Around Here: Week 3 2023

 {January 15-21st}

Jack the man-child (2023)

Jack the baby-child (2009)

(And a pic of Logan as well, for good measure)

First class done!

I love my "Absolutely Not" hat from Elyse Myers

And I love my butterfly mug from my sister

Cleaning... house on Sunday, per usual, because it's just such a nice way to start the week.  Clean house, laundry done, everything tidy and put away.  ...Just for us to mess it up again all week and clean next Sunday. Ha!

Finishing... my final assignment for my first Master's class and feeling so free!!! I also feel so proud of myself.  I got a 97% in my class. It's been hard adjusting to having homework and less free time.  But I'm doing it!

Taking... the twins out to the land for a sleepover at Grandma & Papa's.  They were excited for a change of scenery, and Carly, Wyatt and I enjoyed some pizza and then I snuggled up reading Running Wild. Gah! It's just so good!

Enjoying... no school Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  I used it as a chance to take Carly on a little mommy/daughter date to McDonald's (her choice) and Love's (yes, the gas station, again- her choice) for dessert.  When we got home we filled out the first few pages of the Mother/Daughter journal my friend Jessica sent us.  We printed some pictures of Carly as a baby and wrote about each other in it. I think it's going to be really special for us to have.  Our little date (which was less than two hours altogether) was a good reminder that this could be a great way to reconnect with Carly (or her brothers) when life is busy.  It didn't take long at all, but left both of us feeling special and happy about our time together. 

Coming... downstairs and feeling taken aback at how much Jack just looks like a grown man.  When did this happen?! He's only a freshmen. Just 14. Yet here we are, buying him clothes and shoes bigger than Josh and looking up at him despite the 25 years we've got on him. Oh time. Do me a favor and slow down just a tiny little bit for the next four years, okay? 

Ordering... the Hunger Games book trilogy to read to the boys when it's my turn.  Josh did Harry Potter, and they loved it (!) and my picks have all seemed so lame comparitively. So I am upping my game! We're going to read each book, then watch the movie. I think it will be so fun! Plus, then I will look forward to reading the book as well. I haven't read them since 2012 maybe? It's been a long time!

Making... homemade CheezItz, but I did something really wrong and they didn't turn out. Bummer!

Spending... time with my hubby and feeling so grateful we can talk to each other about anything and everything, and that we want to. He's my favorite. 

Subbing... on Tuesday for Carly's class and loving all those cute little first graders so stinking much!!!

Figuring... out my school schedule so that my student teaching falls in the spring or fall, and figuring out how many times I will have to double up on classes if I want it to fall in the spring of next year. I am TERRIFIED of juggling two classes with subbing and momming... but I am also really excited to have my own classroom and not have to count every stinking penny in our bank account. 

Listening... to The Marriage Portrait, which was good (entertaining) but not my favorite book. 

Finally... doing the tortilla challenge.  Oh  my gosh, Josh and I played with our kids (mainly the twins) and we were all laughing so hard! We needed that lighthearted evening so much.  So grateful for our kids who help us keep simple joys (like slapping your parent in the face with a tortilla as hard as you can without getting in trouble) in our lives. Hah!

Still.... loving all the shower messages from Josh.  Every couple days he has a new one up, and they all make me smile. 

Taking... Logan to the doctor this week when he called from school to inform me he had dropped the benchpress on his chest during PE and he was not feeling okay.  We got him checked out and x-rayed (this kid!!!) and thankfully there was nothing serious. No broken ribs or anything. Just lots of bruising and soreness and a note to take a break from heavy lifting for the rest of the week. 

Feeling... some feels when Logan ran over to pick Carly up from school in the rain and he came running back to the van with her, in a race, making her laugh despite the weather. He is aging me (I have so many gray hairs!) but he's also really fun. 

Beginning... baseball season early with some optional batting practice after school for the twins.  High school baseball tryouts will be in a few weeks.  How are we already here?!?

Laughing... after the twins scared the CRAP out of me when I was getting ready to back out of the garage.  I put my van in reverse and there, on my back up camera on my dashboard, were Jack and Logan's faces UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.  I was on the phone with my mom and I screamed and then they came up to the passenger side door, swung it open and were laughing hysterically.  "Did we scare you?!" Yes. Yes you did. Turds.  haha!

Starting... my first week of double classes at GCU for my masters in education. I am enrolled a special education class and a human development class.  I am feeling so overwhelmed and scared I am going to drop the ball... but also anxious to see if I can pull this off because if I can double up, I can shave so much time off my degree!

Watching... Carly take her "daughters" on vacation to Hawaii.  She got the real luggage out of my closet and loaded it up, then went downstairs.  When she "arrived", she started pulling children out of her suitcase. I was laughing so hard. I told Josh that we had it all wrong when we lived in Alaska.  Travel would have been so much easier if we had known you could just shove the kids in the luggage. Haha! Then later when she was playing, I asked her if I could go, and she said no. But then while she was playing I heard her "talking" to Roxanne (my sister) and when I asked why she was talking to Roxanne, she answered frankly, "Well yeah. Roxanne's in Hawaii with me." What the heck?!? Haha!
I also think it's funny that we just called it 'playing' when we were little, but when Carly is pretend playing with dolls, she calls it 'Role Play'. 

Flinching... when I read about executive function in one of my classes this week.  It said that brain development continues to the age of 30 and that the frontal lobe is the last region to develop.  This means that my teenagers (God bless 'em) will be struggling with attention, response inhibition, emotion, organization and long-term planning all the way through high school easily.  Lord help us all. 

Noticing... that when I'm working (on homework) I miss the kids and am worried about them, but then when I come downstairs, they are always totally fine.  Josh and Carly will be snuggling or Josh and Logan will be playing Madden, and whatever they're all doing, they're happy as clams.  A good reminder when I'm feeling that mom-guilt creep in. 

Dealing... with snow on Saturday.  It feels like we've had it so much on and off this season. 

Teaching... you some of the kids talk.  This will be a weekly thing on the blog, letting you know what new things I'm hearing from the teens. Currently the boys are all using "low key" and "high key".  Like if I tell them to stop, that they're bugging me, they'll respond, "Low key? Are we making you crazy?" And they'll use High Key for when things are intense. I'm not sure I could use them correctly, but it feels like it's their way of minimizing something.  Another they use is "Let's dip" or "We were dippin'" which means to leave or get outta dodge.  Like, maybe a teacher was coming down the hall when they had been acting dumb, and they had to dip. I swear every week there are more new words I have to learn. Haha!

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