around here: week 14 2020

Mopping... the house downstairs and loving how clean it feels when I do so. 

Working... tirelessly toward spring break, helping the boys get caught up on missing work while at the same time trying to get into our groove with online learning. We are looking forward to a week off next week very much and are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that happens!

Reading... lots of books at the same time currently, and finding that I am reading a lot more real books right now as opposed to listening to audio books. I also got to choose my Book of the Month book for April.  I chose Beach Read and am so excited to save it for this summer.
I'm planning all my April reading, which includes Sweep for book club and finishing Untamed as well.  I am hoping to read at least eight books in April, but I would be thrilled if it were more. Time will tell.
As this month wrapped up I put together my numbers for The Unread Shelf and wasn't impressed, but also wasn't too upset considering all the world has been through in the last month.
I started at 120 Unread Books.  I got rid of 2 Unread Books that I no longer wanted and read one Unread Book and purchased 4 new books. So I ended at 121 Unread Books.

Riding... bikes as a family on the daily.  It is, hands down, everyone's favorite time of day, and I'm so grateful that we can still do that one thing together.

Loving... the quote by Glennon Doyle about being human:

"Being human is not hard because you're doing it wrong, 

it's hard because you're doing it right.  

You will never change the fact that being human is hard, 

so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy."

Walking... the dog with Josh, and feeling so grateful for fresh air and time to talk to Josh without interruptions from the kids.

Talking... on the phone with Wyatt's pulmonologist for a phone appointment and discussing his use of Singulair (a medication that is used to help with asthma & allergies) after hearing that it has been linked with depression & suicide, and knowing a family friend whose son was on it and took his own life. I am grateful to say that his doctor was very understanding about my concerns and agreed that Wyatt is doing well enough currently to try and get off the Singulair.  I am anxious to see how he does off of it, and am hopeful he can do well without it since the side effects can be so serious as he ages.

Watching... the governor again.  This time he told us that he is extending Washington's "Stay home-Stay Healthy" order through May 4th.  I understand (and agree) that we need to stay quarantined longer for our health and safety, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept this new reality. 
My mom was also upset about the extension and Josh, trying to cheer her up and make her laugh, shared a meme he had read recently.  It was about a person bragging how in the last two weeks, she hadn't been late ANYWHERE. We all cracked up.

Canceling... our Direct TV subscription (it recently went up to $90 a month!) and closing the boys' old bank accounts that are at the bank in our old hometown.  Josh has been working really hard to get stuff done this week and I'm so grateful.  He put together the Scrabble letters his sister Julie made me (of our kids' names) to make them easier to hang.  In addition to that and all the phone calls he has been taking care of, he went to the grocery store and came home with both flour and wipes!!! I literally screamed when I saw them.  It feels so good to be prepared for the next few weeks. 

Grateful... for school lunches for my kids.  Our district is providing daily lunches (and the next days' breakfast) for all four of our kids.  All we have to do is pick them up at Wyatt's school each morning.  They pass the bags through our car window, minimal contact, and it's the best.  We get milk, fresh fruit and all kinds of lunches- bagels, pizza, corn dogs & chicken nuggets. It's great.

Joining... my book club girls for a Zoom meeting this month instead of our regular get together, and being surprised at how much fun it was. I was nervous it would be awkward or lame.  But we laughed and connected and I was so grateful for those ladies when our time was up.

Starting... to notice my shorter fuse with the kids and making a goal for spring break next week:  SLEEP.  I am hoping to get more sleep over break- to go to bed earlier, to sleep in longer and to nap as needed so I can be more patient.  Towards the end of this week I was having a handful of migraines and napping daily, so I know I am not getting enough sleep.  It's not ideal.
It doesn't help that Carly is really struggling with the boys being home full time.  She is not used to having to share me and her toys 24/7.  It has required a little cracking down on Josh's and my part- more time outs and following through when she tantrums or doesn't listen, and a lot of talking-to's for brothers who need to leave her alone and not bug her on purpose.

Laughing... as Carly keeps pretending to be different animals.  She crawls in the grass outside; laps up water out of her cups like a kitten; and barks when she is supposed to answer me.  Silly girl.
Also laughing as every morning I find bowls full of "anchors" from the Marshmallow Matey's (fake brand Lucky Charms) and no marshmallows to be found. 

Watching... my last episodes of Teen Mom and Call The Midwife before we lose Direct TV; and Orange Is The New Black on Hulu with Josh.  I hated the pilot, but the following episodes improved. Otherwise I'm not really watching any TV, doing lots of reading instead.

Sending... Josh and the boys to ride four wheelers this week on Friday, which gave me a break with just Carly.  It was so nice.  It gave me a chance to get caught up around here and enjoy some quiet.  I painted my nails & Carly's, which made her so happy, and we enjoyed the day, just the two of us.

Spending... Saturday watching so much TV with the kids, mostly Lego Masters, and cracking up as Carly walked in the room and watched the beginning of one episode and said, "I wish I could go there! I would SMASH all the Legos!!!"  #classiclittlesister
After our day of TV binging and snuggles, we followed up with homemade pizza, cookies & a movie for movie night.  I'm telling you, it was exactly what we needed after the last few weeks of homeschooling and online learning. It's been a LOT.
After movie night, Jack got to stay up late for his special night. He went on a walk with Josh and Grady, then hung out with me, playing games on the couch.

Grateful... that our kids are the ages they are.  I think it would be so much harder to quarantine with older or younger kids.  So much more exhausting. Those with teenagers and those with toddlers have my total sympathy.  We are able to entertain our kids with games (like Battleship lately!), bike rides and Legos.

