The Cunningham Family: Around Here: Week 52 2024

{December 22nd-28th}

Logan & his cute girlfriend Elyssa

I found a goathead in my bedroom!

Bringing... my nephew Ferris home with us for a double sleepover which delighted the twins. So he hung around until Monday night when his parents came to town and took him home with them.

Starting... the week with chores, per usual, and we had the bonus of knowing that once we were done, Aunt Julie was going to come over and make Rusty's and the rest of the family was going to join us as well. While the kids were doing chores I was wrapping presents in hopes of not having to wrap all of them on Christmas Eve, per tradition. Hah!

Enjoying... the time with family Sunday night. Julie made delicious Rusty's for us and Josh made ham. I don't care for Rusty's, but my kids LOVE them. Especially the twins. For those who don't know, Rusty's are made with shredded potato, oatmeal, flour and a little sugar, and made into fist-size balls that are then boiled in water that has been brought to temperature with a ham bone in them. When they are done, you cut the Rusty's into bites and dip them in butter. They're a classic Cunningham recipe.

Watching... the kids open gifts from Aunt Erica & Julie. They spoiled my kids proper and it makes my heart so warm! They got Carly a set of mermaid chapter books, a journal and a tiny bear-shaped christmas shelf (complete with tiny, homemade Christmas books with red & green sparkly spines) for her Barbie house. It's too cute for words.

Chatting... with Josh's mom about Josh's dad and asking if she finds that going to the cemetery brings her peace. She said in the beginning it did. But now she finds that she is angry a lot that she is here and he isn't. I understand that completely. I'm not in her shoes and even I find myself angry at the unfairness of him being gone. Then I asked if she believed in heaven and I loved her answer. She said she had to. That she couldn't live thinking this life is the only one we get. I identified with that.

Coloring... Christmas coloring sheets with Aleyah, Makayla, Julie, and Carly and enjoying it so much. What I really loved, though, was how much Carly loved everyone coloring with her.

Hosting... my mom's 67th birthday party at our house Monday. My sister, her husband and their five kiddos came along with my parents and we had a great time. Roxanne brought sub sandwiches and a super fun game (Pass the Parcel) with gifts for the winners (I got a puzzle, Carly got almond roca and Jack got a Lite Brite. Carly and Jack ended up trading, which was perfect!). I made cupcakes and a cake that morning and at some point while I was getting ready upstairs, doing my hair and makeup, the boys and Ferris were chasing Carly around the island and it cause the drying dishes to shift, avalanching into the cupcakes that Jack's girlfriend Cadence had frosted for me, and they all upended on the floor. To say I was angry is an understatement. I started yelling! I am not proud, but man I was frustrated.

Grateful... to Jack and Cadence who were willing to run to Safeway to grab a fresh cupcake box for us to whip up.

Laughing... as we played pass the parcel and just enjoyed our time together. I got to play upstairs with the little girls (my sister has three- 7yo, 4yo & 1yo) and got to share my cake & ice cream with Sweet P who toddled over to me with her tongue out like a little lizard when she saw I had something yummy on my plate. One year olds always make me want more babies. They're walking and starting to talk and are just so darn cute!!!

Snapping... a million pics as Carly helped light the candles for my mom's cake and she, Romy & Daphne helped blow them out. After years of being surrounded by only boy grandchildren, now my mom is surrounded by girl grandchildren and it never ceases to surprise me. I wish I had gotten a picture of the gift I gave my mom- it was a pink Tupperware pitcher like the orange and olive green ones I grew up with and her and my sister's reactions were exactly what I hoped for!

