Learning Joy

So you see, I’m so un-original, I cannot think up titles for these things!
Today could have been called “Play Day” or “Busy Day”, though, I suppose. A lot has happened today!!
This morning I woke up and got the kids and myself ready. We had a play date today. Jef suggested getting McDonald’s for breakfast, so we did. The boys had McGriddles, which they really liked, and I had a sausage biscuit (which, by the way, cost a whopping 410 calories!!!! HOLY COW!!!!). I could have had a McGriddle for only ten calories more!!! Gee whiz.
Anyways … so we stopped by McDonald’s on our way to the ice rink. We were meeting our friends Aaron & Charissa there. The boys enjoyed skating. The rink was practically empty. Mary & I had a nice chat and Nicholas ate then FINALLY fell asleep.
After the free skate was over (it wasn’t free monetarily, “free” just means open to the public), we followed Mary to her house. We had a picnic in their back yard and the kids played. It ended up raining and thundering. Daniel got a little scared of the thunder, but he was ok.
We stayed later than I expected to, as I discovered my watch was set back about an hour! I still had laundry to do, so we got going around 4. Mary & her family were so nice and gracious. I hope her kids had as much fun as mine did!
After we left Mary’s house, we drove home, picked up the laundry & headed right out. I have never seen the Laundromat like it was today. I’ve seen it busy, but today was just weird. Three of the good dryers were “temporarily resting”. When I got there, I had to wait for a washer, and ended up having to remove someone’s clothes. Then the kids & I went to the Hallmark store across the street. We went there mainly because they have a mailbox out front, but I also wanted to see if they had any more of those memory boxes that I got for Mother’s Day. We looked around for a bit, didn’t buy anything, then walked back to the Laundromat. Our clothes were done, but there were no dryers!! While we were gone, some people must’ve come in with just wet clothes to dry. I don’t know, but it was weird. There were a couple dryers full of dry clothes. The guy came back (it was the same guy whose clothes I’d had to remove from the washer) and just started talking to my kids! It was really weird. He wasn’t inappropriate, just loud & such. He told the boys to ask their principal about college. The boys told him (this is Jonathan), “well, actually, our mom teaches us.”
“Yeah, we’re homeschooled.” Daniel chimed in.
“Well you should go to a school and ask a principal about college. ” The guy says.
I told him we knew about college. Sometimes I wonder if people think because we are homeschooling our kids we don’t have an education. Maybe we should wear badges that say “I have a BS in Counseling … I am qualified to teach my kids!” I’m going to get off this soapbox before I go on a tangent.
We walked back over to Safeway while the clothes were drying because the boys needed something to eat. I had thought we would be home by six or seven & I could feed them. No such luck.
While we were at Safeway, I decided to see if any pregnancy tests were on sale. I saw one, and it was a double pack that was the same price as a single. So I picked that up, and we checked out.
The laundry finally got done, and I was so glad to be going home. The kids had been pretty good. When we got back to the Laundromat from Safeway, they shared their candy with a little boy who was there.
We got home, and Jef said he’d help me unload when he came home. That was a relief, because my feet were killing me!! I had on these sandals that were really cute to go on a play date, but they sure don’t like to walk everywhere with me!
I was a little stressed out because the kids weren’t going to bed, and everyone was telling me they were still hungry, and I was going to take the pregnancy test. Finally got that done, then Jef came home (we only got home a little before nine!). He got to come home early because tomorrow he has to go in early (6AM!) to take Jim to the hospital.
We looked at the garden & I showed him the test. It was positive. He said, “no you’re not” and I said “this says so”. Then he said, “well, lots of things have been happening all at once, at least this is something good.” 🙂 We were kind of shocked. We certainly weren’t planning to be pregnant, but God knows best. Maybe we will have a girl! 🙂 Then I won’t be so outnumbered. 😉
That was Tuesday. We watched a little TV, then crashed, since Jef had to get up so early.
Oh, and Monday night we finished the movie. It is not very much like the new one. It was kind of weird. Especially since we were expecting Sammy Davis, Jr.’s character to die, and he didn’t. Thanks Mom!

Monday was a fun day. 🙂
We had a BBQ for Evva, my Mother-in-law, since her birthday was Tuesday, the 21st.
In the morning, we received “Ocean’s Eleven” (the old version) in the mail. So we thought we’d watch & then get ready to go. I’d already bought the buns and hot dogs and had everything bagged and ready. Jef had already made the cheesecake and potato salad. So we watched the movie … and watched the movie … and watched the movie … it got to be about 2:30 and we decided we’d better get ready & save the end of the movie until later.
Doug & Marie invited us over to their house around 4p.m. We got a little lost on our way there because I forgot to Mapquest. 🙁 But we made it, and were only a few minutes late. 🙂
Mom was there, as were Marie, Matthew & Jacob. Matthew looked so good! He was up and walking around, and even got on the trampoline later. God is SO good! We got to see his scar (it’s big and icky) and later in the evening Doug showed us pictures he’d taken of the wound and such. (pretty icky)
The boys had a lot of fun playing with Matthew & Jacob. They bounced on a trampoline for the first time – THEY LOVED IT!! So I guess if we ever get our own house with a yard, we will have to get one. 🙂
Mom liked her presents. The boys bought her a bear that sings “Singin’ in the Rain” while wearing a pink raincoat & boots. We got her a Thomas Kinkade music box. Doug & Marie were taking her shopping this week for her present. 🙂 The digital camera that Doug used for the pictures of Matthew’s leg was actually Mom’s. They’d got it for her for Christmas. 🙂
The food was great — I think barbecued hot dogs are the best! After dinner, we cleaned up and went inside to chat. The boys went upstairs and played a Star Wars game with Matthew, Jacob & their friend Michael.
Jacob tried to help Nicholas when Nicholas had an accident. Poor Jacob. Nicholas didn’t make it to the toilet in time & made quite a mess. So I had to give him a bath!! That was an ordeal – not the bath, the mess beforehand. 🙂
We had a nice visit & then around 9, we finally left Doug & Marie in peace. 🙂 We forget sometimes that other people have to get up early. :-O
So that was Monday.

