I did it again! I waited too many weeks. Now there is too much. Let me sum up.
People got sick: Vivi skipped school to spend a couple days in fever dreams on the couch, then we had a delightful bout of diarrhea make the rounds (knocked me flat for a day or two--I finally had to give Walmart grocery pickup a try because I needed sick food but the thought of slogging through the store with everyone seemed insurmountable), throw in some runny noses and a few bottles of children's Tylenol and we made it through January alive!
Vivien got a new bed:
Things were getting a little too cramped in the packnplay to ignore any longer.
I don't like shopping. I am not patient enough for it. So, I told Kaitlyn to find me a new mattress on a budget, and did she deliver! Saved me about $100 and it came right to my door, rolled and vacuum packed into a surprisingly small box. We gave Annie Vivi's old one and let Vivs take the nicer new one. The top is memory foam, which is just perfect for my girl who loves soft things. She's feeling more territorial than usual about people being in her bed since it arrived. She made herself a "Do Not Distrb" sign. Rafe doesn't need signs. He just closes the curtains I installed for him.
Vivien's school threw a Valentine's Dance and we stopped feeling bad for her:
First, a story. Vivi stopped drinking her water at lunch (the water that I flavor with Mio to encourage her to stay hydrated) because she said the kids at the lunch table were teasing her about "drinking blood," even if I used the purple kind instead of the red. My Mama Bear hackles, which were already sensitive after listening to weeks of stories of lonely recesses, went up, and I wrote this letter to the main instigator:
I probably shouldn't have sent it, but I was just feeling bad for her, and I was maybe a little too proud of my cleverness. Anyway, that was at the beginning of the week. Thursday was the family Valentine's Day dance. I think the funnest part of the evening for her was getting ready. She carefully chose her outfit and jewels, and I curled her hair with a curling iron (she thinks that I curl mine with a curling iron every day and is disappointed that I won't do it to hers too).
We walked in and took a picture in the picture booth (except Rafe, who was sulking).
And then she got very quiet and watchful, as she is wont to do in social settings.
I had made a bunch of pink BYU brownies for the treat table, but one of the trays was gone before we got there and they held the other two in reserve until after we'd left. I guess I'll just have to make them again sometime!
It became clear during the course of the dance that Vivien is Goob from Meet the Robinsons. "They all hated me."
People totally want to be her friend. She is lonely at school by choice, because she'd much rather do what she wants to do than compromise for the sake of companionship. Look at cute Galilea coming up to say hello and admire Vivi's Elena of Avalor bracelet we got from the book fair.
So, my heart is no longer broken for her. Instead we are having lots of conversations on how to be a good friend. It's a hard but worthwhile set of skills to obtain.
We watched the Opening Ceremonies:
I arranged Olympic fruits again. Now it's a tradition! I'm afraid we haven't watched much of the Olympics since the opening ceremonies. Our TV is in the least convenient room to get to in the whole house and there isn't a couch in there, so you have to be REALLY motivated to actually get up there to watch something.
No one would look at me for a picture, so I said, "Look!! There's a bunny outside!"
"AAAHH! Now it's on my head!!"
We went to STEM Day and a weird circus:
The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History hosted a "Discover STEM Day" (STEM= Science Technology Engineering Math). Drew stayed home with Annie and Merrick and let me go geek out with Vivs and Rafe.
They had tables set up all over the museum with volunteers helping the kids do all kinds of sciencey things. There were lots of goodies. My favorite things were the ozobots--you can make "playgrounds" for them using paper and marker, like Vivi and Rafe's in the bottom right below. (There was also a table where you could make Valentines with LED lights and batteries--Vivi made one for Galilea--the friendship talks are working!)
The space satellite (minus the computer) they had for people to look at was pretty cool, too. And there was a video of a rocket launch where the booster rockets fall away from the main rocket, then come back to earth and LAND THEMSELVES back on the launch pad. And there was this music show courtesy of the Tesla coil. We got some lunch in front of the museum from some food trucks, then went back in for more larnin'.
And last but not least, we walked through the outdoor exhibit. It is different than I remember it.
