Whew!

Today was much easier. We didn't venture too far during the day. Tonight I was crazy and took out all 5 kids shopping for a baptismal dress for M. Imagine taking that many little ones to a store where everything is white. I know it sounds nuts but it had to be done. I just didn't know when there would be time.

On the way there the kids were watching episodes of Hannah Montana (that were then returned on the way home). S says to me, "Mom, sing with me. It's the best of both words." (She doesn't say worlds, just words.) She has charm that one.

C has added thank you to her vocabulary. It's pretty cute. She says it without even being asked. What a funny little thing. She showed me today that she can go down stairs. I was right behind her. But of course on the very last step she stood up and fell down and bonked her head on the wall. It's a good thing we have a gate on the stairs at our house.

Positive Note- Hmmm... I am really thinking no potty accidents today but I should be more creative. Well, I am grateful that the kids didn't touch a bunch of white things in the store today making it necessary to buy a bunch of extra stuff.

And dang it why won't this thing let me spell check. It obviously will let me change the font!

Spelling

I just have to note that this thing will NOT let me run a spell check tonight ;)

Random comments for a random day

I have a bunch of randomness to write today so I'll just get to it.

First of all, my dear friend's 11 year old is going in to her doctor tomorrow. She has some thyroid 'bumps' that are growing larger ( about an inch around)and are concerning. Of course I am worried because of the nasty C word. I'm not really letting on to how worried I am but of course that side of me comes out in these types of situations.

Another thing I thougth about today is that the things that fluster me the most are things that are my own dang fault. (Okay, I'll admit I wasn't really thinking dang there.) I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to find this and that and the frustration was mounting quickly. And you know what? It was my own fault. If I had a home for everything in my house I wouldn't be so crazy. I just don't know how to dig out. GRRRRR.....

So today in a not so nutshell started like this. Somehow my neck ended out of place. I attribute this to bad posture, especially in the car. But by last night I had lost all range of motion. In fact, last night, when I would try to bend over to get somethign I would have to literally hold my very large noggin because the weight of it was killing me. So I would support my head with one hand and pick up things with the other.

You can imagine what sleeping was like. It took me over 15 minutes to get myself out of bed when the baby cried in the night. I just couldn't get over my head because the pain was so sharp. I took a bunch of pain meds and hoped for the best. I kept thinking that maybe I coudl work it out to go to the chiropractor. Now that is different can of worms. Let's just say that the last time I visited was a few days before Joshua and well, I just have never been able to go back. I have spent too much time regretting laying in a position that might have been slowly killing him. Anyway, that is the past and today my neck was kililng me enough that I was contemplating visitng the chiro anyway. I chatted with a friend and realized that it wasn't going to happen. There is just no way to take the 4 kids left home in the morning to a doctor's office and the two neighbors with whom I could leave them weren't available.

It turned out to be a good thing becuase I noticed that the house was getting chilly. I turned up the heat but it didn't get warmer. Oh, that would be because the furnace went out on me. So I got T ready for school and then it was too late to go anywhere anyway. (What was I thinking? I coudlnt' have actually gotten much done this morning.) So the women come to my house a little after noon and we decide to call a heating person to come and fix my furnace.

The first place could come tomorrow. WHAT? I can't sit in a freezing house. My neighbor found a place that would come today. Later, the company called to tell me that a serviceman was on his way and that a PHOTOGRAPHER from the newspaper woudl be coming to get pictures for a story. WHAT? Did I mention that I felt overscheduled already, that I had no milk in the house, that I had forms and paperwork due today to get some assistance for S and D?


So the man comes and shortly after, a photographer. The boys, without any information that a photographer is coming, take their buckets of 'tools' to the basement to 'help' the man. The photographer ended up taking their pics too. I don't know if they will end up in the paper or anything. It was just such a weird thing. Maybe that is why I could get an appointment today. No one wanted the photographer to come along.

Luckily, I had a great friend that felt like she shoudl offer to watch my kids for an hour. I ran myself here and there trying to get my paperwork put together and dropped off. I finished it about 3 minutes before the government office closed. I then went and got some milk without anyone along to beg for treats.

The day worked out. I squashed some whining earlier. I told D I couldn't tolerate it and then told T to stop being a bully. They'll have to be best friends if they keep it up because no one wants to be friends with a whiner or a bully.

