around here: week 12 2021

 {March 14-20th}

Feeling... so tired this week.  Just unable to keep my eyes open, especially in the morning as the boys and I did school together.  I required naps on the daily. 

Finding... a dog that the kids found running loose in the neighborhood and taking him to the vet to get his chip read. He was the sweetest little doggie, and I was really happy when we located his owners. 

Having... my IUD removed since I have had it for over five years now. I had the Mirena and loved it.  It got rid of my cycles almost completely and was a very effective birth control for us. But now that Josh has had his vasectomy (the lab results came back and we're all set) I don't have to use any other birth control if I don't want to. 

Cleaning... house, per usual, on Sunday. I am so grateful for our routine- for the boys' help and the chance to start the week fresh with a clean house.

Getting... Logan's cast off, which was a pleasant surprise. I thought we were just going to get it replaced (our doctor replaces the cast every two weeks so it doesn't smell), but when we got there he ordered an x-ray and said it was healed enough for the cast to come off! Logan was thrilled!

Shopping... out in the world for the first time in forever with Carly and Wyatt.  We hit Ross and Walmart and we found everything we were looking for.  Namely, new shirts for Wyatt, but also some luggage (ours is quite worse for wear) and house decor.

Reading... Discovering Dahlias by Erin Benzakein.  The book is a work of art, plus so informational about how to best grow dahlias.  I can't say enough good things about it!

Ordering... dahlias from Triple Wren Farms (I found them on Instagram) and getting so darn excited about the idea of flowers growing in our backyard this summer.  I got 9 different varieties of dahlias.  Cafe au Lait, Castle Drive, Linda's Baby, Rose Toscano, Bloomquist Tracy, Foxy Lady, Terra Cotta, Hercules Dinnerplate and LaLuna Dinnerplate.  Triple Wren will send me the tubers and I will plant them in the house first, then when the weather here is consistently warm enough, I will transplant them into the backyard where we will be able to enjoy their blooms as we sit at the table out back while the kids swim all summer.  I cannot wait!! 

Counting... down to our getaway next weekend. We are so grateful for our parents for coming together to watch the kids so Josh and I can spend some time away together, just the two of us. 

Hitting... the one year mark since quarantine began. I remember hearing that school was shutting down for two weeks and feeling panicked at the thought of all six of us home together for that long. 
Hahaha! Little did I know that those two weeks would extend over and over, and here we are, a year later and my boys still haven't gone back to the classroom.  

I loved this quote by Sarah Nicole Landry (thebirdspapaya on Instagram) about quarantine:

"If the only thing you accomplished 

during this pandemic is getting through it, 

you have accomplished so much."

Worrying... about my grandma as she takes care of my grandpa who accidentally cut off the top of his thumb with his table saw. It is gnarly and slowly healing, but my goodness how he is keeping her on her toes. 

Taking... Wyatt to the orthodontist and finding out that he is done there for a few years.  He needs all his baby teeth to fall out and his big teeth to grow in before we can move to Phase 2 of orthodontia for him. 

Sharing... my gratitude journal & adorable HP Sprocket printer on Instagram.  I am hoping to share a post about it on here soon too. (If you're interested, though, go to my Instagram page and click on the G. Journal highlight. It walks you through the printer, my notebook and where I got the idea. So fun!)

Finishing... the book puzzle I ordered and deciding to decopage it so I can frame it and use it in our bedroom. I can't wait to hang it!

Finding... stacked items everywhere throughout the house.  Wyatt is such a stacker, and Carly has picked up his habit, so now she is stacking things as well.  

Laughing... as Carly sings along to the songs at bedtime.  Her favorites right now are "Bang!", "My Truck" and "Savage Love".  She has a definite taste for music and loves anything that gets her hips moving. 

