Week 44 Around Here {2019}

Celebrating... one year seizure free for Logan.  It's completely surreal to me that he hasn't had a seizure in twelve months after how many he had in 2018.  I remember thinking this day would never come.  I couldn't imagine him going a month without a seizure, let alone an entire year.  It took five medications to find the one that has worked for him long term, and the one he is on now took a leap of faith to put him on.  These are scary, serious medications.  Used for many different things with many different side effects.  We've been blessed and I don't take it for granted, these worry free days.  I know that at any point his body chemistry could change and throw us back into the ring, so for now, I just take it a day at a time, relishing the peace that comes with knowing they are currently controlled.  Grateful doesn't begin to describe it.

Grooving... in our morning routine.  It feels so good to finally feel like this is our new normal after weeks of scrambling every morning to get all three boys out the door.  I am absolutely loving that the twins leave a little before Wyatt and get home before him.  It's nice to have their departures and arrivals staggered.  It helps me to spread my attention amongst them.

Loving... our snuggly Saturday mornings, and just the weekends in general.  Friday nights Josh and I have date night after the kids go to bed (he makes pizza and we watch Game of Thrones- we are in Season Five); Saturday he generally takes the boys to the land to ride their four wheelers or hang with Grandma & Papa while I spend the day at home with Carly, and then Saturday night we have family movie night.  I make the kids' pizza and cookies and we watch a movie together.  This weekend we watched Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, which I have to say, I thoroughly enjoy.  We've watched it a few times, and I love it.  Then Sunday all the kids have to pitch in and help clean house- bathrooms and vacuuming are their big jobs, plus any homework and extra chores they've earned from misbehavior throughout the week.  I love starting the week with a clean house, and I think it is an important skill set to know how to clean a house and to know you are part of a team in this family. (Plus, it makes them extra grateful for all the things Josh and I do around here that they don't have to do. Bonus!)

Carving... pumpkins with the kids and cracking up as Jack continually gagged from the smell and refused to dip his hands into his jack-o-lantern to empty it.  The other kids didn't seem to mind, but Jack just can't handle it. I remember feeling the same way when I was little.  The smell and the feel in my hands made my stomach feel so queasy.  So I helped him out and we got the job done. 
Doing stuff like that, carving pumpkins and other holiday traditions, are sometimes hard to make time for, but once we are doing them, I am always glad we did them because the kids are so into it, and so grateful. 

Painting... the upstairs kids bathroom, which means I have just one room left to paint!  I did it Monday when Josh's mom had Carly for the day, and I am so happy to have it completed.  I meant to do it a few weeks ago, and then Wyatt got sick, so it got moved to the back burner.  That bathroom has been dismantled for weeks now, so it's really nice to have it all painted and put back together!

Giving... haircuts to all the boys in my life- the twins, and Wyatt, as well as Josh and Samuel.  I don't enjoy the process, but I do love how fresh everyone looks when it's done!

Suffering... four migraines this week.  It sucks so much to have these.  And this week, along with the migraines came a lot of emotions.  I'm not even sure from what, but I kept bursting into tears randomly.  Not cool.  Hopefully next week gives me some headache respite.

Trick or treating... with my mom who came to town for the day, much to the delight of my children! She is also the one who sprung for the boys' costumes (thank you, Nanny!) the week before Halloween (thank you, Amazon!) because it wasn't in the budget and their mom had yet to take them shopping.  (We made it to the pumpkin patch much earlier this year, but costumes slipped my mind.  I just can't win at everything!)
Before the kids got home from school Thursday my mom and I were able to enjoy lunch together,  just the two of us, and it was so nice.  I was also able to show her what we've done to the house thus far and finish all my sentences and thoughts. That never happens! Hah!
During trick or treating the twinss were great brothers, making sure Carly got the right amount of candy and used her manners, and everyone LOVED Wyatt's amazing Lego costume.  Every time he put it on, I would crack up. It was just so real. We all loved it!  I felt surprised and honored that Jack & Logan still wanted to trick or treat with us and it didn't escape me that it might have been the last time.

 Sharing... on social media that Jack stayed up past his bedtime to work on his homework Tuesday (end of term) and was surprised at how strong people felt about our 7:00pm bedtime.  (I mentioned he was up at 8:45pm doing homework, which was well past his normal bedtime.)  Just to clarify two things- I know I don't have to, but I would like to- 1) I do NOT judge people whose kids have later bedtimes, and 2) this bedtime WORKS for us.  I know that a 7:00pm bedtime wouldn't work for many families, and I totally get that.  We are super lucky that Josh is a teacher, which means while he is gone early in the morning, before 7am, he is almost always home before 5pm in the evenings.  So we are able to have dinner between 5 & 6 and get the kids in bed very early.  I also know that some kids internal clocks would not go to sleep that early, but our kids do.  They are EARLY risers who have to be told to "stay in bed!" until 6:30am. No matter how late they go to bed, they almost always wake up between 6 and 6:30am.  This early bedtime ensures they are getting the rest they need despite their early rising.  Mostly, though, what I got from this interesting discussion on Facebook was a sense of awe for mothers who somehow tolerate their children for two to three hours longer than I have to.  You have my total admiration.  I'm not worthy.

Taking... my Unread Shelf from 131 to 120 by reading some and unhauling others.  It feels good to be heading in the right direction finally!

Reading... 17 books in October, which blew.my.mind! I read 6 audio and 11 physical books, taking my Total Read for 2019 to 80 currently.  This week I was listening to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, which is read by Tom Hanks(!), and Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler.  I also read The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg and started O Pioneers! by Willa Cather.  I'm hoping to read 10 books in November, but I'm off to a slow start and I'm not sure I'll make it. We will see.

Hearing... the quote by Doris Lessing,

"Whatever you're meant to do, 

do it now. 

The conditions are always impossible."  

And taking it like a punch to the gut.  There are so many things that I am always waiting to do, waiting to start.  Exercising, losing the weight I put back on since last year, writing a novel... When really, truly, there is no time like the present. Now let's see what I do with that information.

Bundling up... every time we go outside.  The cold weather has set in, and boy does it have a kick!  We found and sorted our box of hats & gloves this week, and I hung up all my scarves.  I had the boys try on their boots and coats to see what fits and I am wondering how much longer until our first snow.  Here we go, winter!!

Ridiculously... grateful for some taco seasoning my bestie dropped off when she Boo'd our house this week (dropped off candy & goodies for the kids).  I usually buy the little packets, which can be up to $.75 each, and after having this discussion with me, she bought me the huge container for less than $5 at Costco.  If that's not real love, I don't know what is.

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{just breathe}

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