Photo Journal - Josie Boettcher

Man, it's almost July. Just like that! Jonas leaves on Sunday, which is so crazy, because I feel like it starts a countdown for Cherrystone. Next week is going to be so busy with packing. Thankfully, I have last year's experience to draw on, so I shouldn't overpack as much as I did before.  Today's adventure was tie-dying! It was pretty fun (well, really just ok for me) and I think the shirts are going to look amazing. Can't wait to check them out tomorrow! So, arts & crafts like this test my patience. I always want them to be this super fun experience, but the kiddos are just SO wasteful! I know they don't mean to be; they just aren't thinking about how much dye we have or saving some for other people. And I always catch them just a *little* too late, after they've already accidentally squirted half of the pink dye across the lawn and now everyone else is crying because pink is THEIR favorite color too! It's ok though. The more we do stuff like ...

It's pizza and a movie night! Ben confirmed that he's getting a cost of living increase, so he's all about buying out tonight. 😁 I'm still sick, but improving day by day. We just stayed at home today. I let the kids swim in the pool out back this morning, we did French, I played Zelda, and we did our Nailed It! baking challenge. Our cookies actually turned out really well! Very close to the original, but I rolled them up the opposite way, so they look a little different. They're super flour-heavy cookies, but the kids think they're amazing.  I had to include this terrible quality but adorable photo of Ollie mowing with Ben in her princess dress.

Today was a pretty good day. I'm feeling a little better again, which is nice, but have a pretty gross cough. I saw that the theater was going to be empty, so I took the kids to see The Little Mermaid . It was good! Better than the original, for sure. Honestly, the movie took up so much time that it felt like the day was almost gone when we got home at 1. I did a couple of chores, sent the kids up for quiet time, played Zelda for a bit, and then worked for 2 hours.  At 5, Ben asked if we could go to Bob Evans for dinner and it went really well! Service was quick, food was good, and all of the kids got something they wanted to eat. Good times! Afterward, we all went to The Guardtower so Ben could buy some Magic cards. Ruby bought a game for herself and I lusted over all of the board games I wish I could get. Several times, I tried to rationalize the idea of buying them by saying to myself, 'Oh, that would be a good educational game for homeschooling'. 😅 I didn't buy any...

I'm feeling slightly better today than I did yesterday. I'm pretty thankful for that! Ben and the kids let me sleep in until almost 9, which is a little ridiculous, but still nice since I'm not feeling well. We did morning chores and our French lesson, but I had to break it to them that we wouldn't be going out anywhere because I'm still sick. They actually did really well playing together today...even quietly at times! I ended up playing Zelda for like 15 hours. At least that's what it felt like. It was a relaxing day though. Now I'm up way too late, because I woke up super late this morning. I need to get back on track tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be feeling even better!  I'm hoping I'm well enough to take the kids to the movies tomorrow. While I was searching for movie times, I found out that our local movie theater is closed down and I am really, really upset about it. Now I'll have to drive the kids all the way to Polaris to go to the movies...

I had a scratchy throat yesterday morning, but was hoping it would turn out to be nothing. It's not nothing. I'm super, super sick. I basically just passed out last night and today I'm feeling awful. So much for a week of catching up with friends and doing fun stuff! I am determined to get me and the kids back on our schedule though. We got up, did chores, had breakfast, and did our French lesson before doing anything else today. I'm excited to get back to it and, although there was some complaining from the kids, I think everyone was pretty happy to be back to normal. They all really thrive in an environment where they know what's coming next day-to-day. I don't seem to have any kids that want to just fly by the seats of their pants...and neither me or Ben is that way either!  I did get my mask on and take the kids over to the library. We had some pick-ups that were going to expire and Clemi really needed a new novel. When she has something she likes to read, s...

