around here: week 19 2021

 {May 9-15th}

{Carly picked her own clothes}

Taking... pictures of the twins with Josh at their baseball game this week (which my parents attended- thanks mom & dad!) and feeling shocked at how big they are.  They truly have gone from boys to men it feels like this year (at least physically) and it constantly surprises me.  

Going... to the eye doctor again this week, only this time with the twins, for yearly exams and new glasses.  I am always shocked at how fast and easy it is now compared to when they were younger and I had Carly in a stroller, etc.  

Catching... Wyatt stacking all.over.the.place! He stacked all the cream of his tiny oreos; hot wheels in the bathroom, and cups in the kitchen.  The kid is a stacking fool!

Grateful... that Josh and I both put each other first.  Every morning I wake up and make his salad for his lunch, and he makes the bed for me.  It's a really nice way to start the day being there for each other and making each other feel cared for. 

Grocery shopping... for the first time in forever (Josh has been doing it since COVID) and realizing after Carly and I pulled up to the checkout that we were going to need a second cart once it was all bagged.  Thankfully Carly is up to anything, and despite not being able to see over the cart, she helped me push that second cart all the way to the van.  She's awesome! (Next week, however, I will be going on a day when the twins are home and one of them can come with me! Hah!)

Enjoying... our first watermelon of the season which delighted Carly to no end! 

Taking... care of myself this week by attending counseling (Yay for DoctoronDemand!) and my follow up CPAP appointment to check in on how my sleep & breathing are doing. 

Facetiming... with my sister and niece and just feeling so grateful they are in my life.  My sister is a lifeline and Romy is simply a delight.  She is funny and articulate and demanding and sweet, and all of it together just makes her the most fun!

Listening... to "Learning To Let You Go" by JJ Heller on Youtube music, and crying every time it comes on. "Growing up is hard to do.  I know because I'm growing up with you."

"You were never mine to keep. You were always just on loan.

So have a little patience with me, cause I'm learning to let you go."

Signing... Carly up for her very own library card this week after visiting there to check out some books (in person! finally!) She was so proud, writing her little name on the back, and checking out her own stack, it was a moment for this book-loving mama for sure!

Attending... a Prayer Writing course via Mine To Tell (Ashmae & Kathy are the best, most encouraging coaches) and deciding that I need more writing in my life.  So I signed up for their yearlong program where we meet and are encouraged to write every Tuesday & Thursday (via zoom).  I am so excited to get some of the stories in my head out and on paper.  It has me feeling very excited for the future.  

Buying... a Venus fly trap when I saw them at the grocery store.  We had one growing up, and I remember being fascinated by the idea of a carnivorous plant. So the kids have been catching ants to feed it and watching videos about Venus Fly Trap's on youtube. 

Cheering... at Wyatt's game with all the other parents and feeling so lucky that this amazing kid is mine.  There's something about Wyatt that people are attracted to.  I don't know if it's his humility, his humor or his wisdom, but at his game this week, he got a hit, made it to first, and then STOLE second (!!!) AND third (!!!).  After he crossed home plate, he held both hands up in the air and did a little dance- it was SO joyful and SO adorable.  Hearing the entire crowd cheering his name just made me feel so special to be his mom. 

Sending... the kids to spend the day with my parents Saturday and feeling so excited that it unexpectedly turned into a sleepover! It was the first time Josh and I have been home alone in our house ever! 

While they were gone, we went on a double date with Josh's brother Samuel and his girlfriend Makayla.  We went to the grand opening of a new Mexican food restaurant one town over, and there was even a live mariachi band. It was the best time, and the food was great! So much fun!

Writing... daily in my gratitude journal (see photo above of my grat. journal with Josh and the twins at their game) and feeling so grateful that I started this habit back in January.  It reminds me to see the good and record it.  Some days it's hard, but every day it's good. 

Loving... the new shoes my mom bought me (the black ones pictured above- they are SO comfortable, cute and can be dressed up or down) and the new {to me} shoes that my friend passed to me.  New shoes are so fun. 

***

This quote by Russell M. Nelson spoke to me this week as I struggled with schooling the boys at home:

"The road ahead may be bumpy
but our destination is serene and secure.
So fasten your seatbelt,
hang on through the bumps,
and do what's right.
Your reward will be eternal."

-Russell M. Nelson

Week 43 Around Here {2019}

{November TBR}

{Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name}

{The kid's orthodontist is so much fun! Haha!}

Making... my November reading list & feeling really excited about it. I have read twelve books so far in October, and feel confident I will hit 14 (maybe even 15) by month's end, so making my reading list for November was super fun because I feel like I will be able to get through so many good books!

• The Lies We Believe
• Things You Save In A Fire
• This Tender Land
• Nothing To See Here
• It's Not Supposed To Be This Way
• In The Woods
• Being Mortal 
• Murder At The Brightwell
• The Witches of New York

Remembering... that I wanted to tell you all I quit Monat.  It seemed to help for a while with growing my hair back (after it fell out from stress) but then it didn't seem like it was helping anymore and with the cost, I couldn't keep buying it if it wasn't FOR SURE helping. I used it for a solid nine months, and I'm glad I did, but I am equally as happy to be done sinking that kind of money into my hair every month.

