around here: week 17 2020

Family FaceTime to wish my nephew Isaiah Happy Birthday!

Enjoying... how Carly feeds her stuffed animals (which we call "bubba's" at our house) with her pretend food.  She even puts her real bibs on them and uses her little plastic silverware. It's adorable. 
Also enjoying a little break from the twins on Saturday while Josh took them to the land to ride four wheelers.  Carly got to spend the day playing with Wyatt, which overjoyed her little soul, and I got to spend the day journaling and reading, which made me so happy!

Watching... Holiday in the Wild on Netflix and enjoying all the elephants in the movie.  It was a cute little romantic comedy.  I've also been watching Anne with an E again from the beginning and I love it just as much as the first and second time.

Kayaking... with the family on Sunday and enjoying some music on the lake while soaking up the sun.  It was so lovely to get out of the house, and it's such a great workout!

Reading... Anne of Avonlea, Untamed and Iron & Silk, and listening to The Making of Us.  Untamed is incredible.  I am underlining something on nearly every page.  Anne of Avonlea is like a big hug. It's such a cozy read, I am loving it.  And Iron & Silk is interesting (about an American teacher in China), but mostly, it's a book I have had for somewhere for at least six years now, and I am so relieved that I am finally reading it.  It's been riding on my conscious for a long time now!

Receiving... the last book I ordered for my Anne of Green Gables collection.  I have 1-6 in a super cute collection (that even came with a journal!) and then I ordered Rainbow Valley & Rilla of Ingleside from Powell's, so The Blythe's are Quoted is the final piece!

Encouraging... the boys to do more reading as well by setting goals for their reading time.  They read for a half hour everyday after lunch, and now I tell each brother how many pages I expect them to finish in that time. If they meet that goal every day (Monday through Friday), they earn movie night. If they don't, or they are caught not reading during that time, they will lose family movie night Saturday.  It's been incredibly successful and I think it's actually helping them really love reading, because they are reading enough of the books to really get into them. It's exciting to witness.

Telling... Carly the same three rules every night at bedtime:

1) Stay in your bed

2) Be quiet

3) Go to sleep

I love how she looks when she does her little "shhhh" with her finger on her lips for #2.  She's just so darn cute.

Asking... Josh to cut my hair.  I've needed a haircut since before quarantine, honestly, and I had finally had enough of my split ends.  He was very brave and just went for it.  Then after he did the original cut, I trimmed a bit here and there, and overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out!  It looks so much more healthy!

Loving... Carly's drawing of a cat and how much she loves her new set of dress-up stickers from Melissa & Doug.  I ordered them, hoping they would be a hit, but having no idea how much she would play with them. They're reusable and are full of unending fun.
Also loving how much Carly loves the Birkenstock flip flops my mom bought her to match me.  Before she went to bed, she lined her little ones up next to mine, and when I saw them all in a row like that, my heart did little somersaults in my chest.

Pulling... out a tree in the front yard and replacing it with a lilac, my favorite.  Josh and I both disliked the tree that was originally alongside the front porch, so when I asked him to pull it out and put a lilac in it's place he agreed, but was not looking forward to digging it out.  So instead he bought some tow rope and used his Suburban to rip it out. Then we passed the little tree along to his mom in hopes it can have a second life out on his parent's land. 

Celebrating... my nephew from faraway by waking him up with a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday, sung by his dad, my parents, my sister & her crew, and Josh and myself and our crew.  It made my heart feel full to all come together and send him love on his big 21st birthday.

Finding... hearts everywhere it felt like. I found a heart shaped rock in the driveway, and a heart shaped chip in Carly's BBQ Lay's bag.  They always make me smile and make me think of Everett and Toby, whose mom's I follow on Instagram. They're heart warriors whose stories are both remarkable in their own ways and have reminded me not to take for granted my healthy kiddos.

Laughing... at how Grady sits on the couch looking out the window.  Especially if the kids are out there.  It's quite pitiful. 

Grateful... for the twins' tech teacher who checks in with them every week and knows our whole family.  Even Carly jumped in Jack's lap to check in with Mrs. Kowalski and talk about our dog with her. Any time we have a technology issue or question, she is our go-to teacher, and she somehow never seems put out or annoyed by our need for help.  Love her!!

Regretting... that Carly left her glasses outside on the patio.  Grady found them (he LOVES glasses for some reason!) and DESTROYED them.  Carly cried and cried when I found them in the grass, lenses popped out, completely chewed up.
Thankfully each of our kids has a back up pair, so she'll be fine, even though our vision clinic is closed.

Appreciating... the messages that the boys leave for Josh and I in our shower with Carly's foam letters.  There is only one of each letter, so they have to get really creative with their spelling. Love those guys.

This made me laugh.

This made me take a deep breath.
Keep carrying on, friends. 

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Week 35 Around Here {2019}

Our new digs

Cunningham Family :: First Home :: 2016

Cunningham Family :: First Home :: 2019

{So sad to leave our first watermelon!}

{One last tomato harvest!}

Goodbye kitchen...