Church this morning and then lunch over at Travis and Kylienne's. We had a lot of awkward moments, but all-in-all, lunch was delicious and it was good to spend time with them. There is a part of me that wishes me and Kylienne could be closer. Maybe I get too stuck in my SAHM wheelhouse? I've never tried to hang out with her without the kids, but maybe I should see if she wants to go out and have a drink sometime or something. IDK. It's really tough to make myself want to do things in the evening.  Before church, Ben went outside to check on the pool and realized that it was leaking!! Pretty stressful. When we got home, even though it was pretty cool and the water was freezing, Ben hopped in with some goggles to look for the leak. And guess what. HE FOUND IT!! Neither of us was feeling very optimistic that he would, but he did! We got a patch on it and it seems to be working. Praise God for that. The kids swam in the afternoon and were so very excited to be in the pool. 

This is what Saturdays are supposed to be like. Family, relaxing, productivity, playing, fun. It's been a good one! I played some video games, went to the garden store, weeded and composted my garden, did some homeschool research, played again, put up the pool, went to Rita's, and ordered Jet's for dinner. Right now, I feel like I am ready to fall asleep! But we have game night with the Albinos tonight, so no sleep for me for another 5 hours or so. 

Man, what a day. TGIF, right?!? VBS was a mess today. So glad it's over. I had a bunch of running around to do, dropping off and picking up and whatnot. Then I worked for a while. THEN, the whammy of the day. Ollie snuck outside around dinner time to play with Ellie without asking. I guess that was obvious from me saying "snuck outside". Anyway, I asked Clem to go out and tell her to come in. Well, she said no to Clem and I heard a bunch of screaming. So I headed out there to get her. And guess what. She RAN from me. I don't think there's a single parenting thing that pisses me off more than when my kids run from me. It's puts me in a very challenging position that inflames my temper like nothing else. Do I chase them??? No. So stupid and embarrassing. Do I give them what they want? Nope. Definitely not. Do I just stand there like a moron waiting for them to give up and listen? Yep. That's me. The big ol' moron standing in the middle of the road, tryin...

One day left! Honestly, today wasn't bad. I wasn't quite as tired, rushed, or panicked this morning. The four hours at VBS didn't feel like torture and I was even able to have some fun. The afternoon, although not as relaxing as I would have liked, went well. And I got to go to a going away party for Jing at 4, which was at Pins Mechanical. I've been in play group with her for seven years and it's really sad to see her move away. We've seen each other less and less as the kids have gotten older, but still...it's sad all around. She feels like she's starting all over and having to leave a super supportive friend group and community. It's just a bummer. Shannon and Grace planned this afternoon for her and it was really nice. They're just such loyal, wonderful people. I'm really blessed to have people like that in my life.  Clemi is at her first sleepover ever. I need to remember to turn my ringer on tonight. I'm hoping she's having so m...

Today was the worst day yet at VBS. I've got to get my head in a different place...get some prayer happening or something, because I'm not serving the kids or the other leaders as well as I could, being so irritated this whole week. Nothing specific happened, it's just been exhausting and I haven't slept well all week. Ollie came in SIX TIMES last night! She just really struggles to fall back asleep when she wakes up in the middle of the night...kind of like Ben. Anyway, I think it's not helping my tolerance level at VBS.  Ben was at work today, so it was me picking Clem up at 3. Not enough time to decompress. Whatever. This post sucks. I'm stopping here. If you're wondering what else I could have typed, it would have sounded something like, "Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah."

Two out of five days done and good God...this week is going to last forever. We went to hang out with Anne after VBS which, while it was nice to catch up, may not have been a great idea for the kiddos. Everyone was so beat after a long morning...including me. But it was nice to not have to drive all the way home and then back to get Clem. We got to have dinner with the Popes tonight, which was super fun and so good to have time to catch up with them. But NOW, I'm very tired and so sad about having to get up early again tomorrow. Looking forward to a slower week next week!  "Mom! Look what I can do!" 😄

First day of VBS. It was WILD. 53 freaking kids in my class!!! Oh my gosh. I am never volunteering in 3rd grade again. I think 2nd grade was the sweet spot. I am just absolutely exhausted, honestly. I got up early after an anxious, terrible sleep, got everything ready, grabbed Ellie from next door, and headed out at 8 on the dot. VBS was insanity from 8:20 on, but at least they did figure out a shuttle for TNT kids to get over to building X without parent volunteers having to take them over. My class has a bunch of really good kids, but there's just too many of them. Our team works well together though!  Silas, Hannah's son, is in the class. He had so many explosions and, man, they were real explosions. Throwing things, screaming in our faces, doing this victim thing, crying...it was a mess. I could tell he was ashamed of himself afterwards, but he couldn't control his outbursts when they happened. I just feel so terrible. I loved Hannah. Everything that happened with her a...

