Regular old days

I never write about our regular-old-days anymore. They seem so repetitive and boring, but I think even the repetitive boring days will be interesting to read about some day, so I should do it once in a while! I'm having fun reading my old letters from about 5 years ago. I remember some things, but there are so many little details that I don't remember, but I love reading about.
So this will be incredibly boring for anybody else except probably some future me. Sorry.
So, what happened yesterday and today?
Yesterday was Monday. We woke up (well, the boys woke up, and then woke ME up), and ate breakfast. I'm not a very good breakfast-maker. We just had cereal yesterday. Usually we have frozen waffles (toasted, buttered, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar is my boys' favorite way), cereal, or, if I'm feeling particularly domestic, I'll microwave sausage patties and toast english muffins and we'll have "home-made" sausage mc muffins. I used to be better about breakfasts, making oatmeal and scrambled eggs, but my boys haven't been asking for those much, and I'm too lazy to make it if everyone is just as happy with waffles or cereal...
We did scripture study and read about Abinidi's death.
The boys got dressed, and we started lessons. It was a science day (we alternate science and history), and we're finishing up our reptile unit. We read about snakes and lizards, and crocodiles and alligators (did you know the three main groups of reptiles are snakes and lizards, turtles and tortoises, and crocodiles and alligators?). I read to them, and then asked them comprehension questions. We looked up some fun things on the computer, like "Do crocodiles have tongues?" Answer: yes, but they are fixed, so they can't move them around or stick them out.
We did math. Brigham worked on a review, which takes him forever because I grade the reviews, and he is obsessed with getting 100%. Which is good, except when he doesn't get 100%, and then there are tears... Ah, the curse of the perfectionist. Starting in the fall, his reviews are going to be regular tests, and they'll be timed. Oh, he's going to love that. Joseph is working on fractions, improper fractions, and mixed numbers. It's not too hard, but as usual he can't keep his focus on his math and it takes him f-o-r-e-v-e-r. He begged me to let him go outside to do his math, but I was mean. Until he can show me he can stay focused while he's inside, I'm not going to let him go outside where the distractions are 100x what they are inside. He cried. Finally, I did let him go outside, but he came in a short while later, surprisingly. He needs me to help him. He can do the math, but he makes lots of careless errors. Do I let him make the errors, and then make him redo the problem after I correct it? When I do, it's like the end of the world. I'm making him do the WHOLE problem OVER again?? So, I tend to sit next to him, and when he starts to make a mistake, I'll ask him something like, "So two times six plus one is fourteen?" And that clues him in. I'm not sure this is the right approach. Starting in the fall, I'm going to make him do the math practices independently, end of the world dramatics or no. I need the boys to start doing more of their schoolwork independently.
More lessons.
The boys had tortilla pizzas for lunch, their most common request recently.
We had gymnastics in the afternoon. They did trampoline (Joseph's FAVORITE, and they haven't done it in forever, so he was happy), and high bar. I sat by the grandmother of one of the boys in their class. The little boy had a mask over his face, and in talking with the grandmother, found out he has a genetic immune deficiency, and will likely have a bone marrow transplant in the future. It was interesting talking to her. I thought again how glad I am that it is myself who is sick, and not my boys.
When we got home, we did piano practicing and reading, and I threw in the towel for their other lessons. Everyone was tired and grouchy. Too many late nights recently, and Brigham hasn't been sleeping well because of his cold. While the boys practice, I sit next to them and help them out when they need it, and work on scrapbooks (I'm only about 5 years behind, now, LOL!) when they don't. Moses still isn't taking lessons yet. He's on their teacher's waiting list, and it could still be quite a while.
We waited for Ben for dinner, but he called and said he'd be late, so we ate without him. An exciting meal of leftovers.
Then we had FHE. Joseph played the opening song-- "Book of Mormon Stories." Their teacher is having them learn primary songs, and so they've been able to accompany us for FHE. It is fun. Accompanying is hard, though! We kind of have to follow the pianist. But that's ok.
