Around Here: Week 2

Chasing... Carly all over the house. That girl! She keeps us on our toes. Thankfully Josh bought some locks for all the cupboards and that is making my life so much easier now!

Reading... so many books! The Shack, The Alchemist, Believing God, and Chasers of the Light.  And Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover with Josh.  Plus, finishing up the BFG with the twins.

Looking forward... to watching BFG the movie on family movie night.

Watching... The Crown on Netflix. Oh I love it!!!

Staying... home with the kids three days this week due to heavy, blowing snow, wind and extreme cold.  The temps yesterday morning (with wind chill) were in the negative teens. -17 to be exact. Brr!  Poor Josh is out there everyday shoveling the driveway, the walk and even part of the street so we can get out of the driveway. Bless his heart!

Rejoicing... in the new fridge we got from our home warranty.  It's so clean and beautiful!  It will save us money thanks to its energy efficiency, and the door shuts all the way. Bonus! (haha!)

Using... my new weekly planner to keep track of weekly goals, things to accomplish and appointments.

Pinning... ideas about bullet journals so I can get some ideas for gratitude journaling and keeping track of my 2017 goals.  I think Wyatt's new Christmas gift (hello Crayola Color Wonder!), which we've all been using & enjoying, will come in handy as I color code my goals!

Posting... my word of the year and my goals for 2017.  I am so excited about my goals this year because I have great ways of keeping myself accountable.

Enjoying... life free from Facebook.  I can't believe how much time I have on my hands. Even with the kids home three days this week, I've gotten more reading done this week than I can believe!

Hanging... new blinds in the front room.  I think they will help keep the room warmer in winter and cooler in summer, plus it's great for privacy and adjusting the amount of light in that room.

Feeling... grateful that Carly has slept for a good five hour stretch two nights in a row. I feel like a new person!

Weekly Goals:

Finish at least two books

Find a counselor

Listening

I've been really compelled lately to slow down. My friend Ashley chose the word Slow for 2017, and I totally admire that. The point of my word embrace is also to slow down, especially in those moments where I can connect with my children.  The biggest change in my days thus far is bedtime. I am much more deliberate and I am more present than I have been in the past. First, I'm not scrolling on my phone during bedtime anymore since leaving Facebook.  Instead I am borrowing books from Overdrive and reading while I nurse Carly.  It's a much better use of my time and I walk away feeling refreshed & satisfied instead of discontent & irritated. 

After I nurse Carly I climb into bed with Wyatt, rubbing his back and saying bedtime prayers with him.  Recently I was talking to my sister about Love Languages for our kids.  So far I have only done the online test with Jack, but another suggestion on the website was to ask kids, "How do parents love their kids?"  I remembered to ask Wyatt the other day as we lay in his bed and he said, "By taking their kids to school." I asked him to expand, and he told me that he meant how I stay with him in the morning until the bell rings.  All other parents drop the kids off, but after Wyatt had such a hard time saying goodbye at the beginning of the year, I decided to stay with him for that first recess and say goodbye at his door when school starts.  It's hard when you aren't sure you're making the right choice as a mom.  I vacillate between wanting to support Wyatt in a smooth morning transition and wanting to push him into more independence.  But in that moment, as he expressed gratitude for my understanding where he is and being there for him, even though drop off would be so.much.easier (!) I knew I had been doing the right thing.

It all boils down to listening to my gut.  And trusting that I know my children best.  

It happened again last night with Jack. After we read our chapter of BFG, he asked me to lay with him, and I really didn't want to.  I was beat and wanted to go escape on the couch with a good TV show, but I listened to my mom-gut and laid with him.  He ended up sharing some things with me that he needed to get off his chest and needed my help navigating, and again, I was so glad that I listened to and trusted myself. 

What a blessing that intuition is.  

***

2017 Goals

1) Bedtime: 10pm

2) Read 24 books

3) Quit swearing

4) Blog 3x week

I've learned that keeping track is vital to my success.  So I had to set goals that were easily trackable, with no grey area.  For my bedtime goal, Josh will keep me accountable.  For my book goal, I will map out which books I want to read each month, and will keep track on the blog, mentioning what I'm reading in each weekly "Around Here" post.  For not swearing, I am keeping tick marks in my daily journal, working toward less tick marks per day until I hit zero. It hasn't happened so far, but I'm sure it will if I stick with it! And for blogging three times a week, I plan to keep track on a cute desk calendar I bought for that purpose.