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Around Here: Week 46 2020

Logan & my dad's hike from last week

My poor attempt at drawing the COVID graph for my kids

Closing... our state back down as COVID rates skyrocket.  Following the governor's announcement, I then had to explain to the kids why we are going backward in terms of our social behavior and school plans, etc. I broke the news to them that it was unlikely we would join the family for Thanksgiving, and that it was unlikely they would attend school in person this school year.  One of the hardest parts of COVID & quarantine might be that I am the one who bears the brunt of all their emotions about it. It's very much a "Don't kill the messenger" situation, and one that is hard. Because I feel a responsibility to both validate their feelings, but also help them see the bright side and encourage them forward. It is very challenging. 

Suffering... three migraines this week. One on Sunday, one on Tuesday and one on Saturday.  But! I am increasing my blood pressure medication and should be at the normal new dose in two weeks. So fingers crossed I won't have migraines like this again next month!

Letting... Jack enjoy a weekend sleepover with my parents now that they are closer!  He had so much fun, building a box fort with his cousins, playing Fortnite and just being an only child for a little bit. It was fantastic!

Feeling... overwhelmed at everything that's happening.  I am overwhelmed by housework, school demands for the kids, the bills & phone calls I need to be making, not to mention the to do list that is not getting crossed off at all in the wake of doing full time remote learning facilitating and running this household daily.  I.am.drowning.

Endlessly... cleaning the house and tidying stuff up. I swear, all day long I could just walk around this house putting things back where they belong.   My biggest pet peeve? When I put things on the stairs for the kids to put away, and they walk right past them. Grrr!

Diagnosed... with rosacea at the doctor.  I went in because I had a bit of a rash under my nose on one side, but while I was there, he saw my skin without makeup for the first time (probably ever) and asked how long I had had rosy cheeks and red spotting. I said forever, but the truth is probably at least six years. He said it's rosacea and that there is a gel I can use to help. 

Ending... the first quarter with the twins.  I can't believe we made it, and I can't believe how much I loved learning/teaching science.  English kicked our butts (!) but geology was fascinating (and right up my alley. In my other life, I became a total rock-nerd-geologist) and even the twins thought so.   Next quarter is 7th grade math, and I have to tell you... I have very little education memories that are negative. I loved school, always.  But seventh grade math??? I just... I struggled. Hard.  And my teacher tried his very best... but I didn't do well, and am terrified to try & teach the twins. What I mostly remember is if we got in trouble for talking, which I often did with the 8th and 9th graders in class, we had to memorize the digits of pi. 3.14159265... Lord help us.

Emptying... some books off my unread shelf as I approach the end of the year with more books on it than I had in January. Ooops! Hahah!

Sending... Wyatt & Logan off for a playdate with my sister when we had no school Wednesday. 

Running... errands with Jack & Carly, including dropping Jack off at the orthodontist and then having to follow him in so Carly could go potty.  Dr. Feller saw us and gave Carly (and me) a candy.  She misses playing in their waiting room so much! We just love him!

Writing... to do lists for the boys (and Carly) so they can help out more around the house.  I have a hard time feeling peaceful or relaxing if the house is a disaster, so having the kids home 24/7 has been a challenge to my sanity. After complaining about this for a few weeks, I finally decided to do something about it, and Morning To Do lists were the result.  If we all work together, it's not much work at all. 

Happy... that Josh worked from home this week.  I love having his help with the kids.  I am so outnumbered currently. Things will be fine at first each morning.  Everyone working peacefully while Carly entertains herself with pup toys... then all hell breaks loose.  Logan is on a zoom with a concept he doesn't understand; Wyatt needs help with a math question on a test he's taking; Carly is in the bathroom and needs to be wiped; and Jack has forgotten what he's supposed to be doing and is fighting with Wyatt.  It's exhausting. All hands on deck is a breath of fresh air. 

Praying... for Grandpa as he endures another round of chemo this week. He's doing so well, it's truly remarkable.  But I'm praying for my grandma, too, who worries with the best of them. Just a few more weeks!

Laughing... when I gave the boys haircuts but first combed Logan's hair like a classic 1990 bowl cut. He thought it was far less funny than I did. 

Watching... The Social Dilemma on Netflix and facing my social media usage head on.  (On iPhones you can find your screen time analysis- daily & weekly- under Screen Time on Settings.) It turns out, I am on there at least an hour and a half a day, up to three and a half hours a day. And that's JUST on social media (which, for me, is Facebook & Instagram). What!?!

