Around Here: Week 41 2023

 {October 8-14th}

My friend @ashmae is an incredible artist. 
She just shared this piece and I love it!

Logan shared this of Jack. 
I love them.

Carly with her nose in a book at parent pick up. 

Proud of my guy!!! 
Way to go, Logan!

New washer- thank you Samuel!!!

Can you spot Maggie & Hadley?

Canceling... Jack's drive this weekend as he stayed up too late at his sleepover to drive. It was annoying because we had to pay to cancel it. Grrr...

Chatting... with my counselor this week.  I am so grateful for her. 

Making... hard boiled eggs for Carly. She always asks me to buy them at the store. Hah! So I finally made some for her. 

Doing... homework in the afternoon this week, trying to get it done. 

Visiting... the dermatologist for the first time as an adult. Turning 40 last year made me set up both my mammogram and a dermatology appointment this year. I wanted to get checked for skin cancer since I am so fair and have lots of melanoma in my family. I was so nervous to go, but the doctor was so kind and made me quite comfortable, despite the fact that I was completely naked. Haha!

Hosting... book club at our house this month, discussing the book we read, Weyward. I liked it, but it was a bit darker than I had imagined based on the cover and description.  I cleaned house for it, and it made me so happy to have a mom-level-clean house. The kids do a pretty good job cleaning, but there's nothing like the clean level it hits when I or Josh do it. 

Enjoying... the new mug sweater I ordered from a small shop.  I sorted through the "slightly damaged" stock on the website and found this one, which I honestly can't even tell is imperfect. 

Attending... Carly's field trip, which was bittersweet because it is my last field trip as a stay-at-home mom.  It was also fun because I knew a bunch of the presenting high schoolers (the field trip was to the Fairgrounds and presented by FFA kids) and it was so fun to see them try to teach a bunch of first and second graders about farming and animals.

Carly was chosen to "weld" at one of the stations, using squeeze cheese and crackers. I thought that was such a creative way to show the kids what welding is like. 
Where we live, we grow a lot of potatoes, and a lot of them are turned into McDonald's fries, so one of the potato companies brings fries and makes them for all the students. So fun and yummy!

Spoiling... the boys with new iPhones and feeling frustrated that we can't get Logan's switched over because we/he doesn't know his Apple ID password. So he's got two half-functional phones currently. Such a bummer. 

Playing... in our tiny pile of fall leaves with Carly and her American Girl doll.  I am telling you, this girl makes everything magic.  She made a pile and had her doll jump in it. Then she threw the leaves over her head. It was so fun. And all the photos make me so happy.

Keeping... Wyatt home all week as he was sick and coughing and miserable. It made me nervous to keep him home (he missed a LOT of school last year) but he was too sick to go. Carly was home sick one day as well. Lots of caretaking this week.

Laughing... as Wyatt came down the stairs wearing two kleenex boxes on his feet. Poor kid is too sick for school, but also getting kind of bored being home. Hahaha!

Having... all the kids home on Friday when there was no school.  Unfortunately, Josh had training, so he wasn't home with us. 

Dealing... with what I think are perimenopause symptoms.  Night sweats, an irregular cycle, and so much acne. I am hating it so far. 

Sending... the twins camping with Samuel and Makayla this weekend, who were meeting up just outside of town to camp with Josh's sisters Andrea and Julie and their families. The twins had a great time, and we went to spend the day Saturday with Carly & Wyatt as well.  We brought hot dogs and smore stuff and spent the day playing, talking, and soaking in the beautiful fall trees.  It was so good to catch up with Julie, sign with Andrea, and see the cousins spending quality time together. 

Letting... Carly go to the pumpkin patch with her sweet friend Joslyn and feeling grateful that she got to go. She had so much fun and it makes my heart happy to see her making friends in the neighborhood. 

Hearing... some fantastic teen advice: Feed Them, Be Calm. Haha! So random, but also 100% accurate. 

Ordering... canvas prints of the pictures my sister had taken of our family at her daughters' adoption. I ordered one for us of our entire family, and one for my  mom of just the kids. She's been wanting an updated pic of our family forever, so I am so excited to present it to her!

Awwing... at the pics of Sweet P my sister sent from her check up. She's such a delicious little rolly polly babe. 

Giggling... always at the twins when they wear my aprons to do the dishes. Love those silly kids.

Picking... up kittens after feeling really depressed about starting another set of double classes.  I was feeling bummed about living 24/7 at my desk (which is what happens when I'm doing double classes) and I thought, "What could bring me joy?" and a kitten came to mind! So I started looking on Craigslist and Facebook market for one.  Honestly, I was surprised Josh said yes when I asked, but I am so glad he did. 
I landed on a woman who has a literal herd of cats in her yard and needs to find them homes before winter sets in.  So Wyatt and I drove out of town to their house to see the cats and see if there was one we thought would be a good fit. The first one we saw (and fell in love with) was black with orange spots and so adorable, but the owner's adult son said that that one was his. So we kept looking. A beige-y orange one ran up to Wyatt and followed him around the yard and we decided on the spot that Wyatt probably needed a kitten too.  So he chose that one, and I found a tiny white one in the crowd that I wanted. 
On the long drive home, we discussed names and Wyatt settled on Maggie for his (after the baby on The Simpson's) and I chose Hadley for mine. For cat names since I had Carly I have just worked through the names we didn't use for her. First Ramona, then Molly, and now Hadley. Bailey and Kate are the two that are left. Haha!
Josh took the news of two kittens really well (you're the best babe!) and Wyatt and I made a quick stop at Walmart for supplies. Then we headed home where we bathed the kittens, and surprised Carly with them when she got back from her trip to the pumpkin patch with friends. 

Hadley has the most beautiful aqua eyes and Maggie has the most beautiful green/yellow eyes. I am just overjoyed at them, their cuteness, and so happy to have rescued them from their outdoor kitty lives. I think they're going to fit into our family perfectly. 

"Mothering is a mysterious task.

First, you create an intimate, 

all-consuming attachment with your child,

then you spend the rest of your life...

learning how to let them go."

-Judy Ford

***

I love this tile job!

Fibromyalgia is so brutal some days.