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2.22.2020

around here: week 7 2020

{February 9 - February 15}

















Avoiding... the grocery store with what Josh called top level avoidance skills (thankyouverymuch) by spending Sunday making tortillas, banana bread and homemade bread, all from scratch, simply so I wouldn't have to go to the grocery store until Monday.  Haha!

Reading... Long Bright River, Terilingua Teacher and Wait Till Helen Comes.  I'm listening to Long Bright River on audio, and it is captivating.  It reminds me of the latest season (Season 20) of Intervention that I watched.  It's called "The Hub" and covers the same area of Philadelphia that the book talks about.  The main character, Mickey, is a police officer with a sister who is an addict.  It's a gripping story about choices, family, and the effects of trauma. 

I'm reading Wait Till Helen Comes to the boys at bedtime and we are loving it. It's a book I remember checking out of my school library many (many!) times in elementary school, and when I found it recently at our Friends of the Library book sale, I was overjoyed. It is a bit spooky, but since we are reading it together, it's been fine.  (And it is age appropriate.)

Terilingua Teacher is a book my Grandpa Harold sent me along with a letter when we still lived in Alaska.  In the letter he said that the book reminded him of what Josh and I were doing- teaching/living in an extremely challenging, rural area.  He said we were heroes in his book. A HUGE compliment.  Despite the compliment and the effort he put into sending me the book, I never read it.  (It's been probably 5+ years, and he has since passed away) I made it a goal this year to read it, and I am so glad I did.  The book was good, but more than that, I feel like I got a glimpse of my Grandpa that I otherwise wouldn't have gotten.  For instance, when he reads, he marks the paragraph he left off on with a little cross, or small t.  Also, he censored the book for me, blacking out the f-word.  That made me smile. 

Loving... the time the kids spend on the trampoline lately.  They have all kinds of games they play on there.  Some involve jumping over each other, playing with a ball or even taking pillows onto it, but they are all very creative and help them get lots of exercise out there.  I also love how Grady thinks it's his job to sit outside the trampoline while they are on it. #guarddog

Stressing... about parenting this week.  Some things went down that I won't go into here, but there was truth & lies involved and it was incredibly hard on my mama heart.  Josh and I were able to talk through most of it, and by the end of the week together we had solved the problems, and feel we mostly have a handle on the situation... but I am telling you, I think back to the days when I was able to wake up and watch Doc McStuffins on Disney channel with the boys, not shove them out the door (backpacks on! did you get your lunch? don't forget to turn in your homework!) and I think how I had no idea how easy I had it.  I had no idea how simple those days were, how I took for granted the straightforward answers that existed in response to any problems we had.  Now it's all shades of grey and praying I'm doing the right thing, and winging it SUPER HARD.

Taking... a bath to help deal with the stress.  The night everything imploded a migraine struck suddenly and I didn't know what else to do, so I took my weary bones and climbed in the bath. It was just what I needed.  It's good to know a little self care goes a long way.

Running... errands with Wyatt, who was the best helper, when he was home sick with a cold.  While in the car, he went through my center console and found all the sunglasses that were in there, and he and Carly put them ALL on at once.  It was hilarious!  On days like that, when running errands with them in tow is so lovely, I wonder just what I'll do with myself when Carly starts school in a year and half. {sob}

Loving... my new lipstick! I decided to try an actual lipstick after growing tired of reapplying lip gloss every ten minutes, and I'm so happy with the result.  I went with Milani BOLD color matte lipstick in I Am Fabulous.  It was just under $6 and I love it!  I was nervous to try a matte color, but it actually stays on so much longer, and I can always add a gloss on top if I want a little sparkle.
(You can click on the link above and order it online if you can't find it in your local Walmart.)  

Kicking... myself when Carly's cavity-filling appointment (with the sleepy juice, etc.) was canceled because she snuck two drinks of water when I wasn't looking.  As one can imagine, mornings at our house are pretty chaotic.  Everyone is up by 6:30am.  Josh leaves around 6:40am and then the real crazy begins.  Making lunches, eating breakfast, getting chores done, etc.  Well, somewhere between the time I got Carly up and dressed and when we had to leave for her appointment, I found her with a water bottle in her hand, sucking on the straw like it was going out of style.
sigh.
Apparently the "sleepy juice" makes kids super nauseous, and to reduce the likelihood of throwing up (and aspirating on it) they require kids have no food or drink for 8 hours prior to the procedure.  So we had to reschedule for two weeks out. Fingers crossed I can keep her out of the kitchen that morning!!