S still seems to be somewhat potty trained. Yesterday she tried to be sneaky and wore her pull up backwards so that when she didn't want to go to the potty that the butterflies woudln't change colors. She is brilliant that one. Now we have to channel that billance into something other than sneaking.

C is now nicknamed Sharky. I was checking for her 9th tooth yesterday and found that she has 3 molars in. No wonder she is biting on anything and everything.

Positive note for today- Hmmm.... heat. I love it!

Just a postive note

There has been and will be more snow to shovel.

BUT

It's nice light and fluffy snow!

Sad or Happy

A dear person passed away tonight. I never met him. I saw him from far away and via the television. Nevertheless, what he taught impacted my life forever. I just read of his death and immediately felt my eyes fill with tears. How happy he must be to be free of his aged body and reunited with his wife.

He was great because he didn't say to just go out and be perfect. Instead he challenged everyone to stand a little taller.

I will go to bed remembering his lessons. And tomorrow I am going to do a better job of living the way I need to.

Tomorrow I will make sure I remember to 'be'.

Be grateful.
Be smart.
Be clean.
Be true.
Be humble.
Be prayerful.

Tomorrow I am going to write a few notes of thanks to people that have touched my life and let them know what they do for my spirit. I am going to help my kids in the be smart category by getting out a few extra books so that we can read together. I am going to turn off my television immediately if I see things that don't add to the spirit that I want in my home. It's usually somewhat easy for me to be true to the major covenants that I have made. It isn't always easy to keep my word on simple things. So, tomorrow, when someone asks me to get a drink or something else when I am busy I will either do it or give a true time estimation of when I will instead of just saying 'in a minute.' I am going to try to be humble and remember the lessons I learned when I spent some time in prayer over how to deal with my life. And lastly, I am going to engage in a little extra prayer tomorrow. I'm sure I need more of it.

Tomorrow I am going to try to be a better person and in doing so will try to honor my 'friend.'

The Money Marathon

I was listening to Dave Ramsey last night as I was driving. I'm a big talk radio junkie and so this is totally normal. For the most part I agree with what he says. He was telling a caller that for the most part rich people are rich because they have a marathon mentality and are willing to wait things out and just plug along.

This really related to my day because I had this FABULOUS (and can I repeat it was fabulous) idea to make my days easier. The Fed dropped rates significantly and I thought we can refinance our house add in the money for the basement, have someone quickly come do it, and not change our payments.

Basements are sanity. How great is it to be able to keep quarrelling kids on separate floors? How great is it to send noisy kids to the basement where they can have fun and be a little noisy and still have the upstairs somewhat quiet? How wonderful is it to have ALL the messy toys in one room in the basement so you never see them? In my mind it would be instant heaven. That's a lot to expect of a basement. I guess I have that sprinter mentality.

DH on the other hand is a marathoner and has the mindset for that. He LOVED the idea of refinancing. But he put together a bunch of spreadsheets to show this and that and showed how much we would save if we did a 15 year and then DIDN'T do the basement. Did I mention that it would be 200 dollars a month more out of potential spending money? Then he wants to do the basement little by little with cash. Is is smart? Sure. It saves more than I care to comment but it's a huge sum, especially if you invest what your payment would be over the course of what would have been the length of the loan. But it isn't a basement. Is he a wise money marathoner? Yep he sure is. Am I still disappointed? Yes. The worst part though is that I know I am wrong and he is right. I hate to be wrong.

I mentioned how much he is going to have to fork over to cover my shrink someday or maybe my hearing aides from so much noise and his response was, "Insurance covers it."

Positive Note- T's violin teacher is going to let him go into a different group lesson today. Yesterday we drove to a neighboring town for his lesson to find that he had forgotten to put his violin back in the case after practicing (another positive note). I'm glad she's giving him another chance.

Grout

Tonight I was scrubbing the grout for the tile that DH put in the hall. It had to be done. (Much more of a story than I am going to leave here ;) ) D and S were not going to sleep. I really should have been doing the ignore so they will go to sleep thing but I just couldn't help but sneak smiley then frowny faces then smiley faces at S. She just looked so happy to have the little bit of interaction. It might come back to bite me in the butt later but it made me love her tonight.

And after doing that she went to sleep without any screaming.

Positive Note- My tile is done!

