6.03.2023

Around Here: Week 11 2023

 {March 12-18th}

















Leprechan Trap!


Keep Your Head Up











Deciding... that middle school is hard. Brutal even. And the twins might have dodged a bullet having COVID show up in the midst of their middle school years. 

Listening... to Latecomer, which I later quit, and Dani Austin's new podcast. Love her!

Reading... A Place Called Home, which is so good. It's about foster care and the main character has a rough life, but he is so likable and you find yourself cheering for this kid so much! I am also listening to Marrying the Ketchups, which was good, but not great. 
Carly is reading Junie B. Jones all on her own and I could not be more proud. 

Catching up... my journal which always feels good.  It's like a giant brain dump where I can jot down all my thoughts, worries and current events. I also had counseling this week which was another much needed brain dump. 

Laughing... at Carly setting up her LOL doll to take a selfie. I will never get over this girl. She cracks me up!

Giving... Carly the full spa treatment with a face mask during her bath and a blowdry at the end. What a lucky little girl!

Grateful... that Josh is so amazing at home ownership. He put a light in our pantry, and it feels life changing. I can see so much easier now, and the top shelf is far less mysterious with a light letting me know what is up there. Josh's dad always said to Josh while he was growing up, "If they can't find you handsome, they could at least find you handy." So he lives by that. Haha. Silly guy. 

Doing... haircuts for all the guys. I can't believe I've been doing haircuts for a decade now! What?!

Proud... of Carly for her cute snack she made before gymnastics this week.  She made a kitty face with berries and pretzels on a face of Nutella on bread. So creative!

Prepping... Wyatt and Logan for baseball tryouts with the city.  Fingers crossed that Logan can do well despite having just had collar bone surgery a month ago. 

Struggling... to keep Logan down as his collar bone is healing. This kid likes to go, go, go, and keeping him home, without riding his bike or four wheeler, without jumping on his dirt bike or dead lifting something in the garage, feels near impossible. I am thankful he has George, who is 100% Logan's cat, to keep his spiritis up. I've also bought a lot of his favorite foods to enjoy. Anything to put a smile on his face. 

Yelling... at one of our kids who is struggling with attendance (and staying home "sick") as well as getting homework done and keeping grades up. I am telling you, parenting teenagers is relentless! I just get one kid under control and another one needs guidance and consequences. I feel like the dad in "Incredibles" when he says, "I just cleaned up this mess. Could you  keep it clean for like one minute!?!" Haha!

Praising... be that spring is coming!!! There are flowers and less of a chill in the air, plus I can hear the birds returning and can feel the hours getting longer. I am so ready for winter to be over and done. Bring on the sunshine!

Letting... Carly build the leprechaun trap of her dreams and not interfering at all.  That's one of the best parts of having a lot of kids.  By the time you get to the last ones, you know just to enjoy the process, and let them have fun doing it independently.  
I was able to sub in kindergarten on St. Patrick's Day, and honestly, it made me sad to see the traps that I could tell the mom's or dad's built on their own, without any help from the kids.  But I loved seeing the kids' joy at the leprechaun's shenanigans. Their happiness was contagious. 

Painfully... trying to stay caught up in school and to stay afloat in life.  It's been a hard, hard week and I am so looking forward to summer when I can go back to just taking one class at a time. This is kicking my butt!!!

Getting... Crumbl as a treat this weekend and feeling so happy they set up in our town. My kids and I love to try the different weekly cookies. But my favorite is the classic frosted sugar that they always have. 

Hating... when I have to dole out consequences to my kids.  And hating when they're upset, sad or angry.  It's the hardest part of parenting behind only worry.  Whatever they feel, it seems like I feel it x10. I just love them so much. 
But I also know that holding boundaries and having high expectations is necessary to raise successful kids who aren't assholes.  But dang it ain't easy. 

Spending... some time in the different first grade classrooms at Carly's school for my field experience/observation requirements for my classes. I also spent some time observing in kindergarten. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of the next year + observing in different classrooms. I am learning so much!

Watching... The Elephant Whisperer which was just the sweetest. Highly recommend. I love elephants so much.  This made me love them even more. 

Attending... Jack's game with Josh Saturday (we left Carly home with Logan and Wyatt) and feeling so proud of Jack.  It's really cool to be at this stage where we can leave the kids home, too.  It was so nice to just sit and enjoy the game, not worry about entertaining Carly. 

Loving... Carly's goals. She wrote them as part of an assignement at school and oh my goodness she makes me so proud.  What a cutie!
        1. I want to learn to do cartwheels.
        2. I want to learn to do a handstand.
        3. I want to learn to paint.
        4. I want to learn to do more plus and minus equations.
        5. I want to learn to read The Magic Tree House and Junie B. books all by myself.

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1 comment:

Tabitha Studer said...

OMIGOSH, I am loving the advice from grandpa, "If you can't be found handsome, at least you can be found handy" LEGIT ADVICE.