Showing posts with label Dallas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dallas. Show all posts

4.13.2019

Week 14 Around Here: Spring Break! {2019}










{makeshift window shade}


{brother Dallas; puppy Basil; me, girlfriend Bri; & Carly}
{Carly & Basil love each other!}





{You know how they say, "Don't blink?" ... }

{Don't blink! This is somehow ten years later...}

{But it feels like only moments have passed since this time in my life.}



















Spending... part of Spring Break with my parents & grandparents.  We drove the four+ hours to Vancouver to stay with my parents for a few days, and from there we drove to the coast to spend Sunday with my dad's parents.  It is always so good to see them, and watch them interact with my kids.  Makes my heart so full.

Lucking out... with amazing weather on the Oregon coast.  The day we were there was sunny and clear, just gorgeous!  We spent hours on the beach playing in the sand after we had lunch with Grandma & Grandpa.  Then we had giant scoops of Tillamook ice cream (tradition) and played at the park near the beach while the twins climbed around on the log pile.

Hating... (as always) packing for our trip, knowing that whatever I leave behind will be my fault.  Ha! #momlife  I can remember 1,001 things, but the only thing they'll remember is the one thing I forget.  It's gotten better now that I am used to going on this trip, but I still stress about remembering everything. Especially medicine and Wyatt's nebulizer, meds & equipment.  Eek!

Driving... Josh's Suburban on our road trip and loving it!  It has so much more luggage space than the van and is fun to ride on the road since we're so high off the ground.  Plus, it's just plain cool.  (I also feel like driving the Suburban is full circle since when we were first dating in high school he drove his mom's Suburban when we did our internship for Sign Language class at the Deaf School together. Aww!)

Giving... Carly & Jack Dramamine for Kids (about an hour before travel) to keep them from getting carsick during all the driving.  Carly actually vomits if she gets carsick, so the Dramamine (and eliminating screens from her car time) has been a Godsend.  Jack just gets headachy and motion sick.  The Dramamine helps with both, though, and I am so glad we gave it a go.  We found it for super cheap at our local Walmart, and I just carry it in my purse at all times.  It's also available on Amazon, and hasn't been found to make my kids drowsy.  (We just do one pill each.)

Enjoying... pizza at my mom's, along with visiting with my brother Dallas & his girlfriend Bri, and playing with their pup Basil, as well as with my mom's 3 pups, Sadie, Dodger & Ruby.  I think the dogs are Carly & Wyatt's favorite part of visiting my mom, other than seeing my parents.  They are little dog whisperers and it's just the cutest.  Although when you ask Carly if she wants a dog, she says no. She wants a "baby kitten".  When my mom heard that she said, "Let's go get her one." Haha!  Grandma's, amiright?

Loving... Carly climbing into my dad's lap with a photo album she brought downstairs with her to look at all the pictures.  It's from 1994, the year I graduated 6th grade and happened to get a "baby kitten" for graduation, and Carly kept flipping back to the picture of me and my kitten Tabby.  She wanted my dad to tell her who everyone was and loved pouring over every photo, just like her mama.

Jumping... at Skyzone with my parents and the kids.  We all had a great time.  The twins played dodgeball; Wyatt did lots of wall jumping; and Carly never stopped moving the whole time.  Awesome way to wear the kids out!

Eating... out at Red Lobster with Josh on a date, just us, while the kids stayed with my mom and dad.  It was so nice to have a quiet, luxurious meal, without cutting anyone's food, without getting up to grab ketchup; eating while the food was actually warm.  It was really, really nice and unexpected.  Thanks for thinking of us, mom, and sending us on our way.  It was lovely.

Thankful... for the two new taggies my mom made for Carly while we were visiting to replace the one she lost last week.  She didn't have any more of the feather fabric we used for the original, so we let Carly pick what she wanted.  She chose minky (which is the really soft, "cozy" fabric that's Carly's favorite) for both sides, one in pink and one in red.  And for the ribbons, I chose for the pink one and she chose rainbows and yellow for the red one- it looks so cute!  Thank you, Nanny!

Ending... our road trip, feeling like it was our best ever.  On the last day, my parents took us out to lunch and to the go kart track.  The boys were elated, and even Carly got to ride around once with Josh.  They had a great time and we laughed so hard watching Wyatt drive his own for the first time.  He was very serious & SO slow.  It was absolutely hysterical.
The drive home was amazing- fast and hiccup-free- with Carly sleeping nearly three hours, which is unheard of.  And I came home feeling closer than ever to my parents, and so grateful for them as grandparents.  My kids and I are a pretty lucky bunch.

Walking... the last three days of spring break and feeling so good getting my work out on!  I am just so happy that spring is here and winter is gone!

Taking... Wyatt to see his primary care doctor over spring break for the headaches he has been having the last 6 weeks.  Ever since a few weeks post op for his tonsil & adenoid removal, Wyatt has been continuing to struggle with sleep and has started having headaches that wake him at night and haunt him throughout the day.
The headaches could be from his low, soft palate (roof of his mouth), so we have an appointment set up with the orthodontist for next week to see if a spacer would help with that.  They could also be from the two types of sleep apnea* he was found to have had back in October- obstructive & central.  Hopefully the surgery fixed his obstructive sleep apnea, but we will only know once we complete a second, follow up, sleep study, which I've got in the works.  And if it turns out he does still have central sleep apnea, we are going to dig deeper this time, looking into why he has it, since it is so rare for children to have.
(*Types of Sleep Apnea: Obstructive Sleep Apnea is where you stop breathing in your sleep because of a blockage in your throat like large tonsils.  Central Sleep Apnea is where your brain forgets to tell you to breathe while you are sleeping.)
Wyatt's doctor ended up ordering an MRI for us (hallelujah!) because with an MRI we can narrow down the possibilities.  It will tell us if his central sleep apnea is from an Arnold Chiari Malformation (which Logan has); if his headaches are from a severe sinus infection (he already had one round of antibiotics and didn't show any improvement); or if they are from steroid use (he takes 4 puffs of Flovent everyday to keep his lungs healthy during the school year).  Once we have some of these answers, we will know how to proceed to get this kid sleeping & headache free.

Planting... the perennials I bought last week and feeling so excited about having some pops of color in our yard.  I bought some daffodils, tulips, hyacinth and grape hyacinth.  I am excited about having them there this year, but I am even more excited to see what they do next year when they pop up.  Many of them will generate even more flowers the second year they bloom.  I can't wait!

Sending... the boys off with Josh to his parent's land to ride their four wheelers for the day on Friday.  It was a great way to wrap up the week and they had the most fun they ever had, they said.  They rode some small dirt jumps and caught serious air- the pictures and videos Josh got are amazing!  Our boys are so adventurous and fun!  (And lucky to have a dad who makes sure they get time out at Grandma & Papa's to be adventurous and fun!)

Reading... Snow Child on Ashley's recommendation, and it was so, so good!  If you liked Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie (or more recently Caroline, which I also highly recommend!) then you would love Snow Child.


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8.14.2018

Around Here: Week 32 {2018}






























Reading... An American Marriage and In Shock.  An American Marriage is slow, but good; and In Shock is so good. I am totally interested and inspired by this doctor's true story of what happened to her during her first pregnancy.   I finished Goodbye, Vitamin, which was really good, but too short (!) this week as well.

Visiting... a new park with Carly and the boys (that we drove to) and she calls it the "car-park" since we drove to it instead of walking.  She loved the sand box and swing that were there, and the boys had a lot of fun, too.  I'm hoping to visit a few more new parks before summer ends after seeing how much fun they had.

Eating... homemade pizza with Uncle Samuel, Grandma Carol & Papa Carl Saturday night.  It was such a fun night, watching Diary of a Wimpy Kid with the kids, chowing down on pizza & ice cream.  Josh makes the best pizza and we kind of can't wait for his parents and brother to move here for good!

