Around Here: Week 49 2022

 {December 4-10th}

The place where Carly put "Economics"* down for a nap
with his axolotl bubbba. 
(*see explanation below)

"Holy crap,
here comes Jesus"
-Peter Griffin

Doing... homework all day Sunday.  Sunday is my school day.  Josh is home to watch the kids and man the fort downstairs while I lock myself away in our bedroom, sitting at my desk, working and reading and writing and studying as needed. 

Listening... to Jonathan Van Ness' audiobook "Over The Top" and identifying with his "turning to food for comfort and control." I've never heard it put so succinctly, and I loved it.  I 100% use food for comfort and control, as a means of coping with what is uncomfortable and I cannot control. (ie COVID, my grandpa being sick, my kids' struggles, etc.)

Reading... The Christmas Bookshop and enjoying it so much. Just the perfect Christmas read. So cozy and fun.

Taking... Wyatt to the doctor to have his ingrown toenail checked on.  It's a slow process, but soaking it and pushing the skin back seems to be helping.  While we were there, he checked Wyatt's lungs, which sounded fine.  He wanted us to start Wyatt on Singulair, but he was on Singulair in the hospital and afterwards, and I worked hard to get him off it because of the psychogenic side effects (severe depression and suicidal ideation), so I am going to wait until we see his pulmonologist again and see what he thinks. 
Wyatt's cough kept him home from school all week this week. Again. I am nearly at my wit's end.  It's so weird because he doesn't cough at night. But as soon as he wakes up in the mornings, he starts coughing and often doesn't stop until mid afternoon. Sigh. I guess at this point, I'm just grateful it's not asthma and he's not getting worse. 

Feeling... overwhelmed and grouchy and very (very) teary.  It's just a lot these days.  Heading into the holidays knowing that they are very likely Josh's dads and my grandpa's last.  Parenting when things feel heavy is harder than ever.  And I am just so emotional. It's tough.

Getting... a late start Tuesday thanks to sheets of ice across the city.  The twins took turns sliding down the driveway in their tennis shoes. Goofballs. 

Taking... a much needed nap Wednesday after having a headache all week.  It's so hard to put my own self care at the forefront, but it's also vital. 

Trying... to shower everyday and get ready.  It really impacts my self confidence, so I'm putting in the effort.

Laughing... at our elf Dashy and his cute family hanging our family's undies on the Christmas tree.  We've been doing this "prank" for ten years, and somehow it never gets old.  The big boys still laugh and Carly thought it was so funny! 

Giving... in to the peer pressure and getting my photos created by AI.  I paid $10 for 50 images on the Lensa app and got so many great images.  I'll be sharing them in a post all their own. 
I am aware that these are controversial, but I was fascinated by the process and how some look so much like me while others don't. I support real artists as well, like Lore Pemberton and Ashmae Hoiland, and will continue to do so, depsite my small foray into artificial art. 

Feeling... proud of Wyatt for working out on the treadmill everyday.  It's been such a struggle the last few months with his health, that we decided to get him walking on there in hopes it will strengthen his lungs.  And sure enough, it's working! He's been such a champ about it!

Subbing... in my favorite kindergarten class on Thursday and Friday this week, and getting so.much.snow throughout the day on Thursday.  It was truly breathtaking.  It never let up.  
That snow continued through the night, and gave us a late start Friday.  
Being treated so well as a sub- one of the first grade teachers came around with cookies and hot cocoa for all the teachers, and included me even though I'm not a regular teacher.  And then (!) Friday, when school finally let out, and our van was covered in snow, that same first grade teacher (shoutout Megan! You're the best!) scraped all the snow off my car so I could drive home safely since I didn't have my scraper in my car. (It was conveniently in my garage... not so helpful. Ha!) I am so grateful for the sweetest little school community that my girl and I get to be a part of. 

Laughing... at Carly who found a stretch ball (I don't know how to describe it- it's the blue and black thing pictured above) in the class I was subbing in and named it Economics.  Like, where does she come up with this stuff? Then I was laughing because before we left, she had to lay her son (Economics is apparently her child) down for a nap, and there he was, all tucked in his spot with an axolotl stuffed animal to snuggle. Haha! I cannot with her!
Also laughing at Carly's message to my mom- how she "talks" to herself. "Tells myself I hope she can call. Lol to me." Oh silly girl. 

Asking... Josh if he would go on a walk with me after school Friday.  I knew that the weather wasn't going to quit, and the hoarfrost was so beautiful, I wanted to get out and enjoy it. So we leashed Grady up and headed out.  The snow made everything so peaceful and quiet.  It might be one of my top memories of the season. 

Frustrated... that our part for the dryer didn't come.  Amazon said that it had been delivered but it never made it to our house. So Josh ordered the part again, and in the mean time we are just hang drying everything. 

Enjoying... Harry & Meghan on Saturday after I got the kids in bed.  It was exactly what I needed to unplug from my own life.  While I was watching, I also sketched out my week's worth of homework and figured out what I should do when.  It's like now that I have this class calling for my attention, it's hard to do anything without devoting a little time and attention to my class as well. 

Writing... my first paper for GCU and feeling so overwhelmed. The research! The reading! The citations! Oof!!! 

Laughing... at the Christmas song lyrics Josh writes for me with the foam letters in our shower.  This week had a lot from the "album" Peter Griffin writes, and they are so terrible and inappropriate, they just make me laugh even harder. 

