Around Here: Week 37 2021

 {September 5-11th}

{pc: Carly}

{pc: Carly}

{Dropping things off for the twins' friends & saying hello through the window.
We miss you friends!}

{my recipe book: just an old binder I use to collect my favs}

{after school snuggled with Daddy}

{all my babies :: 6 months old}

{all my babies :: kindergarten}

{ 2021 School Year}

Watching... Collateral Beauty, Sarah's Key, and Last Letter From Your Lover this week.  I also watched Worth with Josh for date night.  It was deep and hard, but good to watch.  

Washing... my van inside and out, knowing that once the kids start school I am going to be in there at least four times a day (for drop off and pick up for the twins; and for drop off and pick up for the littles.) So it's all fresh and smells good in there now. (No small feat!!)

Listening... to Breath by James Nestor on audio.  My takeaway was: breathe through your nose as much as humanly possible.  It's associated with such better health. 
Also listening to The Empty House by Rosamunde Pilcher on audio as I went about my housework this week.  This is my second Rosamunde Pilcher book, and both were so incredibly cozy.  (The first one I read was Winter Solstice) If you need a comforting read, both of these are great. 

Hanging... my back-to-school banners (thanks, Target!) and finding all the back-to-school books to put on the shelves in celebration of the new year starting up. 

Enjoying... eggs from Logan Sunday morning when he cooked us both up a batch of spinach eggs.  They were delicious! 

Cleaning... house on Sunday and feeling so grateful that I am raising up such hard workers. Those boys and I manage to get this house into shape in a few mere hours every week and it's just the best. 

Taking... Grady on a walk Sunday and finding that my Sunday morning walks with him are my favorite.  The whole neighborhood moves more slowly and the birds and trees are alive and beautiful and it's a really rejuvinating time for me. 

Starting... Migrelief after too many migraines last week.  I am desperate.  I have tried Propranolol, a number of birth control methods (to control for hormones) and Topomax. None of which has worked. Wyatt's neurologist suggested Migrelief when he was suffering migraines a while back. So I'm going to try it. (fingers crossed)

Baking... bread and tortillas this weekend in preparation for the week ahead and loving how great the house smells. 

Enjoying... a last family day on Labor Day, watching Daddys Home 2 (thanks mom for letting the kids rent it!) & photographing things that make me happy like my stacks of Fiestaware plates and my rainbow glitter collection. 

Finishing... my 105th journal and starting my 106th.  I still can't believe I have filled that many with my ramblings.  

Searching... all over town for masks for Carly after the ones I ordered from Amazon got delayed. Thankfully my friend Kara helped me find some in the back at Safeway and, murphy's law, when I got home my mailbox was full of the masks I had purchased.  Haha!

Exchanging... special bracelets with Carly the day before school.  My sister sent me the link to these a while back and I ordered them, thinking Carly might be comforted by the thought of our matching heart bracelets connecting us even though we're apart.  Truth is, she put hers on one of her stuffed animals and I'm the one wearing mine (as an ankle bracelet) on the daily to remind myself that even though she is gone, we are still connected. Hah! Go figure. 

Comparing... pictures of my babies at six months to pictures of them on their first days of school and cursing time.  How is it both eternal and instant? 

Sending... my four little babes out into the world for their first day of school in 2021.  The twins are off to eighth grade; Wyatt to fifth; and Carly to kindergarten.  I am so proud of them.  We spent the long weekend prepping- washing laundry, packing backpacks and choosing masks. When the time came to jump out of the car at drop off, all the kids happily waved goodbye and took off towards friends and teachers.  Carly's cheerful voice simply echoed, "Bye mom!" as she skipped off with her big brother into the building. 

Crying... for a solid twenty minutes after drop off that first day and just letting myself feel it.  It's not that I am not happy with where we are- I am.  But it's the end of an era.  I am no longer a stay at home mom with babies or toddlers underfoot.  That was a beautiful time in my life, and I can't believe it's over.  

Comforting... Grady as he was so confused with the house basically empty all week.   He was so out of sorts, poor pup.  Everyone's at school, bud.  It's just you and me now! (And the cats...)

Coloring... with Carly before school started and loving the chance to be a little creative. 

Cutting... flowers from our yard and feeling so darn proud of the dahlias I grew from tubers.  They are just so beautiful!!!  I sent some along with homemade banana bread and a "Get Well" care package to Logan & Jack's closest friends.  They along with their mom have been sick and I wanted them to know we were thinking of them. Plus on that first day, I needed a distraction from my own nostalgia and sadness.  

Reading... The Heart's Invisible Furies in an attempt to get back to reading.  I am going so slow this year.  I'm only at 38 books so far!  (Last year I read 105!)

Accomplishing... a handful of projects this week while the kids were at school and feeling so proud and glad that I did them.  The first was organizing the cabinet above our computer. I don't think I have touched that cupboard since we moved in (over two years ago) and now it's so much more organized and tidy.  I also tidied up my recipe book and got rid of recipes we don't use. I have been very focused all week  on accomplishing things on my running to-do list. 

Learning... to laugh when my favorite mug broke. I feel like every week another mug in this house breaks.  I have had the one that broke this week since we lived in Alaska and so it has a lot of memories associated with it, but I am learning that I can keep the memories even if I lose the actual item itself.  Do mugs get broken 24/7 in your house too??

Sending... the twins off to football practice with mouth guards on Wednesday after Logan ran with cross country one day and decided that it was not his cup of tea.  

Signing... all the syllabi in the universe as Logan & Jack unloaded their backpacks everyday after school.  Holy moly!  

Playing... in the mornings before school (no screens allowed) and loving how Wyatt & Carly choose to read, build Jenga blocks and play bubbas. Some of the bubbas even came with us in the car to drop off and waited for Carly in her carseat all day.  I just love her imagination. 

Thinking... still of my friendship break up.  Despite knowing it was the right thing, my friend keeps popping up in my mind.  The pandemic has taken a lot from all of us.  This was a big one. 

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Some good words for this week:

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