31 January 2025

I had to do something challenging at work this week, and Rosebud left me a bunch of encouraging notes around my bedroom!

D is laying on my bed, cycling the light ropes that are the primary illumination in the room through all of their paces.  He's just chilling, telling me about things from school and commenting on the different lighting patterns.  He's such a great kid.  I love hanging out with him.

21 January 2025

Happy birthday to Rosebud!  She set a record this year with THREE birthday parties.  When she and I started talking about planning a friend party for her, she said that if she invited all of her school friends and church friends that it would be too many people for her.  So we had two parties, one for each group.  But we started with a family party!

Rosebud wanted pudding for her "cake" and asked if she could set up a teddy bear picnic in the forest.  We made trees out of rice krispie treats and scattered mini m&ms for flowers.  And then she played "Happy Birthday" on her ukelele while we sang!

Happy birthday, Miss B!

 

School party: this time the teddy bears had a picnic on an island in the ocean (colored vanilla pudding), with Swedish fish and a campfire!

 

Church party: now the teddy bears are tubing down a river.  This time the pudding was made with oat milk because of allergies among the guests.

The second friend party was a repeat of the first, so it was not much additional work.  We had them back to back, on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and I think Rosebud felt celebrated!

19 January 2025

It was really fun to see D mentoring the new deacons passing the sacrament today.  He prompted them about where to stand and when to move and so on. Very cute to see him supporting them as they learned their new roles.

6 January 2025

 Oh joy! Oh bliss! Six inches of snow and a snow day!

There was outside play in the morning for D and Rosebud, and after Nut Brown got up and everyone had lunch, he took them sledding at our neighbors' house up the hill.

There was also math homework for everyone, which was accomplished with no drama for Nut Brown and Rosebud, and several episodes of drama for D.  But it was all accomplished.

Chili and cornbread for dinner tonight.

5 January 2025

 Tonight was the last night of the 12 days of Christmas, so we sang the last verse with all 12 items and ate ice cream cone "drumsticks".  We also did 11 days of Christmas today too (pipe shaped cookies called piroulines) because it's been a kind of mixed up 12 days this year!  We had root beer floats last night for 8 maids-a-milking, and 9 and 10 just got skipped.

Afterwards Nut Brown and D "put on their fighting trousers" by pulling the pants up as far as they would go and throwing pretend punches at each other.  When D is in a good mood, he is the life of the party and he was tonight.  He initiated the fighting trousers activity.

On Thursday night, D was suffering through some math homework (Nut Brown was a champ and willing to help him - what a great teenager he is) and at one point told me that he didn't need to know how to graph and equation because he just wanted to work at McDonald's when he grows up.  I told him that was irrelevant to the discussion and he still had to finish the problem.  He did finish it.  He actually knows how to do most of it, but struggles with the exactness that's required in higher level math and makes simple mistakes (like multiplying three and four and getting ten).  

Today I bribed everyone to go for a walk in exchange for a video game turn.  D came out and decided against wearing gloves - said he would just put his hands in his pockets.  (28 degrees outside)  He said, "I'll be fine without hands."  Nut Brown retorted, "You need hands to work at McDonald's!"

4 January 2025

Mr. Brown and Rose Pink are out in Idaho, and with only D around to make noise, it's been awfully quiet.  Nut Brown decided to make bread every day over Christmas break, and he's continued to even after school starting back up. (Kids had to go back on 2 Jan.). He's been making baguettes over and over, and they are getting really good!

We had issues with D and video game time and honesty, so the computer has had its password changed and D is on a crash diet from Minecraft.  He's responded by tidying the house somewhat obsessively. He went through his room and got rid of things he doesn't want any more, and this morning I came home from a grocery run and discovered that he was helping Rosebud go through her stuff! In general, the sudden removal of video games has been very pleasant. Both D and Nut Brown are more available and we have spent more time playing games and talking and being together than we have in quite awhile.  It's been a big adjustment for D because video games were one of the primary forms of emotional regulation for him.  But we are all being patient with each other.

2 January 2025

And they're off!

Mr. Brown and Rose Pink left this morning for Idaho to get her moved in for her first semester of college! I took them to the train station this morning to take the train to the airport.  There's been a tremendous amount of planning and worrying that's gone into this trip, and it hijacked New Year's Day with preparations and anxiety.

Lots of feelings going on - excitement, anticipation, anxiety, sadness.