To go to bed or change a diaper

I can't sleep. It could be that I was a little grumpy earlier today and am feeling a little bit bad about it. It could be that I ate too much of my homemade brownie concoction (that wasn't a hit with M). And it could be that I went back to check on the kids and realized that S has a stinky diaper. EWWWW! So, do I wake her or not. I think it's pretty icky to sleep in that state but is it worse to be awakened? And M, the poor thing, is sharing the room with her.

I think I will let her sleep. If she wakes up now and screams C, the baby, will be up too and then the night really will get long.

Still, it's too yucky.

Positive Note- It's going to snow tomorrow.

Humbling Reminder

Today I needed a little reminder from a friend. I was asking this friend for advice on how to more easily survive my days. She has a very active and challenging little guy and has learned a bunch.

I mentioned to her that another friend dropped off a little birthday gift and told me she was going to start taking the kids 2 hours a week so I could have a little break. I had, of course, protested telling her everything was fine and dandy and that I could handle it. Okay, I don't think I mentioned fine and dandy. I just hate to be an imposition on someone. I mean, really, these people didn't sign up to help me survive the first six months of transition. I was the one who signed on the line. Back to my story though before I lose my desire to once again fess up how I was humbled. My friend took her phone and I guess pretended to whack me over the head with it. She reminded me how just last week I finally dropped to my knees and told Heavenly Father that I could not do this by myself and that I needed help. And then help came my way and I said no thanks. It was a dose of humble pie I tell you.

But it was also hopeful. It gave me that little reminder that my prayers are heard and answered (although I really had hoped the answer would be miraculously great behavior and no problems at all). I was reminded that I really did have somewhere to turn and then I needed to follow through and not just go on back to being my normal self. I put on a *gasp* cassette tape of animal songs that I had as a little kid (and yes our 'stereo' system still has a cassette player, but heck, it's a double one). I danced a little bit with each of the kids and we had a grand time.

And then I got to work and cleaned the girls room so all the toys can go in the closet. I'm putting a lock on it and will be giving M a key so she can get her toys but also keep them protected. I just can't stand for S to ruin all of her American Girl stuff. Luckily she has a walk in closet that will store everything.

S never took a nap, nor did she sleep much last night. She was sick much of the night. I thought for certain that she would be exhausted today. No such luck. She was just more wired and cranky.

Positive Note of the Day: She did go to sleep easily tonight :)

Another oh happy day

I'm singing that Sound of Music song right now... the start from the very beginning, a very good place to start thing.

Today a friend called to say she was coming to visit. It was so much fun to see her. You would think we lived 5 hours apart instead of an hour and a half. (Okay, it probably didn't take her that long but would take me two hours as I am so dang slow.) Her kids have gotten so big. I think it made M's day to see her old friend. I couldn't have treated her to a nicer surprise. And for me it was fun too. You know you have a good friend when you can jump right back in after a long time and just feel so comfy.

And then I came home to try to pick up my house. It didn't happen. I was trying to get the kids dinner, nurse a baby, check dh's flight info, catch fighting, and slaying dragons. Okay, that last thing is a lie.

I had a meeting at my house for a church group. Wouldn't you know that after the first person came (a super easy going person thankfully) things all went downhill. I didn't have the place picked up like I had hoped and was apologizing for it. Then the fun really started.

S started crying. She threw up in her bed. ICK! That's one of my least favorite things to clean up. I grabbed her and sand 'We are a Happy Family' as I carried her to my shower. We got her all cleaned up and she giggled away. More people came. I stripped her bed and made a new one. She did it again. By this time I had more people in my house.

What do you do? I mean really, I normally would have cancelled the whole dang thing because who wants to come to some house where a two year old is throwing up and a 7 year old has gone a little crazy with the Lysol? But it's really hard to get a meeting scheduled. So we just did it. I am sure that some of the ladies there were thinking what in the heck is wrong with this person. I really want to leave. I know I would have thought that. Oh well. It's over. S hasn't thrown up again and I am hoping she wakes up feeling better tomorrow. I sent T to bed with a pan too because he sleeps on a top bunk and I worry that he won't be able to get down the ladder in time if he needs to.

Hopefully tomorrow will be throw up free. It sort of has to be. We have a neighbor kid coming over to be watched, have preschool, K, make up violin (for today because it was cancelled), and dance. There is just no time for throw up.

