to take Noah shopping to get shoes. He ended up throwing massive fits and refusing to go to any store. I took him kicking and screaming to the shoe store and lucky for him, they had spiderman shoes that light up in his size! I thought it would be a challenge. We left them there since they were doing a BOGO half off and Andrew needed shoes, too. Noah was a hot mess, so I convinced him to take a nap in the car for an hour until Logan got off of preschool and then we had lunch and played at the park. It was crazy windy, but they still played for at least an hour before I dragged them home. Seth came home and then we drove up to school to have a meeting with his teacher as well as the academic coordinator. I sent her a long note last week about Seth was bored, so we had this formula meeting to see what we can do. They are going to have him do more difficult homework, get on study island on the computer when he is done with his work (he is working on a 5th grade level in math and something high in reading), work with small advanced groups from all 2nd grade for reading and math sometimes and especially try to improve his writing. It looks like pretty good plans. They also put in a request for evaluation for speech since he has been having a hard time saying some letters and so, it looks like that is progressing which is good. Meeting went well. The boys were pretty well behaved (the meeting was in the school library) and when we were done, we went over and Seth and Logan and Noah were cuddled up on a bench while Seth read them a Berenstain Bears book. It was pretty cute. We went to the car, got the stroller, and walked to the back of the school to pick up Andrew from running club and then went home for the boys to play outside and have epic Pokemon tournaments with neighbors.
Friday - normal morning at school/work for all. Boys spent a lot of time outside and having more Pokemon tournament. We were kind of out of food at this point, so Katsu ended up getting a pizza for us for dinner instead of making one. Noah got to pick the movie since he was been begging to watch Dinosaur movies and so we watched one of the later land Before Times. It was pretty silly, but Noah loved it and it wasn't long at least.
Saturday - we needed to have a low key day for several reasons. We were still not feeling super well (Katsu and I), the garden needed to be cleared out because aspargus is going to be coming up before we know it (all our daffodils are already up), we had a baptism to go to, and Andrew had a huge project for Stride that he hadn't started and was due on Monday. Andrew woke up with a horrible rash - I think it is from the amoxicillian he has been taking, but I am not 100% sure. We weren't sure, so he stayed home from the baptism. First, we cleaned the house (done by 9 am - yay!), and then I dragged Seth and Logan to the baptism. Seth especially was pretty horribly behaved. He wanted to sit by his friends but he wouldn't quit talking or playing rock paper scissors. He is a piece of work lately. But then the boys were excited about the refreshments and running around with their friends. I couldn't even find Seth when it was time to leave as he had snuck off to play basketball in the gym. We got home and Noah had fallen asleep in front of the TV (after throwing a massive fit that he didn't get to go to the baptism with me even though he had no clothes on) and Andrew and Katsu were working hard on making a rollercoaster for a marble for Andrew's project. They spent a few hours on that while the other boys played video games. We did finally drag them away and everyone played outside for awhile and I finally got to the grocery store. I also finally got a run in, too, so I will be more ready for the 5k race in 3 weeks. We cooked hot dogs out on the grill with coleslaw and chips for dinner before getting everyone bathed and ready for bed. Katsu and I ended up going to bed pretty early, too. We have been worn out from our illnesses and have been sleeping a ton. Plus, my calves were killing me from starting up running again.
Sunday - yay for no bishopric and for morning church. The day felt super long. No one wanted to go to church, Noah forgot his blanket and then spent the whole sacrament meeting talking loudly, half of it about needing to drive home to get his blanket. Primary was very busy with few teachers and half the presidency gone, but at least Katsu was with us. Then, we got home, had lunch, the boys played outside Nerf guns with friends and we got ready to have a potluck dinner with our home and visiting teaching families. Only about half could come, but it was still fun. Katsu made gyoza and I made chocolate chip cookies and it worked out perfectly. The kids played well together, the adults were able to visit, and it was all really nice.
So, not too bad of a week. Also, a few pictures from president's day cookies today since I didn't take hardly any pictures last week.
