around here: week 21 2021

 {May 16-22nd}

Inviting... Logan & Jack's best friends over to swim.  Easton & Channing are also identical twins.  In their family they are #3 & #4 whereas Logan & Jack are #1 & #2.  Those boys are all like peas in a pod.  They're so good and have so much fun together.  I love their unique friendships. 

Enjoying... the twins' cooking.  They are making more and more dinners each week, and it brings me such happiness! They love cooking, (and I really don't!) so it's win/win!  

Going... to the doctor with Carly to talk to him about my muscle pain in my legs.  She played so well while we were there.  And I got some medicine to help with the pain I've been dealing with.  

Agonizing... over the sunburn all three boys have from last weekend.  They were cleaning the pool but they never got back out to put on sunscreen before spending the afternoon swimming.  Logan got the worst of it.  His turned into blisters all across his shoulders and back, and even gave him something called Hell's Itch, which I had never heard of before.  He woke up in the night with an intense itch under the sunburn, but the blisters were not anywhere near healing, so scratching them was agonizing.  He was near tears when he woke me up with this itching. 

Struggling... through these last weeks of school.  It feels like it will never end, and I am running out of steam. So are the kids. 

Running... errands with Carly and enjoying our alone time.  I know it's quickly shrinking with summer on it's way with brothers home full time. 

Taking... Carly on a bike ride one afternoon during a panic attack. My sister encouraged me to get out of the house and move my body in an attempt to overcome the physical symptoms.  It was really effective and I was grateful for the good advice. 

Going... on a walk with Josh after we laid the kids down one evening.  It was exactly what I needed. 

Shocked... that Josh has read more books than me so far this year! I have really slowed my reading down, focusing on other things, and he has amped up his reading this year.  He has a commute to work, so he uses that time to listen to audiobooks and that has him racking up books like nobody's business.  It's bringing out the competitive side of me. hehe. I'm hoping I can catch up in the summer. 

Looking... back on the twins' infancy & childhood as we approach their birthday next month.  Gosh they were so darn cute!!

Finding... Carly asleep in the hallway one night as Josh and I were headed to bed. I'm not sure what she was doing there, but it made me giggle. 

Contemplating... raising our kids without church, and deciding that it is the right thing for us. Every once in a while I wonder if our kids will miss out on certain things because we don't go to church.  But the risk that they may not know something about religion or the bible is worth knowing for sure that I am the only one pumping ideas & morals into them. (sidenote: if church works for you/your family, I am happy for you.  It's just not what's right for us.)

Freaking... out when I had a lip twitch that wouldn't quit on Friday.  I had already been having anxiety this week, and that was the final straw.  I gave in to temptation and medical googled, finding that lip twitches can be a sign of ALS, so I was convinced that I had ALS.  (Re-reading this to myself, it sounds ridiculous, but in the moment of my health anxiety, I always actually believe I have whatever I have convinced myself matches my symptoms. It's exhausting.)
This feeling triggered a full on panic attack and I broke down in sobs, exhausted after a week of anxiety and it's physical symptoms.  Wyatt and I had been watching Cars 3 together and I told him I was just having an anxiety flare up. I am never sure how to handle the kids when I am feeling that way... but I find honesty tends to be the best policy.  So I just told him I was worried about my twitch and it was giving me anxiety.  He hugged me and told me he was sorry I felt bad. We took turns soaking our feet in epsom salts and soon I started to feel better. 

Listening... to the "We Can Do Hard Things" podcast by Glennon Doyle & her sister, and loving it. Now every Tuesday I look forward to the new podcast they put out. 

Sending... the twins off to my parents house for the weekend, and enjoying a day with just my two littles.  We decided to take advantage of it just being the three of us, and went to the movies.  We saw Raya and The Last Dragon, which was so cute! And we enjoyed popcorn and candy and slushees.  It was so special. 

Feeling... like the fun mom when I said yes to Wyatt and Carly playing video games in the arcade area of the movie theater when our movie ended.  I love when I feel like the fun mom.  

