The Cunningham Family: Around Here: Week 1 2023

{January 1-7th}

{Jeni and I went to elementary school together.
I was so happy for her when she found Kyle.
And I am so heartbroken for him that she's gone.}

{Art by Ashmae
arrows from Amazon}

{Art by Carly, frame from Amazon}

{Rainbow painting by Wyatt, Vancouver sign by my friend Melissa
& PEACE: be still from Etsy 100 years ago}

{Birthday card from my sister, waiting on a frame
HOME sign from Amazon
& painting of our first house by Wyatt in kindergarten}

{Finger paintings by Logan & Jack as babies}

{Multimedia art by yours truly}

{Entire staircase inspired by Laura Kelley}

{Carly made a "smore" with the smore cereal. Haha}

Starting... a daily gratitude journal again after taking a break for 2022. I did it in 2021 and I loved it but I was burnt out. This year my zeal is renewed and I am printing a picture with my HP Sprocket pocket printer (that prints inklessly on special paper) and writing down what I'm grateful for each night before bed.

Removing... a terrible glass sliver from Jack's foot at bedtime on New Year's Eve. It was so deep and painful, I was really relieved when I finally got it out. So was Jack!

Cleaning... the house since I am still on break from school. I vacummed and mopped the downstairs. Every time I do I am so impressed with how good it looks and think, "I should do this more often"... and then I don't.

Sending... the kids back to school and feeling ready to have a routine again. School started for me again on Thursday this week after a two week break for the holidays. Only two weeks left and then I'm going to be doubling up, taking two classes, so I can reach my goal of student teaching even sooner.

Taking... the boys to a bonfire and praying they'd be safe and smart. Goodness raising teenage boys can be terrifying. And they're not even driving yet.

Enjoying... Top Gun- Maverick for date night with Josh. The movie was so well done and so fun. We enjoyed it for sure!

Talking... about generations and their names with Josh. (ie Baby Boomer versus Millenial, etc.) I ended up looking up all the different generations and it was really interesting. I shared the graphic above in case, like us, you are interested.

Grateful... for Josh's encouragement about school. Going back to school 18 years and four kids later is not without its struggles, but his beleif in me and support are what keep me going. Well, that and the idea that I will have my own classroom someday!

Crying... at the loss of my grandpa who breathed his last breath on January 2nd. He had recieved a hospital bed the day prior and spent less than 24 hours in it before passing away.
I am so sad for my grandma (and myself) but so happy for him, that he is at peace and no longer suffering. He was weeks away from turning 91. I am also happy for him that he is reuinted with his entire family of origin. His mom, dad, and two older brothers preceded him in death, and I imagine that was a happy reunion.

Taking... my grief and putting that energy to good use hanging pictures in our stairwell like I have been meaning to do for at least a year. I also made Chex Muddy Buddies with Carly & Wyatt which was exactly what my heart needed. (To hang the pictures, my mom shared some advice she looked up: Hang pics to the same level from the stair you're on. That helped a lot with the uniformity despite hanging all different things.)

Enjoying... my kids more than ever as they bring levity and joy into my days. Carly painted her American girl doll's nails, and its the cutest thing. I think that if she had been my first I would have said no to her, but she's my last. I am so much more laid back, thank goodness. I look back at my parenting the first 5 or 6 years and I think, gosh, I could have been much more laidback about it all.
Carly and Wyatt spent one evening before dinner stacking things as high as they could. I am blown away, always have been, by Wyatt stacking ability, but Carly's is a pretty close second.
I also got a good laugh from Jack washing the dishes (his weekly chore this week) not wanting to get his shirt wet and gross. He was washing them without a shirt on so I gave him my strawberry apron and I was cracking up at him posing. Josh said the pictures make it look like he's wearing a bathing suit. 100%! Haha!
I am also enjoying currently how Carly can truly play with anything. The girl is amazing. She'll play with her own fingers if that's all she has. Or forks. Or scissors. The other morning at breakfast, she was playing with a stationary collection I have that has thumb tacks, paper clips and binder clips. There was a family, and a plot line, and I was just amazed at her ability to truly play with anything.

Researching... maternal employment and challenging my previous beliefs about what motherhood is. I recently started following Hannah @freckledhan on Instagram, and she has been sharing about how motherhood is a RELATIONSHIP. It's not the things you do, or the caretaking. I am still a mom, even if I have someone else feed them or wash their clothes. This has been mind blowing to me. It's so true, though. I spend very little actual time with our teenagers. Between school and being social and being active boys on the go, there's not a TON of facetime between us, but we are still close as ever. They come to me to talk about things and I know them, in their hearts. Anyway, if you ever feel like you're not enough as a mom, I suggest giving Hannah a follow.
Then, in a stroke of perfect timing, Tiffany Roe (a radical therapist I follow) shared about how moms working is not harmful to children. She shared this website and it turns out that long term benefits include daughters who are more likely to be employed as adults and to make more money as well. Children whose mothers work also tend to have higher self esteem.
I have figured out that staying home used to bring me joy, and now working brings me joy. And that's okay. I am allowed to change.

Wanting... to make enough money that buying sliced olives doesn't feel like a luxury.

Enjoying... smores cereal (it comes in a bag at Walmart and Winco) after seeing it on Laura's Instagram page. Carly, Josh and I love it so much. It's like golden grahams, plus a little white marshmallow that tastes like a lucky charm marshmallow, and some cocoa puffs all mixed together. It's so good if you love a nice sugar rush in the morning. Haha!

Thinking... up a helpful topic to share each week in this new year. The brilliant idea I had? Sharing teenage words and what they mean. I am blown away how every few days a new word enters our household with a meaning that I couldn't work out if I tried.

Learning... that "mad rizz" means you can easily attract the opposite sex. "With this new haircut, I've got mad rizz." They've also been saying, "bruh" constantly. They mostly use it as a way of complaining when I've asked them to do something they don't want to do. Or if I say no to something they want to do. Even Carly has started saying it. Thankfully only at her brothers.

Finding... that school online school is hard for me in two ways. One: I miss being in class in person, and two: learning from books online is not my preferred way of learning. I like taking notes with pen and paper and and having the book on my computer makes that hard.

Sending... Josh and the twins to Wenatchee to lay floor at my parents house. The twins helped and then had a fun day with cousins. They even got to bring their cousins home for a sleepover. Wyatt was thrilled since he wasn't able to go with them to Wenatchee. I joked with Ferris and Milo, when they were discussing how late they wanted to stay up with Wyatt, that whatever happens at Aunt Shelly's stays at Aunt Shelly's. ;)

Writing... a paper for school Saturday while Josh and the twins were gone. Feeling grateful that Wyatt was here to help with Carly. I did take a little break and help her make the cutest little pillow from a washcloth for her Barbies. She sewed it (with some help) and added some star shaped brads. I love her creativity and how tickled she is with the smallest things. I am finding that with school, I can't spend as much time with her as I have in the past, so I am working really hard to make the moments we do share count. She loves doing crafts, snuggling and playing games most. So we try to hit each of those every once in a while.

***

My dad sent us this picture of his mom while he was there after his dad died,
and my sister could not believe how much my little brother Dallas looks like Grandma Pansy.
She made this side by side, and their eyes are really identical.