Sunday, February 26, 2012

ho, hum

This last week really flew by. The kids were out of school for the first two days of the week. Teacher work days scheduled in for snow make up days. This year has been sadly bereft of snow, but we did manage to get some last weekend. It snowed here and in Hickory. We were in Hickory and the kids had a blast running around while it snowed on them and slinging snowballs at each other. Caleb built a snowman all by himself, but the snow wouldn't pack well and there wasn't much of it, so it was about a foot high.

Then by Wednesday is was in the 70s. The boys wore shorts to school, and I didn't feel like a bad mom sending them out the door in the morning either. overall the kids had a fairly good week. Beth had a sleepover, and didn't come too cranky the next day, which was definitely a bonus. Caleb and jacob stayed up late playing video games with Rob, which was great. i got to read an entire novel and not feel the least bit guilty.

We had a great stake conference. I was so edified and inspired by both of the sessions. It was something I really needed to hear. I'm blessed by all the people I have in my life. I have great friends, that I'm not so great at keeping in touch with. This isn't much of an update, and I need to add pictures or something, but I do want to start posting every week. I hope you all have a great week!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

A Quiet Weekend

We had a fairly quiet weekend. We went to a ward activity, which we don't normally do, and made valentines for people. Actually the kids ran around the building, and Beth made some valentines, Jacob made one for Caleb, and I cut hearts for a heart attack for people in our ward. It was a pretty mellow activity, but I did get a chance to talk to some people, whom I've not been able to lately.

On Saturday we went and cleaned the church building, and the boys went to a birthday party. I'd been dreading our turn to clean the building, but it wasn't that bad. And we were done in just over an hour. It was satisfying to know that we had helped, even if the kids did end up running crazy by the time we were done. The boys had fun at their birthday party, and Beth read some books. She found a series (Franny K Stein) that she actually likes. I worry that the reading level is a bit young for her, but she is tearing through them. Right now I just want to get her reading.

Caleb is having a tough school year this year. I've got another meeting set up with the teacher, this time about him being bullied. My poor sweet boy. He doesn't stand up for himself, and I'm so tempted to just pull him out of school for the rest of the year. I really wish I could do it. He is losing his spark, and he is so down all of the time. I want him to love learning and it just isn't happening this year.

Jacob is doing well. He's super excited for his Valentine's Day party this year. He has started to love school, and I'm not fighting to get him out the door in the mornings. he is obsessed with video games, and often calls Rob in the afternoon to ask him to come home so he can play Ratchet and Clank, so Jacob can watch. Unfortunately for him, I'm not a video game playin' momma. I'll do board games, but I don't have the skills necessary to jump from spot to spot on the screen.

Rob is hanging in there. There is a lot of change going on at his work, which I think is motivating him to look around at other jobs. But he wants to apply for a good job that he'll be happy at. I'm still keeping busy with writing, and working, and being a mom. Right now I've gota bit of a cold that won't go away. it's not bad yet, and I'm hoping it won't get there.

I hope you all have a good week!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

A Little News and a Trip to the Beach

Well, I haven't updated in a long, long time. And a lost has happened in the months since I've posted anything. Everyone's gotten a little bit older, and aged up a year. The holidays are a crazy time with all the kids birthdays tacked onto either side of Christmas, but we managed to make it through the months with everything still in tact.

Beth is ten and growing up so fast. She's funny and happy most of the time, and loves to connect with people. Right now she's absolutely convinced that she wants to be a surgeon, and has begun taking her school work even more seriously as a result. She wants to take Gross Anatomy, the sooner the better, and I think she is really set on it. Right now she still has steady hands, so it's a viable option for her in the future.

Caleb is having a rough run of first grade. He's smart, and is doing well, but doesn't like to sit still or pay attention in class. He's got so much energy, and he likes to go, go go all of the time. I wish the classrooms were set up in a way that allowed boys time to move around more. But overall he is doing really well, and growing up fast.

Jacob is finally ready to start kindergarten. He kept telling me he wasn't going to go, because he didn't want his kindergarten shots. But once we got those over with he is much more open to the idea of going. he loves to play board games with Rob, and he's really good at figuring out puzzle games. He is also officially too big to snuggle up with in my lap while watching as how together. It happened today, and I almost cried. My baby can't be getting too big to snuggle. What will I do?

We haven't had a chance for any real family weekends lately, and we were positively convinced that we needed one yesterday. The plan was to to go to the zoo, since it wasn't going to be too hot, but it ended up being a rainy weekend there, so we drove away from the storm instead and went to the beach. We visited a Fort, looked for ghosts, and hit up an aquarium. Then we took a walk on the beach, since it was too cold to swim, but it was warm enough that we didn't need jackets most of the day. overall it was a great day. Sorry there were no pictures. But the kids did get to touch a moon jellyfish at the aquarium, which was pretty cool, and Jacob is now covered in shark tattoos. He looks like a biker with a shark obsession.

We haven't had much of a winter here. Maybe two or three days when we actually had a day that stayed in the 30s. And my tulips are up and ready to bloom already. The kids and I keep hoping for some crazy winter storm, but I'm almost convinced it isn't going to happen. This will be my first winter ever, with absolutely no winter storms. Talk about weird. The grass is green outside in February, because we've had rain, but no snow, and not enough cold days to warrant getting the winter coats out of the closet. jacket weather all year round is an adjustment for this Utah girl. It's strange not to have at least one day when you can go outside and throw snowballs at each other.

On a side note, I've recently decided to put my first novel up on Amazon, as an e-book. I am excited to share it with everyone, and I'll let you guys know when it is up and ready to go. It's funny because I'd never thought I do something like this, but as I've thought and prayed about my situation, I know absolutely that it's the right thing for this book for right now. Anyway, you can all read it when it comes out, sometime in the next month. I'm aiming for the end of February.