Around Here: Week Ten {2018}

Reading... 600 minutes over the last two months to earn Silverwood tickets from the school with my kids.  The boys each had sheets to fill out & turn in and when we get those tickets we are off to that magical theme park where we had so much fun last summer!  It's one of our best memories!
I personally am reading The Nightingale (which I cannot put down! as in, I read about 300 pages in two days) after finishing The Great Alone and slipping into a post-good-book depression. (That feeling you have where life has no joy because you finished your book and there's nothing to live for. Does that happen to anyone else? No? Just me? Ha!)  Thankfully The Nightingale is just as good (in fact, even better!) and I am reading every chance I get!

Freaking out... while listening to (and finishing) The Case Against Sugar.  Wow.  So much food for thought (little joke there) about diabetes, what we are feeding ourselves (and our children) and how we can do better.  It's a long (and somewhat boring read) but the last two sections (I listened to the audio version) make it worth every hour.  It has lit a new fire under me to keep as much sugar out of our diets as possible and to keep our diet as close to "real food" as possible.

So grateful... for my local book club girls.  That night out once a month means so much to me.  To talk and laugh and listen and be heard.  Girls, you fill my cup!

Loving... date night in my jammies & sweatshirt Friday after a long couple weeks of sick kids.  It was some much needed down time, just watching a movie with my guy.

Attending... a friends' little girls birthday party at the bowling alley and feeling so proud of all our kids.  They were so sweet and well behaved.  It's so weird to have older kids.  After years of dreading parties because it meant hours of hot, sweaty, child-chasing, now I go and it's honestly pretty relaxing.  The older three help chase Carly, (who was actually really good at this one) and are well mannered.  I just had a really lovely feeling as we left the party.

Laughing... as the kids tried Pop Rocks from their Party Favor Bags from the birthday party.  It's like a childhood rite of passage.

Making... March goals & getting stuff done around here this week.

Teaching... the twins to make breakfast so I don't have to because they want to learn.  It's a total win/win!  They make our eggs and sausage every morning and call us when it's ready.  It's seriously the best!

Playing hooky... with the kids Monday while my parents were here.  It was the most fun 24 hours and we enjoyed every moment.  A little shopping, some time at the arcade, some relaxed screen time, and some bedtime stories.  It was lovely and over all too soon!

Whining... about the "raining inside" that's happening cause of our "thirty year roof" that's 34 & needs replacing.  I'm amping up my hours on VIPkid, selling stuff we don't need on Facebook Market and praying we don't need to rip it all off.  #homeownership + #adulthood = #sadShelly

Cleaning... out the garage with Josh in an amazing one-day overhaul that was like they show on TLC.  I was so proud of us.  He's hoping to put some workout equipment in there, and I'm just glad to be rid of stuff that's been there since before we moved in.  It feels so good!  (see before/after photos above)

Crying... Thursday when Josh brought home "just because" flowers for me.  Man, I love doing life with that guy.  I am so blessed by him.

Cracking up... at my sister emailing me her vision of Josh and I parenting together:
Me, getting too close, helping too much, the epitome of helicopter parenting, hovering...
Josh, stepping in, pulling me away, or "shooting me down" (like when he told me he thought Logan (who has EPILEPSY!) could ride to school alone!) from my prime hovering position and my sister shouting from a distance,
"MAMA HAWK DOWN! REPEAT! MAMA HAWK DOWN!
God I love that girl.
She just gets me.

(I joke, but Josh and I talk seriously all the time about how this is why kids need two parents.  Because his tendency is to SHOVE THEM OUT OF THE NEST, and mine is to HOLD THEM THROUGH EVERYTHING, while what they actually need is some tightrope walk in between the two.  Navigating that is a lot of work for a marriage and often feels it requires much compromise and many small miracles.)

Enjoying... the way Carly brings out the soft side of Logan.  This week he enjoyed holding her during bedtime stories, and wearing matching jean jackets with her.  He is just extra tender with her, and I love watching their relationship.  He has a super sweet voice he uses with her, and he can't stand when she's in trouble or sad.  It's so sweet.  She's very blessed to be so loved by him.

Finally... sleeping after weeks of waking to sick kids & then 10 days of round-the-clock 6 hour penicillin doses for Logan.  When Jack had the option, we chose the shot instead of the pills for his ear infection because I could not face another week and a half of middle-of-the-night-alarm-clock-waking & pill giving.  (I haven't had coffee since the new year, and the last three weeks, these mornings without coffee have been extra rough!)
It's amazing how much energy I have now that I'm sleeping again.

