{February 2 - February 8}
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| {pc: Carly} |
Loving... the feeling of my bed at night. I am trying really hard to make sure I have time to read in my bed every night before going to sleep. It's maybe my favorite part of the day.
Something else I'm grateful for is that Josh makes the bed everyday. It's a thing we do- I get up and make his lunch and he gets up and makes the bed. These are chores we do not enjoy doing ourselves, so we do them for each other everyday.
Redoing... our family room after Josh found a fireplace on sale at Home Depot for $150 (thanks for telling us about the sale, Carol!) and it inspired me to transform that space into a room I love. I found a rug (we've wanted one in there since we moved in) at Walmart for only $79 and those two purchases were all I needed to whip that room into shape. I sorted through Carly's toys and made our toy and book shelves look so much better/organized, and it's amazing how much better I feel about that room now!
Hosting... book club at our house. We read Anne of Green Gables this month (my pick!) and it was so fun to discuss with my friends. Book club brings me such joy and I am so grateful to be a part of it. And this month, reading about Anne, just reminded me to be grateful to be alive. She has been through so much, yet she continues to find things to be thankful for, and is able to find the beauty in life around her. I'm trying to learn from her example for sure.
Cherishing... Carly's morning snuggles & her art & the high heels she got from my friend Shana which she now wears all over the house. It's just so fun to have a daughter.
Learning... Carly has three cavities at the dentist and feeling like a horrible mother because of it. My boys have never had cavities and I feel awful that Carly does. We aren't good at being consistent with brushing her teeth, and the girl LOVES sugar, so this was bound to happen, but I was still shocked by it. They want to give her "sleepy juice" (so she will be kind of out of it, but not completely asleep) and fix them. Her appointment is next week. From now on, we are committing to brushing twice a day!
Reading... Dear Edward and The House We Grew Up In, both of which were five star reads. Dear Edward I could not put down. It's about a boy who is the sole survivor of a terrible plane crash and how he "comes back to life". The writing is just amazing and so heart wrenching.
I listened to The House We Grew Up In on audio, and it was really good. I was riveted with every turn the story took. It's about a family whose mother is a hoarder and how they grow up, suffering loss of different kinds and how that impacts each of them. So, so absorbing!
Taking... the twins to the orthodontist this week for their check up. We just love our orthodontist. He's such a bright spirit and always so fun to chat with. This time I had Dear Edward with me and when I told him about it, he said he can't read sad books like that. I laughed and it made me think- I really do love a sad book. What sad books have you loved? I loved The Light Between Oceans, and Me Before You.
Seeing... Little Women in Wenatchee with my sister when I decided I needed a break from this chaotic, loud life of mine. Thankfully Josh is a great support whenever I need a minute and said yes, go. The movie was so good, very inspiring and I always enjoy spending time with my sister.
The drive was lovely, so peaceful and just what I needed after what's been a crazy week. (It's about an hour drive each way)
Now I want to reread the classic book and see how/if the movie differs. I'll keep you posted.
Playing... with Kamden & Carly when he came over for a playdate on his birthday. I just love him and his mom so much! He's the cutest little boy, and I'm so grateful for the friendship he and Carly share. She isn't always sweet (#lastchildprobs) but with Kamden she is usually very sweet and it gives me hope that she'll grow up to be a decent human being.
Commiserating... with the kids that middle school sucks. They have seven classes each, no recess, no free time, very little passing time, and tons of homework. They are severely missing elementary school with it's class parties, specialists (music, PE, etc.) and 3 recesses/day. But our perspective is that everyone in our family has a job and theirs is school. So like it or not, there you are. And our expectation is that you do your BEST at your job everyday.
But the transition from one classroom all day to seven classes all with different teachers, expectations and curriculum has been brutal. Here's hoping seventh grade is a little easier.
Enjoying... Date Night watching The Departed with Josh's brother Samuel & his girlfriend Makayla. Josh made us all homemade pizza (his is the BEST!) and we chowed down while watching a very dark, star studded movie.
Crazy proud... of the story Jack wrote and his grades. Because of his good grades (all A's & B's except one C) he got special night with me and Josh. He stayed up and watched TV with us, then we played Monopoly and he won! The story was part of an assignment he had to write about a robot that helped humanity. He chose to write about a medical robot that helped cancer patients. I was blown away by his writing and the details of our family life he put into his paper. (The pictures of his story above are his rough draft- so excuse any spelling & grammar errors.)
Finding... more toothpaste in the bathroom. This time in the outlet.
Sigh.
seriously, guys. Why?!?
Walking... the dog with the kids on Saturday and running movie night for them while Josh had a much needed day away at the land with his brother. Sometimes we all need a break, am I right?
Challenging... the kids to read chapter books and feeling my heart soar- Wyatt has finished his first and the twins are working on theirs. I told them if they completed a chapter book (that was not a graphic novel), reading it start to finish, they would be rewarded with a special night with Josh and I. So they are pumped to try and accomplish the goal, and I am happy for REAL reading to be happening in our house again. They all seem to enjoy reading, but don't necessarily challenge themselves, which I think is important.
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