The Cunningham Family: Around Here: Week 13 2025

{March 23rd-29th}

Things you find in your purse when you've had your
toddler niece for a few days. Haha!

Hosting... a double birthday party at our house Sunday afternoon for my sister and Sweet P. It was very simple- just some sandwiches and a veggie tray my mom and sister brought, as well as some cake & ice cream that I provided. The kids had so much fun together and it was nice to see everyone. When the party was over P headed home with my sister and we were all sad to see her go. She had been so much fun to have, and to watch open presents. She shrieked over everything. Man, I love toddlers!

Sending... Carly off to school Monday morning with Josh to drop her off; his first time at the new drop off location since her school shut down. She did great (she sometimes struggles if her routine changes) and I was happy for him to see what the new set up looks like.

Subbing... in kindergarten and coming in with a plan to Do better and Offer more praise. It's easy in a chatty class that's hard to take charge of to get annoyed and start calling kids out who are doing what you don't want. But better change happens when I am calling out the behavior of students who are doing what I WANT them to do. I also took a second to introduce myself (even though these kids know me) and to tell them that I LOVE listening. I love when kids listen, and I love to listen to kids. So if we can listen to each other, our day will be better. Then I was all in for the day, offering praise and positive reinforcements like it was my job. Which it kind of is.

Enjoying... a bonus for my hard work subbing when the teacher I whose class I was in, invited me into her chocolate stash (Yum! Thank you!) and I tried the best truffles I've ever had. They're from Safeway's Signature Reserve brand and they were the Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Toffee Truffles. Holy melt-in-your-mouth delicious!!!

Grateful... Josh was able to take the day off since I had a sub job to take Logan to the neurologist in Spokane (about an hour from us). They came home with surprising and rough news that, I'll be honest, made me cry. Not because Logan won't be fine (he will totally be fine) but because we always wish there was nothing wrong with our kids, nothing happening in their lives that will make their journey more challenging.
So it turns out that Logan's epilepsy never fully resolved or went away like we thought. His threshold got a little higher as he aged, but the fact that one single anti-depressant pill gave him a grand mal seizure means that his seizure threshold is *just* below the surface. So he needs to go back on anti-seizure meds daily. Both to keep him from having a seizure due to fever, loss of sleep, flashing lights... but also so that someday if he wants to take ADHD meds or needs to take antidepressants, he can do so since the epilepsy medicine will keep the seizures at bay. So we started him on Depakote once daily in the mornings this week and will add evenings next week. Sigh.

Thankful... that I have two extra drivers in the house that make working and Josh being out of town no big deal. I worked on Tuesday and Josh was in Spokane, but lucky me, Jack is able to drive, so he picked Carly up for me from school and got her home. Then on Wednesday Logan picked Carly up while I was at work. I don't know if their driving will ever get old. I am so grateful to have some of the weight on my shoulder lessened.

Reading... The Cartographers and sharing my page updates on social media because I am trying to finish in time for book club and the page sharing keeps me accountable. I am also listening to Sunrise on the Reaping, which is Haymitch's account of what happened during his Hunger Games years before Katniss' Hunger Games. It is so good!

Attending... Jazzercise Monday and Wednesday with my regular class that my friend Amy teaches. If you are looking for workout classes that will kick your butt (but can also be easily modified to meet your ability), and make you look forward to working out, I highly suggest trying the Jazzercise in your area. It's such a fun workout (with songs) and they are very body positive.

Prepping... Carly for her class pictures with a cute outfit and the hair she requested, which was a deep side part with her hair all curly on the one side. Her ideas are so fun and I just love it.

Leaving... my book at the school where I subbed. Thankfully I am friends with nearly everyone I sub for, so I just shot a text to my friend whose class it was and she said I could come by in the morning to retrieve it. But I was still so sad, because I was nearly done reading it and had been so looking forward to reading it at bedtime that night. Wahhhh!

Feeling... proud of Jack for all the work he's doing detailing cars in his business with his friend Jancarlos. Those two are working their tails off and it's awesome to see!

Hosting... book club at our house on Thursday and it was a good time! There were only four of us, but it was still nice to catch up and talk about the book, which is about maps was very interesting.

Closing... out the work week with a half day sub job at a new (to me) school that needed a sub so one of their staff could attend the funeral of her students' sibling who was killed in a shooting in our small town. It was such a senseless death, and I was more than happy to sub and help in that small way to let one more person show up for the family when they needed it most.

Prepping... the twins for senior year! They are signing up for classes and double checking their credits to make sure they're on track. I cannot believe they're so close to the end!

Laughing... as Carly stole the twins' desk. They had collapsed it (it's a small desk that folds up) when Sweet P slept in their room last weekend, so she just snuck it out of their room and set it up. She's been talking about wanting a desk (and even wishes she had homework now that she has a desk- haha!) for months and now all her artist/writer dreams are coming true.

Taking... Carly to gymnastics after school Friday and enjoying the time to sit and journal while she pursues her dreams.

Watching... our high school dance team (the Molohaiettes) and the local dance team practice their routines in our high school gym Friday night where Carly and I chose to swing by for the free entertainment. It ended up being so fun and we talked about the songs, the outfits and the dances the rest of the weekend.

Sending... Logan and his friend Ainsley off to Spokane Saturday morning to help Josh's cousin Nathan with some yard work before his big move to South Dakota. I was happy for Nathan to have some help, and for the boys to get the opportunity to make some money and spend time with Ainsley's sister who also lives in Spokane. It was a win/win!

Meeting... with my counselor on Saturday at noon. It used to be that her schedule was more wide open, so I could meet with her during the week when my family was mostly, if not all, gone. But she now has a full time job, plus the counseling she does with Doctor on Demand. So I aim for Saturday mid-day because it's typically just Carly and maybe Wyatt home, and if I let them do screens, they leave me alone while I do my counseling.

Helping... Carly through a migraine. These happen every so often to her, and the poor thing is so miserable. She usually complains of a headache, then a stomach ache, then says she's going to throw up, and either throws up or falls asleep. She's just so pitiful when it happens, I would do anything to make it better! Poor girl!

Freaking... out but playing it cool when suddenly our dishwasher stopped working Saturday. With such a big family, being without a washing machine is just the worst. I mean, not as bad as being without the washing machine... but pretty close. But lucky for us, Samuel came over for a haircut and then took a look at it. I'm not sure what he did, or how, but suddenly the dishwasher was working again! Hallelujah, and thank you Samuel!

"Becoming a mother leaves no woman as it found her.

It unravels her- and rebuilds her.

It cracks her open, takes her to her edges.

It's both beautiful & brutal, often at the same time."

-Nikki McCahon

***