Tale of Two Birthdays
Monday I got out of the house for a bit to explore the area. I found a Once Upon a Child not terribly far away. Phillip wanted a suit for his 8th birthday, we checked for a suit there first. No such luck, had suits in size 7, 9, and 10. Bummer. I tried to get all the laundry completed before the power save time between 1-8 pm. It's going to take some getting used to! After school I wanted to check out one more location for a suit. I grabbed the kids from the bus stop and went to find it. Turns out the location was for a photo studio with the same name. Grrrrrrr. Amelia was amazingly awarded a viola through the school music program. We were told she had little to no chance for an instrument since we were 5 days late getting an application in. We are counting our blessings! Amelia came home with a list of other needed items and a note about a meeting that same day at 5:30. Instead we found a music store and got the needed items then waited at the school for 15 minutes. It was HOT outside, like 110. Still the kids enjoyed playing a bit on the playground. The meeting was generally to sign a contract and get a lecture about using school instruments. After dinner Justin gave the kids Father's Blessings for the start of school. The kids were extra excited so the noise level was louder than acceptable. Justin was also going through a rough patch that made the experience over the top stressful. He went to bed early pretty upset. We felt really bad about the way he was feeling.
Early Tuesday morning Amelia wanted to be at school by 8 am for a meeting about a school club called Battle of the Books. Those interested in committing are divided into groups, read a series of books and answer tough questions about the book content as a group. She is pretty excited to try that out. Sister Judy Larry came over around 9 am to help me clean and unpack for a bit. She mostly cleaned up clutter and helped me get to a point where I could focus on unpacking, sorting, and decorating instead of maintaining a clean home. By that afternoon I had most of the living room decorated with art on the walls and such. The little girls and I made a short trip to Deseret Book for a set of scriptures and a case. I chose the cheaper bound scriptures since Phillip is so hard on books. The store was able to emboss his name on the scriptures! Josie's newest skill is to scream at the top of the lungs whenever her little will is crossed. She got crossed several times. After Mia came home we worked on hanging photos in her room. She was excited to help out with the decorating. Tuesday from 5:30-6:40 I had to be at the school for curriculum night. Basically, the teaching team explained their styles of teaching and what programs are used with the subjects taught. They also went over what homework to expect and parent expectations (like reading at home). After the meeting we could ask questions and visit with the teachers.
Early Wednesday morning the littles and I left around 7:30 am before the kids went to school. I left them to fend for themselves as far as finishing breakfast, packing lunch/snacks, and water bottles. They apparently made it since the kids were gone when I got home. The girls and I got to hang out at a strip mall for 3 hours while our sunroof was replaced. That whole fiasco was a pile of stress balls. A couple days beforehand Justin renewed the car insurance and changed it a bit, including foregoing glass insurance. We did not know how bad the roads are and how often glass breaks due to extreme weather changes. Just two days later the sun roof was cracked by a huge bolt. Our luck of late meant that of course the glass was the most expensive to replace ($8-900). We immediately used our deductible and forked out the rest. Suck a wet duck! While we waited we ate snacks in the shade where it was only 95 degrees. We window shopped at Kohls for a Sunday outfit for me. The best was finding a pedicure place. I got a pedicure and the little girls got free nail painting. Evelyn was in high heaven to get fancy flowers painted on her toes. Phillip peed his pants at school. I am so afraid the kids will make fun of him and shun him. Not sure what is going on with him. He takes longer to adjust for sure. After school Amelia had her first Activity Days here in Arizona. While she was doing that I took birthday photos of Phillip and Evelyn. It was pretty hot and muggy since a large monsoon suddenly took over the skies. We did not get rain but the visibility was greatly reduced. Phillip insisted on photos with his bluehost sunglasses from Uncle James. He looked off the charts cool! Evelyn picked her outfits, including the red striped one with no shorts on underneath...it looked pretty darn short. In half of the photos I edited her skirt and added a couple inches of length.
