What DO you do all day?

I drive N and our neighbor/friend to middle school each morning. I was trying to make a little small-talk. I mentioned how the week is almost over and figured they'd be happy with this revealation. N's friend, V, said he wants the weekend to be NOW. He didn't want to go to school because he wants to stay home from school like me "cuz you get to sleep all day and watch TV". Um, what did you say?!!? I quickly told him that this wasn't the case. Then he asked me, "Well, what DO you do all day?" He was quite surprised to know that I have many things to take care of and manage. I really don't think I convinced him otherwise because he looked at me like I was crazy, and/or lying. I guess that's what HE does when he's home from school. Perception isn't reality, right?! I guess the house magically cleans itself, the groceries fly into the refrigerator, and the laundry just folds itself.

Walk Thru California History Lesson

Prospector B

Yesterday, B's class participated in the "Walk Through California" at school. It's basically a living history lesson for the 4th graders at the school. I knew this event was coming up and had asked B a few times if he had to prepare anything for it. I just got a shrug here and there. Well, the night before the event during dinner, B says matter-of-factly, "Oh, I need a costume for tomorrow." I just dropped my fork and was speechless. We started to quickly brainstorm about things we could pull together last minute. G remembered that he had his grandfather's denim Osh-Kosh suspenders he could use. We also dug out a thermal top and tied a bandana around his neck. We only thought of having him hold on to a pie tin (gold pan) after he'd already gone to school. He was grateful that a costume was pulled together for him, especially after we kindly reminded him that he needs to let us know about these things A LOT sooner. He had a good experience with the living history lesson. He did say, however, that probably about half of the students did not have a costume. That actually surprised me a little.

Another Lost Tooth

J lost another tooth last night. He was relieved that it FINALLY came out. The tooth fairy is almost broke! He was so excited to get a tall glass of water to put his tooth in so it will grow money. Like I said, the tooth fairy is almost broke. I'm glad he didn't swallow it while he was eating dinner. It was a close one.

Family Scripture Reading

I just love this picture of T reading his scriptures with us. We've been doing pretty good at our family scripture reading these past few weeks. We decided to read right after dinner, while we are all together. This works most nights, and we've had to make a few adjustments on some nights. We also decided to start in Mosiah. Anyway, T has caught on to our scripture reading and he wants his OWN book. He likes to have a turn to read ... so we give him a 'turn'. Notice in this picture that he's reading from the Bible and it's upside-down. He mumbles out several words and is quite happy to be a part of our family scripture reading. Hey, it's never to early to get them started.

Weekend in Review

J being silly and stir-crazy!

N trying to eat oatmeal this weekend

We enjoyed our weekly family movie night on Friday night. We watched Lord of the Rings : Return of the King. This is one of my favorite trilogies. We watch our movies projected onto our living room wall while we all lie on the floor or couches with blankets and pillows. T usually likes to lie next to me, which he did. I noticed that I was getting really hot and then it ocurred to me that it was T that was hot. I could NOT believe that another family member was getting sick! We couldn't get an accurate temperature reading because he won't hold the thermometer under his tongue or his armpit. But, we knew he was HOT. By 3:30am, he kicked Dad out of bed to be with me. He was miserable. Now, the flip side of T being sick: he's quieter, calmer, and even more pleasant. Don't get me wrong, I don't want him to be sick, but I do have to say that it's been a lot more quiet around here!

G was up early on Saturday and FINISHED the other fence. It started to drizzle rain while he was finishing up, but he was determined to be done! Then, we watched the funeral services for our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. It was hard to hold back the tears. What a beautiful service. We will miss him so much. I was emotional for most of the afternoon. N wanted to record the service so he could watch it again. B was really wanting a playdate, but I had to gently remind him that we cannot have people over to our sick-fest here. Even though it was only about 40 degrees outside, we cranked on our whole-house fan and aired out our home. It felt SO good to have fresh air. Later, we decided to do another family movie night and we watched Back to the Future 2 (can you guess what we'll watch next week??)

We did the Church "Ping-Pong" again. G went to another ward's sacrament meeting Sunday morning. Then I took B & J to church, but I left after Sacrament Meeting so that G could finally attend primary to play the piano. I really enjoyed Fast & Testimony Meeting. Most of the testimonies were shared by our youth. I really, really appreciated our High Counselman's testimony. He talked about our prophet and how things are set in place for a smooth transition. And this is what I really liked: he told us about how a mother has complete love for her baby and that it's hard to imagine loving another baby as much. But, when that next baby comes, love abounds and her love grows. He likened this to the transistion to our new prophet. We'll love him, too. Well said.

T was very cuddly, which was nice except for the fact that he was a little furnice. He stayed up with G & me after his brothers went to bed for more cuddles. Again, by 4am, he was in bed with us needing some Tylenol. I do think he broke his fever late morning. We'll see. I'm still hopeful.

So, I'm still homebound. Still trying to keep up with the housework. A friend of mine likens it to the painting of the Golden Gate Bridge -- it's NEVER done. It is constantly being painted.

More Legos

B diggin' through some Legos for the right pieces

The 'payoff" -- The Castle

B spent some time today rebuilding his Lego castle. I helped him look for the directions on-line (love that!!). He had to dig and dig through his bins of Legos to find the right piece here and there, but he was a happy camper when he was done. He sure puts these things together FAST! He just has to keep them out of T's reach. That's a whole 'nother challenge.

N is still sick today. We thought he was on the up-swing of things, but he has another temperature. We're all pretty frustrated about it. N hasn't been THIS sick for so long. Poor guy. He's been a real trooper about it.