Week 23 Around Here {2019}

Watching... Chernobyl (a miniseries on HBO) at the suggestion of Josh's brother Samuel, and becoming quite obsessed honestly.  I also got to watch the first three episodes of Season Three of the Handmaid's Tale. So good!

Taking... our first family kayak trip.  It was so much fun to all be out on the water together!  I brought some toys that float for Carly, and she was such a good girl!  We all love it, and I see a summer FULL of kayaking adventures in our future.

Reading... I'd Rather be Reading and freaking out (!!!) when Anne Bogel shared my Instagram post on ways that I make more time for reading in her stories.  I listened to Golden Child and The Sea Glass Sisters on audio. (Have you heard of Hoopla? You can rent 7 books a month on there, with NO WAIT TIME! My friend Becky told me about it, and I'm all "Where has this been all my life?!?" It feels like I am always waiting for a book to come off hold, but now with Hoopla, I can have at least a handful of books I want right away!!)
 Golden Child was heartbreaking and disturbing, I think especially so because I have twins.  The Sea Glass Sisters made me very excited to read The Prayer Box, which is my neighborhood book club book for July.  I started The Favorite Daughter, which I am flying through (it's about a set of siblings whose dad is diagnosed with alzheimer's) and I started The Road Back To You, which is about the enneagram, and I finally got off my holds list from the library.  I am now officially obsessed with the enneagram, and wish I knew what everyone was. Ha!

Sharing... a backyard picnic with Carly in the sunshine, which was so lovely.  She asks for a picnic every other day, so it felt good to finally say YES!

Visiting... my counselor and sharing with him how nervous I am for school to let out.  My kids are, well, high maintenance, it seems.  The twins have such high energy, as does Carly, and I do not want to spend my summer playing "Entertainment Director", so we brainstormed some ideas to help keep them (and me) happy while making it a good, memorable summer for all. (And while preserving what is left of my sanity.)
He suggested keeping a routine, which will help all of us get through the day with more clear expectations, and he (surprisingly) suggested I actually give them a little more screen time, but broken up into smaller chunks throughout the day so as to save me from the post-screen monsters they can become if it goes on too long. 
I am also going to have the boys create a list of "at home" activities they can do instead of saying "I'm bored" to me (because if they say that to me, they are gonna get a list of chores to accomplish!) and we are going to (together) write a bucket list of fun things we want to do this summer. 
I left feeling at least a little bit better about the summer with all four kids home 24/7.
{big, deep breath}

Loving... our first official neighborhood book club meeting.  Those ladies are so smart, I'm telling you, after a few more months with them, I am going to be brilliant. Hah! Seriously, though, the thoughts they had about the book, and the way they applied it to society and marriage and... life... it was just mind blowing. I am SUCH a giant nerd, that nothing makes me happier than talking books, so sitting around for two hours discussing books with a bunch of other ladies made me one VERY happy girl.

Dosing... ibuprofen out to Logan & Jack whose teeth hurt like they are going to FALL OUT after having top wires put on their braces finally.  Now that the spacers have done their work to widen their top jaws, their top wires went in, and boy-oh-boy! are they in pain!!!
One night Jack was in tears, convinced he was going to wake up with teeth on his pillow. 
I remember feeling the same way.
Thankfully it has improved, but it was pretty rough for a while there.

Praising... my amazing husband who took one for the team and went to Wyatt's game with Uncle Samuel in the spitting rain so that I didn't have to go and drag Carly & the twins with me.  He gave me a big, fat pass and said, "Just stay home. I'll go." I was sooo grateful!! The twins and I worked really hard to tidy the house and get it clean for the weekend, and I was so happy to have an extra evening at home to get stuff done.

Celebrating... the anniversary of my motherhood. (Also known as Jack & Logan's birthday!) The twins turned 11 on Thursday, and we celebrated with candy in their lunchboxes, treats for their classrooms, and cake after dinner.  We put 22 candles on the cake and let them blow them out after we sang Happy Birthday. 