Monday - Seth was feeling sick with a fever, so he went with Katsu to work and then Katstu dropped him off at my office before 11. He was happy watching movies on my computer while I graded but was starting to feel sick (not too sick that he didn't beg for donuts!). We picked up the boys and then rushed home. Seth threw up as soon as we got home. He was mostly lethargic watching TV on the couch the rest of the day. Noah had his valentine's day party and was super excited with all the valentine's he brought home. Noah really doesn't like chocolate at all, so Logan was excited to eat all of Noah's chocolates. Noah has really really enjoyed Valentine's Day this year. Andrew went to school, still feeling worn out, but then refused to skip running club. So, he went to the first running club meeting for this semester and then went for a run, but was worn out the rest of the day. We, meaning I, ended up getting together everyone's valentines for the next day. Andrew didn't like any from the store, so we had to make some (just a printable with a kitkat stapled to it) and no one wanted to label their valentine's, so I had to do it. I made a heart shaped meatloaf that no one wanted to eat and Katsu had a doctor appointment after work, so he wasn't even home for dinner. I got baths for everyone by the time he got home and was thoroughly worn out. But I had this crazy idea that I needed to get ready for Valentine's Day, so I set the table with everyone's chocolate boxes and made valentines for all the boys and then decided (I have no idea why ... sickness plus steroids was clouding my judgement) to make homemade poptarts. Crazy me.
Tuesday - We celebrated Valentine's day, but it was crazy hectic in the morning trying to get Andrew ready for school (and try to convince him to take Seth's valentines which created a huge fight, plus he has to be at school by 7:15 for his battle of the books practice). We had candles and chocolates and juice and hot chocolate and decorated fruit and homemade poptarts (which no one wanted to eat, in the end). Everyone except Noah liked the chocolates (Noah thinks chocolate is "disgusting"). The boys were sad we didn't have chocolates, but then we ended up both having bought chocolates for each other, so it worked out. Seth stayed home, so he and Noah watched movies most of the morning. Then, we had to run to the store to grab a few things and then get donuts (the boys insisted on getting Valentine Krispy Kreme donuts, but then Seth was throwing a fit because we didn't get enough, so we won't be doing that again for a long time). Logan went to preschool and had his Valentine's party and was super excited to show all he got once we got home. The rest of the afternoon was the boys going through their valentines and candy and watching TV until we had to pick Andrew up from Science Olympiad. I am amazed at how many people send in whole gift bags! Andrew has started playing with the neighbor kids more this week and so they spent a lot of time playing Pokemon this week - almost every day. By the afternoon, everyone was playing outside, so I figured Seth was better and ready to go back to school. We had fondue for dinner. It took forever to melt and didn't work that great, but the boys loved it anyways and want to do it again. Then, it was off to bed. Nothing too exciting, but the boys had a good day. I was off of steroids today and felt kind of awful, but felt a little better again by Wednesday. Still stayed up to watch This is Us because it is my favorite but not too exciting for a valentines' day episode.
Wednesday - normal rainy day. Crazy picking the kids up from preschool plus the two we carpool in the rain. First day everyone was in school in a week and a half, so yay! No tennis due to rain, so we just had a chill afternoon at home.
Thursday - Katsu had a dentist appointment. Logan had preschool and I tried to take Noah shopping to get shoes. He ended up throwing massive fits and refusing to go to any store. I took him kicking and screaming to the shoe store and lucky for him, they had spiderman shoes that light up in his size! I thought it would be a challenge. We left them there since they were doing a BOGO half off and Andrew needed shoes, too. Noah was a hot mess, so I convinced him to take a nap in the car for an hour until Logan got off of preschool and then we had lunch and played at the park. It was crazy windy, but they still played for at least an hour before I dragged them home. Seth came home and then we drove up to school to have a meeting with his teacher as well as the academic coordinator. I sent her a long note last week about Seth was bored, so we had this formula meeting to see what we can do. They are going to have him do more difficult homework, get on study island on the computer when he is done with his work (he is working on a 5th grade level in math and something high in reading), work with small advanced groups from all 2nd grade for reading and math sometimes and especially try to improve his writing. It looks like pretty good plans. They also put in a request for evaluation for speech since he has been having a hard time saying some letters and so, it looks like that is progressing which is good. Meeting went well. The boys were pretty well behaved (the meeting was in the school library) and when we were done, we went over and Seth and Logan and Noah were cuddled up on a bench while Seth read them a Berenstain Bears book. It was pretty cute. We went to the car, got the stroller, and walked to the back of the school to pick up Andrew from running club and then went home for the boys to play outside and have epic Pokemon tournaments with neighbors.
