Around Here: Week 26 2021

 {June 20-26th}

Celebrating... Father's Day this month by spending the day with my parents in Wenatchee.  We met at the waterfront so the grandsons could all ride the electric scooters my parents bought to have at their house for them.  We sat on a picnic blanket and visited while the kids rode as far as they could down the way. It was a beautiful afternoon.

Then we went to my parents house, where Blake (my sister's husband) joined us, and we played a hilarious game of Never Have I Ever in which I learned my dad has been to jail.  Hah!  We laughed and took turns coming up with ideas, some of which had us cracking up. 

Taking... the twins to get their second dose of their vaccine and feeling so grateful that they are now protected.  

Talking... to my counselor about how wonderful it is that it's summer time and school is done.  We talked about boundaries and how important it is to listen over fixing or helping.  She reminded me that worrying ahead of time is not helpful.  What's coming will come, and I'll face it when it does. 

Hitting... 90 days for Logan weaning off his seizure meds.  He made it three months without medication and no seizures.  Oh I cannot even tell you how many days and weeks I dreamed of this day, not really believing it was possible.  Yet here we are.  He has officially outgrown his seizures.  Thank you, Lord.

Cleaning... Carly's room after neglecting it for a while.  I did a time lapse of her and I working, cleaning and folding laundry. It was fun to watch it all come together. 

Loving... our pool so much.  I am so grateful for it.  Sitting on the back patio, sunning and reading, is just the perfect summer activity.

Working out... with a friend multiple times a week.  It's HOT but worth it.

Reaching... the halfway point of reading for the year. I have read 29 books, 20 physical books and 9 audiobooks.  That is remarkably less than last year, but I am okay with that.  

Putting... together my summer stack of reading and sharing it with my Instagram followers. I love compiling the stack and dreaming of all that I'm going to read through the summer.

Listening... to JJ Heller's "I Dream of You Volume II" album and loving it so much.

Noticing... how long Carly's hair is suddenly! It's grown quite a bit since this time last year. 

Prepping... in the wretched heat in our garage for camping.  We borrowed a tent from Josh's sister and some other things from my parents.  It takes a village!

Reading... Good Company and listening to Good Morning Monster.  Good Company was a four star book for me.  I loved the drama of the family, and the setting.  But it wasn't exactly "un-put-down-able".  Good Morning Monster is an audiobook Josh recommended about five patients of a therapist.  Their stories are enthralling and entertaining.  It was also a four star read.

Dropping... my book in the pool when I took it in with me while I sunbathed on a floaty.  I was bummed that I dropped it, but was grateful it wasn't a borrowed book or a library book. Oops!

Learning... Grady is 100% German Shepherd.  My mom was so curious about his age and heredity that she ordered a DNA test.  Turns out he's a purebred! Who'd have thought? And he is three years old, which means he was a puppy when we got him.  We laughed about this, because we thought he was so big!  But looking back, he was pretty small compared to how big he is now. 

Receiving... a letter in the mail that let us know Wyatt has been accepted into our school district's excel program.  I am so proud of him! 

Also receiving... the twins' grades in the mail and feeling inordinately proud of us.  Jack got a 3.2 GPA and Logan had all A's, B's & C's.  I am so relieved (again. still) that school is over and the boys were successful.  What a long ass year that was!

Learning... so much about addiction as I listened to the We Can Do Hard Things Podcast with Glennon Doyle, episode 5.  The best piece of advice I walked away with is that your job as the person supporting the addict is to keep boundaries in place that protect the relationship so that when the person gets sober there is a relationship to come back to.  If we don't uphold good boundaries, it would be easy to burn out and have nothing left to return to.  Such a good listen if you have anyone struggling with addiction in your life. 

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around here: week 24 2020

 

 

{the boys ordered Josh a miniature of his car for Father's Day with my mom- so cute!}

{the girls- Carly & Annie- saying goodnight to each other on Facetime}

Enduring... tooth pain like I have never felt before.  It was like labor- I had to close my eyes and breathe through it.  I was absolutely miserable. After I went to my dentist, the pain went from generalized jaw pain to a more localized pain that was much more tolerable. Hallelujah! 

Grateful... for the twins when they spent their money on ordering pizza in on Tuesday when Josh was at work late (returning his students' belongings to their parents as they swung by the school pick-up line) as I was miserable from tooth pain.

Celebrating... our last day of school, finally!!  The last three months have been a challenge, and not at all what we expected the end of third or sixth grade to look like.  But we made it, and with flying colors.  The boys grades are excellent, their participation was great, and for the most part, all our attitudes stayed on the positive side. So I am calling this year a win!!

