Around Here: Week 32

{Uncle Steve}

(August 8, 2003-- from my wedding scrapbook)

Dinner Plate Hibiscus in our front yard-- we love this thing!

 Reading... (listening to) State of Wonder and reading The Chocolate Touch to the boys at bedtime.

Finished... It's Not Summer Without You.  Waiting to read the third in the trilogy.

Enjoying... dressing Carly, per usual.  Also enjoying the beautiful flowers in our front yard, and the garden we put in for Wyatt in the backyard.  He's particularly impressed with how our little pumpkins are growing.

Visiting... with my grandparents and Uncle when they came into town for a night.

Hearing... Carly call "mama" over the monitor for the first time.  Heart melting!

Watching... as she figures out how to tell the twins apart.  They are thrilled!

Celebrating... our fourteen year wedding anniversary with sick kids & a busy week now that Josh is back to work.  So often I still feel like those teenage kids who fell in love in sign language class. I can hardly believe it's been 14 years since we said "I do."

Worrying... about the upcoming school year; Wyatt's current level of clinginess; Logan's epilepsy and everything about sending them off into the world. I shared some of the things I tell myself (things I learned last year) in a post about sending your little ones off to school. If you've got kids going back to school in the next few weeks, check it out!

Praying... over sick kids. First Carly, then the twins, and now Wyatt. Just praying Josh and I are spared!

Failing... at dieting this week.  I worked so hard last week and lost nothing. Nothing! I stayed exactly the same. So this week with the kids sick, I was like, "Why even try? I'm not successful anyway."  So I ate whatever I wanted, and now I'm scared to step on the scale for fear it will tell me I gained.  I decided, though, to give myself grace until the kids go back to school and I actually have some time to myself again.

Imagining... what I want my days to look like once life gets back to normal after summer ends.  It's going to be hard, but I want to wake up before the kids to work out and get ready for the day.  I am such a better (read: more nice) mom when I'm not rushing around trying to get ready while the kids also rush around trying to get ready.  I also want to try and meditate or do a short bible study everyday to sort of center myself. I have slipped back into yelling and swearing (darn it!) and don't like how it has me feeling about myself.  Change is definitely in order.  So instead of dreading the end of summer and the return of the whole 'school routine', I am looking forward to an opportunity for making some changes. It's gonna be good.

Feeling... grateful for so many things in my life:

• My sister in law for buying me a replacement bracelet for the one Wyatt broke. (For the whole story, check out my Instagram.)
• My neighbors who took care of my boys while I took care of Carly.  One neighbor had the twins all day, fed them lunch, and sent them over with some soda for their poor, exhausted mama; and another neighbor shopped with Wyatt for Pedialyte popsicles, fed him lunch and entertained him so I only had to take Carly in to Urgent Care.  I am so grateful for the village we've created here.
• My husband who works so hard for our family, at our house and who always has patience for me. He's the best. 
• That I'm a stay-at-home mom and never have to choose between working and taking care of sick kids.  I am so thankful my first experience as a mom was as a working mom because it means I never take staying home for granted. I am always so happy to be able to stay here with them, without having to decide how sick is "too sick" and if I need to call in.
• That I can choose my attitude in life and change that attitude at any time if it's no longer serving me.

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