Friday - normal morning at school/work for all. Boys spent a lot of time outside and having more Pokemon tournament. We were kind of out of food at this point, so Katsu ended up getting a pizza for us for dinner instead of making one. Noah got to pick the movie since he was been begging to watch Dinosaur movies and so we watched one of the later land Before Times. It was pretty silly, but Noah loved it and it wasn't long at least.
Saturday - we needed to have a low key day for several reasons. We were still not feeling super well (Katsu and I), the garden needed to be cleared out because aspargus is going to be coming up before we know it (all our daffodils are already up), we had a baptism to go to, and Andrew had a huge project for Stride that he hadn't started and was due on Monday. Andrew woke up with a horrible rash - I think it is from the amoxicillian he has been taking, but I am not 100% sure. We weren't sure, so he stayed home from the baptism. First, we cleaned the house (done by 9 am - yay!), and then I dragged Seth and Logan to the baptism. Seth especially was pretty horribly behaved. He wanted to sit by his friends but he wouldn't quit talking or playing rock paper scissors. He is a piece of work lately. But then the boys were excited about the refreshments and running around with their friends. I couldn't even find Seth when it was time to leave as he had snuck off to play basketball in the gym. We got home and Noah had fallen asleep in front of the TV (after throwing a massive fit that he didn't get to go to the baptism with me even though he had no clothes on) and Andrew and Katsu were working hard on making a rollercoaster for a marble for Andrew's project. They spent a few hours on that while the other boys played video games. We did finally drag them away and everyone played outside for awhile and I finally got to the grocery store. I also finally got a run in, too, so I will be more ready for the 5k race in 3 weeks. We cooked hot dogs out on the grill with coleslaw and chips for dinner before getting everyone bathed and ready for bed. Katsu and I ended up going to bed pretty early, too. We have been worn out from our illnesses and have been sleeping a ton. Plus, my calves were killing me from starting up running again.
Sunday - yay for no bishopric and for morning church. The day felt super long. No one wanted to go to church, Noah forgot his blanket and then spent the whole sacrament meeting talking loudly, half of it about needing to drive home to get his blanket. Primary was very busy with few teachers and half the presidency gone, but at least Katsu was with us. Then, we got home, had lunch, the boys played outside Nerf guns with friends and we got ready to have a potluck dinner with our home and visiting teaching families. Only about half could come, but it was still fun. Katsu made gyoza and I made chocolate chip cookies and it worked out perfectly. The kids played well together, the adults were able to visit, and it was all really nice.
So, not too bad of a week. Also, a few pictures from president's day cookies today since I didn't take hardly any pictures last week.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Week of Feb 5
This was a little crazy of a week.
Monday - work and preschool in the morning. Andrew was feeling sick and had to come home, so we picked him up and then dropped Katsu off at the airport for a trip to California to review grants for the NIH. We had to skip tennis because Andrew wasn't feeling well. By the evening, Andrew was really feeling sick with a high fever and throwing up.
Tuesday - Seth went off to school and then we drove over to the walk in clinic, just to make sure he didn't have strep throat. He tested positive, but it's probably because he had the flu instead. We went home and the kids mostly just watched lots and lots of TV. No more preschool for the week. Story of mainly the rest of the week. By Tuesday night, Logan was out with the flu, too. Thankfully, I was able to get a lot of work done while the boys were stuck to screens, so it was a pretty productive week in some ways.
Wednesday - Luckily, a colleague was able to teach for me, so I stayed home with the boys. Y ou would have thought that Seth was dying that he had to go to school all week while everyone stayed home. A friend from church was kind and brought over dinner.
Thursday - We picked Katsu up from the airport - he took a red eye home and was still sick, so he slept most of the day. We stopped by Walmart on the way home to finally get some food and I had a massive coughing fit at check-out. It was lovely. I went up to school for Seth's award ceremony. He got an award for all S's - in our only picture of the week.