Volunteering... in Wyatt's {third grade} classroom to help during math groups & wondering how teachers anywhere do anything! You are all AMAZING! The 40 minutes FLEW by, and by the time we were really in the groove, it was time to move on to the next subject.  Also, I only work with seven kids, and I feel completely inadequate when they all have their hands raised, questions to ask, answers to be checked... I can only imagine if I had 25 or 28 or 32 students I had to juggle.  We put so many expectations on our teachers- to teach our children, to mentor them, to help them catch up if they are behind and to instill in them a love of learning... I am married to a teacher, so I thought I understood what teaching was all about- the struggles, etc.- but I had no idea until I myself set foot in a classroom.  Now I'm pretty sure Josh has a magic wand hidden somewhere, because the job we set before our teachers is mighty near impossible, yet somehow he accomplishes it.

Laughing... this week when Carly told me she was drawing a picture of me, but I was grumpy.  When I asked why I was grumpy and she replied, "I'm afraid it can't be helped!" I cracked up and then she told me that I was grumpy because she made a mess (she then drew the mess on the white board) and that was why it couldn't be helped. Some of her one-liners are too good!!!


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2.21.2020

around here: week 6 2020

{February 2 - February 8}


{pc: Carly}

















Enjoying... a quiet Superbowl Sunday with just our family and Josh's dad.  It was a nice afternoon, where I blogged and Carly & Grady snuggled and the boys played a lot of Legos.

Loving... the feeling of my bed at night. I am trying really hard to make sure I have time to read in my bed every night before going to sleep. It's maybe my favorite part of the day.
Something else I'm grateful for is that Josh makes the bed everyday.  It's a thing we do- I get up and make his lunch and he gets up and makes the bed.  These are chores we do not enjoy doing ourselves, so we do them for each other everyday.

Redoing... our family room after Josh found a fireplace on sale at Home Depot for $150 (thanks for telling us about the sale, Carol!) and it inspired me to transform that space into a room I love.  I found a rug (we've wanted one in there since we moved in) at Walmart for only $79 and those two purchases were all I needed to whip that room into shape.  I sorted through Carly's toys and made our toy and book shelves look so much better/organized, and it's amazing how much better I feel about that room now!

Hosting... book club at our house.  We read Anne of Green Gables this month (my pick!) and it was so fun to discuss with my friends.  Book club brings me such joy and I am so grateful to be a part of it.  And this month, reading about Anne, just reminded me to be grateful to be alive. She has been through so much, yet she continues to find things to be thankful for, and is able to find the beauty in life around her.  I'm trying to learn from her example for sure.

Cherishing... Carly's morning snuggles & her art & the high heels she got from my friend Shana which she now wears all over the house.  It's just so fun to have a daughter.

Learning... Carly has three cavities at the dentist and feeling like a horrible mother because of it.  My boys have never had cavities and I feel awful that Carly does.  We aren't good at being consistent with brushing her teeth, and the girl LOVES sugar, so this was bound to happen, but I was still shocked by it.  They want to give her "sleepy juice" (so she will be kind of out of it, but not completely asleep) and fix them.  Her appointment is next week. From now on, we are committing to brushing twice a day!

Reading... Dear Edward and The House We Grew Up In, both of which were five star reads.  Dear Edward I could not put down.  It's about a boy who is the sole survivor of a terrible plane crash and how he "comes back to life".  The writing is just amazing and so heart wrenching.
I listened to The House We Grew Up In on audio, and it was really good.  I was riveted with every turn the story took.  It's about a family whose mother is a hoarder and how they grow up, suffering loss of different kinds and how that impacts each of them.  So, so absorbing!

Taking... the twins to the orthodontist this week for their check up.  We just love our orthodontist.  He's such a bright spirit and always so fun to chat with.  This time I had Dear Edward with me and when I told him about it, he said he can't read sad books like that.  I laughed and it made me think- I really do love a sad book.  What sad books have you loved? I loved The Light Between Oceans, and Me Before You.

Seeing... Little Women in Wenatchee with my sister when I decided I needed a break from this chaotic, loud life of mine.  Thankfully Josh is a great support whenever I need a minute and said yes, go.  The movie was so good, very inspiring and I always enjoy spending time with my sister. 
The drive was lovely, so peaceful and just what I needed after what's been a crazy week. (It's about an hour drive each way)
Now I want to reread the classic book and see how/if the movie differs. I'll keep you posted.

Playing... with Kamden & Carly when he came over for a playdate on his birthday.  I just love him and his mom so much!  He's the cutest little boy, and I'm so grateful for the friendship he and Carly share.  She isn't always sweet (#lastchildprobs) but with Kamden she is usually very sweet and it gives me hope that she'll grow up to be a decent human being.

Commiserating... with the kids that middle school sucks.  They have seven classes each, no recess, no free time, very little passing time, and tons of homework.  They are severely missing elementary school with it's class parties, specialists (music, PE, etc.) and 3 recesses/day.  But our perspective is that everyone in our family has a job and theirs is school.  So like it or not, there you are.  And our expectation is that you do your BEST at your job everyday. 
But the transition from one classroom all day to seven classes all with different teachers, expectations and curriculum has been brutal.  Here's hoping seventh grade is a little easier.