Lastly... please join The Inspired Readers Book Club in reading The Immortalists starting next week! We'd love to have you!

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Around Here: Week One {2018}

(after school... sigh...)

(baby selfies are my fav)

Enjoying... my parents visit.  They brought Christmas presents for the kids and Josh and myself.  My mom bought me Fiestaware bowls in two sizes, and I have to tell you that those rainbow stacks of bowls make me smile SO BIG when I open my cupboards! We completed a puzzle one night, the three of us (which was so much fun!) and they took the kids ice skating.  Best.grandparents.ever!

Celebrating... Christmas with a lunch at my sister's house.  We had a lovely day with her family and my parents.  The only bummer was that we're pretty sure Logan had another mini-seizure.  He was upstairs playing with his cousins when Jack told us Logan was hurt.  By the time we got upstairs, he was fine, but his behavior the rest of the day was off.

Watching... Sugar Coated on Netflix with Josh, and crossing "Watch 3 Documentaries" off my 100 small things list.  (The other two I watched: Naledi & Born in China, which I loved because it's narrated by John Krasinksi, aka Jim from The Office)

Cutting... sugar & carbs (in moderation) from my life.  Josh has cut them completely, whereas the kids and I are going at a slower rate making our changes.  That said, just cutting soda & candy for me has felt tremendous!  Our goal, really, is simple.  Eat real food. So far, so good!  (As in, I started out weighing 200 pounds and have lost five pounds already! What?! What?!)  The boys used to have cereal for breakfast every morning.  Now I make them eggs and sausage or bacon everyday.  Already we've noticed a difference in Logan's focus and last week he aced a reading test, his weakest area.  I hope it continues to change how we all feel.  We are working hard at not feeling deprived, just replacing our old favorites with new ones, and in that same vein, we have decided that homemade pizza + dessert for movie night will continue on Saturdays so we don't feel so restricted that we drop the diet in six weeks.

Ringing... in the new year in my bed.  I spent many years staying up all night for New Years Eve, and started many years feeling like garbage on January 1st.  So for the last ten years or so, we've gone to bed on New Years Eve.  This year I was really motivated to go to bed early cause I taught at 4:00am on the 1st.

Sledding... with cousins on New Years Day and having so much fun! (Blog post forthcoming!)

Videoing... Carly 1000x per day. I am just in love with her voice, her play and all her words.  She's so fun right now!

Receiving... a new (to us) dining room table from Josh's parents that I am loving.  It has an extra leaf that adds 18" and with that in there, it's so big.  It fits our family so much better than our older, smaller table.  Our old dining room table is in the office, though, acting as a desk/play space for the boys and it's perfect in there. Our life happens around the dining room table (breakfasts, play time, homework time, and dinners) and having this bigger one has brought me so much happiness!

Still... nursing Carly once a day, knowing the end is coming, but too sentimental to quit just yet. I am planning to sell my Ergo though, so that's something right?

Choosing... a word for the year.  "Measure" & making goals accordingly.

Taking... Wyatt to physical therapy to help stretch out his achilles tendons which are stretched too tight after a rapid growth spurt.

Shopping... together as a family for groceries.  It's a pain for all six of us to trek to the store, but it's a nice message to the kids that, as we journey towards healthier eating, we're all in this together.

Tracking... dinners and planning to share them with you all weekly as a means of accountability.

Sending... the boys back to school, and relishing in how quiet the house is without them.  That said, Carly and I are desperately missing her playmates.  She got a bit spoiled over break!

Committing... to "No TV" time while the boys were at school this week.  Before Christmas Break I was in a bad habit of turning on the TV as soon as I got home and not getting a whole lot done.  So I want to try a week or two of no screens in hopes that I will get more done around the house and get more reading in.

Reading... Winter Storms (#3 of the Winter Street trilogy), and when I'm finished I will finally read Hilderbrand's new Winter Street book, the bonus #4 Winter Solstice.  I am also re-reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (this is the third time, I believe) and it amazes me how every time I read it, it teaches me something new.  Two days ago I started Idaho, my January book club pick for my book club here in town, and oh my gosh, you guys, I cannot put it down.

Feeling inspired by... Ashley's Gratitude Journal List from December.  It's so cozy & lovely.

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Meals:

Chicken & brocolli

Burgers & sweet potato fries

Chicken stir fry

Steak & asparagus

Marinated chicken & cooked carrots