Creating... our yearly Christmas cards after we got a super cute snap of our family at the pumpkin patch last week.  Shutterfly was running a 40% off coupon, and I had a free shipping code, so I ordered them and now they are done!

Reading... Tuesdays with Morrie, and The Pull of the Moon this week.  I also listened to The Aviators Wife and Gift from the Sea (one is about Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the other is written by Anne Morrow Lindbergh; both are really good!) and also The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker, which reminded me of Station Eleven. I couldn't stop listening. It was so good!
I've finished 75 books so far and that is just mind boggling to me. Last year I only read 68 books total. So to be at 75 books with two months left to go is really exciting! (Could I be more of a book nerd? Hah!)

Nursing... Wyatt fully back to health after a scary week last week.  The oral steroids finally started working their magic (a little slower than I would have liked) and his breathing is back to normal.  I ordered him some new nebulizer parts and I am hopeful that having a fresh mask next time he's sick will help him.  Unbeknownst to us, his old mask had a hole in the tube, so he wasn't getting his medicine as effectively as he should have been.  Old Shelly would have blamed herself endlessly for this, but New Shelly knows that life happens and all we can do is move forward.  Deep breaths.

Adulting... and getting 3 cavities filled, plus my cleaning done at the dentist, as well as getting groceries (even though I did not want to go that day) and attending our school district insurance night.  (Josh's school district is switching insurance this year, so there was a TON of information to gather. Whew!)

Hosting... our old neighbors for chili & cornbread Sunday and feeling so happy to have them over.  We are all missing each other, so it was great to get together.
That day I suffered a migraine, so I took a nap before they came over and bless Josh, he made both the chili and the cornbread from scratch.  Yum!

Cooking... tortillas with Carly's help for enchiladas on Monday.  They were delicious and turned out great and Carly had a great (read: messy) time helping. ;)
I made some chocolate chip zucchini bread this weekend & it was super yummy with my coffee each morning.
I also enjoyed some chocolate eyeballs (a Cunningham kid favorite around Halloween time) and sweet potato fries that I had with our cheeseburgers Wednesday.  I find it ridiculous how much I love sweet potato fries.

Attending... Logan's first choir concert of the year.  I was so proud of him, and it brought back so many memories of my own years of choir concerts.  The only bummer was that Carly hadn't napped that day, so sister was a handful!!!

Loving... how when Carly is coloring she always has out markers only in an array of pinks, reds & purples.
And also loving how we spent our rainy Saturday last weekend- playing Play Doh, all four kids and I, making ice cream and french fries and popsicles; growing Orbeez (those cool little beads that grow when you put them in water) and playing with them for hours; and following all of that up with pizza & cookies for move night.  The kids watched Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which is hilarious, and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Organizing... the very last boxes in the house thanks to the help of my bestie Shana.  You know when a project is so overwhelming that you just don't even want to start? That was this project for me. So when Shana stopped by and was willing to jump in with me, I was almost weepy with gratitude.  Seriously later that evening when I was thinking of my afternoon, I teared up.  I am just so thankful for friends who know when you need a little (or a lot of) help.

Enjoying... our family dinners lately which have been filled with lots of laughter & talking.  It also brings me joy that Josh started reading his favorite book from childhood (The Giver) to the boys this week. They are loving it!!!

Dressing... Carly and her friend Kamden up as Gecko & Owlette from PJ Masks during their playdate on Friday morning.  Kara and I had so much fun visiting while these two played, and we about died of cuteness after we dressed them up.

Listening... and crying to "I Know You By Heart" by JJ Heller.  Gah, so good.  You know when a song just makes you feel heard & understood? This is that song for me.

I see you packing all the lunches
Loading all the kids into the van
Tonight you'll tuck them in at bedtime
Tomorrow you will do it all again

... You are enough
You matter in this world
Every second I am proud of who you are
Although you feel forgotten and invisible
I see you and I know you by heart

{agreed!!!}

Missing... my kids as babies & small children.  It is so surreal to me that the twins and Wyatt are eleven and eight.  Lately especially I am wistful for the mornings from before we had to wake up and get them ready and send them off to school everyday.  It's hard to find the balance between reminiscing over the past and staying here in the present.
What is helping me lately is what Kelle Hampton says to herself when she starts to feel panicky about time slipping by: "There is more."  So when I start to panic about Carly approaching her fourth birthday, or the fact that there is only a year and a half before she starts school, I take a breath and remind myself, "There is more."  More memories, more laughter, more love.  More goodness, more stories, more things to someday be nostalgic for.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I also agree with what Kelle said about supporting older kids' emotional needs.  I was not prepared for this, guys, and it is a whole different level than even newborn baby twins.  haha!  Middle school might just be the death of me.

Laughing:

Josh sent me this:

{accurate. the struggle is real.}

Loving this advice:

***