The latest is that February flew by in a very mundane way. We have been home more than not which is hard on me & the kids, but we're making it work. Part of that was due to our minivan being in the shop (but it has also been really cold, even snowed a good bit). We have only paid for a transmission fluid flush at this point; I dropped it off yesterday for a second transmission opinion so we're just waiting. Always waiting and lately it has been for bad financial news. But what's a car in terms of heaven. Life is expensive & there is always something.
But it has been frustrating nonetheless to want a dependable minivan for the 3rd child and dealing with this before she even comes. I'm just very frustrated if all this drama was due to a missing dipstick that has been missing since we bought the vehicle. The question is if the transmission will go, is it worth the other quoted RARE mechanics eventually needed as well as the regular stuff. It's hard to invest in something that seems like a lemon. But buying the next step up (in order to stay in the same mileage range) doubles the current (known) repairs. So which is best?
To test my ability to be patient in times of stress, Dallin tossed my phone in the sink over running water for who knows how long before I came out of the shower and found it. As soon as I heard him say "wet" I then knew my phone was toast. I reacted horribly, fussing & crying like a big fat baby saying I couldn't take it. I shut both doors to my room, but apparently not well enough. He has never attempted anything like that before, so it was a patience test. I failed. I'm so tired of it all.
We're back to my old hair dryer (that I felt I needed to hold onto) as well as needing to find my church coat which I lost at church. It was a great week for the books.
At least I finally got to do a temple session last Sat morning at the Meridian temple. I walked out to a snowy blizzard, but it was nice to finally get up and make it to an 8AM session. I haven't been sleeping well between the baby & the other kids so at times I still feel like a walking zombie, hence the patience factor.
Mr Smith has been working long hours (he is always out the door before I wake, mostly for 7 AM meetings) and not really able to handle much else. At least Dallin has been better at potty training. He has even been dry at night for a week now. He has gone a good 5 days before having an accident, but he will still have them. Poo accidents only happen if he didn't manage to get it all out. There was that time washing his hands where he said "poo", put his hand to his butt and then poo accidentally went swinging toward my face. Yeah. Good times. Basically feels like current life.
But we are all healthy. We have definitely had that on our side this winter when it seems like everyone else is struggling there. At the end of the day, if we just have each other, then we really will have enough.
The kids: we started goal setting with Lexi in order for her to earn some prizes. "listening, chores, eating veggies, playing nice with Dallin & reading books" are goals to earn via sticker points. Along with 5 goals for her to work on: FHE lesson (learn & teach a story), help Dad clean out his car, write/send video to grandparents, learn Twinkle Twinkle on the piano & help a friend. It helps, but she still struggles to push through hard things & isn't getting them done quickly. But she is doing it when it comes to reading and she loves to see herself finally get it. They love reading. Lexi loves doing her schoolwork, I don't have to push her to do that at all anymore. I love that Dallin keeps getting better putting two words together & that Lexi will try to sound out letters to read.
The kids have this horrible scream that I haven't resolved yet. They get along best in front of the TV, unfortunately. We'll appreciate being able to play outside for a longer period of time in the months to come. (She starts soccer practice in a couple weeks!) I've taken away a lot of their playroom toys simply because Lexi said picking up was boring & after multiple opportunities she didn't want to earn points and I just put them away in frustration. They still like to steal snacks & TV time when possible. Along with screaming, I cannot get Lexi to flush the toilet! So there are always things to work on... a lot of the things that they struggle with (Lexi being patient with Dallin) I also struggle with. So there ya go. We're always learning. They are really sweet kids, but Dallin definitely has that bad side when hungry or tired & Lexi is usually just whiney when she is in that state, ha. I'm probably all three.
I bought them their first happy meal sometime last week. We only went three places: CarMax, Honda dealership & Winco. I can't remember when this was the easier lunch. Outside of that, we've only dropped off & picked up the van at three different shops. Yep, one of those weeks. Very exciting.
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