around here: week 15 2020

{pc: Jack}

Starting... the week with a migraine and sleeping half the day Sunday.  I know it was much needed, but I hate wasting the day sleeping!!

Finishing... Wyatt's wolf dot-to-dot and putting it into the frame my mom bought for him to put it in. It looks amazing and was so fulfilling to complete.  I'm so proud of us!!

Receiving... crafts from Grandma & using them with the kids this weekend.  We made stress balls which was super fun and Carly & Wyatt painted some little ceramic critters as well.

Cleaning... house Monday while Josh and the boys laid rock in the front yard with "cowgirl" Carly's help.  The rock looks so amazing!! I am super grateful for Josh and the boys' hard work, as well as my in-law's for letting Josh pilfer the rock off their land ;) for our use.  The yard looks so good!!

Noticing... that Carly's eyes are turning green after being blue all her life.  The boys' eyes all did the same thing, but not until they were about six or seven.

Reading... so many books, it's kind of ridiculous. I went from not reading like anything at the end of March (thanks COVID stress) to reading all.the.books in April.  I'm reading The Stress Solution, It's Not Supposed To Be This Way, Untamed, The Untethered Soul, The Bookshop on the Corner, The Making of Us (on audio) and Saving Lucas Biggs (also on audio), which I finished with the boys this week. 
I have been waking up early every morning and getting the majority of my reading done during that time.  I read one chapter each of The Stress Solution & It's Not Supposed To Be This Way.  Then throughout the day I can pick up Untamed and The Bookshop on the Corner.  The Untethered Soul is al little more to digest, so I am taking it slow. 

Hearing... officially that our schools will not resume for the 2019-2020 school year.  I thought hearing word from the governor would feel like a relief, but instead it had me feeling really overwhelmed and sad.  I'm hoping with more time I will come to feel better about it all.

Consuming... massive amounts of coffee.  Having all four kids around 24/7 is no joke.

Laughing... when Carly wore her fanciest clothes on our bike ride one day this week.  She had on her pink Minnie mouse dress-up dress, her gold sweater with the diamond buttons, and sparkly gold shoes with her pastel pink cat helmet. Hah!

Loving... our daily bike rides so much.  Something about the feeling of the wind on my face brings back that free feeling of childhood and I love it so much. 
I'm also loving all the blooming cherry trees around our neighborhood.

Giving... Josh the day off Wednesday.  He went to his parents' land to work on some projects and I managed the kiddos.  We had a picnic in the front yard, much to Carly's delight; went on a bike ride where I got to pull Carly for the first time this year (oof!); and the boys decided to switch bedrooms!  Wyatt & Jack are now sharing what used to be the twins' room and Logan is having his own room in Wyatt's old room.  They did an amazing job of switching everything with very little help from me. 

Facetiming... with my mom.  I was telling Josh that I don't think he's ever talked so much to his brother, whereas I have never talked less to my mom, sister & best friend.  I am just so busy with all the kids home, and I am so emotionally drained that when I have a minute, the last thing I often want to do is pick up the phone.  Plus, having another adult here means that I often just vent to him instead of needing to reach out to my girls the way I used to.
So that's something I am working on.  Because I want those relationships to stay strong!!

Watching... Little Fires Everywhere at the urging of my mom and sister, and being completely sucked in.  Although I'll admit, I find myself identifying closely with Elena, which disturbs me.  Her organization, her desire to control everything, her sunshiny disposition even when everything is going to pot... Hah!!

Enjoying... my day off Thursday.  I literally locked myself in our bedroom upstairs and Josh took care of the kids from sunup to sundown. I took two naps, did tons of reading, watched a movie, painted my nails and started my new diamond dot art.  It was just the loveliest day.  Josh even brought me dinner!!

Cheering... when I saw the boys finished their donut puzzle during Josh's bedtime readaloud Thursday. 

Finally... decorating Carly's bedroom with Josh's help, as well as getting the laundry room shelf we ordered hung.  I've wanted a shelf in there since we moved in.  This quarantine time allowed that to finally happen, and I couldn't be happier.  It's way more convenient than storing the detergent and softener in the cupboard or on the ground, plus it looks cute!!
Carly's room feels like a dream come true.  She's never had her own room before living here, so decorating a pink room, all for her, with that new beautiful color on the walls, was lovely.  She has so many pieces of art from all her people- the "Do good, Avoid evil" by Mary Englebreit was mine when I was little; the big "C" is something she painted with Grandma Carol; the mirrored word "Dream" above her bed was made for her by Aunt Julie; my best friend Shana gifted us the curtains; Aunt Roxanne gifted her the bunny picture you see; my friend Kori took the newborn picture that I have framed in there; and my mom made the blanket that's draped over the rocking chair and folded on the end of the bed.  So much love for a little girl. It felt really magical to pull it all together.

Celebrating... our twenty year dating anniversary on Saturday. (I blogged about it here.)  We didn't do anything special. Just enjoyed our family with pizza & cookies that night and bought the new Sonic movie.  The kids were thrilled.  #parentlife

Grateful... for this week off.  We really needed a spring break to sort of regroup before we get back to school and our regular routine. I am so thankful we worked so hard last week so we could take this week for some downtime.

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around here: week 14 2020

Mopping... the house downstairs and loving how clean it feels when I do so. 

Working... tirelessly toward spring break, helping the boys get caught up on missing work while at the same time trying to get into our groove with online learning. We are looking forward to a week off next week very much and are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that happens!

