Week of May 17, 2021

 I miss having a record of everything, so it's time to start a new blog and try to update every week.  Here's how the week is going.

Katsu has been busy with work - lots of meetings for a new department chair and always working on grants.  Things will shortly be going more back to normal for research with less Covid requirements, so he'll probably be more in the office.  He spent some time on Wednesday working on covering some holes in the garage and trying out his new electric leaf blower and things look better out there.  He was going to go skiing today, but the snow is melting too fast and the season is now over.  Even with the craziness of Covid, he didn't get out there as much as you might have expected.

I am mostly done with work - got student reviews and had to change a grade this week which is such a joy ... I am trying to take my mind off of work and really give myself a break because I have been so burned out.  I am really starting to have a hard time with some depression and anxiety, so I am trying to relax, but not doing a great job.  I spent a lot of time organizing the boys binders of school stuff, only to realize that I have saved basically nothing from the last year or two of school ... whoops.  Hopefully they come home with something.  I also have been working helping to plan 6th grade graduation at Uintah.  I enjoy doing some of it, but I really hate being in charge.  And yet I keep doing it to myself.  I am also working on catching up with baby books (umm, how is Noah in 1st grade and I basically never did his baby book and I just ordered one for Jack)???  And working on photo books.  While listening to Madam Secretary and podcasts - so that's almost relaxing, right?

Andrew has been the same old.  I think he is mostly done with testing.  He has been making a big cake in his food science class, so I'll have to see how he says that turned out today.  He also has been creating some clothing label for his FACS class, which he is not so interested in.  Otherwise, he went to a young men's activity and hated it and then hated us for making him go and for not getting video games.  So, there's been a lot of drama there.  Trying to convince him to get a job now that he is 14 but he doesn't want to think about it right now.  He's also been rereading a lot of the books he got for his birthday.

Seth has been busy with soccer - which is near the end of the season and he is hating - and his new mountain biking club.  It's a completely new sport for him, so I think he's a little anxious about that, but his friends are doing it and I think it's giving him a sense of accomplishment, too.  It's a lot more chill than soccer, so hopefully he will like it and relax a little bit.  Still hating school.

Logan has been busy with testing at school and for the ones he's gotten scores back, he's done really well.  He's been busy into reading Big Nate and listening to Michael Vay.  It's been raining, so he hasn't been able to play as much basketball, but doesn't seem too interested in finding a league to play in for the summer.  He's always trying to get everything done so he can play his video games.

Noah had a huge bloody nose on the way home from school yesterday and then another in the evening.  He has been trying to make all of the paper airplanes that Logan got from a kit a while ago.  He also has been more into Lego and also drawing the last week.  I and Katsu read him a Magic Tree House book this week and I'm trying to convince him to read more besides Dog Man, that he is obsessed with.  Noah also has been wanting to play a lot of board games, which is tricky with Mr. Jack.

Jack is spending his whole life trying to either climb stairs when we aren't watching or trying to go outside.  He loves to go outside and I hate taking him out because it's not very pleasant for a walker, but he doesn't seem to care.  Jack loves to get into things and loves to crawl really fast everywhere.  I think he is starting to get bored at home and needs a little more adventure.