It has been a long day. It started by being a tiring weekend with Macheus having chicken pox (I will write more about that and his birthday celebrations later.) I stayed home on Sunday with him, but I worked cleaning out my closet and drawers all day long! I am trying hard to really declutter my house to save myself time and headache. I'm not a "pack rat" by nature, but when you have a large family you just accumulate stuff! Over the past year I have really thrown away stuff from the boys' room. We ripped their carpet up last fall, and I was determined to not have to battle their mess anymore. I have thrown away so much that now the only mess that is ever up there is when they don't get their laundry put away. It made me realize how much easier life can be when we aren't dominated by cleaning up and shuffling around our stuff all the time!
When my mom died (almost five years ago....) I continued on her tradition of making my dad a coconut cake on his birthday. This year he said he didn't want to get "fat" over Christmas and to wait and make it later. :) I was ready to get it done, so yesterday afternoon I made it. I normally grocery shop for him and my own household on Monday evenings after I drop Madeline at her college classes and Mariah at piano. I didn't have a babysitter for the boys this week and didn't love the idea of taking them! I decided to go Sunday evening to get his groceries and take his cake to him. I was so tired as I was cleaning out his refrigerator at 10:00 at night, but listening to him reminisce made it worth it. I am very thankful he is still here to spend time with, but there are times it would be nice to have a break! Can you say "sandwich generation"!?!
Macheus did
NOT sleep at
all last night. He literally scratched
all night long! He hasn't really felt bad, and his fever has been gone for a couple of days. However, the spots have itched worse now that they are scabbing over than they did before. At five o'clock this morning I finally turned a movie on for him and I dozed until 7:00 when I had to get up to get ready for the day. Mariah, Malachi and Myles had STEM classes at the Air and Space Museum. It is a little trek over there and it was so hard to make myself go!
When we got home Madeline helped Malachi with one of his science experiments. I am so thankful for my big kids. I got my laundry done and tried to lay down and rest with Macheus before we had to hit the road again. Once again, he tossed and turned until I finally got up and went running instead! It did perk me up a little bit. Marc and Matthew took Malachi with them to their men's study this evening and the rest of us loaded up to go back to town. I dropped Mariah off at piano, Madeline off at class, and then ran to Aldi to pick up a few groceries.
The boys really don't get to go to the store very much, and they were so excited. Bless their hearts! :)
They got the "talk" ... you know, the one where you tell them if they misbehave they will get it when they get back to the van! Lately, anytime I talk sternly to Myles he says, "You are so cute." I don't know if he is really that sweet, or perhaps manipulative! :)
They were good throughout most of the store. (A little more "helpful" than I needed, but they tried.) We got up to the cash register and Macheus wanted to "help" put the groceries on the conveyor belt. Before I could stop him he accidently dropped a jar of spaghetti sauce. There was an older gentleman behind me that threw his head back, put his hands over his eyes and groaned really loud. I wish I could think quick on my feet, but all I could manage to say was "I'm sorry." Looking back I wish I had said, "I'm so sorry we ruined your night." Or, "You must not have ever been a child." Really, I get so tired of society's disdain for children. I see it everywhere I go and it is even worse towards little boys. People do not like boys. It makes me sad. Macheus was very stressed out and kept saying, "I'm sorry mommy." One mom (who also had little boys with her) looked at me and gave that sympathetic "I get it" kind of smile. I just hurried and paid for my stuff and didn't even bother boxing them up until I got to the van.
I decided it wasn't worth torturing them (or myself) to do anymore shopping. We went back to the church and I turned them loose on the playground. Mariah finished with lessons and we stayed and killed time until we needed to pick up Madeline.
Nighttime pictures with a phone aren't great, but I just wanted to capture the evening. It is simple moments like these that I try to cherish with my little fellows. I know in a blink of an eye they will be off doing things like the older ones.
He loved the gravel on the playground. I thought it was pretty cool too until I realized his missing tennis shoes blended right in with it!
We picked Madeline up from class and found out she got a 100% on her first oral presentation. She was so nervous. I wish I had taken a picture of her. She was dressed up and looked beautiful! She did Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin's beauty webinar years ago with McKenzie. She remembered something she learned from it and that was how she chose her outfit. :) I don't know if it is still available online, but I know McKenzie really enjoyed it too!
We headed back towards our town, dropped off some supper at my dad's apartment and then came home. Phew!! That was a
long day! Thankful that I get to stay home tomorrow!
~Goodnight...