I set these goals for very specific reasons.  

If I don't see the purpose, I know I won't stick to them.

1) Reasonable Bedtime= more sleep, and a more patient mama

2) Reading= more happiness + it's a personal goal I can meet while still focusing mainly on parenting

3) Not swearing= setting a good example for my children

4) Blogging= I found that I was using Instagram + Facebook more than blogging cause it was so quick. I want to get back to real, deep writing this year. A 3x a week goal will help me do just that.

I've had some of these same goals in the past, but I don't see that as a sign of failure. It merely means I haven't given up yet!

***

Word of the Year

My word for 2017 is 

"embrace"

I want to embrace this period of life that I am in currently.

Embrace the noise, the chaos, the lack of control.

I want to embrace this stage of motherhood completely.

I think "embrace" is like "accept", but with enthusiasm.

I don't want to fight the tide. Part of embracing is knowing my limits, which means I am fairly certain Carly will be our last and I have said no to anything extra since we moved.  No sports or extracurricular activities for the kids in preservation of family dinner and our lovely, slow evenings

I was thinking the other day how I have abandon a lot of my old hobbies since becoming a mom, scrapbooking and making cards, for instance, and remembering how much I enjoyed them made me want to rush out and take up those hobbies again. But I know that doing so would only leave me spread even more thin than I am already. So instead I am going to embrace this season of life, reading and blogging when I can, and really plunge head first into meal planning, child rearing & homemaking... also known as being a mom.

Cause I know what they say is true,

I'm gonna miss this when it's gone.

***

Ridgefield WildLife Refuge

Christmas 2016

We had a beautiful Christmas day, just our little family.  We woke up and opened presents, followed by cinnamon rolls (a family tradition, with a recipe passed down from my grandma) and cold milk.  The boys spent the day playing with their new toys and we all rotated playing games-- Yahtzee, Sorry, Checkers...

I also worked on my Christmas puzzle and read more of Winter Storms by Elin Hildebrand.

For dinner Josh made a turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing.  I made a new creamed corn recipe that I got from Julie at Thanksgiving.  Wyatt ate his weight in olives (placed on his fingertips first, of course) and I ate dill pickles. Yum!  For dessert we all ate Hello Dolly's (also known as seven layer bars). It was a delicious dinner that was enjoyed by everyone.

***

We are so blessed.

Around Here: Week 1

Top Nine posts from my Instagram
2016 was definitely the year of "Carly"

 

{less this}

{more this}

Watching... the series finale of Burn Notice, and moving on to The Crown with Josh.  I loved Burn Notice, and The Crown is fascinating.  I also watched the Call The Midwife's Holiday Special.  It was so good!

Traveling... through crazy weather to get home from our trip to Vancouver. The Columbia River Gorge was icy and frozen, and for some of the trip there was snow falling.  I'm grateful our neighbor called to let us know about the crazy weather.  Because of her heads up, we left bright & early Monday morning and were traveling in complete daylight, which made everything easier to navigate. I'm also grateful for our neighbor's husband who shoveled & cleared our entire driveway and front walk in anticipation of our homecoming. It was so selfless & very much appreciated.

Opening... our Christmas gift from Wyatt (school was canceled the last day before break, so his gift just came home) and loving his kindergarten handwriting on the card.  The backward S's are killing me dead.

Writing... more in my journal & gratitude journal this week.  The beginning of a new year always leaves me reflective and more introspective than usual.  I'm writing down all the thoughts that flit through my mind.  ...what I've been through; how I've grown; what I want our life to look like... I love it.

Making... goals for 2017 (more on these soon to come)

Taking... a break from Facebook.  I wrote a little post about it, but basically I was spending all my free time on my phone scrolling, and it wasn't making me happier.  It was making me less productive & I hadn't realized it.  I'm hoping a little break will clarify whether Facebook is good for me, and will allow me to be more in control of my time.  (I read this post about social media/screen time and it has me contemplating what I want screens to look like for my kids as well.)

Choosing... a word for the year. I'll be sharing it with you next week!

Freezing... inside our house and out.  It's been as cold as fifteen below zero with wind chill here, and you can feel it!  The boys even had two hour late start twice this week because of cold weather.  It's leaving me wishing our house had newer windows and a fireplace!