Reading... lots of books at the same time currently, and finding that I am reading a lot more real books right now as opposed to listening to audio books. I also got to choose my Book of the Month book for April.  I chose Beach Read and am so excited to save it for this summer.
I'm planning all my April reading, which includes Sweep for book club and finishing Untamed as well.  I am hoping to read at least eight books in April, but I would be thrilled if it were more. Time will tell.
As this month wrapped up I put together my numbers for The Unread Shelf and wasn't impressed, but also wasn't too upset considering all the world has been through in the last month.
I started at 120 Unread Books.  I got rid of 2 Unread Books that I no longer wanted and read one Unread Book and purchased 4 new books. So I ended at 121 Unread Books.

Riding... bikes as a family on the daily.  It is, hands down, everyone's favorite time of day, and I'm so grateful that we can still do that one thing together.

Loving... the quote by Glennon Doyle about being human:

"Being human is not hard because you're doing it wrong, 

it's hard because you're doing it right.  

You will never change the fact that being human is hard, 

so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy."

Walking... the dog with Josh, and feeling so grateful for fresh air and time to talk to Josh without interruptions from the kids.

Talking... on the phone with Wyatt's pulmonologist for a phone appointment and discussing his use of Singulair (a medication that is used to help with asthma & allergies) after hearing that it has been linked with depression & suicide, and knowing a family friend whose son was on it and took his own life. I am grateful to say that his doctor was very understanding about my concerns and agreed that Wyatt is doing well enough currently to try and get off the Singulair.  I am anxious to see how he does off of it, and am hopeful he can do well without it since the side effects can be so serious as he ages.

Watching... the governor again.  This time he told us that he is extending Washington's "Stay home-Stay Healthy" order through May 4th.  I understand (and agree) that we need to stay quarantined longer for our health and safety, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept this new reality. 
My mom was also upset about the extension and Josh, trying to cheer her up and make her laugh, shared a meme he had read recently.  It was about a person bragging how in the last two weeks, she hadn't been late ANYWHERE. We all cracked up.

Canceling... our Direct TV subscription (it recently went up to $90 a month!) and closing the boys' old bank accounts that are at the bank in our old hometown.  Josh has been working really hard to get stuff done this week and I'm so grateful.  He put together the Scrabble letters his sister Julie made me (of our kids' names) to make them easier to hang.  In addition to that and all the phone calls he has been taking care of, he went to the grocery store and came home with both flour and wipes!!! I literally screamed when I saw them.  It feels so good to be prepared for the next few weeks. 

Grateful... for school lunches for my kids.  Our district is providing daily lunches (and the next days' breakfast) for all four of our kids.  All we have to do is pick them up at Wyatt's school each morning.  They pass the bags through our car window, minimal contact, and it's the best.  We get milk, fresh fruit and all kinds of lunches- bagels, pizza, corn dogs & chicken nuggets. It's great.

Joining... my book club girls for a Zoom meeting this month instead of our regular get together, and being surprised at how much fun it was. I was nervous it would be awkward or lame.  But we laughed and connected and I was so grateful for those ladies when our time was up.

Starting... to notice my shorter fuse with the kids and making a goal for spring break next week:  SLEEP.  I am hoping to get more sleep over break- to go to bed earlier, to sleep in longer and to nap as needed so I can be more patient.  Towards the end of this week I was having a handful of migraines and napping daily, so I know I am not getting enough sleep.  It's not ideal.
It doesn't help that Carly is really struggling with the boys being home full time.  She is not used to having to share me and her toys 24/7.  It has required a little cracking down on Josh's and my part- more time outs and following through when she tantrums or doesn't listen, and a lot of talking-to's for brothers who need to leave her alone and not bug her on purpose.

Laughing... as Carly keeps pretending to be different animals.  She crawls in the grass outside; laps up water out of her cups like a kitten; and barks when she is supposed to answer me.  Silly girl.
Also laughing as every morning I find bowls full of "anchors" from the Marshmallow Matey's (fake brand Lucky Charms) and no marshmallows to be found. 

Watching... my last episodes of Teen Mom and Call The Midwife before we lose Direct TV; and Orange Is The New Black on Hulu with Josh.  I hated the pilot, but the following episodes improved. Otherwise I'm not really watching any TV, doing lots of reading instead.

Sending... Josh and the boys to ride four wheelers this week on Friday, which gave me a break with just Carly.  It was so nice.  It gave me a chance to get caught up around here and enjoy some quiet.  I painted my nails & Carly's, which made her so happy, and we enjoyed the day, just the two of us.

Spending... Saturday watching so much TV with the kids, mostly Lego Masters, and cracking up as Carly walked in the room and watched the beginning of one episode and said, "I wish I could go there! I would SMASH all the Legos!!!"  #classiclittlesister
After our day of TV binging and snuggles, we followed up with homemade pizza, cookies & a movie for movie night.  I'm telling you, it was exactly what we needed after the last few weeks of homeschooling and online learning. It's been a LOT.
After movie night, Jack got to stay up late for his special night. He went on a walk with Josh and Grady, then hung out with me, playing games on the couch.

Grateful... that our kids are the ages they are.  I think it would be so much harder to quarantine with older or younger kids.  So much more exhausting. Those with teenagers and those with toddlers have my total sympathy.  We are able to entertain our kids with games (like Battleship lately!), bike rides and Legos.

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Things that made me laugh this week: