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| {"I'm not tired" Exhibit A} |
Building... amazing towers with magnetix after school each day. These toys have been a great investment- all my kids play with them and they inspire lots of creativity. This set is a good deal on Amazon.
Snuggling... with Grady any time I am on the couch. He jumps up like he is a tiny lap dog and snuggles right in. Mostly it's fine and I even enjoy it, but sometimes he gets really excited and jumps around and gets nippy (read: bites a little) because he just LOVES ME SO MUCH and I have to make him get down. Haha. He's such a good dog, though, and he tolerates Carly's excessive displays of emotion, so I forgive him when he gets a little over excited himself.
Enjoying... watching Josh throw the baseball to the boys in the backyard. Baseball season is coming and the kids can't wait. It's our family favorite.
Also enjoying the sunrises and sunsets lately. It just feels like a little smile & nod from above that He sees me and He loves me. Like a gentle hug.
Handling... stress the only way I know how- eating candy and reading good books. Hah!
Reading... Meg & Jo, which is a modern retelling of Little Women that I couldn't put down. It was so relatable (Meg has twins and is trying to do it all without any help) and Jo is trying to figure out what makes a life meaningful. Apparently the second one, Amy & Beth is in the works. I can't wait to read it!
I also started reading The Stress Solution by Rangan Chatterjee. It is a beautiful book (the layout reminds me of Magnolia Farms things) and is simple to read, soothing and makes you feel like you could really have an impact on your stress level. (Which, to be honest, at times I don't. Ha!)
This week I listened to Know My Name and In Five Years. Know My Name was five stars and something I think everyone should have to listen to. It challenged beliefs I didn't even know I held about victims of sexual assault and made me really question how our society treats and defines women. In Five Years was based on a really good idea, but the ending fell short for me and I just didn't love it. Also the characters were a little one dimensional. Not my favorite by far.
Laughing... at Carly putting on Wyatt's sunglasses and singing, "It feels good to be a gangster". I don't know where she gets half the stuff that comes out of her mouth, but she sure keeps us giggling. She is also the resident chip stealer (LOVES my Doritos) and is obsessed with "gummies" (aka fruit snacks) and baby oranges in the cup. I feel like I want to memorize everything about her right now. She's so much fun.
Feeling... sad that the bus is so stressful for Wyatt, but knowing that hard times produce perseverance and eventually he will be stronger for having gone through this. If I swoop in and save him (in this case, pick him up from school everyday) each time he faces something hard, he won't learn anything. Sometimes in life we have to do things that make us uncomfortable and in the end, we survive it.
He hates the bus because it is so loud & chaotic. I get that. But his ride is less than ten minutes and I know that he will be okay, even if he is uncomfortable for a short period of time.
Grateful... for the amazing Barbie House Carly received from my friend Shana whose girls no longer play with it. It is crazy how much fun she is having with it. She plays with her pups in it, and her barbies. Hours of fun!
Catching... up on the boys' missing work this week as we prepare for the third quarter to come to a close. It's not easy having kids in middle school (I seriously had no idea) but at least now that we're on the third quarter, I know better than to wait until a week or two before the end to check in and see how grades are/what assignments are missing. With seven classes per kid we need more time than we did in elementary school.
Surprised... by Carly who came upstairs the other afternoon with strawberries and bananas on kabob sticks, one for each of us, and announced that for snack she had made us "fruit kabobs" (a favorite around here). She is so thoughtful and independent. I was really proud of her.
Having... the twins' twin friends over for the afternoon Thursday and loving how sweet they are with Carly and our dog. Easton even climbed into the dog crate with Carly (and Grady!) to play for a little while, making Carly's day!
Road tripping... to Vancouver with Carly & Wyatt for a visit with my mom and Erika, my sister's former foster daughter. There aren't even words to describe the hug Carly & Erika shared on the front step of my mom's house. They hugged like girlfriends being reunited, so hard and for so long, it made my mom and I both tear up. The bond those two have, from so long ago, is the sweetest thing I have witnessed, and letting it blossom this weekend was magic.
Hearing... while driving to Vancouver (on Friday March 13th) that schools in all of Washington state are closing for the next 6 weeks to try & slow the spread of Corona virus.
This impacted the plans we had for the weekend, as it closed the pool we were going to swim at and made us decide to stick close to home (even if it was mom's house, not ours) instead of going out like we usually do. Luckily my sister's family was also visiting my mom, so Carly had Erika and her cousin Romy to play with, and Wyatt had both his cousins Ferris & Milo to play with. They were all quite content. Carly & Erika played "Rockstar" with mom's toy guitar and microphone; and the boys all played Legos & ball in the garage.
Soaking... in all the green the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Even Carly noticed and exclaimed, "Look how green the grass is!" I didn't realize I missed moss until I was taking pictures of the moss on my dad's rock in the front yard and I was like, "Ohhh! We just don't get moss where we live. I miss it!" Haha!
Playing... in the snow with the girls when we woke up to a winter wonderland unexpectedly on Saturday. They had so much fun, and Carly cracked me up when she exclaimed that it was good "snow ball making snow" because the snow in Vancouver is much more wet than our snow in central Washington (it tends to be more dry) and she was thrilled to be able to make snow balls so easily. She and Erika had a snowball fight (miraculously with no tears) and then they all jumped in the melting run off that was like a small creek running along the sidewalk. Splash! Splash! Splash!
Throwing... them all into the tub when their toes and fingers got too cold to stay outside any more and then marveling over the fact that we got three little girls to love & play with this weekend. Used to be we had five boys age 3 and under. We never imagined we would get to do hair and pick accessories and play baby dolls. We're living our best dream life currently!
Convincing... Carly she really did need a nap (She.was.not.tired- see exhibit A above) and that if she would just lie still she would fall asleep and get some rest and play more with her friends again once they all woke up. (She had trouble sleeping the first night and had been awake off & on) Sure enough, all three girls slept and were great that night. Little sweethearts.
Loving... the way my mom takes care of us all and wanting to be the same way. I was making myself a sandwich with plain bread and she swooped in out of nowhere and showed me that they had croissants and bacon and lettuce and tomatoes, and before I knew it, I had a gourmet sandwich and Lay's potato chips to go with it.
Hugging... my dad tight when I got there and before I left and, feeling so grateful for my parents and this last weekend (for who knows how long) that I got to spend with them.
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Humor:
because that's how I'm surviving all of this
How did I get to be your Mom?? You are such a talented photographer and so in touch with your children and nieces and nephews. Thank you for taking the girls outside and the wonderful pictures! The bathtub one is so beautiful. These three granddaughters of mine came is such different ways and are all so special. Dallas agrees with you about the moss by the way. I want to play Barbies with Carly!!
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