Keeping Busy

Here's the low down on everyone:

Christine is enjoying high school. Way too social for her Dad's liking, though, and often has some "get together" each weekend, on top of the Saturday Night Dances. She has plenty of homework, but is managing to keep up with it, color guard, and seminary just fine. We were worried that early morning seminary might be difficult for her, but she is doing really well getting up and getting ready on time. She performed with color guard for the first time last weekend at a football game against Chandler High School. We didn't go since the boys (including Erik) were working on getting over their colds, and it was supposed to rain. We get to see her in action this Friday though.

Rebekah is learning to endure sore, aching muscles, and learning that being on the volleyball team isn't all glamor and recognition. It also hurts a bit. Although her muscles are complaining, she is enjoying working with the team and improving her skills. As manager of the team she was thrilled to find out that they ordered her a volleyball jersey and school spirited socks to match the team. She's doing well in her classes, and is doing a fair bit of babysitting in her spare time (although she always welcomes more).

Joseph is remembering to wear his glasses each day - that's a good thing. He is doing well in school, and seems to be liking it. He has been working hard on his cub scouting, and has almost earned his Bear. He wanted to play a sport this fall, but I just couldn't quite make it work with both girls having the schedules that they have. Maybe in the winter, buddy? :) We have started piano lessons again, and he is doing very well at that.

James has been working hard to earn stickers so that he can go to Disneyland when we go to watch the band and color guard march down Main St. He's doing great at staying dry ; it's the staying clean part that still stymies him a bit. Dry nights for about 3 weeks now too. I haven't heard any complaints from the teacher, so I'm assuming his behavior is okay in class. First grade brings with it, homework, spelling and phonogram tests, and daily reading. Ummm, to say the least, James isn't too thrilled. He fights the concept that he has homework everyday. But then again, there are lots of things that he fights and resists doing. The first weeks of school, he would come home, and would literally start climbing and bouncing off the walls. He was climbing the door frames, climbing up onto high surfaces to jump off of, swinging on the pantry door, grabbing onto people and generally annoying them, and jumping off the couches. I know. I know! Boys do those sorts of things, but this was non-stop, and completely out of control. When we started him on Concerta again, those behaviors went away, immediately, and he started being dry at home (not clean-had 2 accidents-but dry!).

(He looks so mellow when he's sleeping, doesn't he? He fell asleep in the middle of his hair cut.)

Jalen Andrew's language is exploding. He talks all the time, sometimes it's long gibberish monologues, which are seriously hilarious, but then other times it is in short, complete sentences (Ex: "I am done."). He is really talking a lot, and it's not always in English either. He is addicted to Baby Einstein (he likes to watch it when he's tired), and can count and say different phrases in German and French and whatever other languages they are speaking. So maybe we don't know what he's saying, but he sure thinks that he knows. With the kids gone at school all day, he has become my really good helper. He loves to wash windows, and fold laundry. When he's not doing housework, he finds other things to keep him occupied, such as . . .

strategically placing all of Christine's pens and pencils in her fan (while she's sleeping)

hitting (or throwing) everything in sight. Rulers, toothbrushes, and pencils make really great baseball bats, and anything in the hand supposedly makes a great ball.

He also loves to play in the sink with the running water, and if the house ever gets quiet, I know exactly where to look.

(Don't let the innocent look fool you)

Erik is keeping busy with all of his Bishop stuff, but recently "sqoze" in enough time to put in our turf. The front yard is getting there. We still have the block retaining wall to put up, and then we can concentrate our artificially green thumbs elsewhere. It's looking really good though.

After school had been in session for a few days, Christine asked me, "Don't you miss us when we're at school? Some of the other moms are sad because summer is over, but you seem happy." Truth is, I do miss my kids when they're at school. I think about them all day, I stop and look at their pictures, I wonder how they're doing, and who they're playing with, and I can't wait to hug them when they get home. It's as they say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." I enjoy having the kids around, but I also enjoy the quiet time that Jalen Andrew and I have together during the day (with no one teasing him). And I love being able to get things done.

I've gotten really organized lately, and have figured out a laundry schedule that works for me, with the kids putting in a load of laundry before leaving for school. They each have their own day, their own color of laundry, and when they walk out the door for school, the wash is ready for me to hang up. It dries all day in the garage, and then the next morning I fold it in between the time Christine leaves for seminary and the time that everyone else wakes up. The kids then put their own piles of laundry away, and the whole process starts over again. I'm loving it because it works!

All the daily chores are scheduled throughout the week, and in addition to getting them done, I have also done the following:

organized the pantry,

organized all of the kitchen cupboards,

organized under 2 different bathroom sinks,

re-organized the bookshelves,

organized the garage,

defrosted the freezer,

and cooked up a ton of meat to freeze,

got the budget up to date

started on Jalen Andrew's scrapbook again,

organized the boys' closet and drawers,

organized the game closet

and organized my sewing closet.

Ahhh . . . it feels good.