Week 7 Around Here {2019}

{flashback to 2 years ago}

Enduring... a crazy weekend of blizzard conditions and so.much.snow.  Roads & highways got closed, certain stores weren't opened, and we were basically housebound for four days straight.  Thankfully, Josh saw the storm coming and went grocery shopping before the weather hit!
Once the wind quit, we were able to get out in it, and the kids were SO HAPPY to have snow.  Especially Carly who loves to eat it.  Haha!
The boys went sledding and dug snow caves.  They had snowball fights and climbed on the "mountains" created by the snowplows.  Wyatt laid down to make a snow angel and told me to take a picture and then put it on Facebook with the caption "#hardestsnowangelever" because the snow was so deep.  That kid constantly cracks me up!!!

Drinking... coffee and creamer this week as a special treat in the cold weather.  I (mostly) gave up coffee in 2018 because of how it made me feel with my anxiety.  But I've been craving it with our temps being so low.  I will occasionally get it at Starbuck's after a particularly rough night, but otherwise, I exist without it.  So it felt super luxurious to have it all week!

Snuggling... up with the kids & our kitties and tons of blankets every morning as school was canceled over and over 3x this week.  They would watch cartoons and I would read and drink my coffee.  It was the stuff dreams are made of!

Napping... almost everyday as well, which was so lovely.  Josh, who is a teacher, also had a lot of days off due to weather (he works in a different district than our kids attend) so we were all 6 home together, and I really enjoyed sneaking in a nap each day after lunch despite all the kids being home.

Reading... and finishing Orange is the New Black on audio.  I also finished 52 Things Moms Need to Know and started reading The Poisonwood Bible, which is deep (and long!), but really good so far.  All these snow days made for some awesome reading time, and that made my bookish heart so happy!

Receiving... my Book of the Month order (hooray!) and feeling like it was Christmas as I pulled each of the three books I ordered out of my big blue box.
This month I ordered The Winter Sister, Circe and The Heart's Invisible Furies . The Winter Sister is my February pick, Circe was the 2018 book of the year, and The Heart's Invisible Furies was the 2017 book of the year.  I am going to finish The Poisonwood Bible, then The Water Cure and then Five Feet Apart (both library books), then I will either start Maid (another Book of the Month book) or The Winter Sister.

Celebrating... Valentine's Day casually at home with dinner as a family, but planning a getaway with Josh for next weekend.  We are pumped!!

Getting... cell phones for the twins.  I am nervous to even share that here, for fear of judgment (#honestmoment) since they are only ten, but I like to be transparent here.  So there you have it. We got pay-as-you-go phones for about $40 each.  We decided to go for it because I got tired of going out into the neighborhood to knock on doors and ask the twins to come home for dinner. (#lazyparenting)
We had talked about getting them cell phones about six months ago at the peak of Logan's seizures so that if he had one while they were walking to school Jack could call for help, but we never made any final decisions.  Then, as of late, they've been spending more time playing at friends' houses and it's hard to get a hold of them.
We are nervous, but figure that we can always take them back if it's not going well, and the boys have to do well at school and be showing respectful behavior at home or they lose their phone that day.  We can log into their phones on our computer and see all their activity, which offers me great comfort, and they know that, so they have had good behavior thus far.
I think that this will be a good opportunity to teach them good phone etiquette and build their responsibility.  I'll let you know how it goes!

I saw this last week:

This is my virtual fist bump for you.

We got this, girls.

***

Around Here: Week Eleven {2018}

I love when I catch them doing twin things like this.

Photo Credit: Logan Cunningham

The twins swapped glasses with my Grandpa

They thought it was pretty funny!

Surviving... a weekend without Josh as he was out of town helping his parents lay new flooring in their house as they prepare to sell it.  Come spring they are headed this way and we can't wait to have them here.  The boys are so excited for Grandma & Papa to be near, and so am I!

Staying... busy while Josh was gone with a trip to the library, the grocery store, and letting the twins have a friend over for movie night.  It felt good to get out of the house, get the grocery shopping done, and to let their sweet neighbor-friend join us for movie night.  They chose Home Alone for movie night, which is a total Cunningham family favorite.  I will never tire of listening to Jack laugh at that movie's shenanigans.  Just hearing him laugh at it makes me laugh.

