around here: week 13 2021

 {March 21-27th}

Laughing... when Carly stuck her head out the window and told me she was Grady in Josh's car.  I love that silly little girl so much. 

Receiving... the best mug from my sister.  It says "You Got This" and is exactly what I need to start my homeschool days.  I told her I wanted one that said "Here we fucking go again", but she knew better. ;)

Celebrating... my sister's birthday with Carly and Roxanne's kids at my mom's house.  It was so much fun.  We had sub sandwiches and homemade cake and got to talk and laugh and hang out all day. 

Loving... on baby Lu while we celebrated Roxanne's birthday.  She is the sweetest, most delicious baby ever and I can't believe how quick she is growing!

Meeting... with my psychiatrist via DoctoronDemand (can't say enough good things about it!) to discuss my meds.  Currently I have felt a little more depression & anxiety than I had been, so we decided to increase my prozac from 50mg to 60mg.  We will check back in a few weeks to see how that's going and talk about maybe increasing my blood pressure meds in the hopes it will decrease my migraines more. 

Enjoying... Carly and Molly's relationship.  Molly follows Carly around, stealing her hair pretties and little stuffed animals, and Carly is constantly walking into a room and awwing at the cute things Molly is doing.  I love them. 

Thankful... for Wyatt's little friends in the neighborhood.  After a year spent mostly with only his brothers, he is so happy about having friends over and playing. Me, too. 

Stunned... by our daughters beauty.  She is just magic. 

Cleaning and organizing... Wyatt's bedroom after it got so out of control.  Josh put together a new bed I ordered on Amazon, and his room looks great! 

Hitting the road... bright and early Thursday to head to Astoria for our little getaway.  We experienced sunshine, rain and even snow on our drive.  It was crazy and gorgeous.  

Enjoying... the view from our hotel room so much for those four days.  The hotel was right on the Columbia River, near the Astoria Bridge, and we loved watching the water, the boats, the giant cargo ships and the birds.  

Blogging... from our hotel room in an effort to catch up.  

Visiting... my grandparents in Rockaway while we were out of town.  It was so good to see them and hug them and catch up.  Grandpa's thumb looks so much better already, and while we were there Josh and I got to walk on the beach, our favorite. 

Meeting... them for lunch as well the next day and enjoying Arnie's Cafe in Warrenton. I am so grateful for all the time I get to spend with  my grandparents. I love them so much. 

Grateful... for the our parents for taking such good care of the kids while we were away.  We are so lucky!

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Accurate. Haha!

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around here: week 36 2020

"It is a serious thing 

just to be alive

on this fresh morning

in this broken world."

-Mary Oliver

Giving up... Grey's Anatomy as I found myself pondering whether it's a good show for me to watch given my health anxiety.  I love the show... but I love my sanity more. So for now, I am shelving it. I am going to rewatch all of When Calls the Heart so that I can watch Seasons 6 & 7, which are new to me!

Reading... Gifts of Imperfect Parenting, The Perfect Couple and Forget Me Not.  The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting was a good read, but the Power of Vulnerability was better.  The Perfect Couple has been a great Hilderbrand summer read (of course!) and Forget Me Not I read in one day! It was a super good YA that I enjoyed. 

Cultivating... art in the kids, per Brene Brown's advice.  Trying to let them paint and draw (despite the mess!) to their little heart's content! 

Loving... the boys playing Brawlhalla together on the PS4. There was so much laughter coming from that room. Mama heart full. 

Suffering... bad anxiety.  Thankfully my sister helped me through, encouraging me to call my doctor to increase my Prozac and get a refill of my as-needed meds. (I take Ativan) The doctor approved both (thank goodness!) and I was able to start them right away. I am proud of how quickly I respond to my mental health needs now. Years ago (when we lived in Alaska) it would take me a long time to acknowledge how bad things were or that I needed help.  Now I am much more likely to reach out and to try things to get better faster. 

Scheduling... Josh's vasectomy for the beginning of November. My IUD will hit Year #5 in February and need to come out, so we are going for the permanence of a vasectomy. In some ways it's hard to believe my baby-bearing days are over, but in other ways, I am loving this stage of life so much, I can't imagine it any other way. So I feel confident that we are done and that this is the right choice. Thanks for taking one for the team, Josh!

Picking... flowers from our yard with Carly and feeling blown away by the variety of color and beauty we have grown in this yard in only one year. I can't wait to see what next year holds!!

Doing... load after load of laundry.  Whooo! Getting the boys to do their own laundry is definitely up next on the list of things to teach them. They throw their own loads in occasionally, but rarely switch it and don't know exactly how to put in soap and start it up. I think that will be one of my fall goals. 

Packing... for Vancouver and feeling blown away by how much the kids are able to help now compared to years past. Even Carly can go run little errands and grab things for me as I'm packing. It's basically awesome. 

Grateful... that Samuel showed up to help load the car and drive us to Othello to meet Josh after work, and that our subsequent drive to Vancouver was so smooth and fast.  We only stopped once for dinner and to use the bathroom (the same stop!) and we were back on the road so quick!! We did, however notice lots of smoke throughout the gorge from fires in and around Washington and Oregon. Made the sun look super orange.

Enjoying... a day to myself while Josh took the kids to play with their cousins at his sister's house. I spent some time visiting with my parents; journaling and reading.  It was really good to take some time to write, spilling all my feelings onto those pages and catching up.  The quiet time does wonders for my anxiety.  I also made some lists of how I want the fall to look, for both myself and the kids, and I feel a lot more prepared for what's to come. 

Thankful... that my mom took Logan for some one on one time to the Nike Outlet and out for dinner at Red Lobster (and even bought me shoes!!) and that the rest of us had fun while they were gone. Dallas and Bri stopped by, spoiling us with art supplies for the boys and a new sequin stuffed animal for Carly; and Isaiah stopped by with a surprise gift for Wyatt- he gave him his old xbox! Wyatt was literally speechless! It was so sweet!

Comforting... Carly as she was sad that I'm still reading the boys their chapter book. (Josh and I take turns putting Carly to bed and putting the boys to bed.  Right now he is putting Carly to bed and I am putting the boys to bed after I read to them from our readaloud chapter book- The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus) We are really enjoying the book, but I will be glad when it's my turn to sing Carly to sleep again. She's such a sweetheart. 

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"She was powerful,

not because she wasn't scared,

but because she went on so strongly

despite the fear."

-Harper Lee

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