Week 29 Around Here {2019}

Original Paint // 2018

New paint // 2019

{my grandparents :: pansy & jerry}

{My mom & her two sisters helping Savanna into her gown}

Things that made me laugh this week:

100% accurate.
Me + Carly every morning during the school year.

Celebrating... Josh's 36th birthday with a BBQ & lemon cake here at home.  We invited his parents & brother over to join us, and ended up having the nicest time.  The day started out rough because I was having a migraine, but after the sweetest nap with Carly, I woke up feeling much better and was able to enjoy the evening.  Josh's dad pitched in sweeping my floors, which was just the most touching thing I think he's ever done for me, knowing it needed to be done and I wasn't going to get to it; and his mom did ALL the dishes after our meal, wanting to leave me with a clean kitchen so I could relax after everyone took off. 
As Josh blew out the candles he was making sweetheart eyes with Carly, who was singing her little heart out to her daddy, and I just melted.  I ended the day so thankful for my husband, so glad he was born, and so grateful to the people he was born to.  They are so, so good to us. And we have been so blessed in this life together.

Taking... pictures of Carly in a dress I scored at the Rhea Lana sale last spring for only $10.  I am in love with its vintage look and how sweet Carly looks in it.  I just wonder if I will ever get over having a daughter.  I think never.

Suffering... at least three migraines this week. But maybe it was more.  They all kind of blur together. It was just day after day of suffering.  Truly the worst. 

Reading... Harry's Trees, which was a really sweet, good read that I took slow and enjoyed and loved the ending of; and listening to My Lovely Wife In The Psych Ward on audio.  My Lovely Wife In The Psych Ward was really interesting and sometimes sad.  I liked it, though. 

Thankful... my mom came and saved us from ourselves at the last minute.  I got really overwhelmed by all the things we had on our "to do" list before getting the house listed on the market.  She flew in to Spokane and all three boys rode with me to pick her up.  When we got back to town she took us shoe shopping and out to eat.  I am SO in love with my new Nikes.  Yay for new walking shoes!

Working... my tail off alongside Josh, Samuel and my mom.  We were mostly painting- Josh and Samuel outside, and my mom and I inside- but we also checked a few other things off the list.  It was an exhausting & grueling few days of work, but by the end, we were so much closer to the finish line- (the finish line being our goal of getting the house ready to go on the market this Friday, the 19th)  It was totally worth all the hard work. 
Josh painted the front door the happiest color of yellow that I picked out at Lowe's, and that coupled with the new house color just makes the whole house look brand new.  I am blown away by the transformation.  My bedroom and closet both look amazing and the rest of the house is getting there.  The kitchen is the main thing that's left.
The most frustrating part is that whoever painted our house the first time used the wrong finishes so when I bought touch up paint, I put satin finish where there had been flat, and flat where there had been eggshell, etc.  Also, Lowe's failed to match the wall color in the majority of our house, so when I went to paint the boys' bedroom wall after some patches, it looked like a patched cow or Dalmatian puppy.  I was SO upset.  All that work for nothing. 

Proud... of the twins who worked on the cinderblock ring around the tree in the side yard.  Josh and Samuel did the measuring and laying of the cinderblock and then the twins sifted the rocks out of the dirt and put it in.  The final touch was all the lava rock we had from the sifting.  It looks so good!!

Inspiring... Wyatt with all our home improvements.  He decided to build a model of our house with the big Duplo Legos, and the details were killing me.  It had a covered front porch, a picnic table in the backyard, and even flowers out front.  I love his attention to detail.

Loving... the picture my dad sent me of my grandparents camping at the place we grew up camping.  They look so happy & so in love.  It just made my heart swell to see it. 

Road tripping... to Vancouver with my mom to attend a family wedding.  It was fun to ride together, chatting and catching up without any interruptions from the littles in my life.  Bless Josh for keeping all four of them while I got away for three days.  Thanks, babe!