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Around Here: Week 48 2022

 {November 27th - December 3rd}

Little Shelly & Grandpa Jerry

Laughing... at Carly trying to say "Hallelujah!" when something goes right.  She just cannot get all the syllables in the right order and it makes me laugh every time. 
Also laughing at George who is OBSESSED with the dogs' water dish.  He loves when it lets more water out because then air bubbles float to the top of the container, and he enjoys watching them so much. What a silly goose. 

Making... turkey broth with the leftover Thanksgiving turkey bones.  I heard it can help with sickness and at this point, I'm willing to try just about anything! (Sidenote: I forgot to season it, and it could really use some salt and pepper. So if you're making it, season as you go!)

Taking... care of a sick Carly girl and some sick bros as well.  Poor babies.  I hate hate hate when they're sick. 
But I hate even MORE when Josh or I get sick.  Because one of the parents being out is so much harder.  Josh went down hard with a stomach bug Monday and Tuesday, and still wasn't feeling well enough to go to work Wednesday.  He was absolutely bedridden and miserable.
Then Thursday and Friday I got sick, thankfully less severely than he did, and he took care of me and the house while I recuperated. He took care of the Elf on the Shelf, school drop off and pick up, cooking, cleaning, everything. I felt awful he missed an ENTIRE week of work for the two of us being sick, and I had to cancel a sub job I had really been looking forward to, but it was what it was, and we carried on. 

Missing... book club while I was sick and feeling so bummed.  It was our bi-annual book picking meeting, where we each bring two choices of books and vote on what we want to read.  But I sent my choices along and the ladies chose some great books. 

Grateful... to my mom and sister for talking me off the ledge when I was having terrible anxiety while I was sick.  My sister sent me some sleep affirmations and they helped so much. I know that getting all that sleep is what helped me get well so fast!

Beyond grateful... for my husband who knows me so well.  As I lay on the bathroom floor crying to him about how I felt so sick, and was getting behind in my graduate class, and questioning what I was even thinking signing up for my teaching degree, he assured me that all would be well, and suggested (ever so gently) that rethinking your life choices should probably not be done while lying near the toilet in the bathroom.  
Fair. 
Sure enough, in two days time, I was well, and able to easily get done what I needed to get done for my class. 

Enjoying... watching Carly and Wyatt play Minecraft together.  They are the sweetest little brother and sister (sometimes) and I enjoy it thoroughly. 
I have also been enjoying Carly sending messages and emojis to her cousin via Facebook messenger.  (They both use their mom's accounts to chat) Their little messages are just the cutest, silliest, sweetest things.  Carly learning to read and write has really taken off here, and she cracks me up! 

Reading... Anne's House of Dreams (#5 in the Anne of Green Gables series) for some lighthearted reading which is much needed at the moment. 

Accepting... the gigantic bags under my eyes are part of my "look" now.  This is just my face.  Permanently tired and worried.

Giving... all the boys haircuts.  They look so fresh and handsome.  Much needed as we head toward the holidays. 

Starting... our holiday magic off with our Elf, Dashy, and his wife and kids visiting again.  I think his wife's name is Snowflake (she's so cute- she even has earrings and skirts!) and the kids are Holly and Cane.  I have a definite love/hate relationship with the elves.  Their mischeif and shenanigans bring so much joy, but remembering is so much work.  Hah! I guess that's parenting in general, right?!

Doing... all the homework as I set in to my second week of my masters program.  The class I'm in right now is Foundations of Elementary Education which is giving us the background of education in the world, and more specficially and recently, America, and is teaching us how to use the online platform GCU uses for its online courses.  Surprisingly, the technical side of things is going very well.  The only real struggle is time management and feeling like I'm giving it my best. 

Playing... in the snow with Carly for about 20 minutes one day.  She got cold, so we headed back inside pretty quick, but not before she made a snow angel and threw some snowballs. 

Selling... things we no longer use/need on Facebook market and making a few bucks.  I do contactless porch pick up, and it's been so great! 

Feeling... more human by the weekend and putting on the cutest nails I got from Red Aspen.  The pink peppermint design is SO cute! But when I took them off, they left my nails feeling so weak and paper thin. They just keep ripping.  I will probably use up the Red Aspen I have, but I won't be buying more.  I hate how they destroyed my beautiful, strong nails!!

Balancing... school life and home life by spending purposeful time with the kids between assignments.  Wyatt and I played a solid game of Scrabble (he's so much better at it than me!) and Carly and I played play-doh, "baking" cookies and treats in a rainbow of colors. This dedicated kid time helps me focus on school without feeling guilty about missing out on time with them. 

Ordering... Carly a new pair of snow boots as her old pair is too small, and being blessed with a hand-me-down winter coat from a friend.  The boys still have boots and coats that fit, thankfully!

Running... all.the.errands with Carly.  Lots of things crossed off my list which I love, and some special time with my girl, which I also love. 

Enjoying... movie night with the kids and a break from schoolwork.  We had pizza and cookies and just hung out.  It was oh so lovely. 

Thinking... "Are you freaking kidding me!?!" when our dryer died less than two weeks after our washer died. Whyyyyyyy?!? Thankfully this time it was a problem Josh could solve, so he ordered a part and it should be here early next week. In the mean time, we'll be re-wearing things and hang drying as needed!

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Books we've read via book club since it started. 

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