Around Here: Week 22 2021

 {May 23-29th}

{texts from Jack}

One Year Ago

Grateful... for my parents for helping Josh while I was gone by having the kids in shifts.  The kids had a blast and it was really special for Josh to get to spend time with them in smaller groups. 

Laughing... at the message Jack sent me when Logan rode his bike to school and I drove Jack (because his tire was flat).  "Logan is alive. Have a good day." Haha! He knows how I worry when they are alone (especially Logan with his history of seizures) and wanted to let me know he was good. 

Planting... our garden (just me & Josh) while the twins were with my parents.  We had the best time, picking veggies at Lowe's and doing all the work required to get it in this year.  We stopped by his parents' land to get strawberry plants and that was really special too.  His mom is an avid (amazing!) gardener and I love that we have some of her plants in our garden. 

Visiting... Josh's car in his parents shop, and feeling so sad for him that she's broken.  Thankfully he and his brother are amazing with cars, and they have a plan to get her back on the road. I can't wait for that day. 

Enjoying... backrubs from my husband. I just adore a good foot or back rub, and Josh is always so accommodating. 

Spending... time alone with Carly which was just what my heart needed.  This school year has been hard as my plans were thrown out the window with COVID.  Instead of one last year with my girl before she starts kindergarten, I instead had all four kids home, full time, for a year.  So squeezing in little mommy & me, girls only sessions has been really special.

Dealing... with lots of physical anxiety and just praying school would be over already.

Ending... baseball season, which felt like it flew right by! We had such a great season, awesome coaches and fun teams for all the kids.  Jack would always save his after-game snack for Carly, which melted my heart. 

Leaving... for an extended weekend getaway Thursday.  I left Carly with the twins for a few hours before Josh was going to get home. I was nervous, but also knew they could handle it.  Thankfully, they did great, and my drive was awesome.  

I arrived in Vancouver and went to my cousin's to stay the night.  We shared dinner and I got to visit with her and her husband, and it was just such a treat to spend time with them one on one. 

Listening... to Oprah's unauthorized biograpahy; "I Pray You Put This Journal Away
 podcasts (totally fascinating look at the Duggar family); and the audiobook Dear Sugar as I drove. Dear Sugar had SO much magic writing.  Gosh, if you want to hug humanity, listen to that book. It was so inspiring and good for the soul.

Treating... myself to a haircut, pedicure and manicure.  Being alone is such a rare treat for me, that I almost didn't know what to do with myself when I had a morning with no plans.  The pedicure and manicure were lovely, and the haircut was fun, but I'm not sure I love it. Oh well.  At least I don't have dead ends anymore!

Sharing... lunch with my friends Kari & Kori (who were the whole reason for this trip- they were flying from Florida and New York home to see their mom in Oregon, and I was like, "If you're going to be here, I want to meet up with you!") and enjoying the most delicious Cuban sandwich made on French toast at La Provence.  Oh my gosh, I'm not a foodie... but this was amazing. 

We also had dinner together, at Beaches, which is where Josh and I went to Junior Prom in 2000, and very much enjoyed the view of the Columbia River and the company.  Gosh, I love those girls.  We have been friends since... I was 14 or 15.  Over twenty years of friendship and it's always the same. No matter how long we have been apart, we immediately pick up where we left off, sharing our struggles, our secrets and our stupidity.  They can make me laugh; they let me cry; and I know 100% that they are always there for me. 

Spending... the night in a beautiful hotel in downtown Vancouver with Kari & Kori, along with Kari's adorable daughter Cadence. We had so much fun talking until we could no longer keep our eyes open.  I talked to them about my weight gain, and Kari said, "Your body is the least interesting thing about you." They assured me that my value remains the same always. I mean, can you get better friends than that? Who love you regardless. Unconditional.  Such a blessing to me.

Chowing... down on a big (delicious) breakfast at Duck's in Vancouver (if you're from Vancouver, apparently it is owned by the family that used to own Waddle's across the river) and enjoying one last hour together before I headed to the coast to see my grandparents.

Driving... to the beach to see my Grandma Pansy & Grandpa Jerry.  The drive was absolutely beautiful.  Sun shining through the trees, making shadows as I drove over the mountain, sparkling and looking like magic. It was lovely. 

That is one thing I really miss about the Pacific Northwest (now that I live in the desert)- driving through trees.  There's nothing like it. 

Eating... dinner with my grandparents and sharing some laughs.  Then Grandma and I took a walk, which was lovely, and before it was too late, I turned in. I was exhausted.  What a weekend I had had!

Preparing... my summer reading list and getting really excited. School feels like it has been going For.Ev.Er and I cannot wait to be free.  For sunshine and swimming, for reading and writing. It's going to be so great. 

