Random Updates

• Karianna put together an amazing book report, in which she created a cereal based on a book of her choice.  Thus, "Dork-e-o's" was born!  Based on the "Dork Diaries" books, her cereal box shares specific details for one of the books, including "Glam Ingredients" (story elements), three awesome illustrations, a word search, and a persuasive aspect that convinces you to buy this "cereal".  Karianna did a really, really excellent job-I was so proud of her!
• Karianna also wrote a story about an illustration she did-I used to do this as a kid, her teacher gave her a paper with a doodle on it, and she had to turn it into a picture.  She turned her little doodle into a picture of the Mad Hatter making tea in his tea shop!  Her story is awesome, I'll have to post it here.  I wish I remembered to take more pictures of the kids' projects since I know they are not all going to survive being boxed up or put in scrapbooks.  
• Jackson no longer uses his binky during the day-it stays in his bed.  I don't care so much if he uses it while he sleeps, but I like this new independence during the day.
• Jackson is down to one nap during the day, though it is a long 3 hour one from about 10-1, sometimes even 1:30.  He goes to bed by 8 at the latest, and sleeps until 7:30 in the morning.  I am really liking this schedule.  Part of me would like to put him to bed earlier around 7, and I think he would be amenable to that, but I do not think I can expect the house to be quiet enough for him that early.  8 makes more sense since that is when the other little kids go to bed. 
• I am super happy to say I am having a great deal of success whittling down Jackson's nursing schedule.  I didn't want mastitis to be the reason I stopped nursing my last baby, but after I recovered, I realize the time had come. Jackson was nursing 5-6 times a day still, and my past babies have always been down to 2, maybe 3 times a day at this point.  So, I am pressing weaning with the goal of being totally done by the end of March; Jacks will be 16 months.  At this point, I have nixed several feedings with no issues (thankfully), and Jackson only nurses when he wakes up and when he goes to bed.  I'll lose the morning feed next week, maybe go every other day until dropping it completely, and then do the same with the night feed.  That will be hard for me emotionally, I think, but Jackson is acclimating well, and I am excited to move forward.
• Sara has stopped tutoring, as she finally told me she didn't want to do it anymore.  They have been giving her extension work for a while now, I was just waiting for her to tell me she WANTED to be done.  She is progressing so beautifully in school, it is so neat to see.  She mastered yet another list of sight words and got to attend the Super Reader lunch with her teacher-she is super proud of that.
• JD brought home a permission slip yesterday to test for GT.  He is extremely excited about that because his best friend is in GT!  I'll send in the forms to have him tested, but we are not stressing about it.  I honestly think he gets the support he needs in his classroom, though I always see great benefits of doing GT, so if he qualifies, great-we'll have him do it.  I just wish every teacher would teach as if he or she was a GT teacher.  I don't understand why we don't push our kids in "regular" classrooms to achieve greatness.  Sigh.  Off my soapbox.  
• Jordan has expressed a desire to do swim team this summer!  I actually think he would be great at it if he could discipline himself enough to listen to directions and hold his body still.  Jordan is such a wiry kid-he is all muscle.  His physical adeptness impresses me all the time, and he is such a fast runner.  I really do think he will be great at swim team, and I do think we will sign him up for it at the same time that we sign Karianna up for dive team.
• JD, as always just wants to do soccer.  I hate how expensive things like that are, but we are confident he will be able to start after spring break or maybe summer.
• Updates for James......I don't know!  James is my little buddy every single day, and i should probably keep a better log of the funny things he says and the little activities we do every day.  He is overdue (in my opinion) for potty training at this point, but we talk about it and sit on the potty all the time....some may already call that potty training, but for me, I need to change him to underwear and have that week where we live by the timer and constantly talk about needing to pee and poop.  I am really really hoping for next week, as I have a goal for him to be trained by the end of March, including naps (and hopefully nights, but we'll see).  

Jared and I are excited to get our yards cleaned up in the next week with our tax return arriving.  We will be switching out our awful, broken fridge with one we are inheriting from my Grandma Dana, and potentially doing the same with our washer/dryer.....our dryer is fairly new, but given that we are receiving a set, we may replace both.  Jared was asked this past week to serve in his FOURTH calling....yes, I said 4th.  Of all things, he was asked to be the Elder's Quorum secretary-something he has done I think 7 times before.  He obviously knows this calling extremely well, but considering that he has 3 other callings, and doesn't feel like he is able to even fulfill 2 of those other callings, he had to decline the secretary calling.  Jared does not want to put the EQ president in a position of relying on him when he really can't dedicate the needed time to this calling. His availability to do visits, attend meetings, and go to the church to input numbers is just super low given that my "work day" usually starts when he gets home.  He did accept the task of teaching in EQ, so he'll add that to his schedule on Sundays. 

I am in a mode of trashing a lot of stuff we don't need or want anymore, and just wanting to declutter.  Unfortunately, that usually means our house is a disaster because decluttering makes a huge mess before it resolves.  I have been making a concerted effort to change some things that have been bugging me, like kids taking advantage of making their own breakfast/lunches, and just leaving a disaster in the kitchen, or tossing dirty clothes anywhere other than the laundry room where they are supposed to go.  James has also been wreaking havoc in his room-he has drilled 2 holes in the wall by his bed, colored all over the door and his bed, and widened the hole in the wall behind the door.  So I have started painting things, patching up holes, and laying down extremely strict rules for James, as well as adjusting his nap schedule so he is not in his room at times when he is just not tired.  I am enforcing a greater responsibility with the kids to keep things clean:  bedrooms primarily, and now bathrooms.  i taught JD how to completely clean a toilet two days ago-inside and out.  The other kids are next.  :)

Those are the happenings right now.  I feel like every day just flies by in such a rush, and I often feel like I don't get enough done to relish my time with the kids.  I feel like I lose myself in frustration way too often, and that is something I am actively trying to remedy.  Constant process!