6.16.2022

Around Here: Week 17 2022

 {April 24-30th}

















































Walking... to the Little Free Library in our neighborhood with Carly.  She loves it.  Whenever we walk by she likes to peruse the offerings, and when we were sorting through her books she wanted to donate them to the LFL. 

Ordering... the books we decided on for book club for the next six months.  I ordered The Rent Collector by Camron Wright, The Wine of Solitude by Irene Nemirovsky, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow. I already have The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh (from my Book of the Month subscription) and the other two I will listen to on Overdrive or Libby- The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead.  

Excited... that things are coming along at Josh's parents house.  The electric and plumbing is done and approved and drywall is up.  After they paint, Josh and his brother can get started laying flooring.  It's really getting close!

Subbing... in Carly's classroom this week. I love love love love kindergarten and first grade.  They're so much fun.  

Mommin'... super hard in the mornings as I drove stickers to the middle school one day when Logan forgot them and popped into the office at the elementary school to drop off some things, plus getting all the kids ready, dogs fed and in their crates and out the door on time each day, and running all.the.errands after dropping them at school.  Some days I have no idea how I get done what I get done.  

Watching... Under The Banner on Hulu and being drawn into the story.  Wow.  Also finding that I had a lot in common with the main character as he deconstructed his faith and tried to figure out what he really believed versus what he had been taught. 

Reading... with Carly every night at bedtime (or at baseball practice or games, depending on the day) and feeling so proud of her when I got a note from her teacher that she was graduating out of her classes highest reading group and into her own reading group. She has worked so hard (and been so motivated). It feels really good to see her work paying off with understanding so much more of what she reads (and reading more challenging books!) and with being recognized at school.  So proud!
As for me, I'm reading every chance I get, which this week meant at Wyatt's baseball practice when Josh said I could go by myself! Love that man!

Thankful... for the twins' friend group.  They have the best group of friends, and I love watching them all grow up and mature together. Specifically this week I was grateful for Jack's friend Ainsley who volunteered to go to the land with Josh and the twins to help move furniture and boxes for Josh's parents.  He got nothing out of it. Was just willing to help out.  What a great kid!

Waking... up from a nap and finding that Piper had climbed up on the couch and slept with me. Such a sweetheart. She really is my girl. 

Burning... the candle that Josh's sister Julie gave me. It smells so good and has the coolest wooden wick. Thanks, Julie!!

Attending... Wyatt's game and the twins' game and just feeling so proud of these guys.  They love the game, and it shows.  I just wish the weather would warm up! We are freezing our tail feathers off at these games!

Taking... Logan to the skate park and always feeling so nervous to leave him there.  Skaters have a bad reputation generally, and I don't want him getting mixed up in anything questionable or scary.  But every story he tells me is one of a culture of support and not tearing each other down. When they fall, they check on each other, they share water, or phones if need be, and really are quite good to one another. 

Smiling... at Josh being a good dad.  Carly wanted to try putting Tums in a soda and we figured out she wanted to see if it would explode, like soda and Mentos.  So when Josh was getting gas, he popped into the gas station and bought a coke and a tube of Mentos.  She was thrilled!
He also let her help him wash his car, and even took pictures for me to have. He's such a good dad and I'm so glad he's ours. 

Finding... our water bill was about $100 more than usual and freaking out.  It was so much more water than we used last month. Josh and I went over all the things it could be and narrowed it down to the sprinkler system or the toilets running.  Josh ruled out the sprinklers, so we were left with running toilets.  Josh replaced the gaskets (I think) on all three toilets and we're crossing our fingers that it does the trick!

Laughing... at the ridiculously tiny carton the buttermilk came in from the store. It looks like a tiny milk carton and it makes me smile every time I open the fridge. I bought it to make Amish bread, but the bread was a massive fail. Bummer. 

Researching... Logan's migraines and wondering if they are hemiplegic migraines.  He has all these strange symptoms that come (including arm weakness and an aura with vision impairment). So I called his neurologist (from when he had seizures) to schedule an appointment to discuss how to best treat these episodes.  

Enjoying... a party at my sister's house for little Royal.  He is the sweetest cherub and I love him so, so much.  He captivated our whole family, but especially Jack and I. It was so good to celebrate him. My kids partied hard (we stayed super late at my mom's) and they slept all the way home. Something about all my kids asleep in the car gives me all the warm, fuzzy feelings.  Like all is right with the world. 

***





***

Around Here: Week 16 2022

 {April 17-23rd}

























My little brother Dallas and my dad at Dallas' tattoo shop









Frosting... the carrot cake (and cupcakes!) I made yesterday for our Easter party at Josh's cousin Nathan & Dunnette's house.  Meanwhile, Josh made The Pioneer Woman rice krispie treat recipe I found.  It was so cute- it had an m&m in the middle and then you shaped the rice krispie treat inside of an easter egg.  He topped them with sprinkles, and they were so adorable! And tasty!

