{favorite things lately}

I have been focused since we arrived in Marshall on trying to find in my days gratitude. To wake up each  morning grateful for all the day has to offer.  To face my challenges knowing I am blessed to have the opportunity to do so.  In this spirit, for the last week I have been working on this post.  In it you will find all my favorite {little & big} things lately.

{being outside}

Last week I went for a walk with the boys, taking pictures of things we passed.

the "lake" by our house (from all the rain)…

the boys playing basketball at the school on the “porch”…

the school-- Josh's classroom is located on the first floor in the two windows to the left in the center of this picture

and our housing from the park.  

(That's actually the front four units, we are in the back four units, along the airport road.)

Despite the weather, it was great to get out of the house finally.

There have, since then, been a few more sunny afternoons, and we have taken full advantage.

It’s so fun to see my view shifting.  When we arrived in January there was nothing but snow as far as the eye could see. Now everything is green & lush.

 There is water everywhere from the torrential downpours, and keeping my boys out of it while we are outside is darn near impossible!

Wyatt loves being outside. I honestly think he gets more excited than the twins when we step into the arctic entry and across the threshold onto the railing.  I am guessing his little body craves the vitamin D!

It’s so good to let them go outside.

To let them climb around, and be loud & rambunctious!

{coffee in the morning}

I had planned to give it up, but my kids not sleeping means I need it.

And honestly, I gave up enough coming here. (Jack In The Box anyone?) I can have my single cup of delight.

{day dreaming}

I am dreaming of the day when all our things get here.  We are waiting mostly for a rocker and a rug for the boys' room.  Once we get those, I will be set.  I cannot wait for the rocker to come.

 I am dreaming about my laundry room not stinking to high heaven.  

I started cloth diapering again when we got back, and mostly it’s been a nightmare.  

The smell in there was killing me! 

So I turned to all my experienced mama friends on Facebook and stripped the diapers (washed repeatedly until no more soap came out); 

decided I will be doing a cloth diaper load every other day; and will be purchasing a diaper pail instead of storing said stinky diapers in a wet bag. 

I am hopeful that implementing these changes will make cloth diapering a little more palatable.  

I was thisclose to giving it up.  

Thank God for brilliant mama friends!

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 I am also daydreaming about dry weather.  I would love for a few days of no rain, so the mud can dry out, and then I could take the boys for a walk down to the river.  The river, I think would be safe enough for me to walk to without needing to carry the handgun with me.  We practiced shooting it while I was in Vancouver, but I am still not super comfortable.  

 I was thinking maybe I don’t need it after all, until Thursday Josh came home from work and said Jacob (who teaches Yupik at the school) said his dad saw a brown bear downtown (we live uptown) and shot it! I couldn’t believe it!  I really am living in the wild up here!

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  And lastly I find myself daydreaming about sleep. 

As previously alluded to, sleep has been a hard thing to come by in the two weeks since we have arrived home.

For the first week, it was mostly the twins who were the problem. 

They were each waking up about twice a night. 

To get a drink, to go potty, to have me re-tuck them in, to visit with me, to make me crazy…

 

The reasons were endless.  

Finally we made a chart and offered them something they couldn’t refuse.  

Umagine’s Squishy Baff, or “Goo Bath” as we have been calling it.  

Sure enough once they had this enticing fun, gross, gooey bath to earn, they began staying in bed until the light turned green.  

Hallelujah!

It turns out Wyatt had a double ear infection.  He is currently working through a ten day regimen of Amoxicillin.  And on top of that he is teething.  So I have not slept more than two hours in a row except for two nights ago when I got four hours (!!!) in a row.

I am hopeful that as his tooth finishes coming in, and his ear infection starts to die down, he (and I in turn) will begin sleeping through the night. Here’s hoping!

{no training wheels}

The twins’ bikes arrived in Marshall shortly after we did, and as Josh was putting them together, he decided to forgo the training wheels.

At first Jack was the only one who really took to it. Logan was too scared of falling.  But after about three afternoons at the school, I am pleased to say they are both rocking it!  They are so proud of themselves and so are we!

{to-do lists}

All the little projects on my to-do list are exciting to me.  Organizing the pantry, trying to make cinnamon bread in the bread maker, working through the gorgeous stack of books on my night stand...

They all give purpose to my day and a sense of accomplishment as I lay down at night.

{care packages}

{They were "this many" exciteds!}

We have received our first three care packages. They were just as we hoped they would be. Full of fun trinkets for the boys, candy for the mommy and school things for the daddy; cookies & food for the mommy and daddy.

