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Mother's Day '21
Happy Mother's Day! I hope that all of you mothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and others all have a wonderful day of being appreciated for all that you do. We're hoping to make today a special one for Kira, too.
Kira made it to church early last Sunday to listen to the prelude music, but as everyone got settled in, there was still no prelude music. So, she went up to the piano to play a few hymns that she knows well so that others could listen. She got a little nervous when the normal pianist still wasn't there about the time for church to start, as she did not feel comfortable playing the rest of the music for the meeting. The pianist eventually did show up, though.
After the meetings, I made a meal of shrimp scampi with noodles, and Hannah joined us. It was gloriously warm, so the boys got in their swimsuits and played in both of Merritt's new spraying toys he got for his birthday. Kira kept busy with her calling and things for work, and I made a favorite treat around here (Muddy Buddies), did dishes, and sprayed for weeds in the yard. I was apparently in a mood to get some stuff done, because then when I was looking for a new chore, Hannah reminded me that I had wanted to bathe Apollo, and so I did that next, and then cleaned the garage out with the leaf blower.
Avey walked Apollo, and Hannah took Merritt on a bike ride. She told us when they got home about how Merritt would see a bird in someone's yard, park his bike, and then chase after the bird, hoping to catch it. He did it a couple of times, but never did catch a bird. Hannah left a little after that.
Hakan played with the neighbor kids as much as he could before we had a little family night meeting. For the outside activity, they chose to play Come Here, Little Mice again, and we invited the neighbor kids to join in. That wore me out, for sure. After bedtime, Kira and I stayed up talking with Avey for a while and then we all went to bed.
On Monday, Kira had a client scheduled for earlier than usual, so she did that while I tried to get as much grading done as I could. I had a few phone meetings, but Merritt entertained himself. Kira got another new client later that day, too, so things have taken off a bit. If this keeps up, she might have to start seeing people on two days each week. We got no word on our ceiling repairs, so I vowed to follow up the next day. Avey took advantage of the nice weather in the afternoon and rode her bike to the library and another store. She stopped by Kira's office, but she was in with a client.
Tuesday was a typical morning, and then lots more grading. Merritt did virtual preschool and made a flower out of a tracing of his hand:
After lunch, I ran to the hardware store for a few items. Our stupid, ugly kitchen light had another socket start flickering (I had already replaced one months ago), and so I bought one that wouldn't make me want to burn down the house every time I looked at it. At home, Kira was feeling very wiped out, so she went for a nap when I got back. I read with Hakan when he got home from school, and then he left to play with the neighbors. The other kids were entertaining themselves, and Kira was napping, so I thought I could at least measure for the new light in the kitchen. That didn't take very long, and so I thought I could go ahead and drill the new holes for the supporting bracket. That didn't take very long, so I thought I might as well just attach the bracket, but then one of the bolts slipped right through the toggle nut. I worried I might have to go to the hardware store again, but I came up with a fix by using a regular nut that I had lying around and using the toggle nut to hold it in place - it was probably the most brilliant workaround in the history of humanity, but who am I to say?
Anyway, after that was in place, all that was left was to connect the wires, so I took down the old, insultingly hideous light fixture, connected my wires, and that was that.
I cleaned up, and we now have a much less-embarrassing kitchen, although now all I can see is our island top that doesn't match anything in the room.
Kira felt better after the nap, so she then worked on some of the stuff on her list - she balanced her money from work, looked into some possibilities for getting a client a roommate, and got a teacher lined up for Sunday's lesson.
Merritt had a rough day. He was bummed out that it was chilly and cloudy outside all day, and his eyes have been very itchy, probably because of allergies. He didn't seem to appreciate my toggle-nut-fix story, so once he was in pajamas and had his teeth brushed, he got into bed early. Hannah was over for the evening, and we watched the latest Wonder Woman movie.
Wednesday morning I did breakfast and then got caught up with grading for the day before mowing the grass and then doing a meeting in the afternoon with a student. Kira kept the kids on task with their remote learning, and then she and Avey went to their chiropractor appointments. I fed the boys lunch, and then Kira took them to an indoor play place that finally re-opened. It was a bit of a late birthday present for Merritt, because they hadn't yet opened on his birthday. I dropped them off and took the car to run several errands, and they had a good time.
Thursday, Kira was up early as her brain was buzzing. She let me sleep through breakfast. I graded everything that had come in over the last 24 hours, and took over with Merritt while Kira took a sister in the branch out for lunch for her birthday. Merritt and I read and had lunch before Kira got home around 3 with groceries. I loaded up the old dismantled light fixture to take to a metal recycling place, and I loaded up our old curtain rods and a few other scraps we had. Avey texted Kira just then that she had missed the bus after her club meeting for the afternoon was apparently canceled, so I drove to get her first, and she came with me to the metal recycling place. We got $15 for all of our garbage, and then on the way home we saw a wild turkey crossing the road (we're not sure why).
Once home, I took apart our washing machine. It's been dripping for a few days now. I don't know anything about washing machines, but I know how to take things apart - so I did that. I can't see an obvious leak, but I know where it's coming from, and so I ordered the replacement part and now we'll see if that does the trick. That night, Kira chatted with her mom on the phone while Hannah, Avey, and I watched TV.
Friday morning, after getting the kids to school, Apollo was scheduled for a shot at the vet. I took him, and then we waited out in the parking lot for about 40 minutes. Apollo found a chicken (who lives at the vet) with about 8 chicks in the lot. He was very curious about them, but the mama hen was having none of it. I held him tight on the leash so that he wouldn't get too close, and the hen put on a nice display of "Take another step and I'll peck your eyes out!"
We eventually got his shot and then came home for some more grading for me. Kira had a Relief Society Presidency meeting, so I played with Merritt. He wanted to put up our tent in the backyard, so we did that, and then once Kira was done with her meeting I went on several errands for a couple of hours. I brought home a second-hand kitchen set that I thought would go well in the play set. The kids had fun with that.
The boys brought home several Mother's Day crafts that they made:
Avey brought home a painting she made in art class:
Saturday, after sleeping in a bit, I got up and worked on breakfast, and then got going on my weekend project - mulch around the bushes on the north and south sides of the house:
Carver was a good helper. I did this mostly because I can't reach the grass in there with the mower, and so this should save Avey some trouble with the line trimmer. I also like the look much better. I was so glad to have used up all the rest of the mulch, too, so that now we get to use our back patio again! Kira got to know our new neighbor more, and then she left to visit the bedridden sister in the branch, stopping by the store on the way home. I showered and took Apollo to a play date, then picked up a show from the library Kira would like for that evening. Hannah picked us up pizza for a fun dinner, and then she went home for the night.
Today we're making a special meal for Kira and we've got a little gift for her. I wish I could say that the boys were making this a relaxing day for her, but they've been especially challenging. Maybe we can at least get her a nap later...