around here :: week 4 2020

{January 17-25}

{Birthday Girl!}

{Pregnant with Carly May}

Sending... the twins back to school after Logan missed seven school days thanks to pneumonia and Jack missed five thanks to Influenza A and a double ear infection. Thankfully after emailing each of their teachers (they have 14 total) a lot of their work was excused.  But they still had quite a bit of catch up to do this week as it was the end of the quarter and some things can't be skipped (hello tests & papers!).

Humbled... by the ease with which Josh is able to help the twins with their math homework.  I am so lost (already!) when they ask me for help seeing as math was never my strong suit, so I am really impressed by Josh's ability.  I'm super thankful he's around and willing to help in that way. #teacherhusbandforthewin

Thankful... that the twins started feeling better before I got super sick with Influenza A.  They were so super helpful while I was sick, doing extra chores and taking care of me and Carly (who must have been bored out of her mind, poor girl!).  She was also a real trouper- scouring the pantry for snacks when she was hungry and asking me, "Are you a little bit better yet?" every day.

Working... really hard on resting up and recovering fully.  It has been a long, slow road.  Thursday I finally decided to go in and be seen since Carly was with my mother-in-law. (Thank you, Carol!)  My doctor was as sweet as could be, but really, there was nothing he could do for me.  I wasn't running a fever, and my lungs sounded clear, so I just needed to give it more time.
As this week ended (Saturday the 25th) I was still needing naps and feeling like garbage.  I have never had an illness wipe me out the way this one did.  I took two naps a day all week and had to rest after walking up or down the stairs. Coughing kept me up all night, and I was miserable as could be.  I'm really hoping next week I am 100%!

Receiving... my Book of the Month order for January and feeling ecstatic!  I ordered three books this time, knowing that most of this year I am going to be on book buying hiatus.  I got:

• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
• The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey

I haven't talked about Book of the Month in a while. I love it. It's $14.99 a month, which gets you a book shipped.  Then, if you want to, you can add on any two additional books for only $9.99 each.  For hardback books, which are normally $24-$28, this is a steal!  And if the five books they are offering that month don't appeal to you, you can skip that month with no penalties. I have even put my account completely on hold by simply calling their 800 number when I went on a long term book buying ban. I have zero complaints, only good things to say about them and highly recommend them to all readers who love to add books to their libraries. 

Indebted... to my  mom and sister, who took all three of my boys for an afternoon of bowling and cousin time despite the fact that I was too sick to join them. Josh met them halfway (bless his heart, too) and the boys had the time of their lives.  Thanks girls!!!

Laughing... when Josh told me that the "writing" on Carly's white board was a "list" for her brothers from chore day (Sunday) when mommy was too sick to write one.
Normally on Sunday the boys "To Do List" is written on the giant black board in the kitchen.  It will include things like which bathroom they have to clean, what they have to vacuum and if they have any other special chores.  Well, in my absence Carly made sure they had lists to read and check off.  Gosh I love that girl.

Celebrating... Carly's fourth birthday with a cake and ice cream, and a few presents.  She woke up asking for cake, so I blew up some balloons and gave her her kitty headband.  She was overjoyed!  Later, after a nap for me, we made her cake.  And after another nap, we frosted it.  I felt terrible being so sick on her birthday, but I was grateful knowing she was happy just to have balloons to play with and a few presents to open later.
At Christmas time I had been looking into getting her some magnetic building tiles, but decided on some other gifts instead.  Well, a deal popped up on my Facebook feed (thanks for stalking my shopping, Facebook) that was too good to pass up!  Zulily had a set of Picasso Tiles that were regular $99 on sale for $35, so I ordered them and put them away for Carly's birthday.  They were a huge hit!  All the kids love them. 