Friday - I went to teach and it was kind of a disaster as I kept have coughing fits. By the end of class, I was having a hard time breathing, so I finally had to go to the urgent care clinic as I couldn't get in with a doctor. So, Katsu had the kids all day. Turns out I am having bronchiospasms from my 3 week plus cough. After some steroids, antibiotics, and cough medicine, my cough is gone, but I feel pretty weird from the medicine. So glad the cough is gone, though. We watched "Antz" for movie night and had our favorite heart shaped pizza. We finished up Logan and Noah's valentine cards
Saturday - we just sat at home all day again and cleaned the house. We finally went to the grocery store and all the kids tagged along - so lots of fun. We picked up some valentine cards for the other kids. We tried a new Valentine's day food - red velvet pancakes with cream cheese frosting. Kids weren't so impressed, but it was pretty yummy. Katsu and I went to go see a performance - the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. It was great, really great. They sang all sacred music in Russian, completely acapella and it was amazing. The little boys were asleep the whole time, but the bigger boys watched a movie with the babysitter.
Sunday - me and Andrew and Seth went to church so I could do sharing time. The younger boys stayed home with Katsu to make sure that everyone was feeling well enough.
So, a boring sick week.
Seth has spent the whole week whining about screen time. He probably whines about 50 times an hour. I wrote a note to his teacher about getting more difficult work because he has really been whining about school and wanting to be home schooled. His teacher let him do work on the computer on Wednesday and he was already so much happier. We have a meeting next week so we can see how it goes. He did really well at piano this week. I am getting impressed with how well he is playing. We started to work on his Math Fair project. He made a big valentine hunt around the house this morning.
Noah has mostly been well, though he's had a milder cough, pretty much the whole time I have. He has loved all the screen time and also loved being read to. He is currently obsessed with the Princess in Black series and wants to read the books all the time. He loves singing - he has learned all the ABCs in the ABC song and likes to sing Twinkle Twinkle and lots of other songs. He uses the potty about half the time for pooping, but is still not too interested in underwear. We'll probably wait till the summer so we are at home soon. He loves to dance and say he is "shaking his booty". He loves to tattle about the other boys - "Seth is playing Slith-er-io", "Andrew hit me", etc.
Logan bought himself a little stuffed dinosaur this week. He has been getting so much better with his letters and recognizes most of them. He is getting better at his reading lessons. He has been loving all the screens this week. He is also obsessed with Princess in Black books recently and is learning to find the word "the" in it.
Andrew is reading a new book this week - "Emperial" - or something like that. Otherwise, enjoying screens and alternatively being sick and terrorizing his brothers.
Sunday, February 05, 2017
Week of Jan 29
Katsu was home this week, but sick and I've been sick with a cold all week, too. I felt better for a couple days, but then it was back. I hate that these colds just linger and linger. He leaves out of town again on Monday, so I am not looking forward to that. Hopefully he feels better by Tuesday so he can have a productive work trip.
Monday - a pretty normal day but very windy and I just did not feel well, so we skipped tennis. It didn't end up saving us any time and the boys still didn't finish everything early. Oh, well. The boys got their day off of tennis that they have been begging for. Seth in particular keeps begging to skip school, tennis, church, anything he can. We had a quick family home evening, reading part of a baptism book, before hurrying to put Noah to bed. Since he usually doesn't take naps, it's hard to figure out a schedule for him.
Tuesday - Katsu went in early to work and I took Logan into preschool. Noah and I went to the library and stayed for story time - it was on trains. He learned a new song "Down by the station" that I had totally forgotten about. Andrew and Katsu used to sing that song together when Andrew was a little boy. We went to Target afterwards and bought some badly needed pillows - our old ones were so flat, we are having a hard time getting used to sleeping on non-flat pillows. We also got a lunch box for Noah so he could be like the big boys. After we picked up Logan, we went to the park and played for awhile. The boys had a lot of fun until we finally went home and Noah took a pretty good nap in the car for an hour, I think After the boys came home, we all went over to Chickfila, to use my calendar card and also for the boys to get free nuggets for getting their report cards (all A's and S's for the boys - so that was good). The boys spent a lot of time playing and the lady sitting next to me talked to me for a long time telling me her life story. We got home in time to get ready for the Pinewood Derby. After a dinner of nachos, we were off to the church. Katsu didn't help Andrew at all this time - he did it all on his own. Noah pretty much walked back and forth from the snack table the whole time, but the other boys were sitting right on the finish line watching the races. We don't have many boys, so the whole thing was over in like 20 minutes. Andrew came in 2nd place - pretty great! Everyone was so happy for him.
