January 2021

 I never did get around to that new year's post, did I?

I planned to sum up 2020, give a turn-of-the year update, and include holiday pictures. Seeing as how it's a month past Christmas now, and I'm just getting around to that, let me summarize and then skip to January's happenings!

I think the "Bailey update 2020" that we put in some of the Christmas cards summarizes 2020 pretty well:

We felt really blessed that despite many problems that the pandemic brought on for so many families, we had constant steady income from Rob's job and that he was able to work from home remotely. (We have rearranged several times to find the best place for him to work, but we have all adjusted to his working from home. Because much of his church work is done remotely also, we jokingly call the truck "The Bishop's Office" because of times when he needed to make a private phone call and couldn't find a quiet place in the house.

Hopefully, he can continue working from home. Church is some in person, some over zoom/phone.

I think I have rearranged the bedrooms, office/playroom/school room and closets more times this year than I have in any other year. I have off-loaded more things as the school year moves on so that I can focus on the things I do and teach best (and yet I still load on too much some days). Fortunately, although my work is important, it is very flexible and I am the boss of it, so I don't get stressed over "my list." (I do sometimes get stressed over the toddler though!)

Seth decided to stay virtual for the rest of the school year. He works well from home, and even though the whole situation wasn't his first choice, it's not turning out to be such a bad senior year. We've let him get together with some friends here and there (in times when we are "safe" and the friends seem "safe" and we have no upcoming plans that we need to "pre-isolate" for attending). I want him to have fun friend times since it's his last year of high school.

The girls have become so incredibly helpful around the house and with Gideon. They have naturally learned that we just unload or reload the dishwasher when it needs to be done. They take time to distract Gideon if someone else needs peace. They get along (mostly) :) and even share a room well. (The three oldest girls are sharing now, and Alee and Gideon share.)

The twins are going back to school in person in February. I will miss them, but I know they want to be near friends and to have something feel "normal and routine" and not have the issues with trying to learn in a video chat with a 3-year-old climbing over their laps!

The other girls are homeschooled, and we love it! I wish I had started earlier with them all! They each have their own strengths and weaknesses (in both academics, managing their learning, and behavior), and we are learning together. I'm pretty sure I am a little over-organized in some areas while trying to figure it all out.

Gideon was getting better for a while, and now he seems to be getting difficult again. I think it's me. It's hard to have a house full of teens and want to enjoy their easy-going schedule when the toddler still needs a strict consistent schedule to be functional. Also, he melts even for the every day regular things, like naptime. 

He needs the reminder, "I'm about to say it's naptime, and if you want 2 books, what do you need to say?" [ok] If he doesn't getting reminded, he will likely pitch a fit, lose a book, and pitch another book over that, losing the last book, and go to bed in tears after a reluctant visit to the bathroom, which is also required daily before naptime.

His funny quotes are what keep us from going crazy trying to raise him.

Here are some we've recorded this month:

"Gideons know everything"

After putting a hole in Kaitlyn's minecraft world, "How polite of me"

"Mom, can me and Dad go to the pizza store?"

In response to Gideon picking and eating his boogers (a habit I am fighting still), Seth says, "You're gross!" Gideon, "No, you're gross! Seph is a piece of poop!" Mom: "Where did you learn that?!" He says, "Natawie"

Explaining what Alee's model volcano will do when we put in the baking soda and vinegar, Gideon shouts while running around the room in circles, "It will EXPLODE all over the house!"

(More Gideon in a moment)

We painted our room this month (before Rob's classes picked up and took over his schedule).

Before:

After:

(I'm still looking for the curtains I want, but we rearranged some furniture and replaced the quilt.)

Rob had a meeting on the day we were painting, so I finished it while he went to the church. Natalie had walked Alee down the street to her violin lesson. As I stood there checking my texts and watching the paint dry, I heard Seth looking for Gideon. I called down to have someone feed him (forgetting that both Carolyn and Kaitlyn had gone to the store, leaving just Seth and me with Gideon). 

When Seth couldn't find Gideon, I started frantically searching. NOTHING! He wasn't anywhere we looked: obvious rooms, back porch, even garage. Then, I calmed myself and called to Gideon in a friendly voice. A little reply was heard, "Mommy, I'm here" as the pantry doors opened.

He had been hiding in the pantry eating Oreos. I keep having to move the sugary foods up high so he doesn't just help himself. (As funny as this was, we did have a few talks about this, including one on honesty and stealing. He was hiding, so he knew he shouldn't have been having them; he knew we would have said "no" to his request.)