Playing... Beanboozled with Milo & my parents.  Oh my GROSS! Spoiled milk? Dirty dishwater? Dead fish? We were laughing so hard and so disgusted.  If you have boys, it's a MUST.

Attending... my cousin Savanna's wedding and capturing some of the moments with her and her groom.  It was so special to be part of her day and spend time with her & her sister Alix. I love them so much and am so glad they're in my life!
Savanna's gown was gorgeous and her wedding was perfect- a simple ceremony at the courthouse, followed by dinner at The Spaghetti Warehouse.  The food was amazing and their vows were so touching.  I love how weddings remind me to be grateful for my love & for the amazing years of marriage Josh and I have shared.

Being... spoiled by my parents who bought me all the books I picked at Powell's.  What!?! So lucky!!!
The Most Fun We Ever Had
The Pigeon Has To Go To School (for the kids)
The Bright Edge of the World
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone
In Every Moment We Are Still Alive
I am most excited for Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, but The Most Fun We Ever Had is a close second.  Gah! So many books, so little time!

Feeling... extra grateful for my mom and sister after spending so much time with them.  We are so lucky to have each other and it's always so fun when we are together.  They just get me, and they love me, and they forgive me, and they grant me grace when I am not my best self.  I just feel so blessed to have them.  What did I ever do to deserve them???

***

{absolutely loved this when I read it}
{so perfect for where we are with selling the house}
{the future is unsure... but there is still room to rest and breathe}

***

Week 28 Around Here {2019}

Finally... kayaking Lake Wenatchee on Friday morning when we woke up really early and saw that the lake was glass after a week of ocean-like waves that rocked the dock and made kayaking look more like white water rafting.  I decided to take advantage of the still waters and get out there, even though I probably should have been packing since we were leaving later that morning.  I am so, so glad I did.  It was the most peaceful, beautiful, breathtaking kayaking I have ever done, and it will be a memory I will cherish all summer.

Getting... home in one piece from our amazing week at the Lake House thanks to Josh's brother Samuel.  He drove the van from our house all the way up to Lake Wenatchee on his day off to retrieve us since our Suburban broke down and had been towed to my sister's house for repairs a few days into our trip.  He has been our hero more times than I can count since he moved, and I know God had him move to our little town so that Josh and I could lean on him.  I am so, so thankful.

Grateful... that Samuel, in addition to picking us up, knew how to fix the Suburban for much cheaper than we had originally anticipated.  I am telling you- together he and Josh can fix just about anything. It never fails to amaze me. 

Mopping... up the house after even more bad luck.  In addition to the Suburban hitting a tree and losing its driveline, we had a pipe burst in our bathroom/hallway wall, and after walking into the living room to make sure the kids were cleaning up, I returned to a river running down the hall into the laundry room and bedrooms.  The boys were amazing, throwing down every towel we owned to help mop it up and running to get our neighbor Doug (thank you, Lord, for Doug. Everyone needs a Doug!) to help me turn off the water out at the street.  I was in a tiny bathrobe running around like a madwoman until he got there and said he had things handled and I could go get dressed.  #neveradullmoment
Then, after it was all said & done, his wife sent over hydrangeas and said "when life gives you busted pipes, the neighbors give you flowers." Just, the best. The best. (Thank you, Barb)

Enjoying... movie night after an eventful Saturday morning (#watereverywhere) and making snickerdoodles, which always remind me of my mom, for dessert.  The kids didn't love them, but that was fine because, more for me!

Suffering... a lingering cough all week long.  I keep waking up coughing and it's the pits.  I am trying to get a lot of rest and drink enough water, but I think it's just one of those things that's going to take a long time to heal from it.

Going... to book club and meeting my new neighbor, which was fun.  I am really loving my new book club and discussing the books we read in depth.  I am such a total book nerd!

Hanging... with my girl Shana running errands and enjoying the kid-free time to catch up and spend some time with her.  I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Organizing/cleaning/decluttering/staging... with my sister's help (read: she did most of the work) on Monday in my living & dining room.  I was amazed with how much we accomplished and it inspired me to carry on once she left.  She is my own personal Marie Kondo and I could not have done this without her.