Thursday morning found us at Walmart for a massive shopping trip. I finally moved enough stuff in to know where holes were in food, canned goods, condiments, and household stuff. Took two cart to haul it all out. I was dog tired after that. Thank goodness for naps! After a little nap I started work on our bedroom. I hung up curtains and worked on arranging our closet and emptying more boxes. The western wall of our house gets super-duper hot. By the time I hung the rods I was a sweating, wilted mess. Still we had dinner on the table, clothes to wear, and books to read. I attended the curriculum night for Amelia at 5:30. Her teacher asked if Amelia wanted to test for the gifted program. She tested in the top 1% of the 5th grade. I love listening to her plunk along on her new viola. After dinner Justin had a Dr appointment. The kids and I went to Target to wish shop for birthday gifts. That was quite the mistake. The kids were loud, cranky, and whiny. A bad case of the gimmies took over the kids. Phillip wanted everything. Evelyn wanted all the Doc Stuffins and Genie toys in sight. Everett was whining about getting a Paw Patrol toy and Amelia wanted a blind box or two. The demons were tamed when I took photos of their choices for the next holiday. I (we) needed an ice cream cone after that.
Early Tuesday morning Amelia wanted to be at school by 8 am for a meeting about a school club called Battle of the Books. Those interested in committing are divided into groups, read a series of books and answer tough questions about the book content as a group. She is pretty excited to try that out. Sister Judy Larry came over around 9 am to help me clean and unpack for a bit. She mostly cleaned up clutter and helped me get to a point where I could focus on unpacking, sorting, and decorating instead of maintaining a clean home. By that afternoon I had most of the living room decorated with art on the walls and such. The little girls and I made a short trip to Deseret Book for a set of scriptures and a case. I chose the cheaper bound scriptures since Phillip is so hard on books. The store was able to emboss his name on the scriptures! Josie's newest skill is to scream at the top of the lungs whenever her little will is crossed. She got crossed several times. After Mia came home we worked on hanging photos in her room. She was excited to help out with the decorating. Tuesday from 5:30-6:40 I had to be at the school for curriculum night. Basically, the teaching team explained their styles of teaching and what programs are used with the subjects taught. They also went over what homework to expect and parent expectations (like reading at home). After the meeting we could ask questions and visit with the teachers.
Early Wednesday morning the littles and I left around 7:30 am before the kids went to school. I left them to fend for themselves as far as finishing breakfast, packing lunch/snacks, and water bottles. They apparently made it since the kids were gone when I got home. The girls and I got to hang out at a strip mall for 3 hours while our sunroof was replaced. That whole fiasco was a pile of stress balls. A couple days beforehand Justin renewed the car insurance and changed it a bit, including foregoing glass insurance. We did not know how bad the roads are and how often glass breaks due to extreme weather changes. Just two days later the sun roof was cracked by a huge bolt. Our luck of late meant that of course the glass was the most expensive to replace ($8-900). We immediately used our deductible and forked out the rest. Suck a wet duck! While we waited we ate snacks in the shade where it was only 95 degrees. We window shopped at Kohls for a Sunday outfit for me. The best was finding a pedicure place. I got a pedicure and the little girls got free nail painting. Evelyn was in high heaven to get fancy flowers painted on her toes. Phillip peed his pants at school. I am so afraid the kids will make fun of him and shun him. Not sure what is going on with him. He takes longer to adjust for sure. After school Amelia had her first Activity Days here in Arizona. While she was doing that I took birthday photos of Phillip and Evelyn. It was pretty hot and muggy since a large monsoon suddenly took over the skies. We did not get rain but the visibility was greatly reduced. Phillip insisted on photos with his bluehost sunglasses from Uncle James. He looked off the charts cool! Evelyn picked her outfits, including the red striped one with no shorts on underneath...it looked pretty darn short. In half of the photos I edited her skirt and added a couple inches of length.