Missing... the men in my house as they all head back to work and school.  We enjoyed our time home together and as usual it went really fast.

Feeling... inspired by Tabitha's 100 Small Things list.  Thanks to her, I'll be watching TED talks, documentaries and doing monthly family game nights.  

Considering... buying a bunk bed so Wyatt can join the twins in their room and Carly can cry herself to sleep if need be.  She did better last night (finally!) and Wyatt never had to leave the room.  She'd cry a tiny bit after each nursing session, but it never lasted long, and a handful of times she woke up and would soothe herself back to sleep without me. Yay!

Loving... our bedtime routine. After months of change (me parenting without Josh, me parenting without Josh with the addition of Carly, parenting with Josh at his parents house, and finally both of us parenting together at our new house) we have settled into a rhythm that feels perfect. Dinner, baths, jammies, bedtime stories and then the "divide & conquer" part of our nights.  I take the younger two into their bedroom and Josh takes the twins into theirs.  The twins do their silent reading for 20 minutes with Josh while I nurse Carly and do bedtime prayers with Wyatt.  We end the night usually watching an episode or two of something together, before heading to bed ourselves.  It's a nice mellow evening for all of us, and I love it.

Decorating... the living room with the new art my sister-in-law made for us. I just adore the scrabble words she made with our kids names. It makes me smile every time I see it.

Reading... Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty.  I am devouring this book and I'm so happy to be reading so much!  I'm also reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey with Josh.  We are hoping it helps us make smart financial decisions in 2017!

Weekly Goals:

1) Find a dentist & make appointments for the whole family

2) Find eye doctor for the boys

3) Make homemade bread & Special K bars

***

A Small Breather

I feel like a passenger on the plane of my own life.

As opposed to the pilot.  

It's been a slow realization.  One that has taken months to dawn on me.  

As things have slowed down and we've settled in to our new home and our new town, I've found that I am wasting a lot of time online.  Specifically on Facebook.  I was trying to calculate how much time I spend on social media/my phone each day, and I figure its upwards of three hours a day. Little bits here & there, and every time I nurse... it adds up. Oh how it adds up.

This is concerning to me both because that is time taken away from other things I could be doing, but also because being on social media makes me compare.  And comparison, as we know, is the thief of joy.

Because of this, I am going to take a small breather from Facebook.

Bookmark my blog, though, because I am hoping that my absence from Facebook means I'll be able to spend more time here.

***

Year End Reading Wrap Up + Reading Goals for 2017

Books I Read:

• Fervent by Priscilla Shirer
• Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
• After You by Jojo Moyes
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
• BFG by Roald Dahl
• Flight Behavior* by Barbara Kingsolver
• My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry* Fredrik Backman
• Winter Street by Elin Hildebrand
• Winter Stroll by Elin Hildebrand
• Winter Storms by Elin Hildebrand
• The Secrets of Midwives* by Sally Hepworth
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• When I Found You* Catherine Ryan Hyde
• Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend* by Matthew Dicks
• Here's To Us* by Elin Hildebrand
• Silent Sister* by Diane Chamberlain
• When Breath Becomes Air* by Paul Kalanithi
• Home Field* by Hannah Gersen
• Better Than Before* by Gretchen Rubin
• A Man Called Ove* by Fredrik Backman
• Little Face by Sophie Hannah
• At The Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

Still reading...

• Believing God by Beth Moore
• Chasers of Light by Tyler Knott Gregson

Eleven of the twenty two books I read were book club books (as indicated by *). So thank you, ladies, for encouraging me to read more than I ever would have on my own. I started to tally up my books for the year, thinking I had hardly done any reading, and before I knew it, I was averaging two books a month.  Considering I had a baby in January of this year, I think two books a month is fantastic!

***

My goal for 2017 is 24 books. 

I want to read:
Truly Madly Guilty
The Broken Way
What Was Mine
Peaceful Parents, Happy Siblings
Boys Should be Boys
The Rocks
The Shack
Brain Rules
Tuesdays with Morrie
Snow Falling on Cedars
Mindsight
Don't Let Me Go
Iron & Silk
Dave Ramsey

I'd like to reread:
Peaceful Parents, Happy KidsBrave New World
Lord of the Flies
Brain Lock
One Thousand Gifts
The Power of Now
One and the Same

What are you must-reads for 2017?