I am also watching When Calls The Heart. I am on Season 7 and am almost done with the season! I'm so curious who Elizabeth is going to pick!!

Enduring... a power outage for 6+ hours on Friday.  Every time the kids would get an idea of what to do while the power was out, we would have to tell them that whatever they wanted to do also required electricity. 

-Watching TV

-Making dinner in the microwave

-Turning on the lights to read

Hahah!

Discussing... being off Facebook with my cousin and legitimately asking her, "So then.... like... what do you DO?"  She laughed (kindly) when I asked, and said, "I just live my life." 

It sounded so refreshing and foreign. I was embarrassed! Imagine, instead of scrolling, actually living. Is this what some people do?!

Reading...  What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand and feeling so excited that I have all three books in the series to read this month!  The first one jumps right into a crazy story full of characters you love, and so far, book two is doing the same.  I think it'll make for a great month of birthday reading for me!

Doing... Carly's hair for my birthday party (we had a small get together at my parent's house with my sister & cousin) and loving how much she loves to get ready with me.  We did our hair together and our makeup, and she chose jewelry to wear... Having a daughter just never gets old. Ever. 

Opening... presents from my mom and sister who teamed up to buy me a whole new wardrobe for my birthday. I felt SO cute putting on a fashion show for them at my mom's house. Jeans, a vest, some sweaters and leggings... I was blown away by the thoughtfulness and how great those new clothes make me feel about myself. 

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A little laugh, cause we could all use one:

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around here: week 25 2020

{Logan's scene from Moana}

Witnessing... two rainbows this week.  They never fail to make me smile, reminding me of the storms I endured before Carly arrived in our lives. She is such a bundle of sunshine.
I also learned this week that when Jack sees a rainbow (he is colorblind, like my dad) he only sees yellow and blue. None of the other colors. He and Logan have what's called red/green deficiency, and for them it manifests such that when you add red to a color, they can't see it. So if you have blue and add red, you get purple. They still see just blue.  If you have white and add red, you get pink. They still see just white. If you have green and add red, you get brown, they still just see green. 
Their colorblindness fascinates me. I wish I could see through their eyes for just a few minutes!!

Stealing... two of my sister's kids for the day to give her a break on Monday (the 15th) which was also Wyatt's birthday.  Carly got to play with Erika and Wyatt got to play with Milo. They were both super happy and I felt like a good sister.  (Although I don't think one day was nearly enough!)
Wyatt and Milo are so creative together, I can't get enough of them. They built magic tracks and stacked all the chapter books on the stairs for some reason- I'm not sure why. They're so sweet together and play really well.
Carly and Erika had tons of fun as well.  I think their favorite was sharing Erika's microphone that they brought and convinced Wyatt to put batteries in.  Little rock stars.

Celebrating... Wyatt's birthday, just the six of us, with a "game" themed night, including a pinata and a pretty serious Cornhole Showdown where Josh thumped on me despite my trash talk (hah!) and Logan beat Jack despite previous games usually being won by the latter. Then Josh and Wyatt played and Wyatt won, so it was down to Logan & Wyatt... It was intense! In the end, Logan won, but gave his prize to the birthday boy, which made my mama heart so proud!!
As we went to take his picture with the Cornhole Score board, he leaned on the front door, which wasn't clicked shut, and he fell into the house. Goodness did we all have a laugh (Logan included)!
The kids loved the pinata- I had ordered candy and prizes from Amazon- and for a cake Wyatt wanted a cake that looked like a cupcake. It was really fun to try and make!  It's certainly not professional, but Wyatt loved it, and it tasted great, so it was a win in our book!

Letting... Wyatt stay up late on his birthday to play one more game with Josh and I.  We played Jenga with him.  It is one of his favorites, and he was so cute about it. Him and Josh are masters, but amazingly, I was NOT the one to knock the tower over. Hooray!