Enjoying... Date Night watching The Departed with Josh's brother Samuel & his girlfriend Makayla.  Josh made us all homemade pizza (his is the BEST!) and we chowed down while watching a very dark, star studded movie. 

Crazy proud... of the story Jack wrote and his grades.  Because of his good grades (all A's & B's except one C) he got special night with me and Josh.  He stayed up and watched TV with us, then we played Monopoly and he won!  The story was part of an assignment he had to write about a robot that helped humanity.  He chose to write about a medical robot that helped cancer patients.  I was blown away by his writing and the details of our family life he put into his paper. (The pictures of his story above are his rough draft- so excuse any spelling & grammar errors.)

Finding... more toothpaste in the bathroom.  This time in the outlet.
Sigh.
seriously, guys.  Why?!?

Walking... the dog with the kids on Saturday and running movie night for them while Josh had a much needed day away at the land with his brother.  Sometimes we all need a break, am I right?

Challenging... the kids to read chapter books and feeling my heart soar- Wyatt has finished his first and the twins are working on theirs.  I told them if they completed a chapter book (that was not a graphic novel), reading it start to finish, they would be rewarded with a special night with Josh and I.  So they are pumped to try and accomplish the goal, and I am happy for REAL reading to be happening in our house again.  They all seem to enjoy reading, but don't necessarily challenge themselves, which I think is important.



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2.14.2020

around here: week 5 2020

{January 26 - February 1}





(Josh texted this math problem to me- I cracked up when I saw that he wrote "Rookie" on it.)

{lipstick mirror}
{so fancy!}














Feeling... all the way better and proving it by mopping our floor. I have never been so happy to mop in my LIFE! I am so elated to feel well and to be getting the house back under control.  It was really hard to be stuck in bed for so many days.  I'm so grateful for my health.

Wrapping... up January reading with 14 books total (8 audio books & 6 real books) and ending with 123 on my Unread Shelf. My goal is 100 books this year, so I'm pretty happy with this start! I'd also really like to get my Unread Shelf down near 50.

Reading... and finishing Normal People by Sally Rooney which let me down.  I thought it was going to be a long, drawn out love story, but instead it was an incredibly depressing, very sexual book that was not my cup of tea.  I also listened to I'm Just A Person by Tig Notaro and The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani (both three stars).

Wishing... I was with my dad when he went to visit my grandparents this weekend where they live at the beach.  I miss them so much, and when he sent me the picture of them above, my heart swelled.  He also sent two pictures of my Grandma Pansy's grandpa.  His name was Karl and I guess he left my Great Great Grandma Christina with four teenagers.  Can you imagine?!

Taking... a picture of Jack's eyes when I noticed that they have bits of brown & yellow in them.  Then that inspired me to take a picture of Logan's eye as well (to compare since they are twins) and then my own and Wyatt's.  It was fun to compare them all.  They're pretty similar, all having started blue, but since turned green.  What are the eye colors in your family?  Josh also has green eyes, but so far, Carly's are blue.

Driving... Carly out to her Grandma Carol's and enjoying the beauty of the sunshine through the fog.  The drive out to their land is so beautiful.  No matter the weather.  I love driving by the fields, whether empty or full, whether covered in snow or ice.  It's just lovely.  Like taking a deep breath after driving around the city, so full of houses and buildings. I love it.

Laughing... at Carly when she tries to make a "kissy" face.  For some reason she can't quite do it without a LOT of effort, so it's hilarious to watch.  She's also really cute, always asking to wear lip gloss when she sees me put my lipstick on.
All of us cracked up at breakfast the other day when she asked if she was big as Wyatt and then made him get down from the table to compare heights.  It was adorable.  She said she is as big as "he" so soon she will be able to go to school, too.

Walking... the dog with Josh after work each day, loving the time to talk and be outside.  We take Carly, pushing her in the stroller, and Grady, walking him on his leash with his harness.  Carly plays with her toys in the stroller and Grady happily walks along, sniffing everything.  He still pulls a bit more than we would like, but he's really good about ignoring cats or dogs he sees, which is the best.

Celebrating... Wyatt as he received an award (one of only three in his class) for academic excellence.  He works so hard and we are just so proud of him! After he got his award, we took him for a treat from Dairy Queen.  We're so blessed to be his parents.

Running... errands with Carly on Friday- getting in a trip to the library, returning Jack's band instrument (turns out band is not for him) and running to the store.  Carly enjoyed all the errands, but especially playing the drums at the music store!

Enjoying... Saturday with Jack & Carly.  Josh took Wyatt with him to Costco and Logan got to spend the day with Grandma Carol.  Jack's friends Easton & Channing came over for a few hours and it was just a really nice, mellow day.



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