Goodbye dining room

Wyatt's New Room

Jack & Logan :: 2011 :: Preschool

Starting... Week 35 in our NEW house!  We woke up Saturday morning (8/24) in our new house in our new neighborhood, ready to finish moving the rest of our stuff from the old house.  I am pleased to say that we all slept really good in the new digs, and it has instantly felt like home to us.

Finishing... moving the last of our things and returning the moving truck on Saturday afternoon.  Our kids were the most incredible helpers, making trip after trip from the truck to the house and back.  It felt surreal to walk around our empty house, knowing we would never be back.  It felt good to take a minute to say goodbye, though, and thank the house for all the memories it held for our family.

Cleaning... our old house for the new owner.  I worked really hard along side my friend Shana and we had it shining for her.

Driving... our cats from one house to the other, and hearing their most ridiculous sadness from the backseat.  They cried and cried on the quick drive, and were quite happy to be set free in the new house. They took a few days to fully adjust, but were happy to find the kids' beds at bedtime and seem to have settled, thankfully.

Enjoying... my first shower in days.  I've been working so hard at moving, I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had bathed. (gasp!)  So on Sunday I took the most luxuriously long shower in ages and felt like a totally different person when I emerged.

Grateful... for all the help we had moving.  Josh's parents helped- his mom watched the kids and his dad used his truck to help us move stuff; our nephew helped; his brother helped; so many of my friends helped; and my parents came to help.  While they were here, my dad put together the Ikea dressers they bought for Wyatt and the twins' rooms, and my mom helped me unpack and organize the entire kitchen so we would be ready for school to start (Wednesday)!!  We seriously could not have done all we did without so many helping hands.

Caring... for a very sick Carly Monday night as she woke me up crying.  I went into her room and she held her hands up to me in the dark, saying her teeth were all falling out.  As I turned on the lamp, I realized that what she thought was her teeth falling out, was actually vomit.  Lots and lots of vomit.  So I spent the night in her room with her, helping her throw up in the bowl every few hours.
The following morning she told me that her ears felt funny because a few days ago she had put beads in them.  Sigh. It's always something, right?  We managed to get her in for a same-day appointment and the doctor had a look.  One ear was obviously clear (thank goodness) but we had to flush the other one to make sure.  In the end, there were no longer beads in either ear, but a long afternoon spent at the doctors office telling her (over and over and over again) that we do not put anything in our ears. (Shout out to my friends Crystal and Kara for having the boys while I took Carly to the doctor so I didn't have to take them all with me.  You two are the BEST!)
Carly continued to be sick off and on for three days, but by the end of the week she was finally well.  Hallelujah!

Missing... out on any last minute summer fun because of Carly's sickness.  We had plans to go to the water park one last time, but because of Carly not feeling well, we had to stick close to home instead.  I felt super bad for the boys, but they were really good sports about it for the most part.
Not being able to go play did have one silver lining, and that is that I was able to do all the (million) things required for the boys to start school- figuring out bus routes, new school schedules (both the twins and Wyatt will be at new schools this year), purchasing school supplies, giving fresh haircuts and turning in medical as well as other important forms to the office.  It felt like a LOT.

Attending... Wyatt's Open House to meet his teacher and see his new school.  I think attending that reduced his first day anxiety and I am so glad we had the opportunity to do that before school started.  His teacher is great, loves art and projects (which is right up Wyatt's alley) and also has a husband who is a teacher. :)

Sending... the twins off to their first day of middle school.  I still cannot believe they are 11 and done with elementary school.  It's mind blowing.
Sending... Wyatt off on the bus for the first time.  He asked that I not go with him all the way to the bus stop (that was full of kids) so Carly and I stayed on our corner and just waved at his bus when it drove by.  A tiny part of me may have been sad... but honestly, mostly I am just crazy proud of how far this kid has come.  In kindergarten the counselor had to PEEL him off me, screaming and crying, as I walked briskly away, knowing that was the best thing I could do for him.  It was HARD.  So having him be so independent and confident now is the biggest blessing for my mama heart.
I ended up having to pick Logan up early from school because he wasn't feeling well (he caught what Carly had) but otherwise, everyone's first day went really well.

Relishing... the quiet of one child on Wednesday morning when only Carly was home and all her brothers were (finally) at school.  I blogged and then unpacked, as we are still (slowly, but surely) settling into the house.  I have missed having quiet moments to myself, and am very much looking forward to a slower pace around here now that the boys are all in school again.

Doing... too much on Thursday (with Logan home sick) and ending the day very grouchy.  I was overworked and overtired and the kids seemed extra needy, and it was just a very, very bad combo.  I was snappy and crabby and desperately needed some sleep.  Once I got the kids down, I took a bath, which helped a lot, and then I went to bed early.

Celebrating... Friday when all three boys were at school all day long and Carly and I had the day to ourselves.  We started the morning with fresh haircuts (we both cut our hair to our chin) at the "salon" Carly will tell you.  I absolutely LOVE Carly's haircut and am really happy with mine as well.  It was time for something fresh and I feel great.

Picking... up a trumpet for Jack for band after school Friday.  I am in a little bit of denial about the fact that he's in band and we are all going to have to listen to him practice playing the trumpet all year long... but I think that's okay.  I can just take things one day at a time right now.  Perhaps that is for the best.  ;)

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