Around Here: Week 44 2025

 {October 26-November 1}

Seeing my kids' work makes me so happy

I love this drawing she made to go along
with her writing about light bulbs

She's a pencil. The pink scrunchy is her eraser. 
I can't with her. She's so cute. 

Waking... up Sunday and going downstairs to a beautifully clean kitchen, courtesy of Jack. I was so grateful! Normally I wake up and head down and almost instantly start tidying the kitchen and living room. This was a welcome reprieve.

Arguing... with a certain fourteen year old (ahem, Wyatt) about chores. We always do chores on Sunday- each kid has a (pretty long) list to accomplish, but if they just started and didn't stop, it would probably only take an hour, hour & a half tops. 

Grateful... for a backrub from Josh after crying about arguing with Wyatt. I hate when I have to come down on the kids- it makes me sad for me and for them- and that stress usually comes out in the form of tears. 

Touched... that Wyatt apologized for being a butt.  When I asked him why he apologized, he said, "Definitely not because Logan told me to." Haha. So I was doubly touched.  Touched that Logan didn't like seeing me upset and touched that Wyatt took his advice to heart.

Celebrating... the week of Halloween with a themed dress up day for Carly each day.  Pajama day, Teacher day, blackout day and career day, followed by costumes on Friday. 

Mulling... over the idea that if we don't let our children go, they will let us go. That's a bit of motivation to loosen my grip.

Subbing... for the resource teacher and enjoying the change of pace, working with only small groups of children instead of one big classroom full. I also subbed in kindergarten this week. Being at work just makes me feel accomplished and warm in my soul. That sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I also got to sub in second grade this week, which was so special because a bunch of those kids were in my student teaching class. I just adore them. 

Pulling... into the parking lot at Safeway to grab some cheese for dinner and Carly said to me, "Mom! I think I see ICE!" and I asked how she knew it was ICE, and she said she just knew. It was ICE. So I pulled into a parking spot and explained that it was fine since we were in the car, but if we were outside the car, she shouldn't yell out loud about ICE because unless we knew for sure it was ICE, it might scare some people unnecessarily. The way she looked at me as I said this made me realize we were having two different conversations. As we moved toward the store, she pointed out the giant pile of ice she had been referring to (actual ice, as in frozen water) that was not in fact a car full of agents who would like to deport people. I cracked up at my misunderstanding and then explained to her what ICE is, which lead to a conversation about immigrants, legal and illegal, and the way that impacts families throughout our community and country negatively. smh

Buying... Dare cookies along with the cheese from Safeway and eating them with a cold glass of milk. Dare cookies will always remind me of my mom, and swimming at the Washougal. We would take them in the cooler and eat them by the water, sitting on the hot rocks after eating our Subway sandwiches. 

Vacuuming... the walls in my bathroom after months of noticing how horribly dusty they are. Why is it we always procrastinate the simplest jobs?

Thinking... about how I don't have it all together. Not even close. And it makes me wonder. Does anyone? Are there adult people out there who don't feel like a child pretending to be grown up? 

Taking... Carly to the school's trunk or treat and having such a good time. The creativity of the cars is incredible. One of our kinder teachers had a door and the kids had to go behind the door and scream to create energy like on Monsters Inc in order to earn a candy. Haha! Amazing!

Dressing... Carly up in the morning on Halloween.  Her Zoey outfit from K-Pop Demon Hunters was spot on (way to go, Amazon!) and the gold bows I bought for her hair looked adorable!

Running... errands on Friday to kill time before trick or treating. Picking Carly up from school and going directly to the store was my best move. I remember years of the twins driving me absolutely batty waiting for it to be dark so they could leave to trick or treat. 

Amazed... at the turnout of trick or treaters in our neighborhood this year. Josh took Carly trick or treating, but in under two hours we had handed out 200+ pieces of candy. Unreal. The short video I took and shared had people commenting that our neighborhood was like one from a Hallmark movie. 

Pushed... to the limit with teenagers making bad choices. Just over and over... Weary doesn't even begin to describe it. 

Realizing... as I am so angry with my kids' choices, that I have never learned how to be angry. I literally found myself googling, "Healthy anger" because I just want to yell until my throat hurts or throw something and that's not healthy. (Advice for dealing with anger is welcome)

Watching... Dancing with the Stars with Carly. We are enjoying it so much! Top favs include Whitney from TSLOMW, Robert Irwin and Jordan Chiles so far.

Visiting... my sister with all four of my kids to help her move into the house next door to my parents! It has five rooms, which means her kids will all have their own rooms, plus an awesome basement for entertaining teenagers. My mom is delighted!

Obsessed... with Taylor Swift along with Carly and enjoying her new album (as well as her old ones) any time we go somewhere.

Making... all the phone calls necessary to refill Wyatt's ADHD meds.  He doesn't take them over the summer, and he doesn't take them on weekends or no school days, so he hasn't needed a refill since last May. This made getting his next bottle a pain in the neck. We transitioned pharmacies since then and he hasn't seen the doctor, so in order to get a refill, he has to be seen, and we have to get the prescription sent over to our new pharmacy. So much work. But then he should be set for this school year. 

Sporting... candy corn nails for Halloween week and loving them so much! They scared the crap out of me the first night though because they are glow in the dark, which I didn't know. haha! 

Eating... my mom's peaches in between handing out candy to trick or treaters and being surprised (every time) at how they literally taste like gold. They are so fresh and sweet... I don't know how she does it. 

Stressing... over the boys' grades as we approach the end of the quarter. Sigh. 

Reading... Gifts From The Sea for the fourth or fifth time. If you're a mother, you need this book on your shelf. Just trust me. There are so many incredible, timeless quotes. Like this one:
"We do not see the results of our giving as concretely as man does in his work... Except for the child, woman's creation is so often invisible, especially today."

And this one:

"The problem is... how to remain whole in the midst of the distractions of life; how to remain balanced, no matter what centrifugal forces tend to pull one off center; how to remain strong, no matter what shocks come in at the periphery and tend to crack the hub of the wheel." Gah. Just so powerful. 

I am listening to Everything is Tuberculosis and reading Wild Dark Shore, which is just getting more twisty & turny as I approach the ending!

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This is not okay.

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