Zombie Nights

I feel like a zombie this week. Phillip has not slept well all week long, not sure what his deal is. He complains of a sore tummy but is not running fevers or having daytime pains. The worst days were Sunday through Tuesday. He would wake up 5-10 times and cry, toss around our bed, and complain. It was not so much fun at all. Evelyn decided to have a stuffy nose at the same time. Everett joined in the fun because he felt lonely. I about died when Amelia decided to enjoy some nightmares as well. I think between all the sleep interruptions I only got about 28 hours of sleep this entire week. Evelyn was up until 11:30 Sunday evening. This is the first time since a couple weeks after birth she has not slept well at night. Enter cranky mommy and ornery Phillip.

Amelia taught a beautiful lesson on Monday on loving yourself as God does. She grabbed the Nursery manual, chose the lesson, looked up the scriptures, and assigned me to play the songs from the lesson. I did not help her out until a little bit into her lesson. Watching her blossom was so amazing. We played Headbanz for an activity and noshed on doughnuts.

The First Grade enjoyed a Fun Day at the park Tuesday afternoon. We needed to get out of the house so the kids and I went to play with her class for a while. Phillip was so tired he mostly sat on the ground and watched the kids play (super, duper strange). Everett loved the ball game, Take out the Trash. He did pretty well at gunny sack jumping. Amelia was the fastest gunny sack jumper in her class! We left after stacking cups because Everett and Phillip were throwing tantrums. The boys sipped pickle juice for a post Fun Day snack. Justin worked on installing new closet shelves and bars while I took Everett and Amelia with me on a photo shoot. We drove out to the Hinrichs farm for a really fun session. Mike has a cool collection of old rusty cars we used as backdrop. Everett carried around my lens case and pretended he was Dora on an adventure climbing star mountain to save a necklace. He was quite determined to hike up and down the plateaus all by himself. Amelia trailed after him making sure he stayed away from snakes and holes. They both had cute flushed cheeks when we drove home.

I planted peas, green beans, cucumbers, squash, Brussels sprouts, basil, carrots, and chard in my garden on Wednesday. We all LOVED spending so much time outside, even with a brisk wind and temperature.

Amelia and Everett had well-child dr visits early Thursday morning. As expected Amelia is a runt in the 25^th percentile. I forgot to write down their stats so need to call the office and get them. Everett is in the 75^th percentile in both weight and height. He eats more than both Amelia and Phillip combined. For lunch he ate an entire quesadilla, salsa, a handful of berries, a bowl of spaghetti O’s and 8 meatballs. By Thursday our closet was finally installed and most of the mess is cleaned up off the floor. I am amazed at how long projects take with more kids! What should have lasted a couple hours took several days to complete. Everett has a fascination coloring his hands and one arm red, I added a moustache to his face just because. He was not a fan of that at all…har har har, serves you right Mr Pegleg Stinky Boot (his pirate name).

I really enjoy watching the boy’s relationship unfold. Sometimes I call them Philvertt. Sounds like a stomach ache. Friday, Phillip decided it would be a good idea to stick his head between the bars on our porch. Course his head got stuck. Everett stood in front of him sucking on his binky and occasionally flicking Phillip on the forehead. That alone gave me a perfect mind photo of their relationship. Phillip acts recklessly (or thoughtlessly) and Everett observes then makes fun of Phillip’s poor choice, then pushes his buttons. I used my super muscles to bend the metal bars and save Phillip. He was most impressed with my large super muscles. Phillip loves to mimic Justin. I picked up a pretend shaving kit with a shaving brush. Phillip did a fine job shaving…his nose, ears, forehead, lips, cheeks, and chin. He insisted I roll his towel exactly how Justin wears his. He paid particular attention to filling his ears with just the right amount of shaving cream. Justin often has puffs of cream left on his ears; Phillip thinks this is normal and kosher. He even got upset when I wiped off his ears after he deliberately left some there. While getting dressed he expressed how much he missed his Superman PJs. I suggested we could get a set for his birthday. He asked if he could have Monster Truck PJs too. I asked him to choose and his choice was both of them. In a joking voice I suggested we find super monster truck PJs. He burst out laughing and slapping his knee like that was the silliest suggestion on planet Earth. He laughed, slapped his knee, and called me hilarious for a long time. I felt awesome knowing my sense of humor is so amazing.  

Friday I got to photograph the graduating preschool class at the Learning Korner where Phillip attends. There were 23 kids graduating from the sunflower class. It was an easy $400 bucks for only 4-5 hours of work. We hired a lady to paint our home. She pressure washed the outside that afternoon. The weather and some of her equipment caused several delays this week. Hopefully this time next week our home will look amazing with a new color and painted casings. Justin took the kids out for a meal at the new Sonic restaurant that opened earlier this week. We are a little excited to have a Sonic here.

Saturday we worked hard mowing the lawn, cleaning, shopping, and playing in sand. Justin even went with us to the library. This was his FIRST time in the Sidney library. Dude, that is strange. The library has several really fun educational games the boys love to play. Amelia had another birthday party to attend for her friend Katelyn. Amelia and Evelyn went with me to pick up our Bountiful Basket in Dalton. Ella was thrilled we drove out to her home for our basket this week. Amelia got carsick and barfed right outside of the Dalton city limits. I am so glad she made it outside! I ordered 24 pint cartons of blueberries this week. So delish!

After church I had a long scout meeting. Our little group of leaders is gearing up for changes that somehow became the norm. I am excited we can offer more than a bare bones program. I even get a scout shirt and patches! Hooray!