around here: week 18 2021

 {April 25th-May 1st}

{Jack pitching}

{Carly and Liesel :: by Carly Cunningham}

{Logan & Jack in Culinary at school}

Going... to the twins' baseball game and getting to see my sister, niece and nephew as well.  

Joining... my counselor via DoctoronDemand and feeling so grateful for her. (I can't remember if I have talked about it before, but DoctoronDemand works with my insurance, and I only end up paying $18.60 for each session with her. It's amazing, and we meet on the website -not in person- so I can meet with her wherever I am! Even on my phone!)

Attending... my first Parent/Teacher conference of the year with Logan & Jack's collective six (or is it seven?) teachers.  The twins go Mondays & Tuesdays this quarter in person, and the other three days they are still online. I wish they had been able to go back full time, but this is a step in the right direction.  (Wyatt started back full time last week, five days a week, and we are both thrilled about it. For him, it's best if I am just "mom" and not "mom" and "teacher".)

Watching... Wyatt's baseball game this week and cheering so hard for him. Carly has made friends with some of the kids who are also at baseball games during the week, and it makes me so happy to see her little social butterfly heart filled.

Reading... The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah which is about the dust bowl in Texas and the Great Depression. It has some parts that move really fast (like, that are underdeveloped) but I am invested in the characters, so we'll see how it goes. 

Sending... Carly over to my besties house for a few hours on Monday to play with Selah, who is the sweetest, most fun little mommy's helper. Carly adores her, and I adore having some time to myself (ha!) so it's win/win!

Loving... my book stacks all over the house.  I have so many books I want to read and that I'm looking forward to reading and planning on reading... they have kind of taken over the house.

Praying... so hard for Indy Llew, a little girl with cancer whose family I follow on Instagram.  @terahbelle 

Laughing... at Wyatt as he continues to blow my mind building things with Legos.  This week he made some English cars- I only know that the blue one is called a P-O-P 50, and he is so tickled with himself. I love his creativity. 

Feeling... so proud of Jack as he continues to improve his pitching.  He's so grown up on the mound, stopping to take a deep breath and bring his shoulders down before he throws. I could cry, I am so proud of how brave he is, and how he always keeps trying.

Playing... a new game called WaterSort Puzzle, and loving it. It's challenging, but at the same time mindless (how is that possible?) and I really enjoy it. 

Planting... all my dahlia tubers finally and feeling ridiculous. I am SO invested in how they grow and do this year.  Every day we are checking to see if they have popped through the dirt yet and I can't wait to harvest flowers from them throughout the summer.

Taking... Wyatt & Carly to the eye doctor this week to get their yearly exam and new glasses.  Carly chose purple frames, and she is delighted.  

Reading... old journals from junior high and laughing at myself.  (Well, and cringing. Hah!) I came across some old photos (including the one I posted here of me and a friend Nick) and they made me smile.  I really liked school and I had good friends. I was very lucky.
In some ways the journals were hard to read, though, as they were about when I was really involved at church, and it makes me sad how awful and sinful I thought I was. I was SUCH a good kid, a kind friend, and a loving daughter, but because of the messages I received from the church, I believed that I needed to continually be working on myself and improving.  Lots of good conversations with my younger self stemmed from reading those journals. 

Accepting... that our school days (Wednesday, Thursday & Friday) SUCK. None of us want to be doing this anymore, and we all just wish the twins had been able to go back full time.  I am tempted to start counting down, but the reality is, we have six weeks left.  Wahhhh!

Attempting... to go kayaking with Josh on Friday night for date night.  We loaded the kayaks, got the kids settled to watch a show together while we were gone, and then headed to the lake.  We got there and thought it looked a little choppy, but we decided to brave it anyway.  I hadn't even got past the boat launch when I had to turn around and tell Josh it was a no-go.  The waves were SO choppy, they were getting me wet, and if my kayak started to go to the side, I was afraid it would capsize. So we have yet to kayak this year. 

Grateful... that wearing my CPAP (a mask I wear hooked up to a machine that helps me breathe better at night) for sleep apnea is going well.  I don't know that I feel more rested yet, but the mask doesn't bother me or keep me awake, so that's good.  Hopefully in time, the good sleep will start to add up and I'll feel awesome. 

