Around Here: Week 14 2023

 {April 2-8th}

Doing... lots of driving. I honestly feel like I live in my car. It's ridiculous. I thought it would let up over spring break, but instead I am driving just as much (to baseball practice multiple times this week, Logan Monday through Thursday, and Jack Thursday and Friday, with one practice for Wyatt thrown in there) plus to the land and back to get cousins together. 

Enjoying... cousin time since Josh's sister Andrea and her husband Taylor drove their family to town for Spring Break.  They stayed in their fifth wheel on Carol's land and the kids were all THRILLED! It's cool because Andrea's oldest, Gustav, is the same age as our twins; her second born, Archie, is the same age as Wyatt; and her youngest, Liesel, is only a year older than Carly.  They all have so much fun together.

Missing... our Monday morning dentist appointment. I literally slept right through it. I completely forgot about it! Now I have to make the shameful call to apologize and reschedule. Ooops!

Doing... gingerbread houses (which are Grandma Carol's tradition with the kids) and loving the kids' creativity and good attitude, even though they are getting older. The twins' friend Ainsley, who had slept over the night before, even joined in on the fun. They are all such good sports. 

Writing... two huge final papers- well, one is a presentation- this week, and working my ass off to get it done by Wednesday so I can enjoy some of spring break. Silly thing that's inspring me? My new rainbow sticky notes! It's the little things, amiright?

Finally... finishing my last paper at 1:00am. Hallelujah!! Loooong night, but 100% worth it to have a break while the family is on break. 

Taking... myself, Logan and Carly to the doctor.  I had a weird growth in my elbow (turns out it's just a vein close to the surface), Carly needed her well child check up since she turned 7, and Logan has had this strange rash/scaly skin in some patches around his body. The appointment went fine and all was well.  Carly was thrilled she didn't need any shots!

Going... to a family party out at the land where Josh made pizza for everyone (yum!!!) and we got to laugh and talk and visit. I also got to go on a ride with Jack on the four wheeler. The poor kid, I probably screamed his ears off, but it was so much fun!! He and his brother are so amazing on these things. The dirt bikes, the four wheelers... it's just not something I ever imagined having my kids raised on or around. But I am so, so grateful that we are. They are so fun and such a wholesome activity. Something about boys' need for speed really makes me grateful that Carol has this land and that we were able to get them their four wheelers (and later dirt bikes) when we did. 
Also while we were out at the land for the family party, I got to see Carol's little chicks, and the baby geese Samuel bought her. They are sooooo adorable. 

Hosting... a cousin sleepover for Carly and Liesel and dying at their messages beforehand. Neither girl has a phone, but they message each other from their tablets using mine and Liesel's mom's Facebook messenger. Sometimes Carly ends up talking to Andrea, and those crack me up as well.  I love this new stage of her being able to read and write. It's opened up a whole new window into her soul. 
Her and Liesel talking about coordinating outfits about did me in. And her saying to her Aunt Andrea "Are you serious right now bro?" had me rolling. This girl has so much character. 
The girls had so much fun at their sleepover, but getting them to sleep was nearly impossible. Haha!

Letting... the twins go to a bonfire at Lilly's house with Gustav and Nic.  They had a great time and I think they were really glad I said yes. 
Afterwards I even got them Taco Bell.  I am beginning to think that the way to a teenagers heart is through his stomach. Same as a man's. ;)

Recording... myself while I'm working on homework and finding that it really helps me stay on track. I get so sleepy and distracted, but when I'm videoing myself I can't use my phone (cause it's videoing me) and I don't want to fall asleep because I'm recording. Silly trick, but it works!

Watching... a great video on fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia: Is it all in Their Head?  It's a long one (almost two hours) but it is so validating and informative. This webiste is also incredibly helpful in planning out how you want to tackle your fibromyalgia symptoms. Highly recommend. 

Laughing... at Carly walking into the living room with her "fancy" drink. (Water in my pink to-go coffee mug with a banana stuck on the rim) I'm telling you, I cannot with this girl. She is too much!

Amazed... that Logan lost his glasses at the land (they fell out of his pocket while he was riding) and then while Andrea was walking her dog, she found them!!! I was so grateful and so surprised! I thought they were long gone!

Loving... the way Carly has gotten more comfortable being with her Deaf aunt and uncle without me. Josh's sister Andrea lost her hearing when she got a fever from meningitis as a baby, so his family grew up signing with her. When Carly was younger she didn't like to be alone with Andrea becuase she couldn't communicate with her. But as she has gotten older she's gotten more comfortable. And being able to read and write has helped as well.  This week when she was there by herself, she was searching for a snack in Andrea's pantry, and Andrea asked what she was looking for. Carly knows the sign for cookie, so Andrea asked if she was looking for a cookie and Carly said no. They were frustrated, unable to figure it out, when Andrea had the genius idea to use her interpreting app.  Carly typed, "Where are the brownies?" Haha! Of course she was looking for a chocolatey treat. Which her aunt helped her find. The best!

Reading... The Body Keeps The Score. Gah such a good book.  Important for everyone, but especially parents and those with trauma in their backgrounds. I'm going really slow with this book- one chapter at a time, so you might see it on here from time to time. 

Never... getting over the fact that my children have cowboy boots.  That we live in a place where cowboy boots are the norm. I love it so much.

Feeling... fascinated by the way my twins see rainbows.  There was a HUGE beautiful rainbow while they were gone one afternoon and I was working on my homework. When they got home I showed them a picture and we got to talking about how rainbows look to them. I have talked to them before, but this time, Wyatt was part of the conversation and he looked it up so we could see what it actually looks like to the boys. 
(For those who don't know, my twins are colorblind. Colorblindness is an x-linked choromose. My dad is color blind. His mom was a carrier, just like I am a carrier. My great Grandpa Art was colorblind. My dad's aunts were carriers, and many of my dad's male cousins are also colorblind. My sister, a carrier like me, has one son who is colorblind as well. They all have red-green deficiency.  The best way I can describe it is to say that any color you add RED to, they struggle to see. If you have green and add RED, you get brown. So they struggle to see any difference between green and brown. If you have blue and you add RED, you get purple. So they struggle to see any difference between blue and purple.  If you have white and you add RED, you get pink. So they struggle to see any difference between white and pink.) 

Grateful... always for Josh's encouraging shower messages. "Just keep swimming" was really needed this week!

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"Blue Barry's and Raz Barry's" hit me as particilarly funny
because my dad's name is Barry.
Then coordinating "butterfly clips" is just the cutest.

Luckily her Aunt Andrea loves her and doesn't mind being called "bro"
Hahaha!

This basically says that despite the intensity of the stimulus being small, the pain intensity in fibromyalgia patients is super high. 
Also the fact that we can see fibromyalgia in the brain fascinates me!

Therapy options for fibromyalgia patients

"High-achiever, perfectionist, overthinker."
"Always planning, preparing and worrying about the future."
It's like they read my brain. 

Check for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE.

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