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Around Here: Week 48 2020

 {November 22-28th}

Reminiscing... about life in the past as I sort through all the pictures on my phone.  This last one (of Josh and the twins in 2011) took my breath away.  Josh was so young!!!

Letting... the kids go play in the snow one morning when we woke up to it. They had so much fun and I enjoyed sitting out there, reading on the porch, as they played.  I sure hope we get more snow this winter!

Needing... the days off that are coming for Thanksgiving this week.  School has been hard as of late, and I am ready for a break! (The kids, too!)

Decorating... for Christmas with some music (Amy Grant, of course) on my HeyDay speaker and lots of little hands sorting through our vast collection of ornaments. It's probably one of my favorite traditions, pulling the ornaments out and talking about each one's history.  The kids love playing with them (mostly only Carly now) and I allow it even though it makes the tree look uneven and we usually lose two or three each year from breaking... because I know that someday I will have a perfect tree and it will make me sad.  

Baking... pumpkin pies, fudge and prepping the seven layer salad on Wednesday with Jack.  I was really proud of us- we made the pies from scratch!!

Celebrating... Thanksgiving, just the six of us, and feeling so blessed.  Josh cooked the turkey and mashed potatoes & gravy.  We ate together, sharing sparkling cider in fancy glasses, and telling each other what we are most thankful for.  The twins were both thankful for me teaching them last quarter.  That meant a lot to me, because it was hard work the three of us did, and I'm glad they knew it was for their own good.  Carly was grateful my  mom and dad moved to Wenatchee.  I was grateful for our house and Josh was grateful for just about everything- his job, the kids, me... And Wyatt was grateful for us, me and Josh.  

Making... turkey cookies with the supplies Aunt Julie brought over for the kids.  They had so much fun, and the turkeys were really cute.  Thanks for being so thoughtful, Julie!

Starting... a new quarter with the twins, including math and having terrible flashbacks of seventh grade with Mr. Rye in the portables, struggling to remember PEMDAS ("Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally") and learning how to find the area of a triangle.  Sigh. 

Readjusting... our daily routine to have less screens and feeling better about it. The kids do screens from 12 or 12:30 to 3:00pm.  Then they go play outside or do chores or play games. Before this change, it was hours and hours of screens. Each day I think it got a little longer.  

#quarantinelife 

...but at some point I had to get back to monitoring it and encouraging them to do other things. 

Reading... Caste and spouting off statistics and random information at poor Josh.  It is just so good!

Loving... my life without Facebook.  It's amazing how much more time I have on my hands. I am also shocked at how much easier it is to keep up on chores when I am not sitting down every hour to check in on my social media accounts. (I canceled Instagram & Facebook a week ago) I am surprised to say that I don't miss it, and in fact I am so much happier without it. 

Meeting... with Wyatt's sleep study doctor to find out the results of his most recent sleep study.  It turns out that he no longer has obstructive or central sleep apnea.  I am so grateful that all is well! 

Raising... big boys who sometimes hurt the house that we live in.  Having three boys in three years, particularly a set of strong willed, growing twins, means that some of each day is spent breaking up fights.  One night this week, I simply didn't get there in time, and one brother pushed another into the wall, creating a huge hole above the catbox. It'll be a pain in the ass to fix, and Josh & I were not happy with them, but after feeling pretty upset, I've come to peace about it.  They don't know their strength and try as I may to teach them self control, sometimes things like this may happen.  The hardest part is to not see their failure in managing their emotions as a failure on my part as a parent. 

Cheering... Grandpa on as he gets closer to his last round of chemo.  He's been so brave about his treatment every week, and this week he even took the bear we sent him at the start.  He and grandma named him Luke (short for leukemia) and Carly loved seeing him comfort grandpa as he was brave for his needle.

Welcoming... Dashy our holiday elf, back from the North Pole after Thanksgiving.  Carly is thrilled with him and his shenanigans, and he has shown up every morning thus far! #winning

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