A Week, Briefly (Mar 20, 2023)

Baymax threw a huge tantrum--1 hour 40 minutes long--this week over having to try to do something new.

When he actually used words, I listened to his concerns.

I validated everything he said.

I acknowledged that he would "be bad at it" at first and reassured him that the goal was not being good, but just trying.

And I ignored everything that wasn't rational.

He screamed.

He sulked.

He hit me.  (At which point I got Sir Walter Scott involved.)

He said many rude things.

He sulked some more.

He screamed some more.

He finally settled down, tried it, did it perfectly in under 2 minutes, and he was free.

That's kind of what the whole week felt like.

We accomplished a lot, and we were good at it!  It just seemed to take a phenomenal amount of wasted energy to get to the good stuff.

Monday

Sir Walter Scott took the youngest 6 on a field trip into downtown Kansas City.  (I stayed home with Nature Angel, Little Princess, and the daycare babies.)

They rode the streetcar all over town, just seeing what there was to see and getting to know the city.

We pass this giant bench frequently, and we always say, "We need to stop sometime and take a picture on it."  Now part of the family has actually done it!

At home, Little Princess was sick in bed, so Nature Angel and I tag-teamed our way through the morning.

They were enthralled by an episode of Signing Time--every single one of them tried a sign or two.

And a brand-new, still-slightly-warm, batch of playdough was a hit.

Sir Walter Scott and the kids came home at 5:00--happy, tired, excited, and full of stories about their field trip.

It only took a few minutes for them all to collapse into rest . . . like this:

Tuesday

It was hard to get going this morning.  Fatigue from the day before left all of the kids in a daze.  We moved slowly, and eventually, we got things done.  Three kids got their sit-upons pinned, sewed, and turned right side out.

With 2 different fabrics and batting sewn together by inexpert hands, the layers didn't all line up perfectly, so I had the kids measure and mark a sewing line.

While they waited for turns on the sewing machine, they filled out their history pages about William the Conqueror.

This is what the day felt like--a reading, napping kind of day.

I totally forgot to double-check Brother's work, and he ended up sewing his layers together incorrectly.  I picked the whole thing apart, cut him a new waterproof layer, and helped him put it together correctly the next day.

We were all so droopy that we watched nature documentaries in the afternoon.

And then got out the playdough again once the babies woke up from their naps.

Wednesday

They still haven't bloomed!!

Stretch put his hand on Nature Angel's arm and said, "I yuv you 'dis much."  Then he snuggled into her and said, "I yuv you.  I yuv you.  I yuv you," over and over again as she snuggled and told him the same in return.

The second half of the kids sewed their sit-upon layers together.

The teens and I had Symposium--this week's topics included the Sui/Tang dynasties and stories of Muhammad and the rise of Islam.

Nature Angel finally got through invertebrates  ("Finally" is her way of describing it.  It was not a favorite biology unit.)

Little Princess worked on her flight essay and studied for her CAP drill exam.

The kittens got spayed at the local vet, so there was dropping off, picking up, and other surgery-related stuff to do for them.

I caught Brother disobeying family rules about bike riding in the neighborhood, and now he's grounded from that activity again.

But he and Mister Man had a great time at their gardening apprenticeship that afternoon.

In the evening, we finished this:

The kids instructed me to hurry and find the sequel ASAP.

In the meantime, we're reading this:

So far, it's charming enough that Brother is staying awake to listen to the story!

Thursday

Show day!

It was a small, but appreciative audience in the memory care unit of a nursing home.

Sweet Sir Walter Scott helps me with the babies every single time!

Sugar Bear wanted to wear her new rain boots in the show! :) 

Final pose of A Lot O' Livin' (Bye Bye Birdie)

From Nicest Kids in Town (Hairspray)

Ladies' Choice (Hairspray)

And just the very first walking-on moment of my kids and daycare babies because I had to put the camera down and run into place so the babies could see me as they danced.

Just for fun:  I think the kittens look like they're wearing bonnets.

The kids went to the library and brought a new haul home.

Belle came home and announced that she has completed all of her required travel/mission immunizations.

That evening:

*Little Princess went to CAP prepared for her drill test, but it wasn't administered for an unknown reason.

*The youth activity was "Skits in a Box" (meaning each youth class was responsible to bring a category of props, and then these were placed randomly in boxes by the youth leaders, and the boxes were then assigned to various groups of kids who then had to create a skit using all of the props AND illustrating an assigned gospel theme!)

*And Nature Angel had a YCL planning meeting for Girls' Camp.

No children's activities this week, so my youngest stayed home and watched Star Wars I while I researched Reggio-inspired invitations to play.

Friday

Ooooh!  More "treasures!"

And we completed our sit-upons with top-stitching and attached a ribbon to tie each one closed!

While she waited for her turn to sew, Lola drew Tink wearing her cone.

We're ready for outdoor adventures and learning!!!

Stretch had a fever a couple of days this week (Now Little Princess has one!)

Mister Man taught Sugar Bear about a lot of different Lego creations.

Li'l K pretended to play Rummikub with the bigger kids.

Ladybug and Sugar Bear have been forging a friendship over feeding the chickens together.  On Friday Sugar Bear got to collect an egg!

In the evening, Little Princess and Nature Angel got to go to a friend's birthday party.  

They so needed that break with friends!

Saturday

We accomplished Saturday chores getting the house "company clean" because we hosted the party for  Nugget's 2nd birthday.  The kids did a much better job than I thought they were capable of doing, so I'm thrilled.

We're gonna bring back Saturday chores!!

Sunday

This weekend Pixie was invited to teach the Relief Society lesson at church in Kumpala.

Pixie and a friend in front of the church wearing locally-purchased skirts

I'm glad she had a quiet weekend.  Last weekend's adventures left the whole group of young women sick from heat exhaustion and dehydration.  (The tour package was supposed to include food and water all weekend, but they were given nothing to eat or drink on Sunday in spite of hard hiking.)

Nature Angel co-taught a church lesson with a friend.

Lola gave a 2-minute talk in primary (the children's program).

Brother presented a scripture and testimony in the combined Aaronic Priesthood class.

Beowulf woke up with extreme neck pain, and nothing Sir Walter Scott or I did for him helped at all.  He stayed home from church with Little Princess.  Moving is painful for him.  He just got off the couch to play with Legos, but I can see him holding his head at a funny angle and moving stiffly.

Looks like, in addition to his psych appointment in the afternoon, I'm going to have to find a way to get him to the chiropractor tomorrow.

(Yes, I did look up meningitis symptoms because he was droopy and possibly feverish earlier in the week, but he's not feverish today, and he can touch his chin to his chest, so I think this isn't meningitis.)

Poor kid.