Random Tuesday Night Update

Hi! 

(deep breath)

How are you?

Everyday I think, "I'm going to sit down and write a post" and then every night something has come up during the course of the day, and it just never happened.  So this post might be a little all over the place, but it will at least catch me up.

We had a busy week last week, and an eventful weekend.

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The weather this winter has been strange.  Very warm, not much snow, and generally very windy. With the wind comes lots of static and dry air.

Logan and I thought this blanket being affected by the static was pretty cool.

In addition to creating static, the dry air makes our skin nearly painful.  We are all so dried out.  I have turned to Dove daily body wash and pumping lotion like it's going out of style!

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Last week we got back into our routine. Josh went back to work after three weeks at home for the holidays, and the boys and I picked up school & our daily grind.

It was really hard on the boys emotionally.  After having daddy around for so long, getting used to him being gone was really tough.  Wyatt would cry, asking Josh if he could go with him to work.

Homeschooling has been hard, too. 

I will leave it at that, but there will be a hard homeschooling post coming soon.

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Friday:

Friday afternoon we got a break when we headed over to the school after Wyatt's nap to see a basketball game.  Marshall hosted a tournament for five schools, so the entire weekend was full of games & dances.  For Josh it meant long hours & a lot of work.  For the boys and I it meant a chance to get out of the house, see some friends and enjoy nachos & slushies from the concession stand!

I thought it might be interesting for you to know how other teams come to Marshall. Occasionally the closer villages can ride in on snow machine (like Pilot Station and Russian Mission) but the rest of the time, the students come on planes chartered by the district.  

While watching the games, Wyatt was so adorable, so excited.  

He was constantly clapping and cheering.  

 Leaving the school was a bit of an adventure Friday evening...

Let me tell you a little story:

"Once upon a time there was a mom with three young sons.  She lived in a tiny village on the Yukon River in Alaska where the winter weather had been strange, finicky.  After a day of rain, what had been a few inches of snow magically transformed into a thick sheet of ice covering the entire village.  Departing the school basketball game to get her boys home for dinner, this mom geared her three boys up-- snow pants, scarves, hats & mittens-- bundled tight for the insane wind, and headed out.  The weather was actually quite warm, in the thirties, but the wind was gusting beyond fifty miles an hour.  As the four set out, stepping off the fluffy snow by the school and onto what had become a skating rink, the real adventure began.

Before she could believe it, one of her older sons was sliding on the ice, down a hill and away from her and his brothers.  His little brother tried to follow suit, but his mom was able, barely, to grab him by his hood before losing him down the hill as well.  It soon became apparent that she, without her ice cleats, was not going to be able to get her boys home safely.  Every step was precarious, and wrought with danger as the wind threatened to blow she and her boys down the road away from their house.

Enter her husband, knight in shining armor with ice cleats on feet and bravery to spare, to save the day. One by one he assisted his children and wife across the ice lake that had once been a road and safely delivered them to their front door before heading back to the school.

The mother breathed a sigh of relief and vowed to never again leave the house without her cleats." 

Lesson learned.

*

Later when I talked about the ice incident with the twins, I said it was kind of funny.  Well, Logan lost his scarf during the windy debacle, and he promptly informed me that it most definitely was not funny.  The next day he was talking to my mom about it and he told her that he was pretty sure his scarf blew "all the way to America."  (Along these same lines, I wanted to tell you a kid "funnies" post is in the works & coming soon.)

After getting the kids home, fed and in bed Friday night, the house felt lonely & quiet as it was the first date night Josh and I have missed in a long time.  I will admit, I missed the pizza perhaps as much as my husbands company. What can I say? He makes really good pizza! 

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 Josh ordered the boys a CD player after they received some music CD's for Christmas.  They are in love with it!

Wyatt especially.   It's so fun to watch them choose a CD, pick a song and dance together.  

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Saturday:

Josh continued his crazy hours working the tournament, while I attempted to enjoy the day off with the boys.

In the afternoon we headed to the school again (this time with ice cleats!) and enjoyed more treats from concession.  We also got to visit with my friend Augusta, who would take Wyatt home with her in a New York minute.  Love her!

When we got home from the school, we had family movie night, and apparently the day wore them out, because they were asleep before I knew it.

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Over the weekend I finished reading The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty and started A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy.  I am so happy to be reading again. I have truly missed it.  

Sunday:

I awoke Sunday after a sleepless night with Wyatt and somehow found the strength to clean the house.  Josh had invited a few people over to watch the Seahawk's game, and it was a nice excuse to sweep the stairs, vacuum the rug and scrub the bathroom.

I hope to do the rest of the house, a really deep clean, as January wraps up.

The Seahawks game was fun, and it was nice to have people over.  Plus the Seahawks won.  The bonus was that Josh made pizza for all of us, and it was awesome. Double prizes!

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Lately Wyatt has been all about washing his hands independently. I can hardly believe he's old enough to do it himself. There's a lot about Wyatt that is surprising me lately, so there will also be a post all about Wyatt coming soon.

Monday:

We awoke Monday morning feeling fairly certain that Wyatt had an ear infection.

Unfortunately the clinic was closed Monday, so we had to wait until Tuesday to have him be seen.  Thankfully I had recently re-stocked our supply of children's motrin and was in a good position to keep him out of pain.

Monday Josh was principal for the day, which meant we didn't see him for lunch. That always makes the days longer, and as I said earlier, homeschooling as has been super challenging as of late, so it was a hard day, but with my anxiety nearly gone, I find that obstacles are much more easily overcome.

I am planning to work on peaceful parenting & establishing our routine, as well as crossing things off my to-do list & blogging, in the week to come.  I feel like January is such a beautiful time to be starting fresh and letting go of old habits.  I am anxious to feel like we have a new "normal". Especially with my finally being well.

That sense of normal may still be a long way off, though, as Josh will leaves Thursday morning and will not return until next Monday night.  It's going to be a long five days all on my own while he attends a Response to Intervention Conference in Anchorage. Thankfully, both Leah & Peter have offered to help if I need anything, and I know everyone else in our little community here will help if I need them.  It's a good feeling.

It's also a good feeling that my anxiety has been nearly non existent. I am surprised to say I'm not too nervous for his departure. I am planning an anxiety post (coming soon!) to tell you all about my methods for dealing with this monster and how they have helped me cope.  It feels so amazing to {finally} be on this side of it.

"Courage does not always roar.

Sometimes courage is the small voice at the end of the day saying,

"I will try again tomorrow."

-Mary Anne Rademacher

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