Laughing... as Carly tells any adult who will listen that her teeth are going to fall out soon.  She carries around the little tooth fairy container and keeps hoping she will wake up and find money in it.  #littlesister

Learning... from Wyatt's Sleep Study Follow Up that he is sleeping loads better than he was before his tonsillectomy.  He has less limb movement, more REM sleep and his oxygen baselines were better than before.  He went from having Moderate Sleep Apnea, to having Mild Sleep Apnea following the removal of his adenoids & tonsils.  The plan from here is to retest after he is done with his mouth expander from the orthodontist (in 3-6 months) and see what good that has done (it's supposed to make his mouth bigger to accommodate for his tongue and also help with his deviated septum/nose breathing). If he's better, great; and if not, then we will go on to see a specialist in Seattle.  Overall, I feel fantastic about this good news.
The only bummer is they didn't have stats on his Central Sleep Apnea (where his brain forgets to breathe) so I will be calling to follow up on that next week.

Receiving... flowers from the neighbor that were so beautiful. I seriously got compliments all weekend as family was in and out, the roses were so gorgeous.  (Thanks, Barb & Doug!)  I am so lucky!

Meeting... with a case worker from Wyatt's health insurance who will be an ally as we continue working on all his health issues (setting goals, making appointments & fighting for what he needs).  She can be a go between for me with the insurance company, letting them know why he needs a certain thing, calling and emailing them for me, and helping me keep track of all the things we have going on for Wyatt.  I am pretty organized, so I don't anticipate needing a lot of help for that, but having an extra person in my corner when it comes to fighting for what Wyatt needs/deserves, I couldn't say no to that.

Attending... Wyatt's last game of the season on Friday afternoon.  It was so dang windy & cold, but at least it wasn't raining!!  His aunt Julie and Josh's cousin Januari came to cheer him on, as did his cousins Ethan, Alvin & Isaac and Uncle Samuel.  We had fun there together, laughing and watching Wyatt and his team try their best.  I can hardly believe the season is already over!

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Week 22 Around Here {2019}

Watching... Game of Thrones with Josh.  We are still in season one, so I have to be very careful of any spoilers out there... but I am so happy to have a show to watch with him.

Reading... Beauty (a retelling of Beauty and the Beast) for my neighborhood book club, and listening to The Nest on audio.  Beauty is just alright for me. It's not my favorite read, and The Nest is fun to listen to,  but also not a favorite.  Hoping some of the next reads will be more exciting.

Doing... tons of yardwork Saturday, moving sunflowers from the garden to the side yard.  Wyatt's first grade class grew a sunflower for him at one point during the end of first grade (last year) when he was home sick with super bad asthma and we brought it home, planted it, watered it, and it grew to more than six feet tall by the end of summer.  Well, we never cut it down and the flower was the size of a dinner plate.  All those seeds eventually fell out, planting themselves in the fertile garden below, and voila! we had TONS of tiny sunflowers growing there this spring.  We wanted to grow more than just sunflowers, though, so most of the self-grown sunflowers had to go.
Wyatt's Grandma Carol came and got some to plant on her land, and we decided to move a bunch to our side yard, thinking they would look so cool along the fence when they bloom.  It was a huge project, but I am so happy with the result and just can't WAIT for them to start flowering.

Hosting... Josh's sister and her boyfriend for a few hours Saturday night and having the best time playing Cards Against Humanity. Oh, the laughter.  My sides ached, and I cried from laughter. We needed that good time.  It was just the best.

Taking... Wyatt to his follow up sleep study to see if his obstructive or central sleep apnea have improved since his last sleep study in the fall.  He was so brave this time compared to last time.  There were no tears, no complaining, and he fell asleep so quick. I am hopeful that his obstructive sleep apnea is better now that his tonsils & adenoids have been removed.  *fingers crossed*
We will have results next week.