Happy Father's Day to my main man!!! It was a good day. I got up extra early to make sausage gravy for Benny and made cinnamon buns for the kiddos. We did the church thing, then came home. Ben played basketball for a while, while I chilled out and read a book. Then we headed out to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings after Ben's nap. Needless to say, the nap ruined the afternoon for him and he was very grumpy from then on. 😅  I'm so anxious about VBS that I can barely think about anything else.  The girls went to a "sleepover" at the neighbor's house last night. It was more like a late night movie thing, since I'm not quite ready for the girls to spend the night anywhere yet. But they had fun! 

Today was kind of a crazy, hectic day for me. We did get to sleep in, which was nice. In the morning, I gave Ben his Father's Day gift, which is a new basketball hoop!! I think he's pretty excited about it. BUT, we spent HOURS taking apart the old one. Well, Ben spent hours taking apart the old one. I got to work on getting the new one put together. THEN I had to go to a horrible meeting to discuss my horrible week ahead. Such a waste of time. Nobody but me and one other lady and a student worker showed up out of the 9 of us who will be working in the 3rd grade room. I drove all the way over to Clintonville, met with these ladies to discuss something not worth discussing ahead of time for 1/2 hour, then drove home again. I worked with Ben to get the new basketball hoop set up, hung out in Ashley's yard, watching the girls play for a while, then worked on the hoop again. Soon after, Ben headed out for another Magic tournament. I watched Ashley's kids for a bit, then Ashl...

I'm writing this a bit late, so I don't remember every single thing from Friday. We hung out at home for most of the day though and I made another frame for one of the prints we bought last year...finally. :) Now we just need to find a place to hang them! We also went to visit Christine Seidel today and really enjoyed our time so much. The girls have tons of fun together and I like Christine so much. She's great to talk to and we have a lot in common. So glad we're getting to know each other! Sometimes play dates can be super awkward...I've had lots of terrible ones. But this pairing has worked out great. 😅 Ben had a Magic pre-release tonight, so he was gone from 6:30pm on. I just hung out with the kids, got everyone to bed, and played Zelda for a while. Not a super exciting night! 

It's pizza and a movie night, but I don't think we'll be really doing it. Jonas will be at drama, Ben will have to leave early to go get him, and we'll have swim lessons...oh, and I will have group!  Okay, I'm back. I ended up missing group tonight. Ben was feeling super overwhelmed and, although he urged me to still go to group, he was...struggling. So, the appt. with the neurologist didn't go well today. I think we were both hoping for some reassurance or idk something? But what he got was additional worrying news. The doctor is pretty convinced that something serious is happening. He ordered more scans and testing for Ben and wants him in as soon as the brain MRI results are in. Ben, of course, is convinced that he has a cancerous brain tumor. But even if it's not that, if it's actually this trigeminal neuralgia that the docs seem to think it is, it means a life of uncurable pain. So...also not great. He thinks he'd go insane. Here's hoping I ...

This day was pretty boring and slightly overwhelming. We did our normal morning: chores and French lesson, then I took the kids to the mall for a little while, where they begged for every single thing they saw. Hooray! I kept it together, but we're going to have to have some conversations about expectations and begging next time we go somewhere that they could buy things.  Afterward, we came home, I worked some, then we headed over to Main Campus to bring Jonas to drama. I let the girls play on the playground for a while and then I came home and cooked. Such a boring day. I did get that stressful blog post done today, which I'm expecting terrible feedback on. Truthfully, it isn't a very exciting post, but dang...how many times can I write about regenerative medicine and make it sound interesting???  Swim lessons went great tonight. Clem got moved up to the next level, so she's in 2 now, and Jonas got moved up to level 4! I love that they're confident and brave in th...