Then we went to a very strange circus put on by a Masonic group in Albuquerque called "The Ballut Abyad Shriners." Vivien got a free ticket through school, and it seemed promising so we went. It was almost cool. There were 6 tigers and 3 elephants and dancers and aerialists and motorcycles and Spiderman, but for some reason it was just a really boring show. The best act of the whole night was when a clown came out with a little tiny dog in an elephant suit that acted like a windup toy and would flop over when it ran out of juice. I take it back. The best act of the night was the sunset on the way home:
Uncle Marvin and Aunt Joanna came to visit:
Uncle Marvin is my dad's uncle and he lives in Rio Rancho, too. He had an appointment at the hospital near our house so they stopped by for a bit to say hello. Uncle Marvin read Annie and Rafe a story and we had a very pleasant visit, even though I had decided to rent a leaf blower from Home Depot the hour before they got there to get all the dead leaves out of our yard and was therefore not very presentable when they arrived. They were nice and didn't judge me.
We had a fun Valentine's Day:
We made some heart magnets with GOOGLY eyes to go with Vivi's Valentines.
She wrote them herself:
That night Drew came home and made his signature chicken cordon bleu, glazed potatoes, and green beans, paired with some Sparkling Rose. He is my favorite Valentine.
Annie mostly ate baguette slices, which she wanted the crusts off of. In case you had forgotten, baguettes are mostly crust, so she was basically eating like a tablespoon of bread for every slice she took. But she is so cute, we will put up with her shenanigans.
We went to "A Park Above":
A Park Above is a park in Rio Rancho "where ALL children play!" especially those with disabilities, so there are swings for wheelchairs and ramps everywhere, etc. When we pulled up Vivien shouted, "I KNEW it would be the best park of glory and joy!" There's something satisfying about green grass, even if it is fake.
There were a bunch of hot air balloons out while we were there. One flew right over our heads.
The older kids had a grand time. Annie and Merrick preferred to sit grub-like in chair swings. He's slimy enough to be a grub.
It was a fun day at the park. Not included in these pictures: the many tantrums thrown when we would not accompany Rafe immediately wherever he wanted to go. Maybe we should've named him Rage . . .
They wanted a "together" picture on our way out. I just really like them, in spite of all the infuriating things they do.
We went to Vivi's Parent Teacher Conference:
Ms. Stovall took me through all Vivi's test scores (she's doing very, very well) and kept going to show me her work and then remembering that it was being used as an example in another class. Yay Vivs! I tentatively asked how Spanish was going, and she pulled up those test scores for me. They are about what you would expect after a month of Spanish classes. But, we ran into her adorable Spanish teacher on the way out and she insisted I come in and see Vivien's work because she is extremely proud of her and the progress she's making. She told us we need to start watching Spanish cartoons. Netflix was happy to oblige. All the kids are enjoying watching Héroes en Pijamas (PJ Masks) every evening while I make dinner. Here is a picture of a bunny at the pond
Here we are coming home from school. So beautiful . . . hmmm.
Normal life things: Crazy hair Annie:
Annie who biffs it in the parking lot all the time and smashes her face on the asphalt.
Cuddled up for morning story time.
It's a good thing that "always a treat we have in store" for FHE, because it makes them LOVE Mondays.
A closeup of one of our pretty new barn wood benches.
Merrick, not happy about modeling his hand-me-down Sunday outfit from my Bremerton friend:
He recovered quickly.
We're transitioning to one nap, but that means I have to wake him up pretty regularly in order to pick up Vivien from school on time.
Sleeping children are so precious.
The play room is a fun place to hang out.
But it's sad when the baby takes your toy. Poor Annie.
Here's Rafe pretending to punch me because I said something to him. This happens a lot.
And here I am throwing away rotten blueberries. Photo courtesy of Rafe.
I've been trying to work out more often, but it makes me really tired. Afternoon story times quickly devolve into mommy nap times.
I got asked to substitute for the ward Bunco night again this month. You're supposed to bring a $10 gift, then at the end of the night everyone is ranked according to their point totals and that is the order in which you get to choose a gift from the pile. I made some string and nail art for my gift that everyone was very impressed with.
Rafe at Costco in the bread aisle, "I wonder when we'll get Spanish muffins?" (instead of English muffins).
Driving home from the circus, Annie spotted a church steeple that was lit up in the night and said, "It's a teeny weeny tiny temple!" She's rear facing so I had passed it a few moments before and it took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about.
When Rafe was sick his voice was hoarse, so he spent all day using his illness to give his toys interesting, funny voices.
Rafe, a week after everyone was sick: "Am I going to church today?" Me: "Yes. Why would you not?" Rafe: "Because I still quite need to throw up sometimes."
Every time we get in the car, Rafe races me to see who will get buckled first, me or him. He wins every time, because I have to buckle Merrick, Annie, and myself, but he always gloats. I know it shouldn't bother me, but there is a part of me that would really like to beat him... The other part of me knows it would not be worth the crying. And also that it doesn't matter.
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