Spending... Monday at the lake with my parents and sister.  My parents are here to visit for a few days and see the twins play baseball, and my sister tagged along for the day to play in the water with her crew.  The kids had a fantastic time, and I enjoyed visiting with my mom and sister (as I always do).  Our boys (she has two and I have the three) are such a crazy bunch, I love that they have each other.

Eating... rhubarb pie which my mom brought with her when she came to visit. Oh man, it was so delicious (I tried to take a picture, but once it's cut, it just doesn't photograph well. Honestly, it looks a little like snot pie. Hahah!) I even had Josh and Samuel pick up some vanilla ice cream to go with it, and it was so, so good!

Spoiled... by my mom with new pajamas for Mother's Day (the shirt says, "I am enough" Gah! Love!), as well as some bookmarks (with magnets, so the kids will stop losing my page! #momprobs) and a BUNCH of clothes she got for me from Old Navy just because.  It was the sweetest, most unexpected gift, a giant bag of adorable tops and new socks, and the cutest shorts she and my sister thought would be flattering on me. So, so sweet.

Grateful... for the new bikes my parents bought the boys for the birthdays.  They are HARD on their outside toys (scooters, bikes, etc.) and I am so grateful for grandparents who encourage all that activity.  Lord knows I need them worn out at the end of each day. Hah!

Buying... kayaks after enjoying my parents kayaks so much.  We live less than five minutes from the lake, and kayaking is an amazing workout that doesn't feel like a workout.  The boys also loved it, so we decided to get them kayaks for their birthdays as well (which are all in June- the twins on June 6th, and Wyatt on June 15th).  I think it's going to be a family activity that we really enjoy.

Being... so impressed with my nephew Alvin.  He is seriously the most thoughtful person I know.  He showed up at the twins' game (he's staying with Grandma & Papa here for 2 weeks) with birthday cards for the twins (including cash money for them! Lucky cousins!) and a box of Annie's Bunnies for Carly to snack on during the game.  She was a FAN!  He spent the whole game cheering for the twins, and playing with Wyatt, which was just the sweetest.  He is a very patient person, and I was grateful he was there to entertain Wyatt.

Loving... the new adirondack chairs Josh bought me for the backyard.  (I'll have to snap pictures next week.) He got a red one and an aqua one, and they are SO cute!!!  I am really looking forward to many afternoons spent sitting in those chairs reading my books while the kids play out!

Putting... in our backyard garden, finally (!) and feeling so excited about it!  After school Wednesday we threw all the kids in the van and ran over to Lowe's to get what we needed.  We got tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, watermelon, pumpkin, carrots, strawberries & peas.  Wyatt also wanted raspberries & corn, but grandma is growing corn, and raspberries get too out of control, so we told him no. He's very happy with the garden, now that all is said and done (we do a lot of it just for him- he so enjoys it) and I'm so glad.  I also think Carly will be really into it this year.
We've never had success with the watermelon, but they are so darn cute, we keep trying every year. Here's hoping!!

Driving... Carly to Grandma's on Thursday morning for her day with Grandma & Papa, and then driving myself down to the lake for a little morning kayak session. It was seriously the most lovely thing ever.  I listened to a Brene Brown podcast from Supersoul Sunday about The Anatomy of Trust (so good!) and rowed myself all over the lake.  It was so serene and beautiful. I can't even tell you.
The water, the sky, the peace & quiet. I think I'm really going to love this.
And the best thing? The kayak fits in my van (a Honda Odyssey) if I put the back seats down and let the nose rise up over the center console between the front seats. So I can completely load and unload it myself. The coolest!!

Walking... the kids to school and back each day this week, and LOVING the roses that grow in front of one of the duplexes we pass.  The garden is so well tended, I could stand in front of their house forever, taking it all in.  They have roses in seriously every color, plus peonies, lilacs, hyacinth, snap dragons, lilies and even more flowers I don't know the names of.  I feel like they are a gift to me every time I walk past.

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{I needed to hear this one}