Sobbing... unexpectedly and for a long time when Jack asked if he could take Cadence on a date on Christmas Eve instead of hanging with us. When he texted me, I asked what Josh thought and he said, "I think it's fine. But I can see that you're having some feelings." And that was all it took for me to let the hot tears building in my eyes slide down my cheeks. Once they fell, Josh said, "We can say no! He's only sixteen. It's fine." Through tears I told him, "No, I want to say yes. I do. I want to be the mom who spends enough regular dinners with their kids that the holidays don't matter. It's just hard. Them growing up is hard. Letting them go is hard. But it's who I want to be." He hugged me and Logan looked up from his phone and goes, "Mom, are you crying about Jack going out to dinner?" with exasperation. I laughed and said I knew I was ridiculous, but that letting your kids grow up is really hard! Then I went upstairs to call my mom and cry some more. (I knew she would get it. Hah!) But first I called Jack and told him yes, but let him know, also, that I was crying and we were going to miss him and that letting him go was hard cause he's just the best. He laughed and said he didn't have to go, but I assured him that he should go and enjoy. I just wanted him to know sometimes giving him the freedom he craves is emotional for me.

Celebrating... Christmas Eve with a quiet evening at home, just five of us, eating pizza & watching Home Alone. Despite my earlier (intense) emotions about Jack being gone, we had a great time. I snuggled in a dozed off as Josh and Logan made the pizza and woke up to enjoy a few slices. Then it was time for me to get my Christmas morning cinnamon rolls started (with my Grandma Beverly's recipe) as well as some Special K bars (with my Grandma Pansy's recipe) all for Christmas day.
Josh had pulled out the turkey earlier to thaw for Christmas day, and after we put the kids to bed, Josh and I got to work making the magic happen.

Relishing... the hug Jack gave me when he got home from his date with Cadence. I was at the counter mixing ingredients and he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and gave me a bear hug. "Love you, ma," he said, and I had to fight to keep any more tears from dropping.

Learning... about the possible connection between histamines and ADHD. The article I read said that, "The deficiency of the diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme, which metabolizes histamine extracellularly, may play a role in the pathophysiology of ADHD. Decreased DAO activity may lead to an accumulation of histamine, which could contribute to core ADHD symptoms and comorbid disorders. Further empirical studies are needed to confirm our hypotheses". (You can click here if you want to learn more.) It went on to say, "The role of neuroinflammation and histamine is key for understanding the pathophysiology of ADHD and its frequent somatic comorbidities." I was riveted and want to know more. It also has a high prevalence of comorbidity with high histamine reaction which I have absolutely seen in my kids. From lumps forming under tiny mosquito bites to Logan's temporary allergy to the cold in 2nd grade to his apparent nickel allergy requiring a second surgery to remove the metal plate from his collarbone, I have seen all kinds of *extra* histamine reactions in my kids. I'll definitely be following this as it develops.

Finding... a goathead (the local name for these terrible spikes that grow around here) in my bedroom! I am so grateful I didn't step on it!

Feeling... awful when I left Carly to take out her hair bands with one of those hairband tools that takes them out with a tiny razor tucked in the corner, and she accidentally cut out a HUGE chunk of her hair with it. I promptly threw it away and will never use another one again. Now she has a dime size chunk on the top of her head that looks like I shaved it. Wahhh!!!

Stuffing... stockings with gifts; bringing down the presents I had wrapped; and gathering up our Elf on the Shelf Dashy and his family and belongings while Josh put together the Driving Sim his brother gave us to give Wyatt for Christmas. Poor Josh was up until 3:30am getting that thing installed in our family room and downloaded to the computer, etc. I couldn't hang and went to bed at 1:30 with his permission. Being the amazing dad that he is, he also remembered to take a bite out of the cookies Carly left and to write her back. (She had written to Santa asking if her Elf family could PLEASE come visit on her birthday in January.)

Waking... up at 6:30am on.the.dot to Carly telling me it was Christmas!!! So Josh and I rolled out of bed, still half dead, and went to wake up the brothers. This year I took the least amount of pictures I ever have, but I just found myself living in the moment and soaking up what is likely one of the last few Christmases where all four of my kids wake up under the same roof.

Taking... a mid morning nap on Christmas once all the presents were open and feeling so grateful we are at this point in our parenting journey. What a blessing!!!

Loving... that all the boys (including Josh) are enjoying Wyatt's driving simulator. The sim seat is nearly always full, and even Carly has gotten in on the driving action. It makes me so happy and they are all having so much fun trying to beat each other's times.