We have ladybugs come in (somehow through closed and sprayed windows) along the back wall of our house. Gideon says the other day, "The ladybugs are no match for me!" (Of course, when he says it, it sounds like "wadybugs" because he still can't say his L's.)

"Mom, there's something in my shoe bothering me." (Well, put your hand in there and see what it is.) "It's a tag! Why do they always put a tag in my shoe??"

I made cinnamon rolls for dessert on Sunday. "Mom, you forgot the sprinkles."

(Normal people do not put sprinkles on their cinnamon rolls. Another sugar I need to put up higher. My sprinkles are low since I want the spices I use most at eye level. I keep catching Gideon "drinking" from these sprinkles! They are labeled with a "G" so we know which ones he contaminated.)

Gideon walks into Seth's room holding a lightsaber towards Seth, and as Seth looks up, Gideon slaps the bed with the lightsaber and says, "Where's your sword, pretty boy?" 

(Finally, we figured out that "pretty boy" came from Rapunzel. lol)

Gideon walks towards the stairs and sees something. As he crouches down, he says, "There's a daggum ladybug!"

Usually when he poots, he says, "Excuse me. I fwatuated." (flatulated) Natalie hears him recently, and asks, "Did you poot?" Giggling, he replies, "No, I gassed."

We began today with a storm, and in his nervous voice, he asks, "Are the clouds mad?" [cwouds]

There are more laughs from the family vacation, but I'll have to do a flashback post to catch up that.

Here are some pictures that give a glimpse into what's been going on during January at our house:

Alee began Young Women, and Gideon began Primary (as a Sunbeam).

These are of course happening at home, with Alee attending youth meetings and activities over zoom, and Gideon and I doing a children's lesson each Sunday.

The twins have moved up to the older young women class with Carolyn, but the 4 girls enjoy doing young women together. (On this first Sunday of the year, Carolyn was teaching the lesson to both young women classes, so she used a separate Chromebook upstairs.)

Before painting, we rearranged some furniture (Rob's chaise lounge from our room went to the girls' room, their loveseat went to the school room, and the footrest for the loveseat left the school room and came into our room. A circular rotation.)

Gideon needed a better quilt, so I found one of Rob's old quilts. Gideon loves the color red and American flags, so it's perfect! (Rob's grandmother made it for Rob years ago. It's got a torn spot on the backing, and of course, the rest of the room doesn't match, but it's ok.) I like my rooms to match, but I'm not doing anything with Seth's room or Gideon/Alee's room until this summer. If Gideon gets his own room, I'll make it red with cars or flags in it.

Gideon has been asking lots of questions this school year about letters and words. Since he seemed interested and ready, I started teaching him to read. Since November, he has gotten through 25 of the 100 lessons in this book. It often takes him 2-3 days to complete one lesson because he's little and his attention span is even littler! However, he's getting it! ("th" and "f" are hard because he still says "th" like you would say "f") If he's in the mood, we do a lesson. If he isn't, we don't.

And of course we painted. The previous wall color didn't look so dark until we started painting.

Our room feels so much brighter and cleaner now.

Alee and Gideon got their room rearranged. They now have the chair Gideon and I read books in for naptime and bedtime.

Seth wanted a costume to go play games at a friend's house. (I think he's a paladin in some fictional world. He just likes any costume with a cape and a sword!) Carolyn helped him make it with very little help from us. (I only hemmed the cape, and Rob helped Seth in the garage when his plans started melting the foam sword.)

Carolyn really impressed me with her costume skills. We used a pattern for the cape to maximize the fabric amount they bought. Seth and Carolyn both surprised me by actually taking charge of this project I said they could do but that I didn't have time to put into my week. They planned, researched, designed, shopped, designed some more, sewed, cut, glued, painted, and finished it. 

(Cactus: art project, Soap carving: youth activity, Rocks: geology unit for science)

Monthly visit to Venus family (this month to celebrate January birthdays)

They were really fast putting this puzzle together!

Rob had a birthday. The twins will later this week. I will next month.

Last Gideon story for this post:

In church one week some baby shrieked at the beginning of the sacrament being blessed and passed, and Gideon who has been his normal irreverent self the whole time, says in a loud voice, "That's not reverent! I'm being reverent!"

I am glad we were able to visit both Rob's family and mine during the holidays ending 2020. I hope we can also visit Rob's far-away family in 2021. We missed seeing them in 2020. 

I am glad we have a full (crazy, loud, big) house when we've needed to stay home. I'm glad that we could see the blessings of daily scripture study and prayer and time together more last year than in any previous year. Hoping for a healthy 2021!