Well, It’s almost 11pm and I am counting down the moments until Jon is finished the conference, and life gets somewhat back to normal.

As I really think about our schedule, I’m not so sure that we’re hitting normal any time soon.  It will be nice to have Jon around the house again.  This week’s been hard in the fact that we’ve really not seen him, and other than, “Hello, can you set the table for me, and grab a child to do some homework?”  We’ve really not hardly talked this week.  Makes me aware of how much we do talk in a week.  Even if it’s not intensive flogging through problems or whatever - it’s just nice to have him around to bounce ideas off.

I agreed to sing tomorrow, and now a small part of me wishes that I hadn’t agreed.  I know that once I get there, I will totally enjoy  myself, but it’s just one more thing that right now seems to be piling up.  I could have gone to the conference tonight.  I even had a babysitter lined up, but I really needed to stay home.  I needed to be here for my kids, and I needed to not be fried for tomorrow morning.

After church tomorrow, we have no plans for the rest of the day.  I’m just waiting on some hamburger buns and hot dog buns, and regular buns to rise to I can bake them, and that’s what we’ll be having for lunch tomorrow.  Hamburgers and Hot dogs.  I did go shopping today, ’cause it’s holiday on Monday, and some stuff wouldn’t have made it until Tuesday. 

I was thinking about planning something for all of us to do on Monday.  The biggest problem is that - honestly - I don’t want to do anything on Monday, and I feel like I have to do something because of Jun.  If he weren’t here, I don’t think we’d be going anywhere.  I feel even more pressure, because when he came home from his program today, he asked what our schedule was for Monday, and informed me that if we had no schedule, then the Co-Ordinator would be picking up the children who had no plans to do something with them.  I really cannot wait for this term to be over.

I did talk to Jun tonight.  He came home and while he was eating dinner I chatted with him about is day.  He seemed to be pretty open and didn’t seem to be too upset or anything.  Sometimes he seems very upset or disappointed or put out.  Tonight was a good night.  After dinner I asked if I could talk to him for a second.  I told him that I had heard that he said that we had stolen from him, and that I was so upset by that.  What could I do to fix this?  Is this really something he said?  What was the story?  Can I replace something?  Basically, what’s up?

He said that he was upset because Jeremy has been in his room, and he can’t say for sure if something is missing or stolen, but things have been misplaced or moved, and it bothers him that Jeremy has gone in there when he’s not home, and he thinks that Jeremy has stolen from him.

A part of me wanted to find Jeremy, and throttle him. How many times have I told him to stay out of our students room?  Too Many!  I’m lost for what to do.  I’m not sure how to make him understand that he cannot go in there and he has to obey me. 

I told Jun that we could lock his room, and that I’d keep the key on top of the fridge so that I could put his laundry in there or change his sheets or whatever.  That seemed to be a relief to him.  I asked if there was anything that I could do or replace.  He said, “No, it was okay“.  I asked him a few times a few different ways, and he kept saying, “No“.  Hopefully, this is the last we hear of this.

I’ve been seriously working on my kids about obeying the first time I ask or talk to them, and about not yelling or screaming or fighting.  They all spent quite a bit of time in their rooms today.  Every time they disobeyed or fought or yelled or screamed - it was an instant 5 minute time out in their room.  I’m thinking of upping the time tomorrow or Monday if they don’t start to catch on.  After the time out was finished, they had to come out and say sorry to each other and to me, and ask for forgiveness.  It’s a lot of work for me, but hopefully it will pay off in the not too distant future.  I can’t handle many more car rides like the one on Thursday.

The hardest time today was with Xandra.  I called and she didn’t come, so I called her name again, and told her to go to her room.  Well, she went to her room, but screaming and crying the whole way.  I gave her the, “If you keep that up, then you’ll be in your room for 10 minutes, young lady!” speech.  When the time was up, and I was talking to her - she could not and would not admit that she had disobeyed.  I couldn’t see how the exercise was working if she wouldn’t admit to nay wrong.  She kept crying and fighting back with me to say that she was trying to come to me, and that she was stuck.  Both lines were a bunch of garbage.  I don’t know exactly what did it, but finally she admitted that she didn’t come when I called ’cause she got distracted.  What ever, girl!  As long as you admit that you’re wrong, we can move on from there.  We did, and everyone was happy.

I promised Jeremy that if he got of his bed, then I’d turn his movie off.  Surprise of all surprise - He got off his bed, and lost his movie.  He was mad at me, but fell asleep in my arms.  Nice to know that he’s not too big to do that, yet!

Well, I think my Hamburger buns are ready to go in the oven. 

Got any ideas as to what we could do as a family on Monday that doesn’t cost too much?