Wednesday - school for everyone in the morning, playing outside all afternoon until it was time to go to tennis. Katsu got home early since he came straight from a meeting and started cooking up Cincinnati Chili - a new recipe, even, which was nice. Otherwise, a pretty average day ... tennis, homework, bishopric meeting, etc.
Thursday - Groundhog day. We had special Groundhog treats. The boys helped me make their faces, so they looked a little demonic, but oh, well. We watched a live feed of the groundhog and then rushed the boys to school. I took Logan to school and then Noah and I went to get an oil change. I was in a rush and forgot to bring anything for him to do, but luckily, they had a Paw Patrol book that we looked through for an hour. Then, we went to the park and played. We are really loving the new park and it's fun to see Noah getting more adventurous. It was another day where the boys spent the entire afternoon outside - like 12:30 - 5:30. It's great to play with friends and get so much outside time, but I have to supervise Noah, so I can't get anything done in the house. So, the laundry, cleaning, etc. really suffers. Tons of kids were playing over here, but we had to walk over to pick Andrew up from Science Olympiad and I had the younger 3 boys plus 3 boys from the neighborhood all walk with me to school! I felt like quite an entourage. I still miss winter and hate the hot long summer, but I am unfortunately getting used to how warm the winter is and enjoying playing outside all the time. I don't know what will happen if we have to move away from here ...
Katsu and I had tickets to see the National Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra. It was so nice to go out and Noah was even asleep before the babysitters came over! We got to our seats and one of the seats was missing with a big red X. We went and asked them what to do and they were prepared with a second set of tickets. We went to those seats and someone was already sitting in them! We went and they went and found a third set of tickets for us and luckily we got to finally sit down. They were so apologetic, but I thought it was kind of funny. The orchestra was wonderful. It has been so long since we saw a symphony. They had a solo pianist who was amazing, but also hilarious. He made all these exaggerated faces and when he had a break would make an elaborate display of cleaning his glasses and adjusting his hair. Totally reminded me of someone we knew back in Boston. So funny. We were wiped out by the time we got home at 10:30 though!
Friday - Andrew threw a massive fit in the morning. He was upset about Katsu packing him a sandwich ("I can't eat sandwiches"), and after us saying he would have to get himself another lunch then, went crazy, yelling threats (his favorite is calling anyone and everyone "a freaking pile of crap". He insisted that he had no idea how to pack a lunch, or where his lunchbox was, or getting treats. He is the master at learned helplessness, but after massive tears and fits, he ended up with someone in his lunchbox and made it just a little late to his Battle of the Books practice. It turns out he ended up taking the sandwich ("It actually wasn't goo bad since it was the bread that I like"). As a counterpoint, Seth said nothing but didn't eat his sandwich ("I don't eat sandwiches" he said when I asked him why after school).
Otherwise, another day of school and work and then playing outside, but thankfully, it was a lot colder, so the boys got cold after awhile and we were able to get some of the weekend cleaning done. Katsu came home. It was Setsubun, so Katsu dressed up as a goblin and came in the front door. The boys had been excited, but when I yelled that the goblin was here, Noah promptly burst into tears. He did a great job of throwing jelly beans as did Logan and Seth. Andrew was trying to get nerf guns and shoot him though. So annoying. Then Katsu had to go help someone move. We had the BFG for movie night, but Katsu didn't get home till almost 8 and missed most of it. Noah passed out half way through and Katsu and I were so tired by the time it was done. We fell asleep at 9:30, too.