Thursday morning found us at Walmart for a massive shopping trip. I finally moved enough stuff in to know where holes were in food, canned goods, condiments, and household stuff. Took two cart to haul it all out. I was dog tired after that. Thank goodness for naps! After a little nap I started work on our bedroom. I hung up curtains and worked on arranging our closet and emptying more boxes. The western wall of our house gets super-duper hot. By the time I hung the rods I was a sweating, wilted mess. Still we had dinner on the table, clothes to wear, and books to read. I attended the curriculum night for Amelia at 5:30. Her teacher asked if Amelia wanted to test for the gifted program. She tested in the top 1% of the 5th grade. I love listening to her plunk along on her new viola. After dinner Justin had a Dr appointment. The kids and I went to Target to wish shop for birthday gifts. That was quite the mistake. The kids were loud, cranky, and whiny. A bad case of the gimmies took over the kids. Phillip wanted everything. Evelyn wanted all the Doc Stuffins and Genie toys in sight. Everett was whining about getting a Paw Patrol toy and Amelia wanted a blind box or two. The demons were tamed when I took photos of their choices for the next holiday. I (we) needed an ice cream cone after that.
Friday was Phillip's birthday! Talk about excitement! I taped 8 balloons on his bedroom door. First thing I hear in the morning were screams of joy and balloons plunked off the door. Mia made her famous scrambled eggs. I made sprinkle cake pancakes. Phillip added fresh fruit! I am not sure he ate more than a bite or two. He wanted donuts for school treat. The girls were quite excited to visit Phillip at school and deliver the treat. The school secretary handed a horse toy for the girls! As we walked down the hall Josie made silly horse noises. Evelyn helped me mix up her birthday cake batter. The cake took 4 round cakes to get a proper height. For lunch I checked him out for lunch at McD's, both Phillip and Evelyn's fave place to eat. Phillip was quite patient waiting to open his gifts. He only opened up two gifts that day. I rummaged in the roasting hot garage for my temple clothes with success. Justin and I attended the temple for ward temple night. We both needed a break, a spiritual one at that. Sister Judy offered to watch the kids while we went. It was a late night for all. Phillip stayed up to get one last birthday hug.
Justin took his truck in early the next morning to get another emissions test. It failed because two tests were not running, the gas was too full at the time. Finally, that passed the test. We took his motorcycle in for a repair covered by the warranty. Looks like we will try to sell the motorcycle at this time. Everett earned a Pizza Pie Cafe free buffet coupon at school. We went there for a fun birthday day lunch to celebrate both Phillip and Evelyn. Amelia and Evelyn were quite taken with the pasta bar. So much excitement! During naps I wanted to wrap Evelyn's gifts so I locked myself in the bathroom, she was not so happy about that decision. She cried loudly, poking her fingers under the door and peeking under the door. She was present when I bought her gifts, but unknown to her I got two other gifts without her knowledge. I hurriedly wrapped those before she thought of a way to get in. She pulled out the "I need to potty BAD" card. Knowing, that phrase was sure to earn an open door. Indeed. She sat on the potty with no results. I am not sure who won that battle. We worked on icing the Barbie cake. Every so often she'd sigh with delight over her pretty pink Barbie cake. Spenser, Laura, and kids all arrived around 4 for a small family cake party. We ate tacos for dinner and cake for dessert. Phillip requested a cheesecake, we ate most of that. Poor Barbie cake got thrown away with only two slices eaten. Evelyn thought her cake tasted gross. The boys had a great time playing Transformers together with Phillip's new toys. Laura was quite impressed with how much our house looked moved in. I am impressed as well. It is all shaping up nicely...if you don't look in the garage.
Josie earned several head bruises this week. We are all getting used to the more slippery tile floors. Her new word this week was Melmo. Sometimes she says Melmo piaper (Elmo diaper). She started dishing out kisses as well. She can actually purse her lips and make a kiss smack sound. The kids love to get kisses and hugs from her as often as she will allow. She randomly busted out with the genie song while looking at a book the other day.