The cookies and trinkets were from Aunt Julie; the flour, pepperoni & salami from Josh’s parents.  I have never been so happy to see a dang bag of flour in my life! Hello homemade bread!

{fudge}

 I made some fudge.   

Chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk & vanilla and voila! 

Delicious fudge.  

 I eat it straight out of the fridge cold, and it melts in my mouth.

Holy yummy!

{alaska blankets}

 We got the box I had shipped the boys’ Alaska blankets in.   

My mom made these quilts for the twins’ beds and I have been so excited use them!   

I am super in love with the coordinating pillow cases as well.

 

 {change in diet}

 We have been concerned for the last six months about the rate of weight gain for our Jack Jack.  He is at the 95^th %ile for his age group, and has gained more quickly than his pediatrician would like to see. 

I think that this is a more common problem in America than most of us would like to admit, and I can see why.  This summer the kid lived on granola bars and nuggets at McDonalds.  I am thankful we are back in Marshall where I can give his diet my undivided attention.  We have Cheerios every morning for breakfast at 7:00am; a small snack (Goldfish or Wheat Thins) midmorning; and lunch at 11:30am.  Lunch is usually a quesadilla & fruit.  Then they get a small afternoon snack (often popcorn or almonds) at 3pm and dinner is between 5 and 6pm.

  Knowing when he can eat helps him make sure his stomach is full, and helps me to be able to say no, he can’t munch between meals.  Both boys tend to think they are hungry when they are bored, and love to have something to chow down on while they watch movies.

This summer I took a cue from my sister and stopped making the boys eat everything on their plate.  Now I tell them to check with their body and see if their tummies are full.  They tend to leave some food on their plates, and I think that’s great. I want them to learn to listen to their bodies like Roxanne allows Ferris to do.

We have obviously cut out fast food (lack of any other option, really!) and have also cut out any caloric drinks. They get milk (which is powdered) or water. That’s it.  I am striving to include more fruits & veggies (albeit canned) in their diets, as well as any dairy I can get my hands on: cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese or cheese sticks.

I feel like I can already see a change in his body, but that may be wishful thinking. I am not, however, hoping he will lose weight. That’s not the goal. The goal is to simply slow his rate of weight gain to something more reasonable.  

I am hopeful all these changes as well as a few more we plan to implement (like PE to go along with our preschool curriculum and an in-house trampoline to get the wiggles out for) will be the change he needs to be at a healthy weight once again.

{mirror twins}

I caught the twins watching Dora, exactly mirrored like this and was able to (miracle!) snap a picture before they  moved.  I am also noticing their mirrored tendencies during preschool.  Logan is left handed and Jack is right handed, so teaching them to write and cut is different.  Logan keeps trying to write on the left side of the page with his left hand and then he switches to his right hand for the right side of the page.  So I had him wear a glove on his right hand last week, and that seemed to solve the problem.  I am hoping so, because I was having to be so vigilant about him switching hands!

{potluck}

I feel that, as a nearly thirty year old woman, I have finally earned the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.  There had been a potluck planned for last Friday for the whole community at the school.  But with news of Paul Tinker’s (assumed) drowning in the river, the potluck was, appropriately, canceled.  Paul worked at the Health Clinic here and had three children: A high school age son, a daughter who is in Josh’s class this year, and a boy starting kindergarten. His death is a huge loss for the village.

That said, with the potluck canceled, my opportunity to meet all the new staff went out the window.  The twins and I were so disappointed.  Then we had an idea. What if we hosted a get together, just for the staff, at our house?

So I got the ball rolling, following the okay from Josh, and a potluck was planned for last Saturday night.

I made homemade chili in the crockpot, orange Kool Aid (of course… my favorite) and cleaned house like a mad woman.

It felt good to have a purpose & to open my home to our friends, old & new.

Clockwise from top: Kylea, Alyssa & Danika; our neighbors daughters

Joe, 2/3 grade teacher with his twins girls Khaila & Khasia;

and Samantha, 5/6 grade teacher

(She is the mom of Alyssa)

Josh, 4/5 grade teacher & Wyatt

Leah, special ed teacher & Susan, high school teacher

Kevin, high school teacher; Peter, high school teacher; and Steve, counselor

Isaac, high school teacher; Howie, Audrey’s husband; and Audrey, kindergarten teacher

(They are the parents of Kylea & Danika)

Aaliyah & Michael, Joe & Krista’s older two kiddos

The boys were so happy to have their friends over. Like mother, like sons!

"The only difference between an extraordinary life and an ordinary one 

is the extraordinary pleasures you find in ordinary things."

- Veronique Vienne