Loving... how Carly uses her hair pretties and jewelry to "dress up" her bubbas (what we call stuffed animals).  She puts the bracelets on her kitties as necklaces or collars and uses the hair pretties on their ears to make them fancier. She's just so much fun.
Lately when I go to check on her before I go to bed (to see if she needs to be covered up or anything) she has her glasses on and is surrounded by all her fancy bubbas.  Such a silly girl.
I am loving also that even though she has switched from saying "lellow" to "yellow", she still says, "Yet's go!" instead of "Let's go!" and I am savoring it every time she says it.  Because I know it all goes far too quickly!!  I still tear up when I hear videos of Wyatt's lisp. I didn't even notice when he stopped having it, it was so subtle as he slowly outgrew it. It just wasn't there anymore one day.
Oh why do they have to grow up?!?

Seeing... the endodontist for a root canal and finally having no more tooth pain.  The relief of that pain being gone is indescribable.  I am light without it.  Joyful. I don't think anyone has ever been so happy to have a root canal in their lives.

Letting... Molly start sleeping in the main part of the house downstairs with Grady instead of locking her in Logan's room at night.  She was waking him up and just being a total nuisance during the night. So we watched her and Grady for a few days really closely and I decided I felt comfortable having her left alone with him.  They've been doing great and Logan is a much happier camper now that he's sleeping again!

Worrying... over Josh when he suddenly got very sick one afternoon.  Thankfully it only lasted about 12 hours and we now think it was food poisoning, but in the moment it was hard not to freak out, especially since my aunt who had COVID had some of the gastrointestinal symptoms which can happen in less severe cases.
Eek! I feel like we dodged a bullet. But Josh kept reminding me that the likelihood of him having it was so low.  He only goes to store when necessary and only sees his brother and parents.  He hasn't gone anywhere else or done anything else that would really put him at risk. But I am SUPER good at worrying. Hah!

Taking... the twins in for their annual check up after they turned 12.  They needed one shot and to get their school forms signed to participate in sports (if there are any???).  Poor Jack hadn't been out since the beginning of quarantine, so he it was his first time in a mask and he was not a fan. I felt awful for him. He seemed to feel really claustrophobic in it. 

Wanting... to update you a week after we have allowed Fortnite into our lives.  The boys are doing really well with it, and I have been impressed with them.  They play in the mornings when they wake up (because #summer and #momsleepsin) and I give them a warning so they have time to finish their match before they  have to log off.  Then they have to complete their list of chores (I'll share these in another post, but basic stuff like- get dressed, brush, unload the dishwasher) in order to earn their afternoon screen time which goes from 1-3pm.  They love it, but it's not the only thing they do during screen time.  I still find them watching their favorite YouTubers or Netflix shows.  So it hasn't taken over their lives, which is nice. 
All that said, however, I am really glad we waited until we did for them to have it because I could see how losing, getting killed, or whatever could result in a legitimate tantrum for a kid who was a little younger emotionally than the twins are.

Reading... Beach Read and enjoying it. It's not the BEST book ever, but I did enjoy it.  In addition to Beach Read, I am listening to two books.  One Hit Wonder has been a slow start for me, but I love Lisa Jewell, so I am going to stick with it; and the other I am listening to is Clap When You Land which is SO, SO good.  Highly recommend.

Watching... so much Grey's Anatomy.  I am seriously addicted. I don't want to do anything else. Can Meredith and McDreamy just get together already?!? (I am only in Season 2)

Sending... Josh to Vancouver to help his sister with her final move to our town! I still can't believe she's going to live here, and in our neighborhood!! I am so excited!
While he was gone we played outside, making up a ball game and having a super fun chalk competition (the winner got a Hershey chocolate bar from our smore stash), plus we had movie night and played lots with the kitten. Logan won the chalk competition with his rendition of a scene from Moana. I was blown away!!

Beaming... with pride as we got the boys' grades from the second semester.  For the first time in middle school, Logan got all A's, B's and C's; Jack got A's and B's; and Wyatt passed with flying colors.  Homeschool during quarantine was rough, friends, but I am really glad we stuck with it, and that our hard work paid off.  The boys are so proud of themselves and so are Josh and I!

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