Enjoying... our get together with Nathan, Dunnette and their little boys.  The kids had so much fun together, and so did the adults.  Haha!  Just talking and laughing and eating all the good food.  Dunnette is the BEST cook and made the most amazing tacos and salsa. Holy yum!  We were all very spoiled.  They even had easter goodie baskets for the kids, and hollow eggs filled with confetti that the kids broke over each others' heads. So fun!!

Subbing... two days in a row this week, and being flipped off for the first time. Ha! Truly, though, I love subbing. I also did a half day this week, and even on the days that are a challenge I am enjoying myself.  The hardest part is getting out of the house, and figuring out how to also get laundry done.  Hah! Working moms, you're my heroes. 

Cancelling... my sub job on Thursday to take Jack to the ER because of severe stomach pain he was suffering.  We worried it was his appendix, but all the tests came back negative.  They gave him some pain meds and sent us home, and I was grateful for not having to put him through surgery.  I also canceled on Friday because the twins were sick and so was I.  I took a much needed nap and took care of those growing boys who still need their mama when they don't feel well. 

Taking... the twins to their first game while Josh took Wyatt (and Carly) to his.  It POURED down rain and was so windy that my umbrella turned inside out twice.  Logan was up to bat during the windy downpour that turned my umbrella inside out, and how he managed to stay up there and try to hit is beyond me. 
During that game they got so dirty that I had to use tide and hot water with a toothbrush to scrub the mud out of their uniforms.  What a mess! Plus, the boys felt the umpire wasn't calling the game fairly, so by the time we got home, they were wet, cold, miserable and upset about how the game turned out. Poor Jack had it the hardest.  It was decided then and there that if we have to divide and conquer (take kids to different games on the same night) that Josh would accompany the twins and I would accompany Wyatt. 
Due to bad weather, practice for the rest of this week was canceled. 

Struggling... with Wyatt's asthma following a cold he had. It's like the kids are taking turns being sick this week.  Thankfully we avoided the doctors office and the ER, managing his symptoms with steroids via his inhaler. 

Smiling... as I found the cherry blossoms Logan had picked on his way home in a "vase" (empty water bottle) by the sink. I love that he finds beauty in the world. And that he thought to bring some home. 
I also smiled when Logan texted me to check on Jack while we were at the ER.  They give each other a hard time, argue and fight like mad sometimes, but when it comes down to it, they're so glad they have each other, and they really care for each other. I love when I can see it so clearly. 

Counting... all the books in our house after Carly asked if I thought we had 900 books.  I counted the books in each of the bathrooms, all the bedrooms, and downstairs and came up short.  Then I was telling Logan about it and he goes, "You probably have that many in the shed alone." And I was like, "In the shed? There's no books in the shed." And he reminded me that we have all our holiday books (Valentine's Day, Halloween and Christmas) in a tote in there.  With those books we hit 900 books!!! I was so (nerdily) thrilled!!!
I shared on my stories on IG and FB that I was counting and my sister was texting me her "book math" as I went through my house, shelf to shelf, snapping pics of our books.  One that I shared in this post is my collection of Anita Shreve books.  She's my favorite author, and I love so many of her books.  Sea Glass and Body Surfing are probably my favs. 

Receiving... Piper's DNA results, which was so fun! She is 50% German Shepherd, 21% American Staffordshire Terrier, 14% Siberian Husky, 12% Alaskan Malamute, 2% Beagle, and 1% Great Dane.  I am so curious how big she is going to get, and what she's going to look like once she's grown. 

Attending... book club and discussing with my girls the friendship break-up I had last year.  They were so kind, listening and asking questions.  They said they were proud of me, and honestly, it made me cry.  It was such a hard decision, and one I didn't take lightly, but it was also the right thing for me. To hear my friends say they not only understood, but thought I was brave, was really heartening. 

Grateful... for Wyatt and Carly getting to enjoy the "Day of Awesomeness" at their school.  They rented bouncy houses and had so many fun games and activities.  My friend Christi sent me pics and videos of Carly as she ran into her in the field. It made my day!
Also grateful for Josh who made me pizza for date night Friday. The sweetest!!!

Sleeping in... on Saturday and waking up with a terrible migraine. That's just the worst. If I change my sleep habits at all (not enough sleep or "too much" sleep) I get a migraine. I hate it! 

Picking... Logan up from the skate park after my migraine had subsided (praise the Lord for Sumatriptan!) only to find him suffering an ocular migraine.  His vision in one eye was nearly gone and he came home and promptly threw up.  He laid down for a nap in my bed, thinking the vomiting was done, only to wake up vomiting again in my bed.  I was glad he didn't throw up on the carpet, but it meant I had to wash all my sheets, including my giant comforter. After that throwing up episode, he finally was able to sleep and when he woke up he felt so much better. 

Working... to catch up the blog.  I have been behind nearly all year! 

Loving... this quote by Ashley LeMieux:

"Acceptance is relearning to live our lives around the hard thing, 
and we allow new things to come into our life, 
we honor the hard, 
and we accept it as a reality 
that we cannot change."

 
***





***