Puzzled... over the places I find sparkly blue toothpaste in the boys' bathroom upstairs.  Last week I found some on the floor by the bath tub and more under the toilet paper roll; and beyond that, there was a streak of it on the wall outside the twins' bedroom door.  Lord help me, what is this about? Why? Am I the only one? Do other mothers walk around, baby wipes in hand, searching valiantly for bright smudges of sticky toothpaste after their kids are in bed?
I think I am losing my mind.
Up in here.
Up in here.

Geeking out... that Kelle Hampton of Enjoying The Small Things (love her, love her blog!) commented on my instagram post about Carly growing up too fast.  I wrote about how I can easily get really sad lamenting the fact that my kids are getting bigger and I'm daily leaving the baby & toddler days behind, but Kelle Hampton's "There is more" post back in 2017 reminds me that even though the times of the past (and present) are sweet, there is more to come. More love, more memories, more good.  There is more.

Grateful, grateful, grateful... for the man that I married.  This sickness had me out for a total of 12 days, 10 of which were really terrible.  Weekend to weekend, I was so sick, and Josh had to pick up all the slack.  He made meals, did bedtime, grocery shopped and washed (according to him) more laundry in one three day period than he had done in his entire life. Haha! Oh, bless. He's just the best, and I'm so lucky he's mine.  Did I mention he did all that in addition to his full time job? And the four kids we share? 

Wondering... what the strangest thing is that you know the most about? I heard Ellen ask someone that question on a clip I saw online and it made me wonder what the strangest thing is that I know a lot about, and then consequently what my friends know about.  For me, I think it might be the zygosity of twins (identical vs. fraternal) or asthma and epilepsy. #momlife
So tell me, friends, what's your random knowledge?

Week 37 Around Here {2019}

"Mornings" by Carly

Reading... Searching for Sylvie Lee on audio and finishing Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.  Searching for Sylvie Lee had me listening every minute I got the chance. It was really good.  Maybe You Should Talk to Someone was good (I loved all the psychology advice and the therapist's perspective #totaltherapynerd) but it wasn't a page turner like I thought it would be.  Just a 3 star book for me.

Shopping... for new furniture on Saturday while our mother-in-law (bless her!) had all four kids for us.  We found a new couch for the living room, a reading chair for my bedroom (swoon!), new mattresses for the boys' beds and a new bedroom set for Josh and myself.  It's white and looks like a sleigh... it's super dreamy!  I've never had a headboard and feel like a certified grown up now. Hah!

Anticipating... the next steps for my in-laws house.  It's been so exciting to watch as their house has been built from the ground up on the land they purchased nearly two years ago.

Hanging... curtains in all the windows finally.  It's really starting to feel homey and every room I walk in puts a huge smile on my face.  I am just feeling so blessed to be here.

Riding... the boys' four wheelers with them after a little shopping with just Jack on Sunday.  I have never even watched them ride their quads, let alone ridden with them.  (Because I know myself- and I knew that if I watched them ride I would never want to let them ride again. Hah!!!) But Jack convinced me to give it a try, and Grandma Carol let me borrow her cute pink helmet.
I think mostly I screamed, but it was REALLY fun!  Jack is the easiest to ride with cause he knew to slow down on the turns and always warned me before he went really fast.  Wyatt is a TOTAL daredevil, and I thought I might die while I was with him, or at the very least end up in the ER having to explain to some reasonable doctor why I thought it was a good idea to get behind the wheel while my 8 year old was driving. I couldn't get off that thing fast enough. Hahah! I would have never guessed that he was such a crazy driver!
Logan was DRUNK with power, knowing that I had no control while he was driving, so he kept going and going, taking me round and round at full blast, nearly tipping us over twice because he had trouble adjusting to my additional weight on the back.  It was an adventure, that's for sure.  These boys are keeping me young.

Weeding... the front yard with my sister while our crazy crew ran around in the house.  The front walk looks gorgeous now and I was so happy to be able to show her our new digs now that we're a little more settled.  (She had last seen it the day we were moving in.)  She brought some great housewarming gifts, too- new glasses and cutting boards- which was so sweet!