We had a lesson on faith. Joseph did a demonstration with a banana that he took home from church. He used a pin to cut a banana into 3 pieces with the peel still on. Then he told us we had to have faith in what he said (that the banana was cut into pieces), even though we couldn't see it. He had no reason to lie to us, and we can trust in his words. Of course, Brigham and Mosey said that they couldn't trust in Joseph's words because "he's weird" and he might be telling us the banana was cut when it wasn't, just "to be weird." Hmm. Hard to argue with that. It was a little bit of a stretch (I'm still not exactly sure what the object lesson was intended to mean in the boys' primary class), but we tied it into having faith in Joseph Smith and the words of the prophets. We talked about how many prophets have sealed their testimony with their blood-- Old Testament prophets, New Testament prophets (apostles), Book of Mormon prophets, and of course Joseph Smith. Ben came home during FHE, and we closed with Brigham and Joseph both accompanying us (alternating verses) on "Follow the Prophet."
Then it was dessert, PJ's teeth-brushing, potty-sitting, and going to bed time. I worked on some Relief Society stuff and then I went to bed, too. Stayed up too late brainstorming with Ben on how to resolve some employee issues at work.

Today. I'm going to make this abbreviated:
Breakfast: The same (cereal and waffles). Scripture study.
Lessons: History. Mexican revolution. Narrations took us WAY too long. I need to get the big boys typing faster so they can do their own summaries.
Math. Joseph was a little more cooperative, until we got to the word problems. I wanted to help him. I tend to use the Socratic method with the boys-- asking them questions and leading them to the answers. So sometimes I ask them questions that are obvious, but I'm making a point and leading somewhere. But Joseph doesn't like working with me like this. I'd ask him a question like, "So how many people were there altogether?" (for a word problem), and I'd want him to tell me, "2500." But he won't. He'll point at it, he'll write it, he'll do sign-language, he just won't SAY it. I get really tired of these games. I just need him to cooperate and do things my way even if he thinks it's dumb. So I gave him 3 chances and then told him I was done playing games, and he could sit there at the table and work on it himself. If he wanted my help, he could let me know when he was ready to cooperate. Sigh...
We had horseback riding. We have a new teacher. Their old teacher raised her rates to a ridiculous amount, so last week was our last lesson with her. Then apparently she got really sick (this all happened last week), and decided not to teach anymore. So a new teacher is taking on her students, and her rates are much better. And, she is a more outgoing, dynamic teacher, so it's an improvement all around. I think Mosey will like riding every week. With their old teacher, Mosey only wanted to ride every couple of weeks or so.
After we got home, we worked on more math. The neighbor boy and his dad came over wanted the boys to go ride scooters around the block with them. This provided the leverage I needed with Joseph, and he promised to cooperate with me 100% when he got back if I let him go. I did, and when he got home, he told me they were invited to go play at Jason's house. I told him he better hurry up and finish his math, then! When Joseph is motivated, he can be really fast. If only he could see that himself.
They played at Jason's, then came home and practiced piano.
I worried some more about how I don't make enough of an effort for the boys to socialize with other friends.
Ben came home and made dinner while I was working on piano with the boys (we're still working on those leftovers, I think they're polished off now). Brigham had a huge melt-down when he was trying to finish his song and Joseph came up to him "counting down" for him to come sit up and eat. Lots of tears. "I can't play my song when Joseph is counting down!!" Oh, the drama. Someone still isn't getting enough sleep.
Dinner, then begging to watch 24. It's already later than I want, but I relent, extracting promises of cooperation for tomorrow. We'll see.
Hurried baths and PJ's, and then 24. Wow, that is a violent show. Are we completely twisting our boys letting them watch it? Are we total contradictions, not having TV in our house, and then watching 24 on the internet?
Now, they're in bed and I'm up 22 minutes past my bedtime writing this ridiculously long and boring epistle about the last two days. I better hope this is interesting some day, or else I have just wasted a lot of time. :-)