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Things that made me laugh this week:

Week 21 Around Here {2019}

Listening... to another podcast on marriage.  This one was about 5 Secrets to a Happy Marriage.  It had a lot of simple, but really applicable advice.  I also listened to the Simple, Powerful Truth About Marriage, also by Jody Moore at Better Than Happy. They were both super good.  I highly recommend them.

Reading... The Simple Wild and listening to The Nest.  Up next I have Beauty (a retelling of Beauty and the Beast); Bel Canto and Before Green Gables, which I'm really excited about.
The Simple Wild was amazing to read.  It's a book about a girl whose dad lives in rural Alaska, running a small airline company.  Following her journey to the bush was spell binding because of the five years we spent there.  It was like getting a chance to go back and visit.  It made me so nostalgic for that time in our life.  (As you can see in the flashback pictures above.)

Setting up... Wyatt's neurology appointment for the cyst on his pineal gland at Seattle Children's.  He will meet with them mid-July, and while I am nervous, I am just grateful to get it on the calendar. 
Prayers for an understanding doctor who has expertise in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Telling... some parents about behavior that their kids were engaged in that was highly difficult to point out and discuss.  I honestly considered not even telling the parents about it... but in the end, I knew that if I were the parent, I would truly want to know what my child had done.  So I sucked it up and bit the bullet.
I tried really hard not to come off judgmental, just informative and understanding.  Gosh parenting is hard.  The whole situation made me really proud of one of our boys, though, who made the hard decision to tell another parent about their child as well. It was a moral dilemma for him; one that I wanted him to make on his own; and he came to the exact conclusion I had secretly hoped he would.

Raising... a bunch of rednecks. Literally.  haha!
The kids spent all of Saturday out at "the land" (what we call the 40 acres Josh's parents own just outside of town) riding their four wheelers, shooting guns with their dad & uncle, and helping mow some grassy patches for their Grandma.  It wasn't super hot and sunny, so they ended up unexpectedly sunburned on their necks, which made Josh and I laugh out loud.
We are so darn grateful for the experiences they get to have out there.  It's the stuff most ten year old boys' dreams are made of. That's for sure.

Enjoying... movie night with them after their long day in the sun.  We had pizza and for dessert we all had Kit Kats, which Wyatt challenged us to eat without breaking into sticks.  I have never (in my life) eating a Kit Kat by biting into the whole thing.  I will admit, it felt really strange to bite it.  But it was delicious nonetheless. Ha!

Spending... a little time with a friend between errands and movie night with the kids.  It was much needed and I was so happy to see her. {Love you girl!}

Going... to counseling and asking how to make room for my kids' pain.  When they hurt, I just want to make it stop or glaze over it.  But I know that part of being a good mom means going into the hurt, into the hard with them.  My counselor said that I need to go into the darkness and explore the pain.  The way I can do that is by asking exploratory questions.  So that's my goal- to try and let them feel their feelings without shutting them down, while asking probing, open ended questions.

Praying... for Toby & Ember as they both recover from heart surgeries.  These babies and their stories are just amazing.

Watching... Josh and Uncle Samuel teach Carly how to ride her new big girl bike from our sweet friend Jolene.  She dropped it by one day, having heard that Carly was ready for the next step, and all we had to do was pick up a pair of training wheels and a helmet.
The bike is covered in princesses, which delights Carly to no end, and I just know that by the end of summer she'll be an old pro.

Taking... Wyatt to the doctor for his asthma which came back after just a few days off his oral steroid.  I was scared when his numbers started to drop again.  Hopefully we can keep them from dropping any further with the nebulizer and his Flovent.  I really don't want to put him on oral steroids again.  They suppress his immune system, which just makes him more likely to get sick again, and start the whole cycle over again.

Baseballin'... with two games Monday night, and another game for the twins this week.  Unfortunately Wyatt had to miss his second game because of his asthma.

Joining... a new book club in my neighborhood and feeling so excited about some of the books we're going to be reading! We chose books from now until December, and my contribution was Molokai, which has been on my shelf forever. I can't wait to read it. (It's August's pick!)

Splurging... on Dairy Queen blizzards and enjoying them in the sunshine with the kids.  This is what spring is all about.

Journaling... or attempting to, in order to combat my overeating.  I am so behind in my journal that I don't know where to start, but I am working on it anyway, just jumping in. Something's gotta give or I am going to balloon back up to my pre-weight loss weight, and I really don't want to lose ALL the work I did last year.

Walking... all the days in May and feeling so proud of myself.  My weight has ballooned up from what I lost last year and it would be really easy to beat myself up.  But instead I am just really proud of myself when I am active.

Contemplating... deep thoughts when Wyatt asked me, "Would you rather die at birth or live in pain?" I am telling you, this kid... He is so thoughtful and profound.  He asks me at least one question everyday that I don't the answer to.  (What is the sun made of? When will our sun die? etc.)

Laughing... when Jack described a funeral as a "sad party". And when I laughed out loud, he stopped and looked at me, dead on, and said, "Well, I'm right. That's exactly what it is."
He's not wrong.

Loving... how Carly explained her vision before & after glasses: 

"Without my glasses, everything is not beautiful.  
And then when I put my glasses on, everything is beautiful-er."

I also love how she sings along with Imagine Dragons' "Thunder", singing "Thunda! Thunda!" enthusiastically.  And how she calls skirts that twirl "Dancing Pants."  The other day Wyatt was dancing while we waited at the doctors office and Carly said, "Wyatt! You can't dance! You don't even have your dancing pants on!" I had no idea what she was talking about or what dancing pants were, until later I went to put a twirly skirt on her and she said, "Oh! I love these dancing pants!" I was cry laughing.

Poor big brother Wyatt with no dancing pants that twirl.  How he must suffer.
Hah!

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