{August 10th-16th}
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| His new job is really getting real! |
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| Wyatt mows the neighbors lawn. It makes me so proud of him. |
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| Carly brought me "popcorn"... |
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| "Popcorn" jelly beans! She knows they're my favorite. |
Facing... HARD parenting. I don't think that in my parenting I have ever cried as hard as I did this week. We can do everything in our power to save our kids from heartache, but they have to live their own lives and decide what they want. And witnessing it and walking them through it just might be the hardest thing I have ever done.
Grateful... for glimmers of joy and reminders of the good around me. Like Carly bringing me breakfast in bed that she made all on her own. I could not love her giant heart more.
She also made us snack this week out of the tiny watermelon I accidentally ordered from Walmart online. She cut it in half and decorated it with other fruits and whip cream and when I tell you it was the best snack I've ever had. I sat outside on the back patio in the heat while she swam and I ate that cool, delicious watermelon. It was summer perfection.
She also made us snack this week out of the tiny watermelon I accidentally ordered from Walmart online. She cut it in half and decorated it with other fruits and whip cream and when I tell you it was the best snack I've ever had. I sat outside on the back patio in the heat while she swam and I ate that cool, delicious watermelon. It was summer perfection.
Getting... a massage and feeling so grateful for my masseuse. She is incredible and helps me remember my body isn't my enemy.
Choosing... books for the next six months with book club at Crystal's. There was talk of SO many good books. A lot of the votes were tough! (We each come to this meeting with two options for our month, and then the group gets to vote on which one of those two they want to read. Majority wins.)
Feeling... spoiled by Logan who bought Crumbl for the family. That kid is so incredibly generous. This is part of him having a job I didn't predict. And it's a sweet bonus. (Pun intended.)
Touched... that Logan got cantaloupes from the Hutterites (sort of like the Amish that we have in our area) that they set up a bounce house for at work. It was such an unnecessary and unexpected kindness.
Swimming... with Carly and videoing her swimming laps. I am truly blown away by what a fish she is and how graceful she looks in the water. Isn't it funny how crazy proud our kids can make us?
Taking... one of the kids to counseling and discussing ADHD vs. anxiety. We talked about both how to deal with those changes in our brain and how they can interact and make diagnoses tricky. Very good appointment.
Having... a caregiver appointment with the kids' counselor (thanks for the idea, Roxanne!) so I could discuss things about the kids and questions I had that I didn't feel comfortable discussing in front of them. It was such a good appointment. She answered all my questions and helped me feel more confident in my parenting. Damn if this job ain't impossible.
Discussing... "Soiling the Nest" syndrome with their counselor and feeling so validated as I was talking about it with her. She hadn't heard of it before. A girl I follow (Tiffany Gray on Instagram) shared this theory and I felt it in my marrow. She is noticing that her two girls (a soon-to-be junior and senior) are becoming harder to be around; are less helpful around the house; and seem to be making sure she won't mind when they leave. I am feeling that in the pull for independence, the disrespect and the lack of responsibility for their actual messes at home from the twins. Knowing I'm not alone softens the blow a little bit at least.
Laughing... at Wyatt's ingenuity. He wanted to upgrade his desk chair, so he duct taped an old small pillow on it for a headrest, and found an old duct tape cardboard circle that he taped to the arm for a cupholder. Perfect!
Excited... that my new Porte + Hall rug came. But then disappointed when the colors weren't quite the same color as they looked online, and it collects dog hair like that's its job. Wahhhh.
Watching... Back To The Frontier on HBO, and finally watching K-Pop Demon Hunters with Carly for movie night. She was delighted to share her current obsession with me, and I will say, I quite enjoyed it. Especially the music!
Obsessed... with how thoughtful Carly is. She knows that I love popcorn flavored jelly beans, so when she gets a bag of jelly beans, she saves them all for me. This time she presented them to me in the popcorn bowl from her American girl toys. She's so cute, I can't stand it.
Speaking... of candy, I am the type of mother who tries to buy her way into the hearts of her children by buying them their favorite candies at the store. This week I got Wyatt Reese's peanut butter cups; Logan a giant Twix; Carly jelly beans; and I got Jack freeze dried Skittles. He loves those things!
Feeling... proud of Carly for creating a Get-Ready routine list for herself. I love all the details she included.
Back-to-school... shopping with Carly, my mom and my sister. We started at Old Navy where we found a ton of the things on our collective lists. (I made one, as did Carly. Hers was far more detailed.) Thanks for all the amazing clothes, mom!!!
Then we stopped to grab something to eat to keep up our strength. We got Wendy's- it's her favorite. Then we went to Claire's (which is closing- I am devastated!) and Carly had such a good time shopping. She found a Best Friends necklace for her and her best friend Kamden; two packs of cute earrings; a beautiful rhinestone "C"; a mood necklace; some lace gloves like Madonna used to wear; and a pineapple and gummy bear charms to go on her backpack. It was like being back in my childhood.
