Week 8 Around Here {2019}

 Enjoying... every minute of our weekend getaway.  Originally we were supposed to go out of town, but because of the massive snow we got, we had to cancel those plans because the pass got closed.  We ended up just staying at a hotel here in town, but let me tell you, three days without our kids, we didn't care! Hah! 
Josh's parents watched the kids for us, staying at our house to make it easier, and we were so beyond grateful.
We spent it reading, watching TV, sleeping, laughing & eating good food.  We also picked out glasses & sunglasses for Josh at the eye doctor's office, & found a new snow coat for me. Shopping and eating out alone is such a luxury after so many months without a date.  It's hard to believe that we will celebrate 19 years together this April.  I am so grateful we still like each other!

Reading... Five Feet Apart and listening to Sing Unburied Sing on audio.  I also finished The Poisonwood Bible, Vox and The Water Cure this week.  Of these five, Vox is the one I would absolutely recommend the most. It's so, so good. I could not stop listening.  The Water Cure was, in my opinion, awful, and The Poisonwood Bible was, while good, probably not for everyone.
When I finish Five Feet Apart and Sing Unburied Sing I will report back to you!

Quitting... coffee after my week of loving it. To be honest, my body did not love having it, even though my mind did.  So I was more than happy to give it up. I immediately noticed a difference in my headache levels and energy levels, which made stopping really easy!

Working out... everyday this week and last week.  I am really proud of how consistent my workouts have been this month! And it's all because of some silly stickers I put on my calendar each time I work out. Who knew!?!

Losing... two pounds this week thanks to giving up coffee, working out and eating a little better this week.  I still haven't recovered my holiday weight gain, but I am heading in the right direction!

Loving... Carly's help with the chores, matching socks and loading the dishwasher.  She's so adorable and enthusiastic.

Listening... to the boys reading at bedtime, and really focusing on that one on one time, hoping that it will improve the twins' behavior.  So far, it really has been, and I am thankful that a little extra attention seems to be doing the trick.  It always seems to be the case that when I am most sick of my kids (#momtruth) is when they need to be spending more time with me.  (#foreheadslap) Haha! 

Slowly... transitioning Carly to her big girl bed, starting with just nap time.  She doesn't like the idea, but she's doing really well! She's napped in there three times now and stays in it.  I am so proud of her. Maybe next week we will try having her sleep in it at night.

Crying... when Wyatt lost his top front tooth this week.  He is nearly 8, so I know we're lucky to have had them as long as we did, but because of that, I kind of fell in love with that teeny tiny perfect smile of his.  He, however, was ELATED to finally lose that stinker! haha! 

Embracing... my stay-at-home mom status this week, really relishing rocking Carly to sleep at nap time; folding the laundry; and tidying the house.  I have so much to be grateful for, and it's really been in the forefront of my mind that being home everyday is a blessing I longed for years ago.  I don't want to take it for granted.

{love this}

***

Around Here: Week 42 {2018}

{How is she even real?!?}

source

Spending... Saturday morning by myself as Josh took all four kids out to the land to visit his parents while they were in town. It was a lovely (much needed) break after a week of not being able to work out because of my silly broken toe!  (It's amazing how much working out releases my pent up stress and makes me a better parent!)
I spent my break time journaling and reading and enjoying the quiet.  It was crazy-windy that morning and we actually ended up losing power for the entire day (from about 10am until 5pm), which forced us all to slow down and relax for the day.

Celebrating... Halloween a little early with a fun fair in Wenatchee with my sister and her kids.  The kids wore their costumes (all except Jack, who seemed shy/embarrassed about wearing his, I'm not sure why) and played games to earn candy.  The weather was gorgeous and it was a really fun way to spend the day.

Making... apple crisp for the first time (ever) with Samuel since Uncle Paul and Aunt Lynne brought us bags and bags of fresh apples.  The crisp was crazy-good and the kids loved it.  Up next is a batch of apple cake with caramel frosting for my beloved husband, and maybe some apple muffins for the kids. Yum!

Thankful... that everyone was healthy this week!  All the kids have gone to school each day, and Josh and I have been healthy as well.  It feels like such a sweet blessing and one that I do not take for granted!