Justin took his truck in early the next morning to get another emissions test. It failed because two tests were not running, the gas was too full at the time. Finally, that passed the test. We took his motorcycle in for a repair covered by the warranty. Looks like we will try to sell the motorcycle at this time. Everett earned a Pizza Pie Cafe free buffet coupon at school. We went there for a fun birthday day lunch to celebrate both Phillip and Evelyn. Amelia and Evelyn were quite taken with the pasta bar. So much excitement! During naps I wanted to wrap Evelyn's gifts so I locked myself in the bathroom, she was not so happy about that decision. She cried loudly, poking her fingers under the door and peeking under the door. She was present when I bought her gifts, but unknown to her I got two other gifts without her knowledge. I hurriedly wrapped those before she thought of a way to get in. She pulled out the "I need to potty BAD" card. Knowing, that phrase was sure to earn an open door. Indeed. She sat on the potty with no results. I am not sure who won that battle. We worked on icing the Barbie cake. Every so often she'd sigh with delight over her pretty pink Barbie cake. Spenser, Laura, and kids all arrived around 4 for a small family cake party. We ate tacos for dinner and cake for dessert. Phillip requested a cheesecake, we ate most of that. Poor Barbie cake got thrown away with only two slices eaten. Evelyn thought her cake tasted gross. The boys had a great time playing Transformers together with Phillip's new toys. Laura was quite impressed with how much our house looked moved in. I am impressed as well. It is all shaping up nicely...if you don't look in the garage.
Josie earned several head bruises this week. We are all getting used to the more slippery tile floors. Her new word this week was Melmo. Sometimes she says Melmo piaper (Elmo diaper). She started dishing out kisses as well. She can actually purse her lips and make a kiss smack sound. The kids love to get kisses and hugs from her as often as she will allow. She randomly busted out with the genie song while looking at a book the other day.
Sunday morning I noticed Everett was slapping his shirt this was our conversation:
Everett: Mom, I keep whapping down my shirt but it just pops right back up,
Me: well buddy you did not button it right,
Everett: yes...I did, see the bottom button is even.
Me: Indeed it is. The top is not even.
Everett: does that even matter?
After dinner Justin we weeded part of our rocked area. Apparently, our neighbors are weed sensitive and warned us about the weed sensitive home association. Everett helped me weed my area. He was so sweet telling me that pulling weeds is service that helps us return to live with Jesus. As we weeded a bit Evelyn stepped into a red ant colony. She was terrified over the ants biting her legs. I gave her a shower and slapped anti-itch cream on her bites. Justin was scheduled to help the missionaries out with a gospel lesson. The kids and I drove to the temple to walk around the grounds and take some photos of Phillip for his baptism. Amelia pointed out a large looming wall of orange sand racing towards us. We had only about 4 minutes before a sandstorm swamped us. We sought shelter in the van and returned home since the grounds were gated up.
Everett: Mom, I keep whapping down my shirt but it just pops right back up,
Me: well buddy you did not button it right,
Everett: yes...I did, see the bottom button is even.
Me: Indeed it is. The top is not even.
Everett: does that even matter?
After dinner Justin we weeded part of our rocked area. Apparently, our neighbors are weed sensitive and warned us about the weed sensitive home association. Everett helped me weed my area. He was so sweet telling me that pulling weeds is service that helps us return to live with Jesus. As we weeded a bit Evelyn stepped into a red ant colony. She was terrified over the ants biting her legs. I gave her a shower and slapped anti-itch cream on her bites. Justin was scheduled to help the missionaries out with a gospel lesson. The kids and I drove to the temple to walk around the grounds and take some photos of Phillip for his baptism. Amelia pointed out a large looming wall of orange sand racing towards us. We had only about 4 minutes before a sandstorm swamped us. We sought shelter in the van and returned home since the grounds were gated up.
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