Then we met my sister at Famous Footwear and shopped for shoes for both Carly and her two girls. Carly got the cutest black boots, a pair of black vans, a pair of ivory Converse high tops covered with gold stars and light purple tennis shoes. I was so grateful for BOGO because she is growing so fast she's outgrown all of last years shoes. Then we went through a department store and Carly got to ride an escalator for the first time in her memory. We literally only took it so she could experience it. We rode up and then back down. Haha! She was delighted. She is constantly reminding me to slow down and find joy. We also hit Ross, where I got two stuffed Halloween decorations and Carly got a new backpack and a tiny backpack that's actually a purse. And finally we went to Bath & Body Works. I was so excited to shop at Bath & Body Works. We don't have one in our small town and I had a hankering for some of my favorite lavender + vanilla lotion and linen spray. I ended up getting a couple candles, three lotions and lots of hand sanitizer because the six of us are all at school in some fashion, and that's a lot of germs! It was so fun smelling candles and seeing Carly delight over the different scents. She picked out a marshmallow candle and got a candle holder that looks kind of like a fire pit- "Like we're roasting marshmallows" she said. And then she got the cutest hand sanitizer holder for her backpack, and a body spray and hand lotion (both Strawberry Pound Cake) and when I mentioned she chose the same scent she said, "I'm going for the same vibe," like so they all coordinate. I die.
Then we stopped to grab something to eat to keep up our strength. We got Wendy's- it's her favorite. Then we went to Claire's (which is closing- I am devastated!) and Carly had such a good time shopping. She found a Best Friends necklace for her and her best friend Kamden; two packs of cute earrings; a beautiful rhinestone "C"; a mood necklace; some lace gloves like Madonna used to wear; and a pineapple and gummy bear charms to go on her backpack. It was like being back in my childhood.
Then we met my sister at Famous Footwear and shopped for shoes for both Carly and her two girls. Carly got the cutest black boots, a pair of black vans, a pair of ivory Converse high tops covered with gold stars and light purple tennis shoes. I was so grateful for BOGO because she is growing so fast she's outgrown all of last years shoes. Then we went through a department store and Carly got to ride an escalator for the first time in her memory. We literally only took it so she could experience it. We rode up and then back down. Haha! She was delighted. She is constantly reminding me to slow down and find joy. We also hit Ross, where I got two stuffed Halloween decorations and Carly got a new backpack and a tiny backpack that's actually a purse. And finally we went to Bath & Body Works. I was so excited to shop at Bath & Body Works. We don't have one in our small town and I had a hankering for some of my favorite lavender + vanilla lotion and linen spray. I ended up getting a couple candles, three lotions and lots of hand sanitizer because the six of us are all at school in some fashion, and that's a lot of germs! It was so fun smelling candles and seeing Carly delight over the different scents. She picked out a marshmallow candle and got a candle holder that looks kind of like a fire pit- "Like we're roasting marshmallows" she said. And then she got the cutest hand sanitizer holder for her backpack, and a body spray and hand lotion (both Strawberry Pound Cake) and when I mentioned she chose the same scent she said, "I'm going for the same vibe," like so they all coordinate. I die.
Feeling... awful for Carly when we hit our last stop after the mall (Target) and she got hit with a sudden intense migraine. We tried to have her go potty. Gave her water and ibuprofen. But usually when she gets a migraine, she's gonna throw up. She couldn't throw up in the stalls (I don't blame her) but I was nervous to go back out on the floor shopping in case she suddenly needed to vomit and we were aisles and aisles away from the bathroom. Thankfully I've been dealing with her migraines long enough to know that in the car, we just keep zip lock bags in all the seat backs. This inspired me to find a plastic Target bag and carry it around, just in case. Sure enough, after about twenty minutes, she got really pale and told me it was gonna happen. So we got on our knees near/under a clothes rack and she quietly vomited into the Target back, wiping her mouth with Kleenex I had in my purse, and was instantly better. She was so brave and it happened so quickly my mom didn't even know she had thrown up. I threw away the bag in a big trash, we put on some hand sanitizer, and I gave her the biggest hug. She is the bravest nine year old I know. That's for sure.
Shopping... at Target, despite Carly's migraine, was a real treat because (again) we don't have a Target where I live. So I perused the book aisle and added A First Time For Everything by K.L. Walther to my cart (I read her book Summer of Broken Rules in June and loved it!); the girls checked out the makeup aisle; and we found Cat + Jack bras and multiple cute tops and bottoms for Carly. It was awesome. We were so sad to say goodbye at the end, but what a great day we had! We got almost everything on her list, plus made a bunch of happy memories.
Meanwhile... Wyatt, who also came with us to Wenatchee, got to go to SlideWaters for the day with my dad and his cousins Ferris & Milo. What started as a day of hanging out turned into a cousin sleepover. Lucky boy!
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| I asked Josh and his brother, and in unison they both said, "My dad" |
{In case it's not obvious, I've been deep diving on trauma in the body.
Specifically for me as it relates to physical pain- fibromyalgia.}
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