What goes on (February Edition)

At the beginning of the month, Darin was able to join me for Parent/Teacher Conferences (a rare occurrence). Working in Driggs has left him very out of the loop when it comes to the kids, I don't really mind because I've got things covered, but it is nice to have him involved when he's able.

Handwriting Entry

Naiya is doing well in school, she is reading at a beginning 3rd grade level, which is a long way from the struggles I had teaching her letter sounds for preschool. She won the handwriting contest for all the 1st graders in her school. I don't think her entry really does her handwriting justice though, some of the work she brings home has the most adorable little letters, and I'm pleased that at age 6 her handwriting is far better than my chicken scratch.

The combination of watching Cake Boss and seeing Aunt Missy's cakes has brought out her inner cake designer.

So fun!

In other news, I've taken Naiya out of piano lessons. I was sad to do it, but it's been huge burden removed from both of our shoulders. Practicing every day just didn't fit in our schedule. She needed me to sit with her each day, which took over an hour when I should have been making dinner. With school and homework and other activities, that left her no time to just be a kid. Not to mention the strain on our relationship as my patience wore thin trying to teach an overwhelmed child to play an instrument I myself cannot play. It was just too much. She will begin lessons again in the summer when we can better focus on it, and in the meantime I hope to keep her practicing often and somehow help her memorize the notes better.

Calin's teacher had good things to say about him, his behavior has improved. They have been working on difficult math but he is having no problem understanding it. He finishes his work early and is able to complete his homework assignments while he's still at school. He is at a 6th grade reading level, and his maturity level is growing enough that he is finally enjoying books suited for older children. He is also beginning to share my love for Harry Potter.
Another quick story about Calin. We've noticed that with several wards meeting in the building, there are a lot of programs left behind in the chapel. Darin originally assigned his deacons to clean them up each week, but they weren't following through very well so I've sent my kids to do it a few times. After church one day, I looked up from the conversation I was having and realized Calin was working his way through the pews picking up the papers. He had decided, without my asking, to go ahead and clean the chapel. His sister quickly joined his efforts and my heart smiled to see my children showing such love and respect for the Lord's house. They might not always show it, but they have a lot goodness in them and I'm so proud of who they're becoming.

We bring the old programs home to be recycled.

In other news, my husband bought a truck. His little Ford Focus has turned into quite the financial headache. We keep fixing it, and it keeps breaking. We've already put more money than it's worth into keeping it running and it probably won't last much longer. He has wanted a dark gray Dodge Dakota for as long as I've known him, and I'm happy for him that he finally has one.

For now it's just been sitting in the garage and he's still driving his Focus to work. He doesn't want to put the miles on it, or the wear and tear that is involved with driving an hour to and from work. Once he begins working closer to home he'll sell his car. His boss has been working to create a new position for him closer to home, and it's taking forever to get approved by the higher-ups, so we just keep waiting. Another good thing, he'll be able to haul the scout trailer on their campouts each month. It's really hard to rely on other people for that kind of thing, so I know he's thankful he won't have to anymore. Did I mention that he's the scoutmaster now? He got released as the 2nd counselor in the YM and made the scoutmaster instead.

My washer decided to die on me. The motor thing came detached or something and it stopped spinning properly. Luckily I had a tray under it that collected all the grease and black crap that ended up grinding off the washer. Darin hopes he can still repair it so we can sell it along with the dryer, but there's no rush. We got a killer deal on these new machines which I absolutely love! They were a bit of a headache to get, but at the price we paid, it was so worth it.

They look black, but when the light hits right, you can see a gorgeous purple tint (you can see it on the edge in the photo). The purple makes me smile every time I see it.

And that's what's been going on this month. I really will try to do better at updating more often!