Doing... laundry nonstop since we got home from vacation. Especially after the broken pipe incident that used literally every towel and rug we own. sigh. I don't think I will ever catch up.

Feeling... massively overwhelmed with the job ahead of me.  Preparing our house to sell is no small job, and it feels like we have to tackle it from every angle.  There are home reno things we have to do (like painting) as well as staging (which includes putting unnecessary items into storage) and organizing (so that the things we still have here look like they all have tidy homes). Phew. It's a BIG job!!  And our goal is to have it done by July 19th.  So soon!

Taking... all my kids, plus Jack's best friend Mario, to the water park as well as just the twins and Carly one day.  It feels good to be going since we haven't gone as much as we usually do since the weather hasn't been as hot this year so far.  Carly is a total fish, and the three big boys are completely independent, which is so awesome.  It makes me especially grateful for Logan's lack of seizures. (8 months seizure free now!!!)

Deep cleaning... the bathrooms on Thursday while my mother-in-law had Carly, which was SO helpful.  She has also been having the boys on rotation, which is so awesome.  It lightens our load so much.  (Thank you, thank you, thank you!)
I also decided to call in reinforcements at my sister's urging and asked my mom to fly in so she can help paint all.the.things before we list.  She said yes (thank you, Jesus!) and flies in the 14th. Hallelujah!  I need ALL the help I can get.

Impressed... with Wyatt Rubics Cube skills.  Completely on his own, he has figured out how to get one side completed.  His brain is a mystery to me and works so differently than my own.  I am constantly fascinated by it.

Painting... the house dark grey and loving how awesome it looks.  Josh and his brother are doing all the outside painting and they have worked nonstop since we got back from the lake house.  Their work ethic and energy blows me away.  I need a lot more breaks than them.  #wimp
Hahah!

Proud... that Josh and his brother are instilling that same work ethic in our boys.  As they have worked, they have had our boys working right alongside them, and it makes me so proud to see them working so hard.  Jack especially loves to be with the guys getting projects done.

Eating... out at Denny's, just me and the little kids.  The older two were having special time with Grandma & Papa, so we used Wyatt's coupon for a free meal and went out.  They were so good, and it was really nice to get out.  When Carly's Birthday Cake Milkshake came with sprinkles on top she said, "I'm living my best life."  I sometimes wonder how she is even real. She's just too much.

Getting... great news at Wyatt's neurology appointment at Seattle Children's.  It turns out the neurologist thinks his headaches are a type of migraine and not from his pineal gland cyst.  While migraines suck (I also suffer migraines, as does my mom) they are a lot less scary than the idea of brain surgery to remove a cyst that is causing headaches.  The migraines also explain the vision changes he's been experiencing occasionally.  I get visual auras at times with my migraines, and that's what he has been experiencing. 
His doctor was great about explaining all the ways to prevent/avoid migraines using the SMART technique:

S- Sleep. Get regular sleep with regular bed/awake times.
M- Meals. Eat regularly without skipping meals.
A- Activity. Be sure he is active at least 30 minutes per day.
R- Relaxation. Make sure he's getting down time during the day.
T- Triggers. Avoid any known triggers. For him we find stress can be a trigger. So keeping a calm environment will be helpful. Especially at bedtime since that's when most of his migraines tend to happen.  So we've changed bedtime

And in addition to those simple things, she put him on Migrelief (a daily supplement that can help reduce the number of migraines sufferers experience) and gave us a prescription for Rizatriptan for when he is experiencing a bad one.  (I take Sumatriptan, similar to Rizatriptan, but better suited for adults than children.)

Josh was able to come with us, and during the appointment he put his arm around my shoulder and I teared up.  It made me realize how alone I have felt in the past when I have taken the boys to different appointments and specialists (Wyatt to the pulmonologist and Logan to his neurologist).  I didn't really give it any thought because that's just how it had to be, but it felt extra nice to have him along this time. I am so grateful for him. And that Wyatt is okay.

***