Receiving... two more amazing housewarming gifts this week as well.  One from my friend Shana- a set of new snapware for leftovers that is the cutest!  And the other is a set of 8 different colored Fiestaware plates, the medium size, which I have been wanting forever, from my mom.  Thanks ladies!!! You make a girl feel so loved!

Dealing... with a bully with one of my kids and really feeling that whole "Having a kid is like having your heart beat outside your body" quote.
So, so hard.
But we talked with the counselor and some teachers and I think the problem is solved.  At least I hope so.  The kid was name calling (regarding weight) and just really beating our kiddo down.  It was heartbreaking.  I am so grateful my son knew he could tell me and that together we could get it resolved after just a few weeks of it happening.

Getting... sick for the first time this season.  Yuck.  I didn't miss that this summer.  I am so snotty and my eye won't quit watering and I just want to sleep, sleep, sleep.  Logan and Wyatt got sick, too, but no one seems to have gotten it quite as bad as I did.  So this week required a lot of self care- naps, early bedtimes, good food and Netflix.

Shocked... that it's been four years since we found out Babyham #4 was a girl.  I still remember so clearly what life with all boys was like.  I still remember so clearly going into that ultrasound and telling her I wasn't finding out the sex, but if she could write it in an envelope for me to give my sister, that'd be great.  And I will ALWAYS remember the reveal and how my eyes instantly teared up when I saw the pink confetti floating down.  All my dreams of motherhood were coming true.
I had my boys, those three brothers, whom I loved fiercely, and now I would have my daughter, their sister.  A little one to soften our edges and slow down their growing up.  And she has done just that. 

Laughing... out loud when I read the answer to "Tell how you solved the problem" on Wyatt's math sheet.
"I'm smart" he wrote confidently.
I was dy.ing. when I showed Josh and he too busted up.  When Wyatt's big brothers saw they couldn't believe he had the audacity to write that and asked Wyatt what his teacher had said.  He said that she didn't say anything.  But we encouraged him to actually answer the question next time.  Even if his answer was funny.  And true.

Also laughing... when I found Carly's "phone" on Josh's wireless charger one morning after we had walked Wyatt to the bus stop.  When I asked her why it was there she said distractedly, "Oh, it's charging." Like, duh mom.

Discouraged... when I showed up for the twins' middle school open house (having left Josh and the two little kids at home for bedtime) only to be told that it was being run to mimic your child's school day, with bells signaling the end of each class, etc.  When I approached the principal and told her of my predicament (two students/one parent...) she laughed and said, "Just pick one, I guess" like it was no big deal.  Then Jack said, "Yeah, who's your favorite mom?"
There were at least two emails that went out about this, and a paper that went home as well, and none of them gave us an outline of the evening.  If the agenda had been made public, I would have shown up with Josh and we would have divided and conquered.  Instead I found myself trying to meet 14 teachers in 7 time slots and running all over their school like a chicken with my head cut off.  It was very frustrating.  And I know I'm not the only twin mom of sixth graders.  There are at least four of us.  And those are just the ones I know of. #twinmomprobs
On a less negative twin note- isn't it fascinating the size difference between my twins?!? Jack is SO much taller than Logan!  I find it really interesting.  Most identical twins only differ by two inches (at the MOST) in height.  These guys are closer to four inches apart.

Enjoying... my day-long break from Carly on Thursday.  She goes to spend the day with Grandma and I get a day to myself.  This week I unpacked more boxes, getting our room emptied and felt really pleased with the progress.

Searching... for an entry table for our new house, to hold our keys and stuff.  I'm looking for a half round table (like these).

Very happy... with how the twins' room turned out.  They are LOVING it, and despite it being a little cramped, it's actually super functional.  They are in there everyday after school using their desks to do homework.  I love it!
I'm also very happy with our new furniture, which was delivered Tuesday.  The couch is gorgeous (!) and the chair in my bedroom may just be my new happy place!

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