Around Here: Week 51 2020

 {December 13-19th}

Making... sugar cookies with the kids for movie night.  They had so much fun decorating, especially Carly.  I bought two tubs of vanilla frosting and split them each three ways, so I was able to make five colors (plus one white) for them to use. I have to admit, I also had fun decorating my cookies. Is there anything happier than a rainbow cookie with sprinkles?  I also made muddy buddies, which the kids and I devoured, and cake & cupcakes for my mom's upcoming birthday party. Carly gasped as she saw the cake, covered with sprinkles. I love her zest for life. 

Cutting... out tissue paper snowflakes to decorate the back door.  We did the same thing last year with my sister and her crew on Thanksgiving, and I loved how it made the dining room feel so festive. So we did it again. Last year we used coffee filters, but I didn't have any this time, so we made do with regular old tissue paper, normally used for wrapping gifts. 

Feeling... so good as I wrapped gifts and gave two of them to our doctor and nurse. This year I have really been feeling the joy of giving, and I could hardly wait to get my presents to their recipients.  We were able to deliver the doctor's on Tuesday when Logan (finally!) got his cast off and Jack (finally!) got his flu shot. Jack was the last of the kids who needed theirs, but he hates needles, so it was hard to convince him to do it. Logan was thrilled to have his cast off, and I'm glad to be done taking him in every two weeks for a new cast. 

Laughing... that no matter the weather, my boys wear shorts and go outside barefoot.  Josh and I are constantly telling them to go put on pants... a jacket.... socks... and shoes... It's exhausting and ridiculous.

Pausing... every time I see Molly snuggled up sleeping somewhere. There's something about a cat curled up on a cold winter day that is just so cozy. 

Cleaning... the oven and the fridge this week.  Holy rewarding!! The oven was really gross, and I still need to go at it again, but the first pass was incredible.  I used Easy Off, letting it sit for twenty minutes before using a bucket of hot water to clean it out with a sponge. It is so pretty in there now!

The fridge was also rewarding, but so hard to do! About two weeks ago it developed a smell, and whoo-whee! it was not fun to clean! I still have no idea what the smell was, but the fridge is scrubbed clean and smells great now.  Phew!

Sending... the boys outside to play basketball every day and feeling so grateful our neighbors don't mind if they use their street hoop.  

Acquiescing... when Carly asked if she could turn on the Christmas lights on her bed and read "like brothers" after I had tucked her in one night. It was so cute to see her sitting there, "reading" to herself and her stuffed animals.  

Finding... pictures that Carly took on my phone of her favorite stuffed animal, Lollipops.  I also found some of the Christmas tree and her toys. They always make me smile. I love seeing the world from her perspective. 

Creating... art with the kids to hang as decorations for my mom's birthday next weekend.  My sister asked us to contribute this way, and I'm so glad. We had a great time!  I forget how much fun I have drawing & painting until I'm doing it. (That's not to say I'm super artistic... but I have fun anyway!)

Reading... and finishing My Name is Mary Sutter.  I then started Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery, which has been the coziest Christmas read. I've really enjoyed it. It's apparently the third in a series, but I didn't read #1 or #2, and didn't feel at all out of the loop. I listened to Weapons of Math Destruction, which is blowing my mind (the way that numbers are used to manipulate us... it's crazy!) and started Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children with the boys.  I bought the whole series to read with them as Josh and I alternate readaloud at bedtime with them.  

Totaling... my reading numbers for November and hitting 99/100 on my yearly goal. I am so excited that I am going to make it this year! Whoo hoo!

Discussing... black holes at the dinner table with Wyatt.  That kids' scope of knowledge is truly incredible, and it's a rare conversation where I can just answer him without turning to Google. #smartypants

Feeling... the freedom of school being done for two weeks for Christmas vacation. I am so incredibly grateful (and ready) for this break. So are the kids. There were some things that the teachers mentioned we could work on over break if we wanted to, but I assured them (and the boys) that we needed each day of this respite and we would not be doing a drop of work.

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Loving... this picture my mom shared of the time we had four cats growing up. My sister acquired two kittens over quarantine, and that makes for a total of four cats for their family.  She was telling her boys that she had four cats growing up as well, and that they all liked to sleep on her top bunk in our shared room. 

The black cat is Wolfgang; the orange cat is Blade; the white cat was my cat, Bianca; and the grey siamese was Rex.  Wolfgang was the sweetest, laziest, chubbiest cat I've ever had. I loved him!  Blade was a big boy, a hunter, who would often bring my mom choice treats (lizards, mice or rabbits) and leave them on the front patio for her. Rex was my sister's cat, and Bianca was mine.  I had Bianca until after Josh and I were engaged. Some 14+ years.  I loved her something fierce. 

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around here: week 22 2020

[Wyatt & Carly checking out the garden}

{first glimpse of our baby girl}

{see Grady behind her?}

{Can you find Molly?}

Feeling... inspired by this Hugh Laurie quote to stop eating my feelings (I hate you Coronavirus) and take control of my body again.  I am at my highest weight. 210 pounds which is hard to even type.  But I am done gaining weight. I am going to drink water and sleep more, cut out soda & caffeine, walk daily and wear my fitbit, and hopefully I will start to resemble a human more than a beach ball. Hah.

Learning... my uncle also has COVID-19 (this in addition to my aunt who caught it at work) and isn't doing well.  It's super scary and makes all of this feel so real, just after it was all starting to feel kind of far away and fading. Masks and hand washing and praying, oh my.