Riding... bikes to school this week since walking is out of the question.  Josh fixed up my bike and Wyatt's (we had flat tires) so that we can ride!  He hooked up Carly's bike trailer and I bundle her up each morning, and off we go!  She loves it, as do Wyatt and I.  My thighs burn for most of the ride (#truth ha!) but I feel like a kid again riding a bike, and riding doesn't hurt my broken toe at all!  It's also nice because the mornings are cold here now (between 28 and 35 degrees) and riding is much quicker than walking! (P.S.- thanks for the bike, mom & dad!!!)

Weighing... down another pound at 165, meaning I have lost 35 pounds now since January.  I am so darn proud of myself for eating so healthy and continuing to lose this week despite the small setback of my toe. I am hoping to lose another pound so that I will have lost 36 pounds by my 36th birthday (November 18th), but at this rate, I may even lose closer to 40 pounds by then.  Woot woot!

Loving... the feeling of the house after dinner is done and the kids are in bed and the house is tidied for the night.  I've been lighting candles lately, and there's something about a clean table and a lit candle that just satisfies my soul.

Reading... and finishing An American Marriage on audio, which I wasn't sure about at first, but which I loved by the end.  I also finished listening to Hillbilly Elegy, which was absolutely fascinating. I didn't want to turn it off each time I listened. I finished reading my Book of the Month book, A Mother's Reckoning, which was, of course, a sad read (it's written by the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the shooters at Columbine High School) but it was also insightful and illuminating about brain illness and taught me a lot about depression and suicide awareness and was just a really fascinating read.  I highly recommend it.
So now I am listening to Love Does by Bob Goff, which was our book club book a few months ago, which I missed reading thanks to #life, and I am reading Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott, whom I love (!). I am like five pages in, and already I'm underlining stuff.  Ha!  Our next book club read is The Prince of Tides, which is coming from Amazon, so as soon as that gets here, it will take precedence and I'll get reading!
I am super excited because I have already read (and listened to) 8 books altogether this month, thanks to my social media break, and I have almost hit my 60 book goal for the year, and I've still got ten weeks left in the year! I'm thinking I might add (at least) another 10 books onto my goal, making it 70 for the year.  Heck! I wonder if I could read 80!!! (I really am SUCH a nerd! Hahah!)

Savoring... the slow life.  Compared to how we ended last year, this year is so simple, and I am loving it.  At the end of last year, I was watching some friends kids a few days a week after school; the boys were in baseball; and I was working for VIPkid, waking up at 3:30am many mornings a week.  Now, there is none of that. It's just me doing the kids, and Josh going to work.  In the last two months, I feel like I have been able to catch up on the house, myself (mentally & physically) and really embrace my role as homemaker.  I am so happy, and feel so light and free.  It's the best feeling ever.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

"We're a culture of people

who've bought into the idea

that if we stay busy enough

the truth of our lives won't

catch up with us."

-Brene Brown

I love this quote.  I wrote it in my journal a few months ago.  The more often I see it there, the more truth I find in it.  As I have slowed down, stepping away from busyness, away from social media (this month, anyway), and away from constant motion, I have discovered the truth of my life, which is that this is it.  This day, this regular, blue sky Friday, with Carly playing Legos on the living room rug, is my life.  And I don't want to take a single second of it for granted.  So no matter what's going on- if Wyatt's having asthma, if I have broken my stupid toe walking down the hallway- I want to spend my days finding joy. Choosing joy.  Manifesting joy.  Even amongst the mess.  I hope you all can go forth & do the same!

***

Around Here: Week Five {2018}

Enjoying... a long weekend in Vancouver visiting family.  It started with a trip to the beach to see my grandparents, followed by a day spent with my mom shopping for Wyatt & Carly & me, and a trip to the Portland car show for the twins & Josh, and then more time with Josh's side of the family on Saturday night and Sunday. The only bummer was that by the end the boys all seemed to be getting a runny nose.

Celebrating... Carly's second birthday with my mom & dad.  My mom bought her the cutest pink trike I have ever seen, and also got her a night gown and made her a set of rainbow hooded towels that I'll have to photograph when she uses them.  Everyone has said how quickly the last two years have gone by and I'm glad it's not just me who feels it flew right on by!