Positive note for today- T made it through his violin songs quite easily.

Meeting With the Lawyer

We met with our lawyer about finalization. He seems like a good guy. Of course it's easy to be nice when you are getting paid in 6 minute increments! (I can't complain because this guy cuts his hourly fee a ton for adoptions.) I also learned that we can get Medicaid for the kids until finalization. This may not seem like anything great but it could be helpful in finding some therapy for them. The question then is do you finalize if you have a great therapist when finalization will mean losing services. Hmmm.... questions, questions. He gave us some good advice on what we should do with different things we know, etc.

It looks like S has something funky going on with her skin. At first I thought it was chicken pox (even though she has had the vaccine) and then I had the doc quickly look at it when we were there today and he said it's most likely impetigo. LOVELY! Now I'm worried about every little spot.

I emailed their mom about D's medical allergy. I was surprised at the long email I got back. The funny thing was that she wrote something in it to the effect of "I don't think this is going to work unless we are completely honest with each other." I don't know what she means. I hate to say it but she has absolutely no rights. She willingly gave them up. Now, I don't want to ruin things because someday we might need some medical information or whatever. But I am not going to go and tell her things that aren't helpful. I'm not planning on telling her we are changing to S. We have a good reason and we are the ones that will deal with whatever name she has. I'm not going to tell her when the kids are acting like little terrors. They all do at one point biokid or not. Right now she wants me to tell her what the kids say about her. Well, they don't really talk about her a ton. It's a little bit here and there but that's it. They are more interested in where the last piece of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle thing is and who got the biggest piece of cake. That's just how kids are. I can't say to her some of the crazy things they tell us. Why would I? Do you say to someone, "Look how much these things could mess up a kid." No way. I'm hoping it's grief. I can understand that. At first you want every little thing you can get and then, over time, you need less. That's what I am hoping for. I feel like I already have more contact than I usually need.

Anyway... blah blah blah. It's just a bit crazy.

Positive Moment for Today: The antibiotic ointment that T got in his eye while sleeping didn't seem to do long term damage AND the poison control people just called to check up on him. I can go to bed. :)

The Ugly Me

You know, I have always sort of 'prided' myself on being a Pollyanna type of girl. I'm all about trying to be cheerful and happy. Today I had to face the ugly me.

I had a 'dementor' day today. S (who used to be L but that is another very LONG story) had quite the two year old day today. I don't know if I expected too much out of her or not. But after she had emptied all the kids shampoo out, was told not to do that, emptied out all of the adult shampoo and conditioner, sneaked candy, sneaked it again as I was throwing out the original, and then gave C a purposeful and very hard blow to the chest (that knocked her to the ground) with her foot I had about had it. She has the normal two year old stuff going on (emptying the shampoo out the first time) and I understand that. I don't like it, but really, what mom does? It was the blow to C that just pushed me over the top. It was so horrible. I understand a little pushing here and there. It's not pretty but most kids do it. But what she did wasn't pushing. I was even holding her at the time because I didn't know what else to do with her.

I just started sobbing as I wondered how in the world I was going to ever make this work. It was that horrible icky cry, a spidermama cry for those of you that know her, and it was ugly. I called a friend to see if I could take her for a few minutes and she wasn't there. Looking back, it was a good thing. I set her in a corner where there was nothing to entertain her and told her not to leave. And then I did what I should have done months ago. After having made sure that C was okay I got down on my knees and pleaded with my maker. I finally fessed up to him all of the feelings I was having. It's not that I don't think he knew what was going on anyway, it's that I hadn't wanted to really just say it to him. I have been trying to attack this as if I have all the control to make it happen. Who am I to think that I can really do that by myself? I finally told him that it was a much bigger task than I could handle. I couldn't pretend that the ugly me didn't exist to the One who knows all. I'm not so proud of myself anymore.

I still don't know quite what to do. I called the places that our insurance covers for mental health (well for kids) and I was told that they are either not taking new patients or are booked until March. I am waiting for a call back from the last place. It's over 20 miles away but I still think it would be worth it. If they can't do it I don't know what I'll do. I need help figuring out what to do with her. It's going to be some extra work no matter what. I can't figure out how I can get that far out between their hours of 9:30 am and 3:30 pm when it's a 30 minute drive and we have kindergarten smack dab in the middle. But something has to change because I can't have the dementor thing happening over and over. I can put in the work but I would really like to think that it was doing something.

