Eye Appointments, Car, Birthday, NC Plans

In the past week, I went to eye appointments for Kenny, Katie, Lewis, and myself. Kenny's vision got a little worse, I have a little bit worse astigmatism, and Katie and Lewis checked out fine for now. Katie will most likely need glasses for far away by next year, though. She used to be farsighted but is now slightly nearsighted. I ordered new glasses for Kenny and me.

I had a really good, relaxing birthday. I first went to the Women's Conference with Ashley, and it gave me a lot of peace. James and the kids vacuumed out the car (which we'd spend an hour cleaning the day before). We went to Outdoor Expo and had some fried Oreos, which were delicious. Overall, I had a nice, relaxing day. I also made Texas sheet cake and dark chocolate ice cream with toasted almonds.

I'm still waiting on the car's title/lien release, but I have an appointment to get a new windshield after spring break. They are booked until then! I blame all the nasty potholes and loose rocks that are in/on the road right now. James had to pump the crawlspace again due to all the melting.

It's been super busy this week. We found time to watch a movie with the kids on Monday and eat my birthday pizza from Papa Murphy's. The Thai chicken flavor didn't end up being my favorite, but that's okay because it was free.

The kids had a talent show for activities on Tuesday, and I even took a neighbor kid who is investigating the Church.

Today, I need to run a few errands and go to Joseph's Poetry Jam at his school. There's a lot going on before I leave for NC next week, but I think I have all the sleeping arrangements figured out. I'm also excited that I'll get to see the temple open house in Richmond, VA. Phew. I feel like maybe I'll be able to breathe once spring break is over, but I'm not so sure!

Melting, New Car, Stress

Instead of a date last Thursday, James pumped water out of the crawlspace. Despite a couple more inches of snow, the overall level is finally going down! There is a huge puddle at the end of the driveway too. It's annoying to walk around, but it's too deep to walk through, and sweeping it toward the drain doesn't help because more water fills from up the street. It would be nice to have some sunshine again.

I went to a RS birthday party activity on Saturday. We painted with watercolors and had snacks. It was overall really relaxing. I haven't been the most relaxed since then.

We bought a car! It's a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan, and it's been the source of a lot of stress so far, just like every other time we've bought a car. This is normal for me, though. I've worried since last year when I knew we'd need to look for a new one. I'm happy to say that we paid in cash and it's already registered and insured. The only hiccup so far is getting it to start since it sat in a driveway for 3 months. I think we hooked up the jumper cables slightly wrong (since our car's battery terminals are hard to hook on anyway), but we got it started and James drove it for 30 minutes to recharge the battery. I'm really excited to have something more modern. It's the first car I've ever owned with a backup camera, automatic doors, and an automatic trunk. We ultimately decided on a van because it gets much better gas mileage than the Yukon XL and still has a decent amount of storage space. It's also well-rated for its year. We still need to clean it, get a new windshield, and get a spare key, but none of those things should be too bad. I'm hoping it lasts us at least 10 years. (Oh yeah, and it only has 83,000 miles on it, practically new!)

I've been stressing about some small things that keep coming back to bother me. One is my acid reflux. I had reduced my medication to a lower dose for a few months, but I felt that it was time to wean myself off the medication entirely since my eating habits have improved and I've lost 15 pounds. I haven't taken any since Sunday so I'm dealing with rebound reflux right now. The anxiety of getting a new car hasn't helped.

The heater is being dumb again too, but it's so close to us not needing it that I don't care anymore. It's 9 years old. I will reset it every day if I have to. It's inconsistent in when it needs to be reset, but it seems to be a problem more often in wet/windy weather. I suspect there is condensation buildup somewhere that isn't actually a big deal. It always starts up again, and that's what matters.

Kenny missed a day of school last week and this week for not feeling well. I have no idea why this keeps happening. He had a whole month where he didn't feel sick, so I think eating a snack before getting out of bed has helped, but it hasn't gotten rid of his issues 100%. I really don't want him to miss a bunch of school next year since it's middle school, but that's a few months away. He has an appointment on his birthday, so I'm hoping the doctor can provide some answers. Luckily, missing school so far has had no effect on his grades. I don't want to be too hard on him and make him go when he doesn't feel well, but some days he's fine by midmorning and I haven't pressed the issue.

It's my birthday this Saturday! James installed a trash can drawer for me, and I love it. Today, we're going out to eat. I hope I can relax a bit and enjoy my family.

Funeral, UCET

We had a good time hanging out with James's parents, even though it was for a sad occasion. Friday morning, we went to D.I. and the candy store. After lunch, James and his parents went to the viewing. The kids and I joined for the actual funeral at 3. It went on a little long (and Lewis even fell asleep), but it was really touching and spiritual. We joined the family for dinner afterward.

