Showing posts with label guitar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guitar. Show all posts

12.17.2020

Around Here: Week 49 2020

{November 29-December 5th}










{pc: Carly May}



















{2020 Christmas Card: front}

{2020 Christmas Card: back}
Wishing... for snow.  It snowed a little bit one morning, like a tease, and it made all of us wish for the real deal.
Using... my Stress Away roller to get rid of a migraine that was starting, and it worked! Hallelujah! I am up to my full dose of blood pressure medicine, which is supposed to help eliminate migraines (and as an added bonus, it might reduce anxiety as well!) and I can't wait to see how many I have during the next month. 

Breaking... the wish bone a few days after Thanksgiving.  It was Wyatt vs. Carly and Carly won!

Hosting... Alvin for a game of Monopoly with the twins. Some days they walk, some days they shoot hoops and some days they play games.  Checkers is a particular favorite.  It's a nice way to break up the day. 

Heading... back to (online) school for the kids after our long Thanksgiving weekend. The break was much needed and enjoyed, and now it's back to real life. Just a few weeks, though, until Christmas break. 

Enjoying... pizza at my parent's house during the Seahawk's game Monday night.  I was desperately needing to get out of the house (something I don't usually experience when I'm home for days on end) and this was just the ticket.  We enjoyed an evening with my parents, celebrating the boys' amazing report cards (all A's & B's for all three of them!) and watching the game. 

Playing... guitar with my dad for the first time. I have no talent... but I'm trying and it made me excited to learn! My first goal is to learn how to play the chords to Bill Gorgan's goat. 

Grateful... that my mom bought the kids Advent calendars this year. It has made every day of December so exciting for them.  The Advent calendars along with our Elf on the Shelf Dashy has made the start of our countdown to Christmas very festive. (They all got different Advent calendars- Jack chose a Funko Pop Harry Potter advent; Logan chose the Lego City advent; Wyatt chose the Hot Wheels advent and Carly chose the Littlest Pet Shop advent.)

Listening... to Ordinary Grace on audio and loving it. It's such a beautiful tale, and reminded me a lot of Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. 

Getting... school lunches everyday with the kids and stocking up on little milk boxes.  It is saving us so much money, I'm sure, and it ensures we get out of the house (even if it's just for a minute) everyday.

Taking... Logan to the doctor to get a fresh cast (the other one was funky!!) and having Carly get her flu shot at the same time. She was so funny, very nervous, but when it was over she said, "Owww! That didn't hurt at all!" Hahah!
Logan has just two more weeks with his cast. His break is 80-90% healed, but I don't trust that he would (could) be careful, so we're keeping it on a little longer for complete healing.

Sending... Christmas cards, which is probably my favorite Christmas tradition. I write a yearly Christmas letter, which feels so good- to look over the year and remember the ups and downs- and we usually have my sister take family pictures (thank you Roxanne!) which I then turn into a Christmas card on Shutterfly during one of their 50% off sales around Halloween. I really love when I choose a card that has a matching return address label. So cute!! #nerd

Thankful... that school is going really well right now with the kids. It is not my favorite, and this obviously isn't how school was meant to be... but we are doing well.  We are in a good routine and the twins' teacher is working really hard teaching them math at a distance, and Wyatt's classwork has simmered down some, so I am overall really pleased. 

Seeing... Logan's neurologist via Zoom and telling her that he is two years seizure free. What an amazing thing to say out loud. The next step is to have a sleep deprived EEG for him and see if he is seizure free during that. If he is, then we can try weaning him off his medication and see how he does. Fingers crossed that it all goes well, and that this means he has outgrown his seizures. 

Organizing... the pantry & the garage which is so helpful when we are all home (and usually in the house) during winter time.  The space suddenly feels so much smaller now that we aren't spending all our time outdoors. 

Obsessing... over Harry Potter alongside the kids. I still haven't read the books, but Josh is on the third one with the boys and they are loving it. It's so cute to hear them talk about it and to have them look forward to bedtime reading the way I do. 
They have been watching each movie as they finish the book, and that's made it really exciting as well.

Ordering.... things for pie making (a pastry cutter and a crust cover) to make it easier. I enjoyed making pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving, but realized that some tools might make it easier, and make me more likely to bake when it's not a holiday. 
Those items along with all our Christmas gifts started rolling in, and the empty boxes stacking up in the kitchen are quite ridiculous. 

Cracking... a twin egg while making breakfast one morning this week and calling all the kids to show them. It always blows me away that my body did that same thing. 