Getting... a call early afternoon from the boys at the land that Logan had hurt his arm while drifting the side by side (imagine a golf cart sort of thing) and that he likely needed to go to the hospital. So I finished getting ready and blew dry my hair, pulled on socks & shoes while throwing a book and a phone charger and granola bar in my purse. Jack brought Logan here and I jumped in the driver seat to take him in. Thankfully, despite not wearing a seatbelt or helmet (LOGAN HENRY!) he had no other injuries (other than a small scuff on his head). The doctor and nurse said it was 50/50 whether his arm was broken. It sure didn't look good. But we started talking about a Christmas miracle with Nurse Clay, and sure enough, when we got the x-ray results we got our Christmas miracle. Somehow this kid only injured the muscle. The bone is not broken. We made it home in time for Christmas dinner (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy) and then we were all ready for bed.

Reading... The Snow Child for book club, which was at our house on Thursday. The Snow Child is one of my all time favorite books and this was my third time reading it. It is loosely based on a russian fairy tale and is set in Alaska in the 1920's. I love all of it- the time period; the location; the characters... I highly recommend it!

Talking... about the book in depth with my book club girls when they showed up and enjoying our time together so much. We've been together since 2019, I think? and I am so grateful for them. I spent the last few hours of Thursday reading the book by the Christmas tree and alternating animals snuggling me as I did so. It was sweet.

Heading... to Wenatchee on Friday to celebrate Christmas with my parents. Along with cherishing these last few holidays where all four kids are under my roof, I also find that I am trying to cherish the last few road trips where all four kids are together in the van. It's definitely getting fewer and farther in between that we all go somewhere together, and knowing that the twins only have a year and a half left of high school, I am just already nostalgic for things we do as a family of six.

Eating... the most delicious chinese food in Wenatchee with my parents and feeling grateful for time with them. After we ate we opened presents and it was so exciting to capture Carly getting a guitar from her uber-musical guitar-playing Papa Barry (my dad). Her pure joy was contagious and we are all so happy for her. Both she and Jack want to learn to play, so Jack is going to play on the guitar my dad gifted me a few years back, and Carly is going to learn on the tiny child-size but very real Fender guitar he found for her at the music shop. It's so beautiful and just-her-size, I can't stand it!!!! They also got her a mic holder and she feels 100% professional with that thing, let me tell you!

Grateful... also for the gifts my mom gave me- two color-coordinated towels for each of my kids so that I can do less laundry (they are only allowed to use their personal-colored towels or they lose a privilege for 24 hours, like maybe their cell phone) and the bathroom and bedrooms can be more tidy. I also loved the vanilla & lavender lotion/bubble bath set she gave me from Bath & Body Works. Yum! She also got us wooden toppers for the dogs crates so they can double as end tables since they take up at least 25% of my living room. Thanks mom!

Laughing... as I took pictures of my mom with the twins and then Josh with the twins. They all tower over us. And they have years left of growing.

Holding... my breath as we drove home from Wenatchee through dense fog, just like the drove home from my dad's choir concert last week. Sheesh, that is not my favorite! I was so grateful Josh was driving and not me!

Finding... out some things about one of my kiddos that lead to finding out more things about one of my kiddos, and oof. Suffice to say that parenting is not for the faint of heart, and if it's not one thing, it's another. This stage of parenting is like whack-a-mole. I finally get one problem solved, and another one is popping up right behind it. Thankfully things came to light sooner than later, but I am still feeling heavy and reeling a bit from all of it. If you think of our family, we could use your well wishes & prayers as we navigate raising these guys into adulthood. This mama is getting alllll the grey hairs.

Having... Carly's friend over for a playdate while the twins had some friends over for a hang out. It's hard to be the house where the kids hang out (it's loud; they eat the food; sometimes they break things or get up to mischief) but I want to be that house regardless. I want to be the place where everyone knows they're welcome and where my kids can chill with their friends and have a good time. So I grin and bear it, even on days when I have a migraine (ahem, today) and they are a lot.

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