Around Here: Week 50

Giving... the boys haircuts, which made Logan cry.  He really wanted to keep his long hair, but he had been unable to keep his scalp healthy with that full head of hair, so he got a short short haircut.  I felt awful not letting him decide what he wanted, but I know it's what his head needed while we work on teaching him the proper way to scrub his head and get himself fully clean. #bigkidproblems

Getting... sick after what has been a pretty stressful couple of weeks.  I did the neti-pot yesterday and it required lamaze breathing, it hurt so bad in my forehead.  I am hopeful that lots of liquids and plenty of rest will keep me from being sick too long.

Clenching... my jaw (I think from stress, but maybe from bad dental work) and suffering migraines and constant mouth pain because of it.  I go to the dentist next week and can't wait to discuss the issue with him and come up with a treatment plan.  It's making me miserable.

Catching... up around here after three weeks of sick kids, plus being gone last week for Wyatt's hospitalization.  I am good on the house, and nearly where I need to be for Christmas prep, so I'm feeling optimistic.

Finally... sending out Christmas cards!  I made myself sit down on Friday during nap time and completely wrap up Christmas cards.  I've had them since before Thanksgiving, I believe, and it's been a long process (stop and go, stop and go) getting everyone's current addresses and labeling them.  So it feels awesome to be done!

Grateful... for Wyatt's total health this week.  He's blowing 225-250 on his peak flow meter, compared with 100-125 when we got home from the hospital.  I am also grateful for Carly's health.  She took a terrible fall at Wyatt's foot doctor appointment, after which her eyes rolled back in her head and she nearly vomited.  We saw her doctor that morning and he said she definitely had a concussion and her brain would need a break (no screens, no loud noises or bright lights) to heal up.

Breaking... the news to Wyatt that he will be wearing his boot for another month.  The doctor is not satisfied with his healing and is worried that one of the bones he broke could die off, so we're giving it another four weeks.  Unrelated, Wyatt will also be starting physical therapy to work on his achilles tendons, which are too tight and are impacting his ability to run and be active.  I am anxious to see if they improve the pain he often complains of when walking or riding his scooter to school.

Loving... how Wyatt HATES kisses, but he lets Carly kiss him every time she wants to.  I am also loving how affectionate he has been since we went through what we went through together in Spokane.  He's not the only snuggly little Cunningham.  Carly, too, will often come up and hug me for no reason, or yell, "I love YOU!" at me for no reason.  It melts my mama heart.

Succeeding... at not yelling at the kids for a whole week.  It feels so amazing to be in control of myself, and to be treating my kids like humans, no matter how annoying they're being. ;) I attribute this week's success to three things:

1) being ready before them 3 days a week.  Because I am teaching with VIPkid earrrrly morning on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, I am up and dressed and ready when they wake up on those days.  So only twice a week am I facing the stress of showering while all four kids are awake.
2) Doing my Five Minute Journal, which helps me reflect on what makes for a good (or better) day and what I can change to make it happen.
3) Planning ahead- I've been taking a minute each night to look at what will be necessary the following morning before we leave for school so there are fewer surprises. ("I need a spelling pre-test!" "I forgot to have you wash my PE clothes!" "My homework is due today!")

Reading... board books to Carly, and not much else. Sad day!  I did start Black Beauty with the boys at bedtime, and they are liking it so far.  At least I'm reading to the kids.  I am hopeful that since I'm done with Christmas cards and shopping, I'll finally be able to start my Winter Street series by Elin Hilderbrand. I'll keep you posted!

Working... super hard with the twins to make up for missing (or crappy) work on their progress reports.  It was a long week, with lots of extra writing and revising, but they both felt really good about the amount of effort they put in, and their teachers were satisfied as well.  Now to just get them to work that hard all the time, so we're not playing catch up later!

Enjoying... the magic of our elf on the shelf, and all that is holiday joy.  All three boys love waking up in the morning to see what Dashy has been up to in the night.  He has hung our underwear on the tree, brought cookies for the kids to take in their lunches and even decorated their bedroom with twinkle lights while they were at school yesterday.  They all really believe in him, and I'm so grateful they haven't stopped believing yet.
After we dropped the twins at a playdate yesterday, Wyatt and I drove around in the dark, checking out Christmas lights, and as we turned onto our street he said wistfully, "We sure do live in a nice neighborhood.  It's just full of holiday spirit."

Watching... The Big Sick for date night and really enjoying it, despite the medical setting.  I will admit that when it was over, I had a big cry (spoiler alert: the girl gets intubated for a lung infection) in Josh's arms about what happened with Wyatt (which was so similar), but I think I really needed that emotional release.  I posted some pictures of Wyatt's illness as well as some information I learned about what he went through on Facebook.  Basically what he had was called Status Asthmaticus, which is asthma that is unresponsive to treatment.  It can absolutely be life threatening, and because of that, he has been placed on a preventative asthma regimen that will continue for the next year, in hopes of avoiding a repeat of that scary day in the ER.

***