Reading... Little Women with the boys while Josh has a turn laying Carly down for a while.  We finished Call of the Wild so quick, Josh said to read them another chapter book and Little Women is what I chose.  They are really liking it so far, and Wyatt made me laugh when he asked, "If a girl who acts like a boy is a tomboy" (like Jo)... "then what is a boy who acts like a girl called?" I didn't have an answer for him.

Having... a mouthguard made by my dentist, in hopes that my stress-related teeth clenching would be stopped by a good mouth guard and that would eliminate my tooth pain.  But I also have a follow up with the endodontist to see if my problem is due to my needing a root canal. (fingers crossed) We'll see what's up.

Taking... George to the vet to get his eye checked out.  All the stress of Ramona passing, getting a new kitten and adjusting to Grady as George has spent more time downstairs seems to have created an eye infection for him, which I guess is quite common.  So he needs a twice daily ointment to heal up.  Poor guy.
I also took Molly in to the vet this week to get her first set of shots.  She was a super good girl and didn't seem phased by them at all.

Watching... Orange Is The New Black, and enjoying the prison riot episodes. They're so intense!! We only have two (ish) seasons left, and then I'm not sure what we'll watch. But I know I will miss all these characters!!

Visiting... the chiropractor in case my jaw tension is from any neck issues.  I'm telling you, being in this kind of pain from my jaw/teeth has me attacking it from all sides. 

Talking... to my mom about the pool she and my dad are gifting us (!!!!) since the pool here in town likely won't be opening this summer (thanks a lot Coronavirus!) and about how life is hard right now and how much we miss each other.  I guess I can thank Coronavirus genuinely for making me realize how important my people are to me.  I won't take seeing them for granted after this, that's for sure.

Enjoying... another visit from my sister & her crew.  The kids had so much fun together, and we (as always) had a great time catching up.  She even helped me with a project I'd been putting off.  A while back I ordered another bookshelf for my bedroom and it came last week.  Josh put it together for me, but I still hadn't unpacked my journals and put them on it, so Roxanne helped me.  They have been in boxes since we moved ten months ago! It feels so good to see them all on their shelves.  I have over one hundred!

Spending... movie night on the "phone" (pretend ones made from Tinker toys) with Carly, who told me she lived next door and asked me to deliver her pizza and cookies to "the purple house" where she lived. Then when the movie was over, she called to thank me for the good pizza & cookies.  She's just so much fun. I'm so glad she's ours.

Happy... that Wyatt is doing so well off Singulair.  I was nervous at first when his pulmonologist and I agreed we'd try to take him off of it.  But his lungs have shown no changes, and I'm so relieved. 
(Singulair has been linked with depression and suicide and I didn't want to have that risk for Wyatt if I didn't have to.  That's why we chose to take him off it.  He's currently on Asmanex, a daily prevention inhaler, and that's working to keep his lungs healthy.)

{I love this}

***

{100% accurate}

around here: week 22 2020

[Wyatt & Carly checking out the garden}

{first glimpse of our baby girl}

{see Grady behind her?}

{Can you find Molly?}

Feeling... inspired by this Hugh Laurie quote to stop eating my feelings (I hate you Coronavirus) and take control of my body again.  I am at my highest weight. 210 pounds which is hard to even type.  But I am done gaining weight. I am going to drink water and sleep more, cut out soda & caffeine, walk daily and wear my fitbit, and hopefully I will start to resemble a human more than a beach ball. Hah.

Learning... my uncle also has COVID-19 (this in addition to my aunt who caught it at work) and isn't doing well.  It's super scary and makes all of this feel so real, just after it was all starting to feel kind of far away and fading. Masks and hand washing and praying, oh my.

Spending... time here blogging & playing Jenga with the kids while Josh had the twins at the land Sunday.  It was a nice, calm day.

Watching... Carly host a tea party one morning with her favorite bubbas (what she calls stuffed animals) and Jack.  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.  What a dream come true. 
My favorite part was when she told Jack the room needed to be more dazzling. I just can't even.

Enjoying... the progress that George & Grady are making in getting along.  George still growls and Grady occasionally barks... but I can see a marked improvement in their friendship. I'm taking it as a good sign.

Loving... my little mini-me who wants to dress like me, wear make up like me and jewelry like me.  Having a daughter just never gets old. Highly recommend.

