Showing posts with label breastfeeding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breastfeeding. Show all posts

1.06.2018

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



12.29.2017

Around Here: Week 52

This is it, folks.  
Another year of "Around Here" posts complete... 
52 weeks in my life, captured here on the blog. 
I know that someday I will be so grateful for the effort I put into recording our regular, everyday family life on this blog.  





 



























Embracing... a new tradition of opening books on Christmas Eve and spending the evening reading them.  I was thrilled when the kids were as happy as I was with the new tradition.

Making... cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve, which is a longstanding tradition from my childhood.  We call them cinnamon rolls, but they're really caramel rolls.  The recipe is my grandma's, and I remember making them with my mom when I was a girl.

Celebrating... the most perfect Christmas day ever with my kids & husband.  The children stayed in bed until 6:30am, then we all walked out to the living room to open presents together.  They loved their gifts from Santa (a Nerf gun for Logan; a remote control car for Jack; Magic Tracks for Wyatt; and a dollhouse for Carly) and their gifts from us.  It was the first year where no one was asking, "Are their more presents?" and that made me so happy.  I love that they had grateful hearts, not greedy ones. 

Saying... goodbye to Dashy, our Christmas elf.  I have to say that even I miss him!  The boys love spending the month of December waking up to his shenanigans, and as much work as it is, I have loved watching them enjoy his magic this year.  I think maybe I treasured this year so much because I have a feeling it may be Logan & Jack's last year believing.  So far, they have no doubts, but they are approaching that age. So it felt extra special. 

Continuing... to nurse Carly just once a day at nap time.  I am thinking that once we cross into the new year, it won't be long before we're done.  Just in time for her second birthday. 
What a blessing it has been to be able to nurse her for this long.

Enjoying... lots of laid back days, playing Legos and Nerf guns while everyone is out of school.  The twins have made the most of the bit of snow we got last Friday and have been sledding everyday.  Then Josh surprised me and took the twins out of town with him Wednesday through Friday, and it was so lovely.  Two kids (by comparison) is a cake walk. Ha!  I took a bath, read a book and did plenty of blogging!

Watching... our yard bunny out the window constantly.  I think I get as excited as the kids!

Organizing... our bedrooms and cleaning house in preparation for my parents' visit.  It feels so good to have the house clean & organized.  Sometime next week we will undecorate the house, which sometimes makes me sad, but mostly makes me excited for the new year.  I just love a clean, fresh space.

Still... listening to Scream Free Parenting and watching The Crown when I have a spare moment.

Finishing... Winter Street and starting Winter Stroll. I also bought Sophie's Choice and This Is How It Always Is for the new year.  One of my favorite things to do when a new year is coming is to make a list of all the books I want to read.  It makes me so excited.  This week I have also been counting my "books read" for 2018.  I am currently at 67, and that's probably where I'll end the year.  My goal was 50, which, at the time, felt lofty. So to close out the year at 67 after not reading a drop in October or November, feels amazing!!!

Loving... how the boys will read to Carly (over and over and over again) with no complaints.  At 23 months she is loving books so much and I couldn't be happier!

Contemplating... what goals I have for 2018, as well as how many books I want to read, and what I want my "Word of the Year" to be. In 2014 it was "content"; in 2015 it was "linger"; in 2016 it was "gentle"; and this year was "embrace."
What goals do you have for the new year? Do you set reading goals? And what are you "word of the year" ideas? I'd love to hear what you all think!

-Tyler Knott Gregson

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