Sad Nicholas (he really didn’t want his picture taken).

Cheesy, toothless grin form John-Boy. He’s wearing his “Luigi” pjs.  

I really was trying to get a good picture of my little ham. Taken this morning … Daniel is wearing his “mario” pjs. They actually have snow dogs on them, but he likes to think he’s like Mario (on the nintendo) because he’s red. 🙂 

This one he was refusing to look at me. 🙂 

Daniel, well, you can see what he’s doing.  

Nicholas & “MA” (not pronounced like a mom but like how you would sound out the letter “m”) in the laundry basket. 🙂 Taken this morning. 

We have a really neat zoo here in Tacoma. They have been doing a lot to upgrade it — we aren’t sure if this is because the new exhibit they built has brought in more funds, or if they received yet another bond giving them money from the city (well, our taxes, actually). Have you ever noticed that sometimes the way you word something can change how it appears? Like I just said the Zoo received money from the city. That sounds removed from my daily life. “The City” appears to be an entity all is own, with its own funds, kind of like a rich uncle. However, if I were to rephrase that, and say they received money from a tax bond – usually a bond taxing homeowners – well then it brings it closer to home. The same thing happens when the news people report that roads are going to be enlarged or repaired. They keep it far away from you personally. They don’t mention that gas prices will rise in order to fund these enlargements or repairs.
Anyways!! On to happier thoughts. 🙂
Yesterday we went to the zoo. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a really neat place. They’ve just opened a new area called “The Kids Zone”. The boys love that area!! Point Defiance has also made a new entrance to the zoo, which allows you to see The Sound. That was weird. Before it was shrouded by huge trees. It looks naked now, I am hoping their landscaping plans will soften the entry.
We met with a family we’d met at ice skating. There were a couple other homeschooling families there with us, but I didn’t really get to talk to the moms much. It is hard to keep up with three boys when there are a lot of other kids around. There were a couple schools and some daycares there. We saw children running wild, with no adults watching them! (That always amazes me)
We played in the Kids Zone, fed the goats and looked at the aquarium. I must say Point Defiance has done well. The aquarium used to be horribly polluted. Well, not polluted, but the water was horribly cloudy. You couldn’t see from the top to the bottom, and when you were downstairs looking through the windows, you could only ever see a couple of feet into the interior. They have cleaned it all up. It is clear now! You can see all the way to the bottom from the top, and all the way through the middle when looking through a window!! We were even there in time to go to the marine discovery center. The boys got to touch different sea creatures that live in the Puget Sound. We touched starfish, clams, kelp, and something else. It was neat. They had fun exploring & learning with their friends, Aaron & Charissa. We also went to the shark exhibit. We’d never been there before — it was REALLY neat!!!! They have tuna, and other fish and neat sharks. We saw how they breathe because one was lying on the floor of the tank right next to the window. It was really cool. 🙂
After the aquarium, we went to the Wild Wonders Outdoor Theatre. They have two shows every day showcasing and teaching about different animals and their habitats. They stress conservation a lot, and talk about rainforests a lot, but that is ok.
Nicholas really liked the show. He giggled, clapped, ooohed and aaahed over the birds and different animals. He liked the birds the best, because they flew over our heads. He also liked the porcupine. 🙂 It was neat watching the show with Nicholas because it was the first time he was really interested. He even cuddled with me while we watched.
After the show, we went back to the Kids Zone to play for a few minutes more. I took the boys to the bathroom, because I was afraid Nicholas had wet his pants. I’d asked if he had, and he said no, then said yes. His pants were damp, but he had played in the water at the Kids Zone. When we got to the bathroom, I checked & he was DRY!!! He did great!! Mama was so happy! 🙂
We left the Kids Zone in a little bit because we were all tired and it was crowded. We looked in the gift shop for a birthday present for Evva, but didn’t find anything. 🙁
The kids were so tired they weren’t listening very well on the way to the car, but they got there finally.
At home, I did Quicken and dishes, and they watched a movie. Silly Nicholas ruined his good day — he wet the floor!!! Arg. Win some, lose some, I guess.
All in all it was a nice day. I hope to get out like that more this summer.
Please continue to pray for us as we still don’t know anything about Jef’s job.
Monday the 20th, we are having a BBQ for Evva. Her birthday is the 21st. So Doug is going to grill and Jef is going to make cheesecake & potato salad and Marie, Evva & I aren’t going to do a thing!!! 😉 Well, Marie & I are bringing food, but we’re not cooking. 🙂
Ok, so that was our yesterday. 🙂 If you have any hints on what to get Evva for her birthday, let me know!!

Well, I can’t post my calorie count because I don’t have all my papers with me. But I weighed myself at Kamali’s & Tina’s … (drumroll please)

I LOST 8 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s two pounds a week, which I have discovered, is exactly what I want to do. 🙂 More than that would be too fast, and less than that would be bad. 🙂

So yeah!! 🙂