Later that night, we played DnD. It was a welcome distraction from the somber mood of earlier.

Saturday, James and I went to see Spongebob at the high school. Though I've never been a huge fan of the show, the musical was cute and fun.

I gave a talk on Sunday, and it went well. 

James left for UCET (technology conference) on Monday after school. We had a decent FHE given by Kenny and people eventually went to bed. The time change on Sunday has really thrown things off and made for some grumpy mornings.

The kids had activities on Tuesday. I stopped in briefly, and it looked like everything was going well.

James got back last night! I'll admit I wasn't in the best mood. I had gotten pizza to eat while we watched the Mandalorian, but the little kids got annoying and wouldn't stop boxing and jumping around. They still had some issues with going to bed. I also had a mini breakdown over some stupid stuff that probably wouldn't matter so much if I'd gotten a good night of sleep. It didn't help that I got a call from school from Katie, who was complaining about her eyes again and wanted me to pick her up. I didn't because there was only an hour left of school. It put a damper on my afternoon because I was also in the middle of a project I couldn't finish because I need my brother to send me some pictures.

The weather is still pretty crappy too. We've had lots of clouds and a mix of snow and rain. There are potholes and mud puddles everywhere, and it's not that warm yet either. It's getting there, but it's taking a long time to warm up.

Moody, Blog, Primary

I'm the moody one this week. It's been so hard to get through my daily stuff. Everything is dragging along. When I looked back to last week's problems, most have resolved. We still don't have a car, but we're managing the growing pains, Primary staff, and headaches, which have taken a break for now. I really needed medication for a week straight, but I cut myself off after that since I started getting rebound headaches. Everything is good now, though. That's only the second time that's happened, too.

I finished my blog update! I have about 10 more pictures to retake, and then I can focus on finding new recipes again. I have 199 recipes on there, which is hard to believe. It's been really good to have that project to focus on during this long, crappy winter, which still has yet to come to a close.

I've been really happy with the Stake Primary recently. I think I misunderstood their purpose when I first got called. We had a meeting with them on Friday, and it was incredibly insightful. I had my own presidency meeting on Tuesday, and the Stake Primary President came to that. She provided some really valuable insights that will make our lives easier. There's always more to do in Primary, but I feel like we're doing all right at it.

My in-laws are coming today and tomorrow, but not for a happy reason. Rex's first cousin's husband died from cancer quite suddenly, so his funeral is tomorrow. There's been way too much death this winter.

A Lot of Little Things, Bad and Good

The temple was really good on Thursday. More has changed than I expected, but I think I paid better attention because of it.

A lot of little things are bugging me this week.

1. Primary. I thought we were well-staffed for at least a few months, but I have to replace 2 teachers and 1 activities leader. They were all doing such a good job, but 1 has been in for 3 years, 1 had a baby, and the other is moving. I'm really sad. Coming up with names is my least favorite thing. I'm really glad that my counselors and secretary help with that. Katie also told me that 2 of her 3 leaders didn't show up for activities on Tuesday, and I also had to hunt down 3 subs on Sunday. I get a headache pretty much every Sunday now, and it's no wonder why.

2. The weather. It's March, and it's still too cold. We are now experiencing our February weather which means no more subzero, but it's still pretty wintry.

3. Growing pains. Kenny has been feeling sick in the mornings off and on for a few years, but after a lot of Googling and prayers, we decided to try treating it like pregnancy morning sickness. Despite my rule of no food in bedrooms, I made an exception for him so he can eat a snack before getting out of bed. So far, so good, but I still worry that it won't be enough. Katie is similarly hungry, but her biggest issue is moodiness right now, and it's driving me crazy. Most mornings, she's really grumpy, and it rubs off on everyone else. She's also had a lot of leg pain.

4. Trying to buy a car. We've looked at 2 seriously so far. 1 had a sketchy Carfax report, and the other one just didn't feel right for some reason. It's also going to cost a lot of money, and I don't look forward to that either.

I have to balance out the bad with some good, though.

1. I'm getting closer to finishing my blog update!

2. It's March, which means it's my birthday month.

3. The kids got good grades on their report cards.

4. I'm enjoying the book series I'm reading more than I expected (Ranger's Apprentice).

5. Despite the stress headaches (and the others from hormones, lack of sleep, sickness, or hunger), I have a medicine that works well and helps me feel better.

We're going to make it. I probably need to start baking more bread and muffins so my hungry preteens don't starve.