Sneaking... away for a visit to my sister and her kids on Sunday.  We lucked out with gorgeous weather and were able to have a picnic for lunch and let the kids play at the park.  Then we took a walk and were able to let the kids throw rocks in the water.  They loved it, perhaps Carly most of all.

Enjoying...  a surprise visit from my grandparents this week that came up toward the end of last week.  I was so happy to see them and share time with them and my kids.  We played games, enjoyed Carly, walked the boys to school and even got to go out to lunch just us adults (plus Carly) while the boys were at school one day since Josh had an appointment that day.  I love my grandparents- they have always been really involved in my life- and spending time with them and my kids is my absolute favorite.  Hearing the twins laugh with my grandpa, watching my grandma delight in my girl and do puzzles with Wyatt, just warms my heart.

Running... behind all week thanks to my super fun weekend, missing husband and our beginning of the week out-of-town guests.  Obviously, I wouldn't change a thing, but man alive, if the laundry could just fold itself that would sure be helpful, amiright?!? ;)

Teaching... more hours with VIPkid in hopes of saving up some money to help pay for the new roof we need.  With Chinese New Year over, my bookings are up and I'm teaching three classes most days, which is really good news.  (I teach Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings 4-6:30am & Saturday evenings 8-10pm) It's nice, now that I'm about five months in, that I'm much less nervous each day.  I really enjoy the students and find myself smiling through each lesson. I am hopeful that my bookings will continue to increase and that soon I will have classes during every open open time slot!  (If teaching VIPkid sounds like something you would like you to do, you only need a bachelors degree- it doesn't have to be in education- and I'd love to walk you through the interview process.  Here's the link for applying: VIPkid Please let me know if you have any questions!)

Reading... The Nightingale and finishing it. Boy, was it a good book.  Like, take a deep breath and don't cry cause it's over, good.  I also finished Option B (on audio) and I am waiting for the library to check out The Untethered Soul (also on audio) to me again. I am up to five books this month already!
Today I've started Station Eleven on audio (so engrossing!) and The Immortalists (also so engrossing!) for book club.  It's exciting to be reading so many good books in a row!  I'm loving it!

Breaking... my no-yelling streak twice this month as Logan has broken both of his two pair of glasses and so many rules.  I'm not sure what's going on there, but it's been a rough couple weeks.  I told him we both have some things to work on (him: listening and me: not yelling) but that we're lucky because each day is a new chance.  So far, I've been able to keep my cool since losing it the second time, but he is still struggling.  I am hopeful the change in weather and more time outside is what he needs to turn it around.  In the meantime, he is blind as we await his glasses being repaired.  Thankfully they should be back to us in less than a week.
I was also starting to notice an "it's not my fault" response with Logan in an effort to get himself out of trouble and I was freaking out about it, worrying I was going to raise a human who couldn't take responsibility for his own actions.  My sister sent me some articles from Aha parenting about teaching kids to take responsibility- and they were full of so much brilliant advice. My main takeaways:

• Hold him accountable but don't bother trying to convince him.  
• Let the consequences teach responsibility for me.
• Keep my cool so that he can focus on his reaction instead of mine.
• Warn once, then give consequence to show choices have consequences.

Overall, I am going to just watch closely over the next few weeks to make sure he isn't claiming things aren't his fault, and if he does, I'm going to make sure to hold him responsible for those things that were his doing.  I am also going to show him things I have done that had consequences, so he can learn from my example.  (For instance, apologizing when I make a mistake; doing something I had forgotten to do; admitting when I do something wrong.)  

Loving... how much Carly loves her trike & bath time.  She says all the time, "I ride my bicycle?"  I don't know where she got the word "bicycle", but that's what she calls it and it's just adorable.  She also loves bath time.  Any time she hears water running in the house, she says,
"Umm, can I have a bath?" She likes bubbles and playing Paw Patrol in the tub. She hates having her hair washed and getting water in her eyes.  

Taking... all the Carly snuggles I can get.  She's been super sweet lately, telling me when she's sad that she needs snuggles on the couch.  So we get her very favorite bubba Chase and her very favorite taggie (feather taggie) and snuggle up together.  She also gives snuggles out freely to everyone else in the house.  Josh often gets morning snuggles before he leaves for work, and in an effort to put off bedtime she gives each brother at least two snuggles apiece.  (Smart girl!)

***