Spending... time here blogging & playing Jenga with the kids while Josh had the twins at the land Sunday.  It was a nice, calm day.

Watching... Carly host a tea party one morning with her favorite bubbas (what she calls stuffed animals) and Jack.  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.  What a dream come true. 
My favorite part was when she told Jack the room needed to be more dazzling. I just can't even.

Enjoying... the progress that George & Grady are making in getting along.  George still growls and Grady occasionally barks... but I can see a marked improvement in their friendship. I'm taking it as a good sign.

Loving... my little mini-me who wants to dress like me, wear make up like me and jewelry like me.  Having a daughter just never gets old. Highly recommend.

Doing... much better emotionally now that I am on 40mg of Prozac daily.  It's crazy how much of a difference I can feel in my internal chatter (less) and happiness (more).  I'm so glad that I asked the doctor about increasing and that I tried the Buspar.  The Buspar was the not the answer (it made me crazy dizzy), but so far the extra 10mg of Prozac has been perfect. 
The medication along with more sleep and walking with Josh has helped a ton. 

Grateful... for friends checking on me while I was feeling down.  Shana, Brittany, Susan and Theresa: thank you.  They called, sent love, notes, quotes and Susan even sent me some oils to try.  My village is so, so good to me.

Playing... Pie Face with the kids on Memorial Day when we had Josh's parents over for a small BBQ & firepit time.  It was fun to make smores with the kids and visit with Carol & Carl.  And the kids loved Pie Face, although I think they would love eating whip cream even if it hadn't been smacked into their faces first. Hah!

Closing... up Josh's classroom for the year and having some feels about it.  It was a strange year for all of us- him as a teacher, our kids as students and me as a wife & mom.  It was sad to see the pictures of his classroom all ready for summer knowing he didn't get the closure he normally does at the end of the year.  It was weird to know that my kids will move on to seventh and fourth grade without having the feeling that they really completed sixth and third grades... What a strange year this has been indeed. (Not to mention I am SO curious what next year will hold...)

Attending... book club for The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek this month and loving the girls & the book.  I am so grateful for those ladies, now more than ever, because we really are in this together.  We all have bunches of kids that we are suddenly home with 24/7 and teaching digitally via "distance learning" and let me tell you, it has been a wild ride.  To have them to confide in and laugh with has made all the difference.  Gosh, I love you, ladies!!!

Testing... Carly with the recent "treat test" going around where you leave your kid with a treat in the room for a few minutes while you go out and see if they will wait until you come back to eat them.  I was surprised that Carly actually waited. And then she even offered to share her chocolate chips with me! What a good girl!! (You can see the video on my Instagram.)

Getting... a new kitten!!!  It was like serendipity the way this little one fell into our laps.  Josh's brother's girlfriend happened to have one kitten left from her litter (that I didn't even know she had!) that was ready to go home, and when Josh mentioned to Samuel that I might be wanting a kitten he mentioned the one Makayla had and the rest is history!
We got a picture of the little sweetheart that night, I said yes, and we picked her up a few days later. The kids had no idea that was what we were doing and were overjoyed that the little pumpkin was ours to keep.

Falling... head over heels in love with Molly, which is what we named our new kitten.  It's a name that was on Carly's "possible names" list when I was pregnant, and one that my sister-in-law loved for a daughter for herself (but she only had sons) so it is special to me. 
Molly is just the sweetest little baby you ever did meet, and we are all in love with her.  Grady was super sweet when he met her, and they play with each other everyday.  We have to watch Grady because he is a little big... but I think they are going to grow up to be best buddies.
George, our other cat, is not sure what to think of Molly.  Her kitten energy scares him and he's a little confused by her, but I think he will come around.
The kids and I fight over who gets to hold Molly when she's sleeping and when she's playful we all love to laugh at her antics.  She may be the most beloved kitten that ever was.

Reading... The House on the Cerulean Sea and The Call of the Wild.  The Call of the Wild has the boys interest for sure, and we can't wait to watch the movie for movie night.  The House on the Cerulean Sea is so good, I know I'll be sad when it ends.  I'm not normally one for fantasy reads, but this one is really well written and I am super invested in the characters.  It reminds me a little of Sweep by Jonathan Auxier, and also of Harry's Trees.  Just a really good story line, plus a little magic.

Talking... Wyatt through his emotions about Ramona dying.  He has had two dreams now where Ramona is alive and then he wakes up and realizes it was just a dream and he is crushed.  His poor little heart can hardly take it.  He is very worried about how George is coping and where George thinks his sister went.  I assure him that he knew his sister was suffering and that George knows she is gone and no longer in pain, but I'm not sure he believes me. 
Then one night (before we got Molly) he wrote this every complicated emotional pet graph on Carly's white board.  (You can see it above) He said Ramona is dead and that makes him and George both sad, but George and Grady are alive and that makes him happy.  I am really glad he is processing Ramona's death, but to be honest, I had no idea it would hit him this hard.
We did read a book I had been saving for a death experience called When Dinosaurs Die and it was really helpful for conversations and questions he had. It's kid friendly, but also matter of fact, which I like, but might not be for everyone. 

Collecting... heart shaped rocks (or really noticing heart shaped anything) and feeling my heart swell when my grandma told me my grandpa has started looking for heart shaped rocks as well.  Gosh I love him so much it hurts sometimes.

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