around here: week 11 2021

 {March 7-13th}

Jumping... back on Instagram and feeling so happy about it. I enjoyed my four month hiatus, but also enjoyed getting back on and seeing all my (real) friends & insta-friends again. 

Suffering... a horrible migraine Sunday and feeling weak with gratitude when Josh took all four kids (and the dog!) to the land with him so I could sleep in peace as the medicine kicked in.  I was touched when both cats came upstairs to nap with me while he was gone.

Catching... up on the blog a little bit this week.  Still behind, but I'm working on it. 

Receiving... my COVID shot when they had openings at the county fairgrounds this weekend. I am thrilled to be safe to be around my parents, in-laws, grandparents and sweet baby niece.  

Enjoying... book club this week, where we had some great discussions (per usual) and ended up sharing all our wedding photos with each other via text afterward.  It was fun to dig up our wedding pics.  Gosh, we were just babies!

Driving... to Spokane with Logan for his neurology visit, where we were given masks with a see through mouth piece (so cool) so that his Deaf neurologist could read our lips. We adore her, and this was my favorite meeting with her, as we were discussing the fact that Logan hasn't had a seizure in two years, and his EEG came back seizure free.  So we will be slowly weaning him off his meds, and (fingers crossed!) we think he has outgrown his epilepsy.  What a dream come true.  

Taking... Carly to her well child visit and hearing that she is healthy and TALL.  Such a blessing to have a healthy girl on my hands. 

Starting... the twins' basketball season.  They are exhausted after practice, but I'm so proud of them!

Getting... my new dishwasher (thanks tax return!) that is saving my life! I don't have to wash the dishes before they go in the dishwasher anymore, and the time it's saving me is amazing!

Finding... the boys' socks ev.er.y.where. Legitimately, I find no less than five socks every day in different, random places in the house.  This week I even found one in the van when I was getting Carly out to go to the doctor. How? Why? I swear they multiply!

Being... pulled over for the first time (in my life) this week, with all four kids in the car. I was devastated. I felt awful.  I was speeding (42 in a 30) because I didn't realize the speed limit had changed where I was.  The officer seemed so angry at me, and I got a ticket, even though in 22 years of driving I have never even been pulled over!!

When I got home, I cried and cried, so relieved it was over, and so sad for how mad the officer seemed.  Also, I realized that I thought having never had a ticket was part of who I am. Josh assured me that it's not, and I am still a good person. Even if I got a speeding ticket. 

Saving... my life this week is my laundry schedule. It has made the laundry so much more manageable.  I just throw in whoever's load is assigned that day, in the morning, as soon as I wake up. I switch it by lunch time, and I haven't been behind on laundry in weeks thanks to the schedule. 

***

My best is enough.

Your best is enough.

around here: week 10 2021

 {February 28-March 6th}

{the land :: the 40 acres Josh's parents live on}

Hosting... Josh's parents for a family dinner on Sunday and enjoying a fire + smores afterwards.  It was our first fire of the season and it made me so excited for spring and summer.

Spring cleaning... and getting ready for Josh to do a dump run and doing a Goodwill run myself.  It feels so good to be organizing the house and getting it ready for spring.  Suddenly the house was feeling quite cluttered, and I'm happy to be getting it back under control.

I also traded Carly's carseat for Wyatt's extended booster seat and got rid of Carly's old carseat.  It's so crazy she is my last child in a carseat.  Bittersweet!

Getting... bad news about my sleep study.  My oxygen regularly dips to 84 through the night, which explains why I am not waking rested.  While I am glad to have answers, I hate that I am going to need a CPAP machine to address the issue.  

Hearing... how clean my teeth are from the dentist.  I floss everyday and the hygienist said it definitely shows. That made me happy.

Taking... Wyatt to a new after school evening program and feeling so glad that he gets to spend some time with other kids after a year apart.  They do school work, play outside and get dinner.  It's the coolest.

Sending... the twins to their last week of pickleball at the middle school.  They enjoyed getting out of the house each day and seeing their friends.  Even if pickleball wasn't their favorite. 

Thrilled... that Logan's phone is here after we got Jack's a few days ago.  That felt like the longest wait! He was so patient, though.  I am really happy for the twins to have phones so that they have communication while riding to and from practice, and when I run errands and leave them at home. I feel better knowing they can get a hold of me if they need to.

Reading... the book my friend recommended on Complex PTSD (it is fascinating), as well as starting The Vanishing Half and listening to How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind by Dana K. White.  I highly recommend White's book on audio. It was so fun to listen to her stories about trying to run a house and stay on top of it all.  Her main advice (should you choose not to read it) is just DO THE DISHES. If you stay on top of the dishes, everything else tends to fall into place.  It's been great!

Keeping up... my daily gratitude journal that I started in the new year. It's so fun to sit down every night, all tucked into bed, and print off a picture from the day (on my little HP Sprocket printer) and write about the things I am grateful for. 

Getting... back on track with my healthy eating after getting a little off last week. But I only managed one workout this week.  

Worrying... over my grandpa who accidentally cut off the top of his thumb with a table saw while trying to make fire starters.  The injury is grizzly and my poor grandma is working so hard taking care of him as he heals. The whole thumb nail is gone, and it's all stitched up, just waiting on healing.  

Receiving... the swimsuits I ordered while dreaming of summer days in our pool.  I ordered them from meet.curve and LOVE how they fit and feel. Super quality.  I also got this suit and this one.  I feel like I spend all of my summer in a bathing suit, so I'm excited to have so many cute ones that fit me (and my post-quarantine body). 

Riding... with Josh and the kids to the park one afternoon after work.  I am so grateful for Josh.  He's been working with Carly on her bike riding, and she was able to ride from our house to the park, only falling twice (!!!) because of his encouraging her practice. 

Visiting... Josh's parents (we call their 40 acres "the land") and getting to meet their baby chicks! They are so sweet.  They got about 60 chicks, 50(ish) of which are meat chickens they will harvest.  The others will be egg layers.  While we were there, I also got to watch Jack ride his dirt bike for the first time since he got it for Christmas.  It made me feel so proud of him and so amazed that he's my son. 

Laughing... when we found Molly sleeping in Carly's doll stroller and she didn't bat an eye as Carly started pushing her around the kitchen island.  Molly is such a fun cat!

Enjoying... Carly's recent interest in photography.  I love seeing her pretend to be like me, sneaking around, snapping pics of her toys, books, pets or brothers.  Sometimes even of me. She makes me so proud. 

Things that made me laugh this week:

I wish I had more #yasqueen showers... but honestly,
I have a lot more "stare at the wall & evaluate life decisions" showers than I'd like. 

{But for reals}