Also celebrating... Logan receiving The Mighty Mathematician Award for Second Quarter after working his butt off memorizing his division facts and doing his best on some big testing last month.  I am so proud of him for his grit & determination, and so grateful that his hard work paid off.  School has not always come easy for him-- he can be easily distracted and sometimes disorganized, but math is something he loves and he has had some amazing teachers helping him pave the way with test taking strategies & other important classroom skills-- and this year he seems to suddenly really care about his education, and it shows.  I am just so happy for him and proud of the student he's becoming.

Laughing... at how Wyatt is such a dog whisperer.  He loves my moms dogs so much, and they love him. Carly also loves the dogs.  When we leave Nanny's house, Carly talks about them incessantly.  In fact, when my phone rings, she thinks it's my mom's dogs, calling to talk to her!

Enjoying... pizza & pool with Josh's parents, brother, and Julie (one of Josh's sisters) and her boys Saturday night.  It was so fun to talk and catch up and let the kids play.  Julie gave Wyatt (and Josh) some of those pillows with the sequins you can flip this way and that, and they were in heaven!  So funny!

Squeezing in... quality cousin (and grandma) time Sunday before we headed home.  One of Josh's sisters has kids almost the exact ages of our kids, and it's so fun the way they all love each other.

Having... sick kids home every day this week.  First it was Logan and Wyatt, then just Wyatt, then Jack, then Wyatt and Wyatt again.  They've got this runny nose that is hanging on, and for Wyatt (of course) it's hanging out and turning into a cough.  So far it's not impacting his lungs as I put him immediately back on his preventative inhaler, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't freak me out a bit to hear him coughing like this again.

Reading... Happier at Home by Gretchin Rubin in preparation for book club Monday.  Also reading Turtles All The Way Down by John Green and Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin.  They are all really good books! The main character in Turtles All The Way Down has health anxiety and if you wonder what it's like to be inside my head, just read the first chapter of that book.  Grief Cottage is about a boy whose single mom dies, so he goes to live with his spinster aunt when he discovers a ghost in a cottage down the beach.  So far, I am intrigued!  I also spent some time this week mapping out what books I will be reading each month throughout 2018 so I can stay on track to get as much reading in as possible this year!

Suffering... Only three migraines this week (Saturday, Sunday & Thursday) and praying that decreases next week as I increase my meds again.  We started at a half a pill, then half a pill 2x/day, now I am at a whole pill at night and a half a pill in the morning, and eventually I'll be at a whole pill 2x/day.

Tallying... up our total weight loss for the month of January and I am impressed.  (Now please know that weight loss is most certainly not our only measure of success.  It is also really important to me that the kids are being active, taking healthy lunches, learning about good food choices and having dinner together as a family... but it is inspiring to see that our healthy choices are already positively impacting their bodies.) 
I am down from 200 pounds to 188 pounds.  -11
Josh is down from 226 pounds to 218 pounds.  -8
Logan is down from 115 pounds to 108 pounds.   -7
Jack is down from 128 pounds to 120 pounds.   -8
Wyatt is down from 88 pounds to 86 pounds.   -2
I am hopeful that with Wyatt's foot healed and boot off and him getting more exercise, that February will be an even more active month for him.  I just love that we are setting our boys up for a healthier relationship with food and success with a healthy life.

Loving... that our new way of eating is just that: a new way of eating. It is not a diet, and I am not ever hungry.  The kids and I eat breakfast together every morning- eggs and sausage or bacon, sometimes with peanut butter toast.  I eat humongous sandwiches for lunch everyday, and we eat a delicious homemade dinner each night.  I got behind in keeping track on here, but we are still having dinner as a family every.single.night, and I'm so proud of all the new things we've tried, especially new vegetable dishes as a way of replacing noodles, which were our old favorite thing.

Doing... our taxes, at Josh's insistence, and feeling so grateful that they are done! Phew!

Feeling inspired... by Gretchen Rubin's advice "Do it now" when it comes to adulting.  Josh and I have been out of town independently or together the last three weekends, and it left me feeling quite behind the last week, so I jumped in with both feet this week and I feel great, having accomplished so much!  "Do it now" leaves very little wiggle room, so it helped me get a lot done in a short amount of time with zero excuses!

***