Saturday - we got up, I did a run, and we did some cleaning. I had a stake primary meeting, so I got a ride up to New Bern. Katsu helped the boys finish cleaning and drove them all to New Bern and picked me up 12. We had lunch in the car and then we went to go see the Tyron Palace since it was their annual free day. We had seen the gardens before, but only Andrew had seen the inside. It was cold and we had to wait in line for quite a while to see a tour of the house, but it was fun. By the time we were inside, Noah could hear drums outside and that is all he wanted to talk about. We also saw the original stables (from the 1700s - it was the first capital of North Carolina), the gardens, bee keeping and the blacksmith. We saw the military encampment out back and we conned the kids into partcipating with the Continental Congress. Seth kept trying to hide behind Andrew, but the generals kept putting him in line. They climbed on the cannons. We stopped to hear the Fife and Drum band and they ended up playing right next to us. Katsu wasn't feeling well, but was a good spot. We went over to the history center and saw how they made cloth and about their hair dos and played on the playground out back. Then, we walked to the Cow Cafe and got some quesadillas and some ice cream before driving home.
Sunday - Katsu was feeling awful and was going to skip church but they insisted he had to meet with the stake, so he went (looking pretty awful) and he finally got released! So, after 3.5 years on the bishopric, we will finally get to have Dad sit with us. Yay! He didn't get to sit with us today, and so, of course, the boys had to go out with a bang by being horribly behaved. I think there was at least 12 punches thrown, choking, kicking, poking, etc. and just being super super loud. I unfortunately have only 2 arms and can only restrain two kids at a time. Glad that was done!
And that was our week in a nutshell.
Monday - a pretty normal day but very windy and I just did not feel well, so we skipped tennis. It didn't end up saving us any time and the boys still didn't finish everything early. Oh, well. The boys got their day off of tennis that they have been begging for. Seth in particular keeps begging to skip school, tennis, church, anything he can. We had a quick family home evening, reading part of a baptism book, before hurrying to put Noah to bed. Since he usually doesn't take naps, it's hard to figure out a schedule for him.
Tuesday - Katsu went in early to work and I took Logan into preschool. Noah and I went to the library and stayed for story time - it was on trains. He learned a new song "Down by the station" that I had totally forgotten about. Andrew and Katsu used to sing that song together when Andrew was a little boy. We went to Target afterwards and bought some badly needed pillows - our old ones were so flat, we are having a hard time getting used to sleeping on non-flat pillows. We also got a lunch box for Noah so he could be like the big boys. After we picked up Logan, we went to the park and played for awhile. The boys had a lot of fun until we finally went home and Noah took a pretty good nap in the car for an hour, I think After the boys came home, we all went over to Chickfila, to use my calendar card and also for the boys to get free nuggets for getting their report cards (all A's and S's for the boys - so that was good). The boys spent a lot of time playing and the lady sitting next to me talked to me for a long time telling me her life story. We got home in time to get ready for the Pinewood Derby. After a dinner of nachos, we were off to the church. Katsu didn't help Andrew at all this time - he did it all on his own. Noah pretty much walked back and forth from the snack table the whole time, but the other boys were sitting right on the finish line watching the races. We don't have many boys, so the whole thing was over in like 20 minutes. Andrew came in 2nd place - pretty great! Everyone was so happy for him.
Wednesday - school for everyone in the morning, playing outside all afternoon until it was time to go to tennis. Katsu got home early since he came straight from a meeting and started cooking up Cincinnati Chili - a new recipe, even, which was nice. Otherwise, a pretty average day ... tennis, homework, bishopric meeting, etc.
Thursday - Groundhog day. We had special Groundhog treats. The boys helped me make their faces, so they looked a little demonic, but oh, well. We watched a live feed of the groundhog and then rushed the boys to school. I took Logan to school and then Noah and I went to get an oil change. I was in a rush and forgot to bring anything for him to do, but luckily, they had a Paw Patrol book that we looked through for an hour. Then, we went to the park and played. We are really loving the new park and it's fun to see Noah getting more adventurous. It was another day where the boys spent the entire afternoon outside - like 12:30 - 5:30. It's great to play with friends and get so much outside time, but I have to supervise Noah, so I can't get anything done in the house. So, the laundry, cleaning, etc. really suffers. Tons of kids were playing over here, but we had to walk over to pick Andrew up from Science Olympiad and I had the younger 3 boys plus 3 boys from the neighborhood all walk with me to school! I felt like quite an entourage. I still miss winter and hate the hot long summer, but I am unfortunately getting used to how warm the winter is and enjoying playing outside all the time. I don't know what will happen if we have to move away from here ...