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around here: week 14 2021

 {March 28-April 3rd}

Arriving... home from vacation and feeling like it passed in a blink. Hah! But what a beautiful time we had, and being away from home always makes it feel special to be back again.

Laughing... at my dad's alien drawing on our chalk board.  He's always loved doodling, and it makes me smile. 

Struggling... to get back in the groove of school after a few days off.  Boy I cannot WAIT for next year when all the kids are supposed to go to school in their classrooms everyday with their teachers.  God bless teachers everywhere!

Proud... of Carly for cutting her own strawberries, and proud of the twins for cooking lunch for themselves.  One of the hardest and most rewarding things about having children is teaching them independence.  Teaching them to do things for themselves. 

Listening... to a new favorite song.  JJ Heller's Edelweiss which is on her I Dream of You Volume 2 album.  The whole album is magic, but that song especially reminds me so much of my grandma and her singing.  I use it to sing Carly to sleep at night, and while at first she was resistant to something new, now she asks for it. 

Gearing up... to go to the grocery store, and making the twins come with me (as punishment for bad behavior) only to arrive and find the shelves completely empty of what I needed.  The store's cold vegetable storage wasn't working, so there was no spinach, no peppers, no mushrooms, no lettuce... and the whole reason I went to the store was to get ingredients for Josh's daily salads. Sigh. 

Overthinking... just about everything. I feel like lately I can't make any decisions.  I would love any advice you have on not overthinking things.  How do you make decisions easily?

Sharing... my bookshelves and journals on Instagram.  I love seeing other people's bookshelves, so I felt inspired to share mine as well.  Then I went on to share my bookshelf full of journals.  I've been keeping a journal since I was 8 and have over a hundred. If you don't follow me on IG, you should.  I have  a regular account (shelly_cunningham26) as well as a reading account (shellyreadsbooks).  I'd love to have you!

Opening... a fun surprise package from Aunt Roxanne for Carly.  It had three of the CUTEST outfits for Carly, including what will be my new favorite shirt for her that has books on it. Swoon.  Thanks, Roxanne!

Starting... baseball practice for Wyatt's team this week and getting excited that some things are getting back to normal in our lives. 

Letting... the twins attend their first sleepover ever when their best friends (who are also identical twins) had a birthday party.  I am still not sure they will have more sleepovers in their future, but they were thrilled to get to go and we love that family so it was a win-win.

Taking... the twins to the orthodontist and finding out that they both need their wisdom teeth removed (especially Logan, whose tooth is growing back towards his throat!) before we can move into the next phase of braces for them.  After they have their wisdom teeth out, we should be able to start Phase 2 in the fall.  Their teeth already look amazing after Phase 1 of braces, but Phase 2 will adjust their bite/jaw and really perfect their handsome, dimpled smiles.

Attending... the boys' last basketball game of the season.  It was limited seating and we had to wear masks, but I was SO happy to sit in the bleachers and cheer for our boys as they faced off.  (It was an intermural game, so the boys played each other) It was also really good to see my friends in the stands, cheering for their kids.  I have so missed being out in the community this last year. 

Starting... on CPAP for my sleep apnea and trying to figure out which mask works best for me.  Getting used to the blowing air up my nose is hard, but luckily there is a ramp option which slowly builds to the full level over time.  I am still a bit embarrassed that I even have to have the CPAP machine, but I'm working to push through that.  I'm trying to keep in mind that it has the potential to change my life by giving me energy and making me healthier.

Chalking... with Carly and remembering a quote I heard recently about doing things just because you enjoy them.  There are no awards for chalking, but it makes me happy, so I am going to try and do it more often.  Same with many of the creative things I do so rarely.

Sending... the kids with Josh to his parents' land to participate in an Easter egg hunt with their cousins who are in town for spring break.  Josh's mom filled the eggs and planned the whole thing. It was so special.  The kids had a blast!

Getting... the best phone call telling me that after spring break Wyatt will go back to school full time, and the twins will be able to attend twice a week.  We are all so excited!!!

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