Other than that things are moving along. D had a great day at preschool again yesterday. It is just so great for him. His teacher told me he fit in so well and that all the kids really liked him. He and T have been playing with their tool sets since yesterday. They are loving them. They go around pretending to fix everything.

T had his walking report card. He is doing amazingly well in school. His teacher told me she really doesn't have behaviour problems with him. I told her she was using up all of his really good time and that maybe she should leave me a little. She laughed. I told her about my concerns on his reading comprehension. (the Who's did? thing) and she said she noticed it too. She said he could skip a level now on just reading but she did a test for his comprehension just the other day and asked him where the story took place. His response was, "in the library." They were reading in the library. I don't know if he doesn't understand what he reads or he just doesn't care to. Still, he is doing well.

M's teachers raved about her. They actually told us that if we were too busy we could do a phone conference but I told them I wanted her to come in so she could hear them rave about her a bit. It gave her a little M time with just mom and dad.

So that's where life is at. I should quickly add, I am once again horrified at my grammar in these things. I reread a bunch of posts and decided that I should reread them but then decided I can't or I'll never hit publish.

Bargainaholic

Last night when I went to bed all I could think about bargain hunting. I knew that Kohl's was having an extra 50% off its already great clearance. I was up until almost midnight. I kept trying to figure out how I was going to get there by the time it opened at 8 am.

This morning I went out with 4 kids at 7:25 am. As we got close I thought I was going to miss the opening. One other bargain hunter might beat me! We got in there and I filled my cart. (You have to remember I was toting 4 small kids with me too.) By the end of my trip I had managed to score around 8-900 dollars (and that's the MSRP that I would never in a million years pay) for under 100 dollars including tax.

We went outside and I loaded the kids into the car. I made sure everyone was buckled and then went around the back of the car and got in. We drove off eager to get D's immunization. I was about 15 minutes into the drive to the doctor's office when I realized I didn't have my goods. I had left them sitting on the ground in the parking lot of Kohls. I got off the freeway and called a friend to get the number for the store. Thankfully, some nice and honest person turned my stuff in.

D was so excited to start school. His classroom is great. In fact, his school was recently remodeled and his class is nicer than T's. I am pretty sappy and I get emotional easily. I have cried at the first of just about everything. Today I got that little lump in my throat when I left him. I'm glad because I hope that means that inside I am starting to attach more to him. It seems just like a K class minus a bunch of extra tables. We took some pictures of him and he is so happy. I then worked in T's class which I left to go pick D up. After school I took him out for a little treat, just the two of us. We went back to pick of the kids from school and the day just continued to get crazier.

I'm still trying to figure out my little L. She is just such a tricky little thing. I just don't know what to do with her. Tonight she was the sticky note pad destroyer. It doesn't seem like such a big deal but it is because she already destroyed sticky notes. They are M's special ones. Tonight I asked her if she wants me to pull the legs off her Dora. She protested saying they were hers. I asked if she would be sad and she said yes. I told her that's how other people feel when stuff is ruined. She's on a roll lately. Between drawing on the new bunkbeds (which is bad but you know, what kid doesn't do that type of thing be it a wall or bed) and then drawing all over the new computer desk, purposely spilling an entire thing of detangler on the carpet, and a bunch of other things I am starting to feel like she needs to have it relate to her more. I didn't know what else to do but ask her how she would feel if we 'delegged' her Dora. She's a complex little creature my L (who keeps saying she wants to be called another name S). I think I need to get her into a therapist. A few of the things we are working with just seem like they are beyond me. I just don't want to mess her up because I don't know what I am doing.

And now I go onto the important things. I am wondering if Target toys are going to go to 75% off tomorrow. I just don't know how I can go with the 4 little ones to the madness. But I will miss it so much. I always buy almost all my Christmas gifts and all my birthday gifts at this time each year.

Oh well. We'll see.

And my little bit of gratitude... It had to be that feeling I had when I left D at school. It gives me hope.

Who's Did?

