Around Here: Week 30

Visiting... Rockaway Beach, Oregon.  My grandparents live there, and our kids love the beach, so we wanted to make sure we made it there at least once this summer.  The kids love building sand castles, throwing rocks in the ocean and eating ice cream cones from the corner shop.

Driving... for hour upon hour to get to the coast.  Used to be we lived only two hours from there.  Now it's 6 and a half hours WITHOUT four kids.  WITH four kids, it took us TEN BLESSED HOURS to finally arrive.  Thankfully the drive home was only seven hours.  Boy was I happy to pull into our driveway!!!

Moving... Wyatt's bed into the laundry room.  Carly has been teething four molars the last week or two and she's screaming herself to sleep many nights, waking multiple times, and little, if anything, comforts her.  I was starting to feel really bad for Wyatt.  I could see that his lack of sleep (thanks to sharing a room with Carly) was impacting his behavior.  So I asked Josh to move his bed.
Last weekend I painted the office/laundry room, so it was empty, which made it easier to set Wyatt up in there.  Now I'm trying to decide if I want the move to be permanent or not. Living in limbo, with all the office supplies stacked in laundry baskets in the hallway, is driving me crazy!

Working... around the house, inside and out. Josh is working (still, forever) on the yard, trimming more bushes back and keeping the jungle of grass in the backyard manageable.  Meanwhile, I am working inside the house, sorting through clothes, shoes & coats to prepare for back to school shopping; and organizing the boys' toys (still, forever) to try and keep the messes to a minimum.

Grocery shopping... with Wyatt on Friday morning.  Carly fell asleep on the way there, so I had to carry her around, having Wyatt drive the cart, even though he can barely see over the handle, and having him also cross off the grocery list.  He was just the cutest helper.  I was sure grateful to have him along!  (Note to self: Put the Ergo back in the car!!!)

Feeling... a bit weary.  The other day Josh asked how I felt my summer was going, and honestly it's been really good.  I have felt fantastic until probably this week.  It's like everything caught up with me, and now I feel like I'm drowning.  I can barely keep up with the laundry, dishes, shopping and housekeeping, let alone any big projects (like painting) or fun things (like reading books)... It feels like if I do take a little time for myself, I pay for it.  I am constantly playing catch-up on the laundry and cleaning up after Carly if I take my eyes off her for even a second. It's like I'm still adjusting to having four kids, and I am plain worn out!

Celebrating... our girl hitting the 18 month mark.  I can't believe so many things about this milestone-- First, that she's been in our family for only a year and a half... I can hardly imagine life before her!  Second, how much her hair has grown in just six months. Holy moly! And third, how much she is leaning away from infancy and into toddler-hood, it's crazy.

Proud... of myself for not freaking out earlier this week. I have medical anxiety, which means any strange physical symptoms in me or my children can bring about a panic attack and a deep desire to medical google.  Instead of googling when Carly had a strange rash, I remembered our old pediatrician telling me something like 90% of rashes have no known cause and promised myself that if it remained for two days or if she experienced any other symptoms, then I could worry.  But until that point, I was to let it go.  And guess what? I did it! I enjoyed our vacation and by the next day, the rash was gone. I think it had been either an irritation from the sand, or a heat rash from sleeping with me.

***