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Around Here: Week 33 2020

{August 9-15}

Singing... with my dad  as he played his guitar their last morning here.  Carly got out the ukulele and even joined us.  She's so cute.
It was so nice to sing with my dad. 
It inspired me to want to try and learn how to play the guitar, so I am adding that to my list of things to try in 2020. My favorite song we sang was Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Calling... my friend Kori when I got an email that felt like an ultimatum from our school district. (#dramaticmuch ?) They gave us three options, which is great, but only five days to choose, after which the district will make the choice for you.
It just felt quick and quite heavy!
Talking to my girlfriend helped, though, and made me feel far less alone.  We are all truly in this together, even if we are making different choices.  We're just trying to do what's best for our families in some hard, hard situations, and none of it feels great. We are all longing for normal, and trying to make the best of what life has become.

Leaving... the kids with my parents while Josh and I attended his sister's birthday BBQ.  It was so nice to visit with his parents and siblings without any kids interrupting or causing mischief, and the kids had the best time, shopping for art supplies at JoAnn's (their first outing since last time we shopped with my mom when she was here in June) and swimming in the pool when they got back home.  Logan & Jack also helped make shrimp for dinner and mom said it was delicious!
While we were at the party I was able to seek advice from Josh's dad and sister, and basically they assured me that I knew the right answer for where the kids need to be when school starts. It was comforting.

Sending... Josh back to work after months at home.  He had to work Monday through Thursday this week, and it.was.brutal.
For me.
(hah! To be fair, it was probably brutal for him, too.)
Having all four kids on my own after nearly six months of constant co-parenting was T.O.U.G.H.  It makes me very (very) anxious for having them all home in the fall.

Deciding... & selecting the online option (making it official) that the kids will be doing distance learning for at least the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year.  Two of the boys were upset when I told them, wishing so much that life would just resume normalcy.  One cried and the other was angry.  The third had expected as much and was more resigned to being home for at least the first half of the year.
We chose that option because a) we feel it is the safest option with Wyatt and his asthma and Logan and his (sometimes fever induced) seizures and b) it will provide the most consistency with regards to creating a routine for all of us.
But it's really important to me that other moms know that just because I chose not to send my kids doesn't mean that I judge moms who are sending their kids. I truly believe that every family is doing what's right for them, and I hold no judgment.  Only love and solidarity, sisters. Love and solidarity.

Reading... Kelle Hampton's words on her Instagram about deciding to distance learn with her kids and feeling so much kinship with her:

"We’re keeping our kids home and following our district’s online school plan with my own creative supplementation. Because it’s what works for our family? God, no. I think we can throw that deciding factor out in 2020. None of this fits into the tidy box of “what works for our family.”

[But]...for now, we’re going to do what we do

...find beauty in the unexpected."

Worrying... so much over Wyatt's asthma when one night he started coughing and throat clearing for no apparent reason.  His peak flow dipped by about 25-50 points and he needed a nebulizer treatment.  I was so scared.  He hasn't been sick in ages (!) which is fantastic, but it also means I am out of practice, so I sort of forgot the protocol.  I had to pull it up from the depths of my memory- counting his breaths, taking his oxygen reading and giving him albuterol. 
Luckily that was all he needed and he hasn't had another problem since. Phew!  I sure wish I knew why random attacks like that happen.  They are exhausting and scary!!

Dreaming... that I had Coronavirus.  I know it's because of Wyatt's random coughing and asthma.  It was so scary, I was very grateful to wake up!

Crazy grateful... to Jack's art teacher who taught him all the skills he is using to keep from going nuts during quarantine currently.  He is painting, drawing and doing wood burning with the tool my mom bought him. 
I had been thinking of emailing his teacher when he happened to end up in line behind us at the McDonald's drive through one afternoon, so instead I bought his lunch. :)  Teachers just constantly make the world a better place and I love them.

Making... salads again for Josh for lunch at work and realizing how much I miss our routine and regular life.  I know the transition will be hard, but I am looking forward to settling back into it once the newness wears off.

Enjoying... the change of dynamic on Tuesday and Wednesday as Carol had Jack & Wyatt, and then Carly & Logan.  On Tuesday Carly & Logan swam and swam at home, and Logan was so sweet with Carly, it melted my heart.  Then on Wednesday, Ferris came over and he and Jack spent a ton of time in the pool while Wyatt had a playdate with Milo in Wenatchee. It's constantly crazy to me how adding or subtracting just one kid can change the way things go that day.

Driving... to Quincy early Wednesday morning to do a cousin switch with my sister (as mentioned above) and listening to an audiobook on the way while downing a huge mug of coffee. A long drive and a good audiobook may just be one of my favorite things.

Taking... Grady to the vet at the last minute when he was feeling down on Thursday.  He seemed to have a fever and was lethargic, plus he wouldn't let me pet him by his shoulder blades.
I was SO glad I took him in. It turns out he had a skin infection and a high fever.  The vet gave him pain meds as well as antibiotics (and a reverse mohawk so she could really see his skin on his back- haha- poor pup!) and within two days he was visibly feeling better. Hallelujah!!

Reading... The Pull of the Stars, and The Girls of 17 Swann Street on audio (HIGHLY recommend both!); and Evvie Drake Starts Over and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird.  I finished Evvie Drake in like three days- so good!, and am still working through The Two Lives, but am liking it.

Still Watching... Grey's Anatomy.  I am only on Season Six, but oh how I love it. I can't believe I never watched it before now!

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