Sorting... through all the kids' clothes for fall- whew! What a chore!  But it made shopping for school clothes so much easier later this week.  So I'm glad I did it!  (Even if making the twins try on everything in their closet made me want to stab my eyes out with a spork!)

Road tripping... to Vancouver to see family one last time before school starts.

Surprising... my little brother for his 29th birthday.  His girlfriend and my mom threw the sweetest party with all his old friends.  It was super fun.  I just adore his girlfriend (as do my kiddos!) and it was fun to celebrate him. I hope when my boys grow up, they have someone who loves them as much as Bri loves Dallas.

Celebrating... our 15 year anniversary by leaving all the kids with my parents overnight.  We went to Long Beach and spent the night in the sweetest cottage, enjoying every kid-free moment.  We talked, uninterrupted, for the whole drive there, and I never once had to climb in the backseat to break up a fight. Hah!  It was the first time I had left Carly with anyone other than Josh overnight, and I was a little nervous about how she and my mom would sleep, but my mom said she did great!  Josh and I got pizza and a Redbox, enjoying the evening in our cottage, and the next day, when we got back to Vancouver, we saw The Equalizer 2 and went out to dinner at Red Lobster (my favorite!) before heading back to the kids.  It was so, so lovely to get away and celebrate each other.  I am so thankful for Josh and our marriage.  He is my rock and my very best friend.

Getting... a haircut that has me feeling fresh & flirty after letting it go way too long without one.  My hair is always bad for the first few years after a baby, and I am definitely in that space right now.  It's growing back in, but is still pretty thin.  This new cut has it feeling much better!

Buying... fun lotions, sprays & body washes at Bath & Body Works at the mall while shopping for school clothes with my mom and the boys.  Josh's mom took Carly so mom and I could focus on the boys while shopping (which was so awesome!) and we managed to get everything they need for the school year.  Shoes, socks, pants & shirts. Done and done. Phew!  I am so grateful for my mom and dad's help.

Loving... the twins eating Panda Express at the mall with chopsticks!  They're so brave- not just for trying chopsticks- but for trying anything.  Nothing intimidates them.  I wish I could be brave like them.

Sleeping... with Carly between Josh and I while staying at my parent's house. She won't sleep in the playpen there (she just cries pitifully when we put her in there, and I can't stand it) so we let her sleep with us, which is 20% really sweet and 80% really uncomfortable.  You moms who co-sleep with your babies have my total bow-down respect.  I don't know how you do it!  The whole time we are there, I am counting down the nights until I am going to get home and have my bed to myself again!  We joke that she likes us to sleep like the letter H.  Josh and I are the poles of the H and she is the middle.  Her feet are in my back and her head is in Josh's back. It's impossible!

Hanging... with my sweet friend Brittany and her crew Friday morning.  Together we have six boys and it was so fun to have them all together.  She is the sweetest mama, with the best heart.  She is totally real, down to earth and completely inspiring to me.  I love you, B!

Crying... about parenting when things got hard one night this week.  The kids are testing out lying and it's hard to not take it personal, like I'm a failure as a parent when they look me in the eyes and lie.  Josh assured me that it's not personal, it's a phase, and that we just have to let them know it's not acceptable.  I cried a little more, for good measure (unbeknownst to said naughty child) and then tried to let it go.  Gosh, parenting is not for the weak of heart!

Swimming... at the Washougal River, where I grew up swimming.  I absolutely love swimming there myself, and I love taking my kids there even more than that.  It was, hands down, my favorite part of our vacation.  All four of our kids loved it there.  The twins swam and snorkled and rode the rapids.  Wyatt jumped off the rocks and caught crawdads.  Carly swam and played and loved every minute of it.  My heart was so happy there.

Visiting... my grandparents for the day in Rockaway Beach.  It was so nice to see them.  We went out to lunch, did a little shopping at Flamingo Jim's, did a puzzle with Grandma and got ice cream.  Our visits never feel long enough, but I am so grateful we live close enough to visit once in a while.


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