Around Here: Week 30 2025

 {July 20th-26th, 2025}

Waking... up on Sunday this week with an eye twitch. I knew it was stress (Josh's new job; parenting solo while he's at work; the stress of raising twin seventeen year olds...) so I put on my tennis shoes and went for a 45 minute walk. 

Struggling... with all the stress causing me insomnia. I think some of it is also perimenopause. Whatever is causing it, it's the worst. So I have started drinking sleepy time tea and it helps a lot!

Sending... Josh to Leavenworth to drop Wyatt at camp since I was struggling with stress and anxiety. Thankfully he's amazing and saw I was struggling and offered. He didn't have to ask me twice. I hugged Wyatt and wished him a happy week! I'm going to miss him so much!

Cleaning... the house and blogging to start the week off fresh. Lots of work, but so worth it. I also worked more this week on decluttering along with Dawn at the Minimal Mom. The goal is to declutter 1000 items from our homes!

Still in awe... that our kids ride dirt bikes and quads. The twins went riding on their dirt bikes in the sand dunes this week and they had the best time. 

Receiving... gifts in the form of produce from our neighbor Emily. She gave us tomatoes this week as well as blueberries from her brothers' farm in a nearby town. The blueberries were incredible. They were the size of marbles and so delicious, we were just popping blueberries in our mouths all week! And her garden fresh tomatoes were just what my BLT's needed. So yum!

Inviting... the boys' childhood friend and Logan's coworker to stay for dinner. We were having "white people tacos", the boys joked, and it was fun to have another teenager at the table. 

Loving... how Carly can take something ordinary and make it fabulous. So far this summer, I would say that drinks have been her specialty.  She adds a raspberry or a strawberry to the rim of the cup and always uses a straw. I love how she sees the world.  Why not celebrate on a Wednesday?!?

Speaking... with my counselor about the last couple weeks with Josh working and my teenagers teenaging and she said, "Coping should solve one problem without causing another," which means that using drinking or weed as coping mechansims is truly not good over time because they most definitely cause another problem, like dependency, if used incorrectly. She also shared stories about her mother in law and her brother in law during his teen years, and it left me feeling hopeful that things will turn out alright in the end, even if they are really challenging day to day. 

Taking... notes on OCD for a loved one from a book I once read on it. Brain Lock by Jeffrey Schwartz is an incredible book that is full of helpful advice and hope about OCD- from the most severe cases to cases like mine, where I just kept returning to the same unhelpful thoughts about my hypchondria. 

Watching... lots of episodes of Rehab Addict. I love Nicole Curtis and her story is so cool. Plus the houses always end up looking incredible. 

Prepping... the blog by making notes for each week and compiling the pictures as well. It's a lot of work. And Wyatt asked me why I even do it. But I just feel compelled to. I guess I hope that one day when I'm gone, the blog can provide some comfort, memories and even information about their childhoods that I might not remember or be able to share with them. 

Happy... to see Wyatt's room coming together. It's been a bit of a slow process, but I am really  happy with it thus far. (And apparently Hadley also loves it, as she's been found napping in there a few times.)

Ordering... Broken Country from Target along with some pencil scrunchies and glue earrings for back to school. I'm so excited for all of it to arrive and to start reading Broken Country which I am seeing all over the internet!

Taking... Carly to therapy to talk about some hard things she's been around. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing, but once we were there and she started crying about Jack's break up (she adored his ex-girlfriend) and the counselor suggested a Worry Box, I knew it was the right thing. 

Hitting... gymnastics for Carly and feeling grateful for the ladies I've made friends with. It sure makes that hour sitting there fly right on by. (Love you Joni! Love you Bri!)

Enjoying... slow morning couch snuggles with Carly. This is the stuff of summer.

Finding... Carly reading one of the Diary of Wimpy kid books all the dang time. I love that she's such a reader. 

Pressing... pansies in my chapter book to find next time I read it. It's one of my favorite summer time activities.

Re-reading... The Island by Elin Hilderbrand. The Island is such a good book, I absolutely love it. Although, to be fair, you can't really go wrong with an Elin Hilderbrand. 

Receiving... pictures of my sister, parents and nieces at the beach. While our three boys are at camp (my sisters' two boys + Wyatt) Roxanne decided to go visit my Grandma Pansy. They had a great time and I was happy to receive pics of the trip.

Struggling... with lower back pain and researching to discover that lower back pain often means you're suppressing anger and fear. Thankfully I had a massage this week so Megan helped me to work through that pain physically and I worked to let go of it emotionally. When I got home from my massage, where I got cupping done on my neck, which looks like humongous circular hickies, I sat in the front yard in the sunshine and soaked up the vitamin D while grounding in the grass.  It was just what I needed. 

Journaling... with Carly in the front yard after my massage appointment. It was so lovely to just move slow and write down the thoughts and feelings that came up while Megan rubbed my back where it hurt so intensely. I gotta work through and let that shit go.

Enjoying... so many snuggles with my girl who is missing her daddy. Grateful that I can be his stand in when he's at work.

Choosing... paint colors for the house (grey for the main color, white for the trim, butter yellow for the door) and getting excited to have it painted.

Playing... "Goodbye Earl" for Carly and recording her reaction. It was hilarious. She was disgusted and and disturbed and had so many questions. Hahaha!

Blogging... and desperately wishing I was caught up. (As I type this, it's 9/6/2025 and I am six weeks behind. Really hoping to close that gap a little this weekend!!!)

Assigning... Wyatt as Josh's Farm Chores buddy while his mom is out of town this week visiting her grandkids. Wyatt likes to help out at the land where grandma lives, so this job should be perfect for him. 

Listening... to Other People's Summer as I am slowly trying to dig myself out of my first ever summer reading slump. Normally I read like crazy in the summer. But Josh being gone and my four children being children means that uninterrupted reading time can be hard to come by, and while I used to be able to read with interruptions, no problem, now I struggle to get myself back on track. So I put my books down for a little while. 

Feeling... so bad for Carly when she woke up with a migraine. It was so terrible and I felt awful for her. But nothing really helps her other than throwing up. I sure wish I knew what caused them for her.

Feeling... even worse when her migraine meant I couldn't go pick up Wyatt from camp. Thankfully I have a village. Logan drove to Wenatchee and waited for Wyatt there, and my sister picked Wyatt and her boys up from camp and met Logan in Wenatchee. (Thanks for saving the day, Logan  & Roxanne! And thank you, Wyatt, for understanding!) 

Decluttering... the primary bathroom, which was a BIG job. But dang it felt good to have it done!!! I am trying to get the big decluttering jobs done this summer because I want fall to be a time of slowing down and being available to my kids if they need me. So I am working double time!

Thrilled... that Logan was able to get Jack a job where he works. They help set up bouncy houses, chairs & tents for parties as well as taking them down again and cleaning them in between. They work SO hard (and in this heat!) and I'm so happy for Jack to have both occupation and income!

Talking... to Josh about this unhealthy tendency I have to try and look busy or like I've been accomplishing things while Josh was gone or when he gets home from work. I hate it, and it creates this tension and anxiety in me that doesn't feel good. So talking about it was good. He said he loves when he comes home and sees me reading on the front porch or playing in the pool. It was good permission to just be and know that he'll love whether I accomplish a lot or not. 

"Mothers are the shock absorbers of society."

-Rachel Cusk

When I tell you that I felt this quote into my bones... Yes. Yes, yes, yes. 

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