around here: week 29 2020

{July 12-18}

See Josh's little kitchen helper?

Committed... to eating right and walking everyday this week.  I hit 210 pounds and I do not want to get any higher.  I am waking up early every morning to do daily meal planning and am walking after we put the kids to bed each night.  My goal is to lose 3 pounds this week.  Lots of water drinking and less dessert eating. 

Celebrating... Josh's 37th birthday with the kids.  They were so excited to have cake and ice cream, especially Carly, and I spent his big day baking bread and making tortillas to help the groceries last longer. 

Wondering... what our school district is planning for the fall as Josh's district rolled out their tentative plan to meet in person with AM/PM classes splitting the kids in half.  (City kids in the morning and country kids in the afternoon).  

I feel like no plan is perfect: Me homeschooling our four kids? Not great. (Well, technically only the boys would be homeschooled, as Carly isn't set to start kindergarten until 2021, but you know what I mean) 

Me facilitating distance learning with 15 teachers among my 3 boys? (7 teachers for each seventh grade twin and 1 for Wyatt who will be in fourth grade) Not great.  

Me sending my three kids to school, having to wear masks all day and be exposed? (Wyatt with his asthma, Logan with his seizures which can be made worse by illness or fever?) Not great. Not great at all. 

There is no perfect answer. 

So all I can try to do is stay informed, and then stay in today. 

Big, deep breath.

Sending... the boys off with their dad and Uncle Blake (and cousins Milo & Ferris) to go shooting at Grandma's land.  They had so much fun together, and when they got home they all got to go swimming, and Josh, Blake and I got to hang out and shoot the breeze.  It was really nice as I rarely see my brother-in-law.  (My sister and I always get together when he's at work to help her kill time when she's on her own with her crew. Hah!)

Carly was so sweet and shy with him, wanting him to read to her on the couch. Melted my heart. 

Watching... more Grey's Anatomy while Josh had the boys at the land.  It's so nice to have a show that I love that I can use to unwind when I need a minute to unplug from my own life. 

Swimming... lots this week, including a few times with the boys' cousin Alvin, and once with Josh after an evening walk.  It felt so good to get in that water! And it was so lovely to be in the pool without any splashing or screaming children. #momlife

Feeling... guilty that the tooth fairy has struggled so much to find us during quarantine.  Logan finally wrote her a note and left his tooth out and she left him $5, explaining that COVID has slowed her business.  ;) Her visit coincided with his visit to the orthodontist where he finally got his braces off!! He looks so handsome and is loving how easy it is to brush his teeth now that there are no appliances in there!

Loving... Molly & George spending more time snuggling together. It warms my heart!! 

Watching... Little Women (the 2019 release) with the kids for movie night after finishing the book with the boys for read aloud. We all really enjoyed it, especially the twins and I.  

Reading... Cesar's Way, Born to Shine, The Book of M and Family for Beginners.  I talked about Born to Shine last week. I am loving it.  Cesar's Way is by Cesar Millan and is about raising dogs.  It's so good so far! The Book of M is a post-apocalyptic book about people who lose their shadows which causes them to lose their memories.  It was such a good read, very reminiscent of Station Eleven. And Family For Beginners is one my mom bought me at Walmart when she was here, and I love the writing.  It's a fantastic family drama/summer read.  Highly recommend. 

I also started listening to The End of October, another post-apocalyptic novel that is knocking my socks off.  It is so good.  I am learning so much about illness (it's similar to COVID in that a flu-like virus spreads across the earth and scientists struggle to find a vaccine) and am blown away by how much research the author did. 

My favorite (chilling) quote:
"A kiss, a cough, a casual handshake, could kill."

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around here: week 28 2020

{July 5-11}

Doing... chores per usual Sunday and feeling grateful to have so many helping hands.  Having all of us home 24/7 makes this house quite disgusting, but together we whip this place into shape in just a few hours.

Taking... Wyatt to his vision clinic appointment to get his eyes checked and get his new glasses for the year.  He's the last kiddo to go, so it feels good to have that done.  He did great, and I think he's going to love his new glasses.

Swimming... swimming, swimming! Nearly every day this week we jumped in the pool after quiet (screen) time.  One day my sister's crew even came out and we all swam together. It was so fun. I am so, so grateful for the gift of this pool.  (Thanks, mom & dad!) 

Attending... book club (well... on the computer) where we got to choose our next 6 months of books. It was super fun to vote on what the ladies brought and share my choices.  I offered up The Two Lives of Lydia Bird and The Giver of Stars.  In the end, they voted for The Giver of Stars, so we will read that one come August.  I am so thankful for that group of mama's that I get to meet with every month (via Zoom) during the pandemic craziness.  I know that they know my suffering and are right there in the trenches with me. Such a blessing to not feel alone.

Sending... the twins and the little kids to the land each on their alternating days (two go on Tuesday and two go on Thursday) and feeling so grateful for Josh's parents who lighten our load weekly and help us keep our sanity intact.  

Sitting... in the parking lot at the vet with Molly, who, once again, preferred sitting on my shoulder to look around, while waiting for her vaccines. She's such a silly kitten. 

Enjoying... a much needed visit from my bestie Shana.  I am telling you, face time with other women lately is so soul filling for me.  This is such a strange time, with so much anxiety for the future and what the "right" choices are and how we are going to survive this weird summer... talking to other friends and mama's who understand what I'm going through is priceless.  Laughter in addition to talking? Icing on the cake.

Organizing... like mad when my sister was here.  She helped me tackle my closet, which I have been avoiding by closingthedoor every time I walk out of it. Hah! It is so much better than when we started and I am highly motivated to keep going now. 

Inviting... Josh's sister Julie and her wife Erica over Saturday and enjoying the best visit while the boys swam with their cousin Alvin.  I've missed Julie so much since I moved to our new town four years ago, and I cannot believe she lives here now, too. And in my same neighborhood!! It feels like a dream come true. 

Reading... Such a Fun Age on audio and Little Women out loud to the boys.  And I ordered Born to Shine after following Ashley LeMieux on Instagram for a few months now and wanting to know more about her story.  She and her husband Mike were legal guardians for a pair of foster kids who were available for adoption for FOUR years.  They were working on the paperwork to adopt them (such a slow process) when they got a call that the kids would be going back to some family members.  Now.  Ashley didn't even get to say goodbye. Her story is gut wrenching, but her resilience and her determination to find joy is beyond inspirational. 

Helping... Jack and trying not to freak out when he came inside after stepping on a screw and was bleeding profusely from his baby toe.  I know that I don't do well with blood, so as soon as he came in, I called my  mom to see what I should do and she walked me through it (thanks mom!) and Jack was a CHAMP. He didn't cry and stayed super calm.  He was the perfect patient. 

Laughing... as I continue to find Carly asleep in her glasses despite the fact that Josh and I put her to bed without them. She really likes to be able to see clearly, so when she's playing in her bed after bedtime with her stuffed animals, she puts them back on. Hah! Little stinker. 

Also laughing as her summer time diet has transitioned from granola bars and beef jerky to strawberries and Otter pops.  She probably asks for Otter pops no less than six times a day. The girl is addicted. 

Loving... the flowers we have blooming in our yard- the sunflowers, the lilies and the hollyhocks.  All so beautiful. 

***

"Maybe life isn't about avoiding bruises.

Maybe it's about collecting scars

to prove we showed up for it."

-Hannah Brencher

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