Week 51 Around Here {2019}

pc: Carly Cunningham

The many faces of Carly

The Tuckers
2019

Meeting... my girl Shana for dinner (thanks friend!) when we both desperately needed to get out of our houses and have some girl time.  It was so nice to just sit and talk, uninterrupted, for hours, while eating GOOD food.  I am so, so grateful for her and how she just gets me.

Parenting... so hard.  Gosh, I just had no idea that it would get harder.  I really thought that it was tough when we were in the "baby trenches" with the twins. And it was hard, don't get me wrong.  But it was hard in a different way.  It was physically exhausting, whereas parenting now is emotionally wearying.  Teaching our boys about responsibility and keeping them on top of their homework (for SEVEN classes EACH) is a constant struggle.  I often think of moms whose kids struggle academically or emotionally, and wonder how do they even cope? My boys are really good kids who are capable, it's just a matter of making sure they do what they need to do when they need to do it. If they had any additional barriers, I can't even imagine. I think I'd lose my  mind. Also, seven classes for your first year in middle school is WAY too many.  Sigh.

I keep telling myself my favorite Abraham Lincoln quote: "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."  I can do that. One day at a time.

Nursing... Logan as he became sick on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  He doesn't seem to have Influenza B, thankfully, like the other three had, but a nasty cold nonetheless.

Overwhelmed... by dishes, all.the.time.  I don't remember it being this bad in our other house. But maybe we eat more? Or I'm cooking more? I don't know. But I am determined to not let them get the best of me.  So I am trying to listen to books on audio every time I do the dishes so I don't dread them as much as usual. It's helping!

Watching... our Elf on the Shelf (Dashy) nail it every night with fishing for Goldfish and other cute shenanigans. I can't believe he hasn't been sick at all this month.  We're all wondering, too, if his presence scared off the tooth fairy, because for some reason she wasn't coming around. So Dashy helped us out and wrote her a note.  Finally she showed up and took Wyatt and Jack's lost teeth and left them some money and some glitter.  Phew!

Taking... Wyatt and Carly to Spokane with Josh on Tuesday so Wyatt could participate in a sleep deprived EEG.  He's been having these strange staring spells at school where he can't look away, even though he wants to.  The way he described them to me reminded me of how Logan described some of his absent seizures, so I asked his doctor for a referral to neurology.  Monday night I stayed up with him until midnight, then Josh woke up with him at 4:00am.  They have to be sleep deprived for the EEG so they will fall asleep during part of the test.  He did great during it and was a real trooper, as was Carly, who was just along for the ride. (She gets really carsick, but thankfully Dramamine seems to help and she was fine the whole way) It's about an hour and a half drive, but fairly straight and simple, which is nice, but I was so grateful Josh was able to drive us.  Sometimes the kids' appointments are hard on me emotionally and being there by myself is tough.  He said of course he'd come if I'd like him to.  I am so grateful.
After his EEG he had a pulmonology appointment as well.  We discussed how much better is was in 2019 compared to 2018, and that is so exciting to me. He was on oral steroids 3x in a row in 2018 and was sick many, many other times requiring his nebulizer. In 2019 he was only on oral steroids once and required his nebulizer much less.  She also confirmed that he FOR SURE does not have cystic fibrosis.  She said that there are numbers they get from the sweat test and his was super low, so there's no way he has any type of CF, even a less severe form. That was sure a relief.
The next step for Wyatt (aside from determining whether his staring spells are seizures) is to have a sleep study done at Seattle Children's to see if his central sleep apnea has improved/disappeared or if it's still an issue. We will do that in the spring.

Enjoying... our dog so much! It feels like Grady's been part of the family forever.  He loves to give us hugs on the couch and is sad when any of us leave the house. He'll be thrilled when we have Christmas break and everyone is home.  He is warming up, though, and testing some boundaries- Logan was making bacon and had it laid out on the sheet for the oven and when we were counting, there were eight. Then we turned around and there were only seven and Grady was licking his chops. Hah!
The cats are starting to understand he is here to stay.  George is still staying upstairs (Grady isn't allowed upstairs) but Ramona has ventured down a few times, much to my delight. I'm really hopeful they will all adjust to each other soon and become the best of friends.

Wrapping... gifts like a madwoman so that I don't have to do any wrapping while the kids are home during break.  It's been fun to wrap while watching my favorite holiday movies- The Family Stone (I love that there is a Deaf family member.  They are so often left out in Hollywood) and The Holiday (I just adore Kate Winslet!).

Feeling... crazy proud of Logan for being invited to join honor society for his grades last quarter.  Josh took him to the induction ceremony and said it was really special.

Running... around Wednesday after getting the boys last minute ortho appointments to fix their braces.  I also picked up Wyatt's regular asthma prescriptions and got some groceries after running to the bank.  I got home just in time to meet Wyatt's Health Liaison Alma, whom I meet with every month, to discuss where we are at with his health and what the next steps should be.

Reading... and finishing both Winter Solstice and To The Bright Edge of the World. They were both such good, heartwarming reads.  I loved To The Bright Edge of the World because it was about Vancouver, Washington (where I was born and raised) and about Alaska (where I spent five years raising my boys before Carly came along) and was so well written. I just loved it.
Winter Solstice is the perfect winter read, and I listened to it on audio and could not stop listening. I highly suggest it!

Finishing... Game of Thrones with Josh and feeling such a tremendous letdown that we're done with the series!  It's a double letdown because I thought A) Jon totally should have been King (duh!) and B) What do I have to look forward to in my life now?
Hahaha!

Ordering... Wyatt's EEG results from our primary care physician and reading the results to the best of my ability.  (We couldn't get in to see the neurologist when we were in Spokane Tuesday to get results- she was all booked up, so I was left to my own devices... or having to wait until our appointment January 9th, and I can't do that!)
From what I can tell, his results showed no abnormalities, so the EEG showed no seizure activity.  I imagine when we meet with the neurologist (the same one we see for Logan) she will tell us that at this point we will just wait and see.  Logan's first EEG was also normal.  So time will tell.  Either the seizure will ramp up in activity, or the behavior will stop.

Napping... with Carly when she got home from Grandma's on Thursday.  I had a migraine and she was sleepy from having fallen asleep in the car on the trip home, so we just rolled with it and slept together in my room.  It was the coziest nap I have had in ages.

Traveling... with my crew on Friday to see my sister adopt her little girl from foster care.  They brought Romy home from the hospital and have cared for her for almost 800 days.  December 20th she officially became a Tucker. It was magic watching their family go through everything in the court room- raising their hands, swearing to treat her like their own (they always have) and standing with the judge to take their first picture as a family.
If you've been here for a while you know that my sister's beautiful family fostered another little girl who we fell in love with and was part of our family for a year and a half before she was reunited with her birth family.  So this happy ending after that loss is especially meaningful.  Romy is yet another little girl in our family who is a very beloved rainbow baby.
The whole day was just amazing and my sister, being the giving, thoughtful person she is, asked for donations instead of gifts, and collected diapers and clothing to donate back to babies coming into foster care. She's always thinking of others.

Tearing up... when my sister presented yellow rose corsages to our mom and her mother-in-law to thank them for being strong women for Romy to see and grow up with in her life.  Unbeknownst to each other, both of their moms' favorite flowers were yellow roses.  It was really neat that Roxanne found that out and was able to include their moms, Romy's Great Grandmother's, who have both passed away, in such a special way, on such a special day.

 I love this quote.

I am so grateful my sister kept her heart and eyes open. Because of her, we have Romy in our lives.  Thanks for teaching us that love is always the answer, Roxanne. 

 ***

And this one for a laugh.

Because if I don't laugh, my two sixth graders may make me lose my mind

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