Doing... much better emotionally now that I am on 40mg of Prozac daily.  It's crazy how much of a difference I can feel in my internal chatter (less) and happiness (more).  I'm so glad that I asked the doctor about increasing and that I tried the Buspar.  The Buspar was the not the answer (it made me crazy dizzy), but so far the extra 10mg of Prozac has been perfect. 
The medication along with more sleep and walking with Josh has helped a ton. 

Grateful... for friends checking on me while I was feeling down.  Shana, Brittany, Susan and Theresa: thank you.  They called, sent love, notes, quotes and Susan even sent me some oils to try.  My village is so, so good to me.

Playing... Pie Face with the kids on Memorial Day when we had Josh's parents over for a small BBQ & firepit time.  It was fun to make smores with the kids and visit with Carol & Carl.  And the kids loved Pie Face, although I think they would love eating whip cream even if it hadn't been smacked into their faces first. Hah!

Closing... up Josh's classroom for the year and having some feels about it.  It was a strange year for all of us- him as a teacher, our kids as students and me as a wife & mom.  It was sad to see the pictures of his classroom all ready for summer knowing he didn't get the closure he normally does at the end of the year.  It was weird to know that my kids will move on to seventh and fourth grade without having the feeling that they really completed sixth and third grades... What a strange year this has been indeed. (Not to mention I am SO curious what next year will hold...)

Attending... book club for The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek this month and loving the girls & the book.  I am so grateful for those ladies, now more than ever, because we really are in this together.  We all have bunches of kids that we are suddenly home with 24/7 and teaching digitally via "distance learning" and let me tell you, it has been a wild ride.  To have them to confide in and laugh with has made all the difference.  Gosh, I love you, ladies!!!

Testing... Carly with the recent "treat test" going around where you leave your kid with a treat in the room for a few minutes while you go out and see if they will wait until you come back to eat them.  I was surprised that Carly actually waited. And then she even offered to share her chocolate chips with me! What a good girl!! (You can see the video on my Instagram.)

Getting... a new kitten!!!  It was like serendipity the way this little one fell into our laps.  Josh's brother's girlfriend happened to have one kitten left from her litter (that I didn't even know she had!) that was ready to go home, and when Josh mentioned to Samuel that I might be wanting a kitten he mentioned the one Makayla had and the rest is history!
We got a picture of the little sweetheart that night, I said yes, and we picked her up a few days later. The kids had no idea that was what we were doing and were overjoyed that the little pumpkin was ours to keep.

Falling... head over heels in love with Molly, which is what we named our new kitten.  It's a name that was on Carly's "possible names" list when I was pregnant, and one that my sister-in-law loved for a daughter for herself (but she only had sons) so it is special to me. 
Molly is just the sweetest little baby you ever did meet, and we are all in love with her.  Grady was super sweet when he met her, and they play with each other everyday.  We have to watch Grady because he is a little big... but I think they are going to grow up to be best buddies.
George, our other cat, is not sure what to think of Molly.  Her kitten energy scares him and he's a little confused by her, but I think he will come around.
The kids and I fight over who gets to hold Molly when she's sleeping and when she's playful we all love to laugh at her antics.  She may be the most beloved kitten that ever was.

Reading... The House on the Cerulean Sea and The Call of the Wild.  The Call of the Wild has the boys interest for sure, and we can't wait to watch the movie for movie night.  The House on the Cerulean Sea is so good, I know I'll be sad when it ends.  I'm not normally one for fantasy reads, but this one is really well written and I am super invested in the characters.  It reminds me a little of Sweep by Jonathan Auxier, and also of Harry's Trees.  Just a really good story line, plus a little magic.

Talking... Wyatt through his emotions about Ramona dying.  He has had two dreams now where Ramona is alive and then he wakes up and realizes it was just a dream and he is crushed.  His poor little heart can hardly take it.  He is very worried about how George is coping and where George thinks his sister went.  I assure him that he knew his sister was suffering and that George knows she is gone and no longer in pain, but I'm not sure he believes me. 
Then one night (before we got Molly) he wrote this every complicated emotional pet graph on Carly's white board.  (You can see it above) He said Ramona is dead and that makes him and George both sad, but George and Grady are alive and that makes him happy.  I am really glad he is processing Ramona's death, but to be honest, I had no idea it would hit him this hard.
We did read a book I had been saving for a death experience called When Dinosaurs Die and it was really helpful for conversations and questions he had. It's kid friendly, but also matter of fact, which I like, but might not be for everyone. 

Collecting... heart shaped rocks (or really noticing heart shaped anything) and feeling my heart swell when my grandma told me my grandpa has started looking for heart shaped rocks as well.  Gosh I love him so much it hurts sometimes.

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