Katsu and I had tickets to see the National Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra. It was so nice to go out and Noah was even asleep before the babysitters came over! We got to our seats and one of the seats was missing with a big red X. We went and asked them what to do and they were prepared with a second set of tickets. We went to those seats and someone was already sitting in them! We went and they went and found a third set of tickets for us and luckily we got to finally sit down. They were so apologetic, but I thought it was kind of funny. The orchestra was wonderful. It has been so long since we saw a symphony. They had a solo pianist who was amazing, but also hilarious. He made all these exaggerated faces and when he had a break would make an elaborate display of cleaning his glasses and adjusting his hair. Totally reminded me of someone we knew back in Boston. So funny. We were wiped out by the time we got home at 10:30 though!
Friday - Andrew threw a massive fit in the morning. He was upset about Katsu packing him a sandwich ("I can't eat sandwiches"), and after us saying he would have to get himself another lunch then, went crazy, yelling threats (his favorite is calling anyone and everyone "a freaking pile of crap". He insisted that he had no idea how to pack a lunch, or where his lunchbox was, or getting treats. He is the master at learned helplessness, but after massive tears and fits, he ended up with someone in his lunchbox and made it just a little late to his Battle of the Books practice. It turns out he ended up taking the sandwich ("It actually wasn't goo bad since it was the bread that I like"). As a counterpoint, Seth said nothing but didn't eat his sandwich ("I don't eat sandwiches" he said when I asked him why after school).
Otherwise, another day of school and work and then playing outside, but thankfully, it was a lot colder, so the boys got cold after awhile and we were able to get some of the weekend cleaning done. Katsu came home. It was Setsubun, so Katsu dressed up as a goblin and came in the front door. The boys had been excited, but when I yelled that the goblin was here, Noah promptly burst into tears. He did a great job of throwing jelly beans as did Logan and Seth. Andrew was trying to get nerf guns and shoot him though. So annoying. Then Katsu had to go help someone move. We had the BFG for movie night, but Katsu didn't get home till almost 8 and missed most of it. Noah passed out half way through and Katsu and I were so tired by the time it was done. We fell asleep at 9:30, too.
Saturday - we got up, I did a run, and we did some cleaning. I had a stake primary meeting, so I got a ride up to New Bern. Katsu helped the boys finish cleaning and drove them all to New Bern and picked me up 12. We had lunch in the car and then we went to go see the Tyron Palace since it was their annual free day. We had seen the gardens before, but only Andrew had seen the inside. It was cold and we had to wait in line for quite a while to see a tour of the house, but it was fun. By the time we were inside, Noah could hear drums outside and that is all he wanted to talk about. We also saw the original stables (from the 1700s - it was the first capital of North Carolina), the gardens, bee keeping and the blacksmith. We saw the military encampment out back and we conned the kids into partcipating with the Continental Congress. Seth kept trying to hide behind Andrew, but the generals kept putting him in line. They climbed on the cannons. We stopped to hear the Fife and Drum band and they ended up playing right next to us. Katsu wasn't feeling well, but was a good spot. We went over to the history center and saw how they made cloth and about their hair dos and played on the playground out back. Then, we walked to the Cow Cafe and got some quesadillas and some ice cream before driving home.
Sunday - Katsu was feeling awful and was going to skip church but they insisted he had to meet with the stake, so he went (looking pretty awful) and he finally got released! So, after 3.5 years on the bishopric, we will finally get to have Dad sit with us. Yay! He didn't get to sit with us today, and so, of course, the boys had to go out with a bang by being horribly behaved. I think there was at least 12 punches thrown, choking, kicking, poking, etc. and just being super super loud. I unfortunately have only 2 arms and can only restrain two kids at a time. Glad that was done!
And that was our week in a nutshell.
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