One of the things I am trying to do this new year is read with T more frequently. He hasn't received nearly the amount of time he needs. So yesterday we were trying to get in some good quality reading time. (i.e. Hurry hurry it's almost bedtime... Get in here and read to me now.) I was really impressed because he was doing a great job with an old school reader (Dick and Jane). I think pride was getting the best of me and the fall had to come. We are reading along with him getting almost all of the words himself when he looks at the two pictures on the page and says, "That's Dick, right?" "Yes. That is Dick." "Then who's did?" There were a few questions in a row starting with did with a capital D. Obviously he was NOT reading for comprehension.

Today L went on the potty all day. She finally earned her potty prize (a Dora piano for her Dora House). She barely got it though because 20 minutes before bedtime I caught her in the act of getting ready to give up. Luckily the face gave it away and I hauled her off to the potty in time to get through the day.

I caught L sneaking M's Christmas candy today. I should have known that she was up to something because it was so quiet. I took the candy away, gave her a stern little talk, washed her hands and then sent her to her room to sit on her bed for time out. Usually she screams at the top of her lungs when she is in time out. So I went back there after about 2 minutes and learned why. She had stashed some candy behind the bed that I hadn't seen and she was at it again. I took her to the grocery store with some of her money so she could buy M some replacement candy. I thought it would make her sad that she couldn't use her money to buy a toy or something or even a treat but it didn't . Bad parenting on my part. But at least M got her stolen goods replaced.

The 3 oldest kids are all at a basketball game with DH tonight. The house is quiet. It's a wreck but a quiet wreck. So off I go to at least get the floor cleaned up and the dishes done.

Oh and on the topic of resolutions. I am really not doing the exercise thing. Maybe I'll walk down the stairs and look at the treadmill tonight. That would be better than what I have been doing.

Grateful moment: Nature pounded us with snow. Everything is beautiful and white again and all the gray icky snow is covered. I love fresh snow.

Year In Review

January- We had just brought C home from the NICU. We tried to figure out why she didn't gain weight and screamed all the time.

February- We were still working on January's goals.

March- We went to AZ for Joshua's birthday and saw an Angels game.

April- It warmed up a bunch and the kids tried to make a lemonade stand. They didn't make much. The kids enjoyed some spring skiing and T made it to the top of the mountain. M decided to spend a chunk of her change on a cruiser style bicycle. It has made her happy ever since.

May- M and DH did M's first race under very cold conditions. She got hooked on racing when her number was drawn for a boom box. T broke his arm on the playground at the school. He got a great camo cast. We went to AZ for a friend's wedding. It was toasty warm already and the kids reminded us why we like living away from the heat when summer begins. We had fun at the science center there.

June- DH, M, and T did a race where DH 'won' his entry into his marathon. C tried rice cereal.

July- I did a race (not that it can be considered a 'race' when you appear to barely be moving). It was a goal and it was just nice to follow through. We went to a family reunion near the Grand Canyon. The kids loved seeing their cousins and going to the Grand Canyon. The kids participated in a children's parade. It was a little goofy and every kid there seemed to think it was so important. Some older adults lined the streets to wave back at the kids. This month also had a teddy bear run for the kids and a trip to an amusement park.

August- We spent time at Great Grandma's lake cabin. It's always a hit with the kiddos. DH ran his first half marathon. He pushed it too much at the end to finish faster and hurt his sartoris. T had a slip and slide birthday party. (Does the kid get anything else with a summer birthday?) School started. We plunked a HUGE peach off our tree.

September- We made applesauce and bottled it. The kids helped. We tried pearsauce too. M beat mom in M's first 5k. She left me in the dust. She got a medal for the under 14 category. She decided that she is a 'runner'. We went to Disneyland.

October- DH did his marathon. We went to TX to get D and L. M and T were farmed out to neighbors. We brought D and L home.

November- T started wrestling. D had his bat party. DH, the boys, and Papa went to a basketball game. We didn't have to travel out of state for Thanksgiving. M created her save the mice trap for her 'invention' at school.

December- D and L played in their first really great snowfall. T did his first and maybe only wrestling tournament. What else was there? A trip to the Nutcracker, a goat in the nativity, tons of the stomach flu, a trip to AZ, company for Christmas, and a trip to see the lights. C finally started to really take steps.

We ended the year going to bed a little after 11 pm. The kids were already asleep.

It seems like it has been such a busy year but it doesn't appear that way anymore.

Grateful note: The kids are back in school. They are happier to have their routine back and I am just happy they are happy. :)