The Cunningham Family: Around Here: Week 36 2021

{August 29-September 4th}

Caretaking... Josh who spent the whole weekend not feeling well. Thankfully he was better by Monday, but he really was miserable all weekend, poor guy.

Putting... away all the things we bought for the twins' back to school while shopping in Wenatchee with my mom and sister on Saturday. It was a big job, but it was so fun and rewarding, and I am so grateful the kids have all they need. (Thanks, mom & dad!)

Dealing... with a MESSY house Sunday after being gone all day Saturday, and feeling overwhelmed by it. Thankfully the kids pitched in and helped me get it together, because it was bad!

Reorganizing... Carly's room. It has kind of been a mess since our attic leak, and it was driving me crazy. So we rearranged her furniture and sorted through her toys and bubbas. I was really proud of how quickly she let some things go (that isn't typical) and how helpful she was. Now I just need to take all of the discarded items to Goodwill.

Watching... from afar as my parents were evacuated from their house due to a wildfire in Wenatchee. It was incredibly close, and very scary, but my mom and I were talking, and it really made her realize that all she cares about is her people and her pets. Things don't really hold as much value as they once did.
Thankfully the threat eased (thank you firefighters!) and they were able to go back home after a few hours at my sister's house.

Ending... the friendship I decided was over last week after a few weeks of wondering & contemplating; and feeling awful for any hard feelings I have caused. It was not a decision I made lightly, but one that I know was right. Why does no one talk about friend break ups? They are hard and full of muddy waters. I know the break up came as a bit of a shock to her, and I feel bad for that. I wish her well, truly I do... I just didn't feel that our values lined up in any more in a way that could maintain our friendship.

Saying... goodbye to Josh every morning this week as he worked his first five day week of the new school year.

Laughing... when I (thankfully) thought to double check the garage fridge/freezer and found brocolli florets tossed about in the freezer.
The kids help me unpack groceries each week and this week Wyatt was helping run stuff to garage. (Extra bread & meat to the freezer; extra milk and eggs to the fridge, etc.) He didn't know the fresh brocolli goes in the fridge. Oops!

Opening... the twins' class schedules and seeing what they will have going on this year.

Taking... the twins to the endodontist to have their wisdom teeth removed (at the same time, on the same day) and feeling bad that getting it done meant they had to miss the first two days of school. But it was the best of some bad options, and this way it's over and they can then jump into cross country and football practice once they're healed.
When the boys came out after their surgeries, Logan was pretty coherent and did NOT want me video him. But Jack was super loopy (and so sweet & enthusiastic!) and I got some good footage. We all laughed when we watched it later, but he asked I only share it with family, so I respected that.
That's one thing that makes blogging now different from when they were little. Being their mom isn't just MY story anymore. It's THEIR story as well, and I think I owe it to them to run things by them before I post or share. Lucky for me they are not crazy private and typically don't mind if I share. But when they do ask for discretion, I grant it.

Spending... the week preparing soft food (noodles, soup, mashed potatoes, ice cream and pudding) and reminding the twins not to use a straw. Their sweet little faces were so swollen as the days passed, so we also spent a lot of time icing their cheeks with frozen bags of peas and ice packs. By Day Three Jack's swollen cheeks were looking like he was a squirrel saving food away for hibernation. Poor kid!

Setting... alarms throughout the night for the first few nights to keep ahead of the pain for the twins. It was brutal, but the pain only brought one of them to tears twice.

Cooking... chicken soup & dumplings from scratch for the twins who will likely never want to eat yogurt, pudding or mashed potatoes ever again in their lives. Hah! Logan was thrilled to have our classic chicken and dumplings as a menu change up.

Believing... strongly that "We take care of each other" as Laura (@pitterpatterart) says. Of all the jobs we have as humans and people, taking care of each other is our most important one. Love that message.

Watching... my friend Christi's kiddos for her on Friday while she was in her classroom meeting with parents and her middle schooler was off to her first day. Carly was SO thrilled to have a little girl over, and my boys were great with her boys. Wyatt and Christi's fifth grader especially hit it off, which made me so happy. The last year and a half of quarantine and COVID has made friendship hard for Wyatt, so I'm thrilled for him to have a new connection.

Starting... a puzzle. It's a picture that looks like buckets of paint, but really it's Legos made to look like buckets of paint. It's super cute!

Attending... meetings at the kids' elementary school to see the campus, drop off their supplies and meet their teachers. Wyatt's a little nervous as it's a new school and he doesn't know where anything is, whereas Carly is just excited and can't wait to make friends. After seeing her in the classroom setting with her teacher I do worry a little about her listening to directions (she's never been to school!), but she's enough of a people pleaser that I think she will figure out quick that the way to win is to show good listening in class.

Noticing... that I want so badly for my kids teachers (all of them) to like me and feel free to reach out to me, that I sometimes give them the benefit over my kids. Or I will say something negative (or at least not entirely positive) about my kids, when in reality, my kids are great and their teachers are lucky to have them. I'm working on it.

Remembering... the joys of warm pudding when Jack made some chocolate pudding on the stove top and shared with all of us. My mom used to make pudding occasionally, in these special pudding cups, and I remember waiting until they were cold in the fridge, but now that I'm older, I love it warm. Carly and Wyatt did, too.

Impressed... with Wyatt who found a Raspberry Pi in some of our tech items and knew it was a computer. So he plugged it in to a monitor he had and it loaded up some games. He had the best time playing the different games- Super Mario Brothers and Crash Bandicoot. He's so cute and smart.

Pulling... the drawer out from under our stove when Logan accidentally dropped one of his pain killers under it. I was disgusted by how dirty it was, and delighted to find: a bouncy ball, a nerf bullet, one of my chalk board markers and multiple toys of Carly's. Then I vaccumed and cleaned the floor, and was impressed by the before and after.

Joining... the #readintoautumn challenge this weekend and picking up The Heart's Invisible Furies which has been on my "To Read" shelf for years now. It's so good!

Enjoying... a fun Saturday evening at Josh's cousin Nathan's house. To celebrate Nate's birthday, his wife Dunnette invited us over for tacos and cake, and we all had the best time! The food was amazing (homemade tortillas, from scratch salsa and chicken & pepper tacos...) and the cake was beautiful AND delicious. Hanging out with them was great, as it always is, but I especially enjoyed visiting with our twins this time. They make me so proud. They are funny and witty and sarcastic, and many a time they had us busting up laughing.

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