Just replace the word "friend" with "blogger". We've had a lot going on and I've just lost track of time.
We had the well water tested for my daycare. Came up positive for bacteria so we had to have a well guy come and chlorinate the system. We all wandered around smelling like we'd walked out of a public pool for a few days. That was crazy. Then we have been getting the last of the little things unpacked. I will be through with that someday!!!! I was also commissioned to sew the baptism dress for a friend's daughter. The design is lovely, but I definitely wanted to try out the pattern and my adjustments on the girl before cutting into her fabric. I spent the week tweaking a pattern and cutting into some cheap chiffon in preparation for yesterday's fitting. The dress was lovely, I see all of the adjustments I need to make, and I need to quickly learn how to line a dress with flutter sleeves.... Hm. Puzzles. Sewing has been slowed down by my stupid loose joints, I completely dislocated my shoulder on Wednesday. Usually it slips back in relatively quickly and is just painful for a day, but I was shoveling the driveway and hit ice. The shovel stopped, I did not. And my arm came right out and stayed out. It is an odd sensation to want to lift your arm but be completely unable to move anything. Hurt like the dickens. Had Jonathan help me reset it (trick is demonstrated here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WILDO5FIXbg) and spent the next three days sore. Must try not to let it come out completely again...
Susan has had a profound effect on the family. Everyone, at least once during the day, settles down to cuddle with our kitten. And it has resulted in everyone being much calmer. All the time. I thought it was a fluke couple of days, but it has been consistent throughout this week. I love it.
She's getting big so quickly. I think it is all of the napping she does. Peter is tolerating her much more and actually seeks her out to drag her into his lap. Poor thing, she's nearly had her neck wrung several times, but I intervene and help Peter pet her more gently. And the good girl never complains, she doesn't scratch or bite in anger. And she's generally pretty good about keeping the claws in while playing, though we must all be very careful when dangling string in front of her. And feet under the blankets are totally fair game.
It was mid-winter break this week so David had Monday through Wednesday off. Wednesday we bundled up and went on a walk to enjoy the sunshine. We walked a wonderful little track around downtown. We stopped in at the central park and played on the swings and checked out the skating rink. The kids are super excited about going back and skating this next week.
A couple weeks ago there was a winter celebration downtown and they had ice sculptures still up.
We took a quick picture in front of this ice dragon. Seconds after we walked away the head and half the neck fell to the ground right where Peter's stroller had been. A couple behind us flipped out after having watched us take the picture then move on, and then the head fell. Everyone was really glad that head hadn't fallen seconds earlier onto my 16-month-old baby.
Thursday night I left the littles with Jonathan and took David to Cub Scouts. They passed out awards and he got to add some nice bling to his uniform: 10 belt loops, his Tiger track and 9 beads, and the Outdoor Activity Award. He's six activities away from Tiger, and he's got several other belt loops to add to that belt.
He was also asked to fold the flag that night. He was so honored and was pleased as punch.
After that we went and got his Pinewood Derby cut at a friend's house. David and I got onto Pinterest Monday and scouted (bahahaha) out a design he liked.
We also went and picked out paint and supplies for his car. He picked it all himself. I was not sure at all how it would turn out, but he liked it.
He got to work on his car on Friday when school canceled due to inclement weather. He worked really hard all day and diligently sanded and painted his car.
Today we added a clear coat sealer. Next we'll work on the axels and add some stickers and we've still got to figure out the weights.
David is so excited for this Pinewood Derby. I didn't realize what a big deal this race is until we went over all of the rules on Thursday. The council sent out a rule note at the last round table for everyone to pass out to their cubs! It is CrAzY how intense this race is! I am just hoping David's car doesn't come in last. He's put so much work into the car, he'd be so disappointed if he didn't do well. I guess we will see...
Had a Primary training tonight. A sister who works at LDS Family Services came and talked about working with challenging kids in our classrooms. She was amazing and a wealth of information! I walked in keeping my Primary class in mind and walked out knowing how to help Andi more. I talked to the sister afterwards to find out when their parenting classes are scheduled, but she suggested a few other resources. She said that Andi may have great speech now, but language is a whole other ballgame and we might want to look into more language/behavioral therapy through the school district. Hadn't even thought of that! She also recommended a few books so I've got a good reading list to get started on. And I'm so grateful for the tips she gave tonight, I think they will be so helpful. Church today was very hard for poor Andi, and in replaying the meltdown in my mind, especially with all of this new information, I can see exactly where I made some big mistakes AND where I handled some things very well. I'm being transferred from CTR 4 to Sunbeams, so I'll be with Andi, I think that will help. But still, a lot of the information was incredibly helpful and I'm so grateful for inspired leaders and their wisdom.
The biggest thing I walked away with from the training tonight was a realization that
I represent God to my children, and how they come to know me is how they will see their Heavenly Father. The question was asked "How do children know Heavenly Father loves them?" and I had this quick revelation, and I felt the question "So how does your example reflect Heavenly Father's character?" If I am overly critical and quick to react negatively and always too busy for them they will see Heavenly Father as a critical and negative person who has no time to spend on them. That is not at all who He is, so I am even more determined to be an accurate representation of who He is to my children. I'm not sure why all of this hit me so hard, but it was a big moment for me.
So this week will be a bit more sane than last. We'll have the well tested again, I'll be sewing the real baptism dress, and I'm going to get these last few boxes taken care of. I MUST!! It is starting to drive me crazy. I'm hoping we only have to wait a few more weeks before my licensing can go through and I can have the daycare up and running, so I'd better get the last of the boxes unpacked and have everything put away or I'm not going to have any more time. So a good busy this week, with lots of great goals. I'm looking forward to the challenge. :)
