Another Sunday, Another Post

This past week flew by for me; I think it was the Monday holiday that messed with my mind. We spent the day at home; it was cold and there was snow in the forecast and I didn't feel like going anywhere. We made some chocolate chip cookies and didn't do much else. When I look back on the rest of the week it feels like a blur. Tuesday evening I had a meeting to go to at school and then a Relief Society activity. I worked on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, and then all day on Saturday. When I think about the week I generally feel like things went well, but trying to remember any details is difficult.

I've been planning to make Little Dude a scripture bag for a while and I even bought the fabric a few weeks ago. Last night I finally got over my inertia and decided to do it. Things went well for the first part of the project, but when it came time to make the straps I ran into major problems. I had bought quilted fabric to make the bag because I thought it would make it sturdier and it wouldn't need a lining. But after sewing the straps, I found that the thicker fabric made it impossible to turn them right-side out. After trying a variety of tricks, I finally gave up and made new straps that were twice as wide as the first ones I had done. I was able to turn these straps the right way, but when I tried sewing them to the bag, my machine freaked out about the thick fabric and the needle broke. By that point it was quite late and I was too tired, so I gave up. I need to figure out how to sew thicker fabrics on my machine, and possibly buy a different needle, but for now I'm not willing to go back and give it another try.

I didn't even get an interview with either of the jobs I applied for a few weeks ago. I really wasn't expecting one because I wasn't very qualified for either job, but it still feels a little frustrating. I did apply for a job that closes this Friday and I really feel like I have a good chance for an interview. It's not a career I had considered before, but I think I would enjoy it and it would be a good direction to go with my life. As much as I would love to find a good, stable job with benefits, I'm still not really invested in the job search because I love my current job. If I could work there full-time forever I would be happy (heck, if I could make working part-time a realistic option I would love to do that). Teaching is also going well this semester so far, and I like the fact that my current schedule allows me to be home with the kids so much. Of course, I'm mostly home during the day and I don't have many free weekends or evenings, not to mention the fact that I don't get paid time off. No matter what happens, I still feel good about my life and I have a feeling that something will work out in the 'right' way. I just have no idea what that is yet.

P. Bibby's birthday is coming up in a little less than two weeks. I can't believe it's been nearly two years since she was born. The time goes so fast. Lately she's become really talkative and I love the insight into how her thinking works. Today the older kids were telling me all about their trip to the aviary with their dad yesterday. P.Bibby kept piping up with things like "see birds", "stroller", "eat cookie", "daddy house", "owls". She knew what we were talking about, she remembered her trip, and she wanted to talk about it too. I love it. Lately she'll come up and tell me long sentences that are mostly intelligible. She has a very sweet personality and I am thoroughly enjoying her right now.

Little Dude is also doing well and impressing every one. Today he was assigned the scripture in Primary and read the entire thing: 2 Nephi 2:27. It's a long scripture with big words. I admit to feeling a bit of pride when people are astounded by his skills, but the truth is that I had nothing to do with it. He simply figured out how phonics work and just took off. I have a conference with his kindergarten teacher on Wednesday so I will find out if he's not too bored at school, but from what I can tell he's doing fine. At home he reads chapter books and looks at his new atlas and tells me all kinds of interesting new facts. School is valuable for kids, but learning at home is great too. I'm curious to see how first grade goes for him next year.

Since I talked about the other two kids, I should mention that S-Boogie is doing fine too. She loves school and loves reading, and even though she is not ahead of grade level or anything like that, she does well. As long as she enjoys learning and is confident about the things she does, I feel proud as a parent. Despite my desire to not go overboard with activities, she is involved in so many things. She is doing piano lessons and we signed her up for a weekly youth theater class. On top of that, she has Activity Days from church and she has been going to a Native American dance class with my sister-in-law. Plus at school she is on the team for "Battle of the Books". It's funny because I didn't intend to have her do so many things, but it just ended up that way. Things can get a little hectic with the schedule juggling I already do with my jobs, so I'm thinking that next year we might just do piano and no other paid extras like theater classes or sports. I'm still deciding on that.