Around Here: Week Eight {2018}

(Carly's meatball machine)

(tumbleweeds that blew in our garage)

 

(Talking to my mom like a big girl)

(Jack's socks...like on the daily)

Pouring... myself into motherhood as I nursed two very sick kids to health over the last week.  First Logan, then Wyatt came down with terrible sore throats and other symptoms.  Wyatt's symptoms also included headaches and vomiting, whereas Logan suffered super high fevers. Wyatt ended up with an ear infection in addition to whatever was causing his sore throat and missed school all week.  We are all exhausted and ready for him (and Logan) to be fully well.  The nice thing is that Josh was around a lot thanks to Presidents Day weekend and was cheering me on.

Making... homemade chicken and dumplings (from scratch) for the kids this week in hopes it would help them feel better.  I made a huge batch and we've all been eating leftovers for days.  They loved it, and I'm so glad to have the recipe, which was handed down to me from my mom.  (Thanks mom!)  I was chatting with her as I made it, and Carly was so cute, talking to her (she was on speaker phone) and sitting at the bar like a big girl.  She cracks me up so much these days!

Finding... about 100 pictures of my mom on my phone after the twins facetimed with her this weekend.  They sure love their Nanny!  Thanks for always making time for them, mom!

Grateful... Logan's medicine is now controlling his seizures and his antibiotics seem to be taking care of his sore throat (that we're pretty sure was strep throat), so he is on the road to recovery and even went back to school Thursday & Friday this week.

Freezing... with lots of wind, but no more snow this week.  It has been super cold, which means lots of bundling up for Jack, who is the only one who attended school all week.  I'm glad we enjoyed the snow when we had it!

Laughing... last weekend when Jack had the big garage door open and three huge tumbleweeds blew right in.  I'm still not used to tumbleweeds being part of my everyday life.  Growing up the only time I saw tumbleweeds was on morning cartoons! Now they regularly roll into my car as I'm driving, or my garage if it's a windy day.

Working... on my puzzle a lot this weekend as we were all homebound with Logan sick and Josh out of town.  It's a beautiful puzzle, and I enjoy working on it, but if I leave it out for too long, Carly and the cats take it apart.  (George will pull pieces out with his teeth!) So before I go to bed at night I have to cover it up with books or board games so they don't play with the pieces when I'm asleep!

Thankful... for good friends who checked on us (Barb! Leah! Amanda! Thank you!) and sent us food (Kori!) to get us through the weekend while Josh was away and I was caring for sick littles.  My village is amazing, I tell ya!

Participating... in an address-based census reading that lasted two weeks and required a LOT of specific note-taking on my part about where we spent money over the last fourteen days.  It ended yesterday and I'm so glad.  What a pain in the rear!  Especially the weekly grocery shopping trips!

Being... at my best during this hard time of parenting.  It's funny how the hardest things can sometimes bring out the best in us.  It was nice to end these last few days feeling awesome about myself, not doubting myself as is often the case.

Finishing... Happier at Home and Purple Hibiscus while the kids were sick last weekend.  Happier at Home has been somewhat inspiring but nowhere near the level of The Happiness Project.  Purple Hibiscus was an entertaining book (that's the wrong word... but I can't think of a better one), but it ended quite darkly and was kind of a downer, honestly.

Reading... instead of sleeping.  I started The Great Alone after my mom sent it to me last week and I have not been able to put it down. It's so good.  It's about a family who moves to Alaska and it is bringing me back to the five years we spent in rural Alaska as a family.  It's been a fun time reminiscing.  It makes me want to write a book about our adventure there!
I'm also listening to The Wisdom of Sundays, which is so good. I just love Oprah.  It's offering me so many insights, like this nugget: anxiety & depression are caused when we believe our thoughts. So much food for thought!

Focusing... on the present moment, and trying to stay in it, no matter what emotion it is currently eliciting.  For instance, this morning, the neurologists office called me back to discuss Logan's one year check up for his seizures.  The appointment is in May and I was wondering if they wanted an EEG since his seizures have changed from grand mal seizures to petit mal seizures.  I would like to have one to see if we can figure out why/how they have changed. 
The nurse got right back to me and said the doctor agreed that it would be prudent to have another EEG and that the team would be getting back with me shortly to schedule the EEG and follow up appointment.  Once we hung up, I jumped in the shower and promptly burst into tears. 
Is it the end of the world that Logan has epilepsy? No.  Is it the end of the world that his seizures are changing? Or that we've had to increase his dose twice this year? No.  But sometimes, the weight of all his medical issues is heavy.  And it hurts my heart.  And worries my mind.  And I wish it didn't exist for him.  And for me.  So I let it all out.  I cried.  And I prayed.  And I cried some more.  And then I felt better.  Because in that moment I had been sad, so I had cried. 
In the next moment, I had a nine year old who was just like any other nine year old, fighting with his brother while he unloaded the dishwasher, me threatening to ground him as I pulled on yesterday's jeans and wondered how we were going to make it to drop off on time.  And that's how staying in the moment works.  You take life as it comes.  If you stay in "right now", you really can handle just about anything that comes your way.  I'm not perfect at it, but each day it's getting easier.

Loving... so much Carly's little personality.  She answers the TV when she watches Team Umizoomi.  She plays so intently with her little toys (this week she was using her cooking toys to make a "meatball machine") and she says "sorry" to her animals when she drops them.  I am loving her post-nap snuggles (she finally quit waking up angry. woo hoo! praise the lord!) I can see, now that the twins are nine and Wyatt is six, just how fleeting this time with Carly really, truly is.  So I am working hard to cherish it.  I am also working hard to cherish bedtime with the boys.  Because the time with them is fleeting just the same. So I am taking the time to tuck them in, listen to their little stories, their worries, their prayers and their hearts because I know if they share the little things now that they will share the big things later.  It's so good for all our souls.

Accepting... (with deep resignation) that one of every two pair of socks the twins owns has a hole in it.  And they will never (ever) throw them away on their own. Ever.  Why is that?!?  These are the mysteries of life people. Seriously.  It's ridiculous. I think I have had Jack throw away at least one sock a day for the last week. We keep all the mates and are just wearing mismatched socks because at this rate we are going to go broke buying new socks.
In all seriousness, though, mamas.  What socks do you buy? Is there some amazing sock brand that can withstand the wear and tear of a set of rough & tumble twins? Or should I just give up and let them wear the holey socks? The thing is, I just don't think I can. It is driving me bonkers!

Adoring... Wyatt's constant amazement at life.  This morning after we dropped the twins off at school he opened the sunroof cover (just the ceiling part, not the actual sun roof) in the car, and saw the fern frost that had collected on the glass above our heads and was completely mesmerized.  Yesterday he asked me how long numbers went on, and when I told him they went on forever, he thought about it for a while, and then responded, "Wow, really? Cool."  Then at bedtime when I said, "I love you one hundred thousand." He responded, "I love you forever. Actually. I love you as long as numbers go."  He's always thinking, taking in the world around him, and it's so fun to see the world through his perspective.  He's just my favorite.

Feeling... ready for summer.  Is that ridiculous to say? I am so tired of being cold.  And having sick kids.  And being cold.  And talking about gloves.  And being cold.  And having the kids in the house all the time. And being cold. Did I mention I am tired of being cold? Hah!

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