Another decent day, but another day where I just woke up EXHAUSTED. For no reason! I got a full 8 hours of sleep last night and didn't wake up until almost 8...completely uninterrupted sleep but could barely open my eyes for some reason. We hung out at home until around 10:30 and then ran to the library. Jonas and Clem needed some new material. Not to brag, but my kids TEAR through their books. If Clem has a book she likes, she can't take her nose out of it and, I swear, Jonas finishes a book every other night. We're doing the library's summer reading challenge and it really has made them more excited to find new books. Jonas has even picked books outside of his Warrior series, which hasn't happened in almost a year! Even Ruby has started reading in her bed at night with a flashlight. I'm proud of these kiddos. But it makes me think - if I end up homeschooling, I'll have to teach Ollie how to read. 😟 Oh man, that would be a lot of responsibility!  After the...

Today was a decent day, I'm just feeling a bit tired...like I'm dragging a little. My period doesn't help the situation, but I tried to keep it positive, keep it fun for the kiddos. We ended up just running a couple of errands, rather than doing a real activity because Jonas had to get to VBS drama practice at 3:30 and I needed to bring cookies, which I hadn't made yet. I'm stressing about work a little because of this blog that I need to get written and turned in by Wednesday. I'm just not feeling it! Since I've kind of emotionally distanced myself from work, I just don't want to do it at all.  The kids have swim lessons every night this week from 8:15pm to 8:45pm. Literally THE WORST time slot, since my girls are usually in bed by 8, but it's all that was left. It was freezing tonight! I mean, not literally freezing, but 65 degrees, which is a bit cold for swimming. The kids were champs though and got through the evening...and were even excited abo...

Oasis went fine this morning and my meeting with the musicians went great. We got a plan together, got availability, and got everyone's contact information. I think we'll be in good shape! I was a mess though. Feeling pretty crappy today, nauseous and tired, and I'm on my period, so I'm crampy and grumpy too. Good times. I barely got any sleep last night either. Wah. Anyway, it was fine. We were super short on volunteers, but a bunch of people came up to the booth and offered to help...praise God! He always makes a way, doesn't He?  After church was a mad dash to get the sides made for Ellie's birthday party. When we got there, it was pretty obvious that we were walking into a very tense household. Maybe it was just party prep stressing everyone out? But Ashley mentioned a fight with Kwin a couple of times, so I'm guessing we came just a minute after that happened. Never fun to fight with your spouse just as you're about to be around a bunch of people, e...

It was a good Saturday. We started the morning with a family meeting to discuss our new French curriculum. Everyone (except Ruby) seems pretty excited! The goal is to listen to the audio every day and to practice using the phrases we learned that morning. We're supposed to try and use 5-7 French phrases per day. We did great with it today. We're learning about being hungry and asking for snacks right now...so, pretty relevant. It's fun! Ben is on board right now too, which I'm super grateful for.  I really just read a lot today. I need to finish this book by Tuesday for book club and I've barely read any yet. It's also super late to the library and I feel guilty. We ran out to the store together for a little bit and then, in the evening, we went to the Paramore concert! So. Concerts. I haven't been to one in a very long time and I just don't remember being as physically uncomfortable back then as I was tonight. 😅 The seating was so cramped, that my whol...

I was nervous to take the kids to the Columbus Arts Festival this morning, but it actually went AWESOMELY. The kids were SO good, it wasn't too, too crowded, and there were a ton of fun kid's activities to keep everyone entertained for a long time. I got to see the two vendors from last year that I was hoping to visit again, but I didn't get to see anyone new. And, honestly, every booth we went in, the girls couldn't stop touching all of the paintings and sculptures and whatnot. That part was a bit stressful! An artist came out and snapped at the girls, "DON'T TOUCH THAT." hahaha I didn't mind at all. They needed to hear it! He was probably like, that woman is not going to pay 8k for that painting if her kids mess it up. It was a beautiful painting though. His is some of my favorite art there.  We got home in the early afternoon and I did a little work, then prepped dinner. We ended up having the Albinos over for a game night and it occurred to me that...