Around Here: Week 12 2024

 {March 17th- 23rd}

I'll never get over my kids' art work. It's my favorite. 

Aww, look! They're becoming friends!

A painting from one of my sweet students.

Proof of how Wyatt opened the Tide box last week.

Old Shelly would have freaked out, but I just laughed and took a picture.

Loving... the twins' responses to the homecoming pic I shared of me & Josh our senior year. Jack said, "Dad's got motion" haha. Mad rizz. 

Doing... a "raincloud in a jar" experiment with Carly. It's essentially water, shaving cream and food coloring. Our shaving cream (cloud) layer was too thick, but finally some "rain" started coming through after we sprayed the cloud with some water. She was happy, and honestly, that's all that matters!

Opening... our windows because the weather is acting like spring and we could not be happier!!!

Cleaning... house on Sunday with the whole family after the twins got home from Wenatchee and loving how organized Carly is. In addition to unloading the dishwasher and cleaning her room, she reorganized the whole pantry! Thank you sis!

Wanting... more money if only so I can buy sliced olives. "What makes you feel rich?" Olives in a can that I don't have to individually cut myself to put on a pizza or in an enchillada. Haha! It's truly the little things. Josh bought sliced olives this week and I a) took a picture b) found him and thanked him c) felt like I won the lottery. Hahaha! 

Writing... Wyatt's baseball schedule on the calendar and getting it input on my phone. Josh is coaching Wyatt's team with the help of Logan & Jack (which I love for them!) and while I'm sad the twins aren't playing, I will say juggling ONE practice schedule is so.much.easier than three!!!

Laughing... at how Carly wearing my "Absolutely Not" hat to the grocery store was a whole vibe. She's just the best and always makes me laugh. When I grow up I want to be as cool and as confident as she is.

Pulling... up to Josh digging a gigantic hole in our neighbors' front yard.  He discovered the  yard was swampy and did a little investigating and it turned out it wasn't our water line, it was hers. So he started digging and kept digging until her brother showed up to help out. Turns out she had a broken line and her water bill was $500 last month and she couldn't figure out why! Poor girl! I am happy for her that it will be solved now. 

Feeding... George bits of dinner when he begs each night. We are the worst pet owners when it comes to reinforcing bad behavior. We are constantly throwing scraps to the dogs (or even the cats) when we're eating or cooking. Hah. But a cat begging is just too funny. We can't help but give in. He's just so cute!!!

Sharing... a difference of opinion in phone rules with a friend of ours.  She shared that her children's phones will be private (not checked by parents) and that they will not have Life360 (an app that tracks where your child is at any given time).  I am glad she's found a system that works for her, but funny enough, our set up is the exact opposite.  Josh and I consider these to be OUR phones that we're letting our children borrow. So they know (and have always known) that anything I find on them is fair game. I will read texts, look at pictures, etc. and they have to have Life 360 downloaded and turned on. I believe in these two things because a) whatever you put out into the world could be downloaded and saved for later. So you should not be doing ANYTHING online (or on your phone) that you wouldn't want your mom to see. And b) I am a VERY worried person, and knowing that I can click on their location and know where they are at any given moment provides immense peace of mind for this worrywart. 
I am truly curious, what are your rules for cell phones? When did your kids get them? Have you had any struggles?
The twins have had a phone (they shared) off and on since maybe 4th grade because of Logan's seizures. But they each got a real phone (that was on our phone plan) when they started middle school. It was the same for Wyatt. Phones used to charge in our bedroom but now we have an old gun box (that locks and unlocks with a finger code) downstairs that we have them put their phones in when we get home from work (around 4:30) and they can charge in there overnight as well. I love the gun box, because when we're having family time or dinner, I don't want phones out. And this prevents them from just walking by the counter where they're charging and stopping to see what's new. It's extreme, but it works for us. 

Trying... a new hair crimper that I ordered online, and I love it!!! It gets really hot (I burnt myself once) but Carly and I both really loved how our hair turned out!

Recording... Observation 3 for my GCU supervisor and not feeling at all confident about how it went. Thankfully my first two were perfect (with 100% scores) so I am not too worried that this weeks' was shaky. The worst part of the observation is having to watch myself back. I see all the mistakes I made and what I would do differently. But it's all good.  My supervisor is really kind and understanding, and we discuss what could have been better. Here's hoping my fourth (and final) observation is better!

Scoffing... as Hadley walked off the princess pillow I had on my lap for her and opted instead to go lay on Josh's feet after the kids were in bed the other night. What the heck!?! He didn't even want kittens! Haha! Go figure!!!

Watching... Naked & Afraid and Alone with Josh and discussing what would be our strengths & weaknesses if we went on the show (we both agreed the mental game would be the hardest, but that also I would struggle with some of the physical tasks) and what items we would bring if we were doing the challenge. The boys really enjoy talking about those kind of things, too and it's fun to hear their perspective. 

Cringing... when our neighbor sent a picture of Jack's truck that her friend had backed out of on her way out of the driveway. Jack's rear driver side door is crunched so bad! I felt awful having to call and tell him. (But I also didn't want him to pull up after school and just see it, so I felt that telling him was the better of two evils). She must have been going so dang fast! Jack is so bummed. Because while the truck is old and certainly not perfect, it is a really nice truck and he's excited to drive it. So it being smashed on one side is really a bummer. Thankfully she has insurance, so I told him that while it's annoying and irritating, it's not the end of the world and we will get it fixed. 

Enjoying... a story my sister told me about the twins and her boys talking tattoos.  Logan said he might get one one day, as did Jack. Jack said he would probably get one for Papa, and Milo piped in saying he could get a picture of my parents' e-bikes with a quote that said, "This isn't one of your motorbikes from the land!" Jack just started at Milo like, "Huh???"
Roxanne cut in and started cracking up, "Milo. He means a tattoo for his Papa Carl. Not Papa Barry." Bahahaha! 

Cherishing... Carly's precious tea party she set up when we brought home McDonald's for her and Wyatt Friday night.  She had all her favorite stuffed animals sitting on chairs & bar stools around the foldable table with tea cups & plates. She then passed out french fries and orange soda in their teacups. So adorable!

Watching... A Quiet Place II with Wyatt and oh.my.goodness people! It was SO good (even better than the first) and gave so much more back story. I absolutely loved it. Highly recommend. 

Sending... Carly to the land with Josh on Saturday for a Grandma Playdate. It was so lovely to have the day to myself after working all week.  But after a little bit of downtime, I transitioned to cleaning Carly's bedroom. It.was.a.mess!!! (Peep the before & afters above- quite the transformation!)

Having... hard conversations with people I love. I keep thinking at some point I will feel equipped to do adult things and confidently feel like "I'm a grown up!"... but instead I am always feeling sort of like a kid trying on being an adult. Or a kid doing adult things. But I did it. I spoke truths that were hard to say out loud while still offering love. Not an easy balance. 

Taking... Wyatt to Quincy Saturday so he could have a cousin sleepover (thanks Roxanne!) and it was a gorgeous drive! 

***

Some thoughts on going back to work
I shared with @galiacollaborative
on Instagram.