Jumping Jacks

Cooper and Phoebe and I have been trying to exercise at home. We've been using this workout plan, specifically the leg and ab routines. Instead of barbells, we use cans of peaches and tomato sauce. We don't always time the wall squats, instead we sing The ABCs twice. And Cooper really loves doing jumping jacks.

We haven't exercised much this week. We spent today watching Netflix and sleeping. Well, the kids watched Netflix while I tried to sleep. We might do the same thing again tomorrow.

But I do hope to get back to those jumping jacks soon.

Pity Party

I'm sick. Really sick. Voice-gone, achy-all-over, coughing-up-a-lung sick. Bryan and Cooper had it, then Phoebe, now me. Peter remains unscathed.

The worst part of this particular illness (other than not being able to rest and recuperate) is that I can't sleep. I lie in bed, almost asleep, then jump up choking and coughing. Too much information?

Tonight I'm doing my dishes instead of not sleeping. I'd definitely prefer to be blissfully slumbering, but I figure if I can't sleep anyway, I might as well be productive.

Okay, rant over.

You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round...

Wide Open Spaces

I think I might be tired of living in a little tiny apartment. I had this epiphany as I was walking crab-like around the outside of my bed, because there's so little space I can't walk normally.

Granted, there are benefits to a little house. There's only one bathroom to clean. I can hear what the kids are up to no matter what room I'm in. I'm sure there's a third benefit, I just can't think of it right now.

We'll only be here for, what, five more months tops, so I can handle it. And there are so many more things that I'll miss, like all of our friends that are staying in the area. But a bigger apartment is looking real good right now.

Storytime

We had a short visit from Uncle Isaac and Aunt Falisha tonight. They got here in time to read bedtime stories and they were very helpful as I got kids into pajamas and brushed teeth.

Hooray for aunts and uncles!

Repeat

We watched the movie from yesterday's post at least a dozen times today. Sometimes Phoebe would sing along. Sometimes Cooper would talk over it and Phoebe would shush him and say, "I'm watching Phoebe."

And she put on an encore performance while standing on the ottoman in our living room.

For the record, Cooper started using our futon as a stage and putting on shows at least a year ago. So maybe Phoebe was following his example more than mine.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

On Monday we went to a sports activity for kids put on by MBASA. It was in the cultural hall of a church building. After the activity was over, most of the kids took advantage of the space and ran wild. Phoebe saw another opportunity. She climbed the steps to the stage and put on a show.

I realized part way through that I should be filming, so I pulled out my camera, which is why the movie starts halfway through the song. Thankfully she cycled back to her opening as soon as she finished singing.

In case you can't understand her, here's a transcript.

Lead me, guide me walk beside me. Help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday.
Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the little show of awesome! I am with... I'm on the stage (more minutes?)! Oh yeah!
Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the-

And then I stopped filming, probably because she was getting close to the lip of the stage and I didn't want her to fall off.

This movie makes my heart melt and sing and almost burst, all at the same time. I'm not trying to push her into performing (nor am I pushing either of the boys), but I do think it's interesting to see what they inherent. Or what rubs off because they see me performing so often.

This is my new favorite movie.

Climate Change

We spent three and a half hours outside today because the weather warmed above freezing. It was lovely and the kids enjoyed it.

And I have my first sunburn of the year.

Working for the Weekend

Guess who mopped their floor, did massive amounts of dishes, and folded multiple loads of laundry this weekend?

Can I get a weekend to recover from my weekend?

That is all.

Peter's Day Off

Peter woke up this morning insisting that he was too sick to go to school. He's been doing this lately, trying to stay home from school. It's pretty easy to tell if he's really feeling ill, and today he was tired but not because he was sick. Usually we tell him we'll just take him in his pajamas if he refuses to get dressed, but today we decided to play along.

To Peter, a sick day means that he gets to watch movies while he convalesces. I know that we're to blame for this since that's what most sick days have been.

So we told him he could stay home, but that he would need to stay in bed so he could recuperate. And we warned him that he would need to stay in bed, whether or not he felt better.

At first he agreed, then as the time for school to begin drew nearer, he started to say that maybe he was feeling better. Five minutes before the bell was to ring, Peter said he thought he was well. We informed him he would need to get dressed, eat breakfast, and make his lunch in about two minutes in order to make it on time.

He stayed home.

The first few hours were fine. He read The Hobbit and a National Geographic fact book for kids. Around eleven o'clock he started to get antsy. From two o'clock until four o'clock, it was almost impossible to keep him sitting on his bed, or even in his room. He kept telling us how much better he was and how he thought he should be playing with his siblings.

Today was the warmest day we've had all year. Bryan took Cooper and Phoebe out for a walk in the late afternoon, but he told Peter that, due to his sick day, he couldn't join them. I stayed home with the nearly hysterical Peter.

I heard him say several times, "I just wish I had gone to school! Why didn't I go to school?!" He did finally join the family for dinner and a movie, so his day wasn't a complete loss.

I wonder, will the lesson stick?