Watching... Carly dance to the music and pretend to snap her fingers. It's currently my favorite thing, and I really need to video tape it. You can tell she really feels the music in her soul. She closes her eyes and furrows her brow, and it's just the best. 

Coloring... while the kids do school in my new beautiful color book by Katie Daisy. It is so happy. 

Wrapping... up a good reading month. I read 8 books, hitting 99/100 on my yearly goal (wahoo!) and getting rid of 7 books off my Unread shelf, bringing my Unread Shelf down to 121.  I am toying with not buying books in 2021, in an effort to reduce my Unread Shelf... but the idea makes me kind of sad... so I'm not sure I'll do it. 

Reminiscing... this time three years ago when Wyatt was hospitalized in the PICU in Spokane for status asthmaticus (asthma that is not responding to treatment). It was a very scary time, and I am forever amazed at how his body eventually recovered.  And now, with us being home full time, he doesn't seem to have any asthma symptoms at all.  It feels like a miracle. 

***

10.23.2020

Around Here: Week 40 2020













































Luxuriating... in a quick trip away with my bestie.  We swam in a gorgeous pool, at breakfast in our room, perused some cute downtown shops (masked up, of course) and even went to Target! Oh how I miss having a Target!

Driving... home from our quick trip while listening to Nickel Boys on audio. It was a devastating read, but so good.

Happy... to be home with Carly again and tucking her sweet self into bed.  She said that when I'm gone her heart is blue like tears, but when we are in her bed snuggling together her heart is a rainbow. I can't even with that girl.

Starting... Week Three of distance learning at home with the boys and taking a different tack. The twins and I are now going through their English & Science lessons together each day and taking notes.  Then when it's time for a test, I have them read their questions and all answer options out loud to me.  Their scores have dramatically improved, and I literally squealed with Jack got 100% on one of the quizzes.  We worked hard for that!
We also worked this week on scientific notation and main ideas... it's a good thing I enjoy learning and teaching or this would be 100x worse. As it is, it's a real challenge!

Starting... my day Tuesday with some quiet time to myself before the kids woke up. Those are always the best days, although it's really hard to make myself climb out of bed that early.

Watching... the presidential debate in its entirety and feeling pretty sad about the state of things. 

Seeing... the doctor for my yearly check up and discussing my IUD, my migraines, my foot pain (apparently it's from wearing flip flops all summer. go figure!) and had him check on my moles and freckles for any abnormalities. It feels good (especially since I suffer from such severe health anxiety) to have those things all crossed off my list.

Saying... goodbye to cousins & in-laws as Josh's sister & her family headed back home after an extended stay.  Carly was so so sad to say goodbye to her BCF (Best Cousin Ever), Liesel, but we assured the girls they will see each other again soon.

Noticing... a running theme in my life which is the dishes being out.of.control.  Something about schooling the boys and running a household at the same time has me constantly behind in the kitchen and on laundry.

Visiting... the pumpkin patch before the season officially opened so we could still make memories but avoid crowds.  There was only one other group of people there, and instead of a hayride to the pumpkin choosing patch, we just walked. It was perfect.  Great weather and fun memories, including Wyatt rolling a 79 pound pumpkin through the patch to our wagon, and his brothers helping him load it on. He is so proud of that thing. It's sure gonna take some work to empty and carve it though! Hah!

Celebrating... Milo's birthday at my sister's house with our crew and my parents and having such a good time. Parties at my sister's are always the best- she does fabulous decorating and makes the greatest gift bags for the kids. And her cake for Milo? With the Jurassic theme? Too cute!!!
We also got to meet my sister's foster kittens, Dusty & Cora, and we are all enamored.  They were found orphaned and so she is their mama.  Feeding them and caring for them until they are big enough to be adopted out. 

Reading... The Road Back To You on audio (it is fascinating to me, and helping me understand those around me so much more! Do you enneagram? I'm a six, and I feel so seen whenever I read about sixes.) I am also working my way through Gilead in preparation for Lila which is October's book club pick.  I am really enjoying Gilead, but it's one that I am reading slowly, pen in hand, and find myself contemplating long after I've put it down. It's about a pastor who is writing his life story (and thoughts) out for his young son, and it's very contemplative. 

Receiving... an amazing gift from my dad. He gave me my very own acoustic guitar after I expressed an interest in learning how to play.  I am so excited to give it a try!!! He and my grandma (his mom) both play, and it's something I've wanted to try for a while.

*





***

And lastly, there is this:


Josh sent me this picture, and I felt so loved, validated and seen.
To my mama friends who are also "doing it all",
I see you.
Good job.

***