Around Here: Week 48

{November 24-December 1st}

Bowling... with my parents when they came to town after spending Thanksgiving with them at my sister's house.  The kids had so much fun and so did all the adults. Who knew bowling could entertain all the age brackets!  Thank you, Nanny & Papa!

Dancing... with Carly who is seriously loving music more everyday.  She loves to listen, sing and dance.  It's precious.

Celebrating... Carly turning 22 months old on the 24th.  I can't believe that in two short months she will be an official toddler.  No more baby. Wahhhhh!

Purchasing... a new Christmas rug at Big Lots for only $10.  It makes me ridiculously happy for that price.

Making... our marriage a priority with a little game night and big plans for date night. We love Rummikub and it's just what we needed to reconnect and remember to laugh together, not just survive the chaos.

Watching... Jack struggle with anxiety about his body and the health of his siblings.  I ended up reaching out to his school counselor because honestly, I struggle with the same thing and don't think I'm the best person to walk him through those emotions. His counselor is amazing and she said actually because of my experience I could be a great resource for him.  Together we came up with some things we agree he needs in his "toolbox".  Since then, I've been trying to catch Jack worrying and walk him through how he can better handle his feelings of concern. I'm hoping to do a more in depth post on this soon.

Laughing... at Carly's new cheese face!  It's so terrible, I love it.

Dealing... with four sick kids, on rotation.  I had one kid or another home sick every day this week except Friday.  Wyatt's sickness started the week before Thanksgiving, and we wrapped up this week with each twin coming down with it, and slowly recovering.  I am so over runny noses & coughing!

Relishing... the way Carly says, "I love you" ("I lou you") as we tuck her in each night.  It melts my heart.

Seeing... the doctor Thursday with Wyatt to make sure I was treating his cough the best way possible.  He had been sick, then well, then sick again, so I was worried.  The doctor told me a better way to do his nebulizer treatments and that his lungs sounded clear.  He just needed time to heal.

Canceling... date night and instead visitng the ER on Friday night. (Ironically the Red Box movie we rented but never watched was The Big Sick. Ha!)  Wyatt got out of school Friday and was coughing pretty good.  Honestly, the cough never stopped. He coughed for six hours, unable to fall asleep at bedtime because of it, when I finally said enough was enough and took him to the ER.  They diagnosed him with Reactive Airway Disease (like asthma after a cold, which we've known he had for a long time) and an upper respiratory infection.  He did two intense nebulizer treatments there, but nothing stopped his cough, and they sent us home.  His stats were all acceptable and we figured he just needed time for the virus to be eliminated from his body.  (Turns out, things were about to take a turn for the worse, but more on that in the next weekly update)

Writing... in my Five -Minute Journal every morning before the house wakes up, and every evening before dropping off to sleep.  I can feel it impacting my parenting most of all because each evening it asks how you could make the next day better, and each morning it asks how you can make that day awesome.  It's helping me be very conscious about my choices, my days and how I spend my time.

***

(Posting today, I am one week behind. 

"Around Here: Week 49" should follow shortly)