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.

***

 This:

Week 48 Around Here {2019}

{My "10 Year Challenge" Photo :: My how our family has grown!}

Walking... in the sunshine on Sunday and feeling so grateful for warmer temps.  We all needed to get out of the house so desperately after a cold and grey Saturday.  When we are out walking, or grabbing our mail, we love to say hi to our friendly neighbor dog who lives by our mailbox.  Link is the sweetest pup who is always up for a pet and a visit.  He's the best.

Making... tortillas with all the kids on Sunday while Josh was at the land again working on his dad's truck.  (The truck was being a beast and making it really difficult to accomplish what they were trying to do.  It took nearly all weekend!) So we made the best of it and tried to prepare for the week ahead.

Preparing... for company for Thanksgiving this week by cleaning house while Carly was at Grandma's on Monday.

Taking... the twins to the orthodontist super early Tuesday to adjust their bands.  Then Carly left her purse of pups there, and panic ensued.  Thankfully I am friends with our orthodontist's family and we were able to arrange a pick up, or Thanksgiving break would have been sad and puppy-less.  (Shout out to Feller Orthodontics!)

Loving... Ghiradelli Peppermint Bark lately.  It's my favorite Christmas time treat.

Mourning... the loss of our family friend Kenny who passed the day before Thanksgiving.  He and his beloved wife Shirley (who passed around the time Carly was born) were like an extra set of grandparents to my kids.  They adored our crew, and we loved them right back.

Hosting... Thanksgiving for my parents and sister's family.  My parents stayed with us, along with their puppy, Juno.  It was so fun to spend some time with them and we all fell in love with their dog!  My sister and I planned a day full of activities for our busy crew (together we have seven kids- five of whom are boys!) and it ended up being really fun!  We cut out snowflakes for my back door, made gratitude collages, decorated sugar cookies and they also did some diamond art my mom bought them.  The adults worked on a puzzle, which is my new favorite past time with my family (a tradition started by my Grandma Pansy) and took pictures of my dad as Santa with all the grandkids.
The food was a joint effort and I don't think any of us felt like we did too much, which was the best.  And the icing on the cake? Our husbands did the dishes! Way to go, Josh & Blake! {swoon} It was a really fun day and none of us wanted it to end.  It made me so grateful that we are all in the same state and able to celebrate holidays together like this so easily.

Spending... the last day with my parents going out to lunch and sending them off to the arcade with the kids while I stayed home with Josh and their sweet dog.  Juno is seriously the best dog and made it easy to see how a dog would fit into our lives.

Deciding... maybe it's time we get a dog of our own.  My mom said she would love to get us one as our Christmas gift, so Josh and I have begun looking at the local Humane Society and are seriously considering it.  It's equal parts scary & exciting!!!

Gasping... when I saw a rock in the windowsill in our stair well.  Upon further investigation, it was not a rock (phew!) but a pair of Jack's socks. sigh. {eye roll} When I questioned him about it, he assured me that it was on purpose (that kid!) to see if he could do it. Haha! Life is never dull with these kids around.
I texted my sister-in-law to commiserate and she said she had a pair of socks in her light fixture at the top of her stair case for years thanks to her boys.  #boymomlife

Sending... the twins off to a local hockey game with my dad and Uncle Blake on Friday night.  While they were at the game with their cousin Ferris eating yummy treats and cheering on the team, I was at my sister's house holding a baby she's watching for two weeks while his parents are away.  He has the most delicious dimples and I got to rock him to sleep! I haven't rocked a baby to sleep since Carly was little.  It was such a gift.

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