Around Here: Week 5 2024

 {January 28-February 3rd}

Carly's message on my hand:
Do good in Ms. Betes' classroom

Sunrise in Rockaway Beach, Oregon
pc: Grandma Pansy

Sunrise in Central Washington

Sunrise at our school, captured by a friend

Finishing... A Quiet Life and starting Before I Let Go.  But I find that while I am working full time, plus doing homework and lesson planning, I am doing a LOT less reading than before. 

Laughing... at Maggie watching Carly play Mario on Wyatt's original NES.  She was so funny following him with her head. 

Doing... homework in Wyatt's bed early Sunday morning as he was asleep on the couches downstairs with Milo and Josh was asleep in our bed, so I just grabbed my laptop and went to work in there. Haha! A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. 

Enjoying... Carly bringing her American girl doll (whom she calls her daughter) Hannah to school each day. She gives her piggy back rides and teaches her in the classroom. It's so darn cute. 

Wishing... I could climb back in bed when our kittens make it look so cozy every morning.  They particularly like to lay on my clothes when I set them on the bed. I'm like, "Girls! You are making it very hard to want to go to work!"

Feeling... terrible for Josh who just had the worst cold all week.  Not bad enough to stay home (no terrible cough or fever) but just felt so crummy. Poor guy! He has a great attitude though and said that if he can be healthy from August to February, he can't really complain when he gets a cold. 

Buying... clothes & shoes for work as I see different items that might work well with the wardrobe I already have. It's exciting to think that I am going to be in this career from now on. 

Realizing... that I'm willing to cut a lot out of my morning routine, but a good breakfast is not one of them.  I make myself eggs and sausage everyday, and it just gets the day started off right. 

Sharing... sunrise pics with my grandma one day this week.  Hers was so pretty and purple, and mine was hazy and pink. 

Attending... book club in Othello and driving through the craziest fog to get there!! But it was so fun to go and catch up with my friends. Plus I loved the book! (The Echo of Old Books) So fun!

Loving... how Carly sings in the classroom every afternoon while I am wrapping up for the day. I just love her carefree joy. 

Tearing up... when opening a card from Adventist of Tillamook that said a donation had been made to their hospice program in honor of Carl Cunningham from my Grandma Pansy.  Such a beautiful way to honor him while blessing the families of those on hospice. 

Celebrating... Groundhog's Day at school with the kids. They had so much fun and we made the cutest little Groundhog hats and predictions. Kindergarten is just the best!

Driving... Jack to his final drive for his license and celebrating with him when he nailed it!!! This was the last step for him to receive his license when he turns 16. So now on his birthday he'll just have to walk into the DMV and they'll print it off for him! How exciting!

Shaking... my head when Wyatt was trying to make last minute plans to have his friend over.  I said no, but his friend had already missed his bus, so I let him come over anyway. Wyatt's response? "I am indubitably sorry."  Seriously, where does he get this stuff?

Feeling... blessed when I received an email from my Uncle Steve about the amount in our children's college fund accounts from him. Truly it's a gift that our children will forever benefit from. How amazing. 

Taking... time on Friday during early release to completely prepare with lesson planning and copy making while Katrina attended a meeting and Carly spent time with Aunt Julie. It felt so good to get so much done and to head into the weekend prepared for the week ahead. 

Working... more on Saturday on lesson plans and making packets, but I am so proud of how much I am in charge of and the fact that I am getting it all done. It feels so darn good! Hopefully with time I will get faster, but for now I am content with the fact that I know how to do what I'm doing at all! Even if it's a bit slow.

Slowly... figuring out when I need to leave work each day. I have figured out that staying late once a week is fine, but nearly everyday I would like to leave around 4:00pm because I am of so much use in the afternoons.  Between homework, rides and making dinner, being home is where I need to be. It's definitely a balancing act... but I am confident I'll figure it out.

Multi-tasking... by talking to my sister while I put away laundry. I find that my time is just in such high demand lately that if I want to talk on the phone, I have to be doing something productive while I do so. So I loaded our closet with clean clothes while I caught up with Roxanne. Win/win!

Having... the best Saturday night with snickerdoodles, homemade pizza and "You're So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah" on Netflix. It was the cutest movie that we all enjoyed, and the snickerdoodles were divine!!!

***

Around Here: Week 4 2024

 {January 21st-27th}

Carly's drawing and writing is my favorite. 
The tears here and the way the girl is holding her arm.
And the x-ray that says "crack"! I can't even.

Carly & her cousin Sweet P look so much alike!
Those blue eyes, their adorable chins and their little button noses.
Gah! So cute!

Figuring... out a shower schedule that doesn't leave anyone with a cold shower. It's been a challenge because there are four of us showering some mornings and that is too many! So I'm trying to work out how early I need to wake up to not give one of the twins a cold shower. Hah! But other than that, our mornings are really going quite smoothly and I'm so relieved!

Working... my first five-day work week since 2011. It was a long one, but I did it, and I feel so good!

Seeing... my counselor this week and talking through how the transition to student teaching is going.  I am so surprised and proud of myself that it's going so well.  I am loving it and don't find myself wishing I was still home at all. That shocks me!

Making... brownies for Carly's actual birthday to eat after we have dinner. We also decorated with lots of pink streamers & ribbon and sent her to school with rice krispie treats for her classmates.  The night before her birthday she slipped a note under my door that said, "I woke up mommy" and when I went in to check on her, it was because she had a super loose tooth.  Logan came in to help us try and get it out. She finally did (hallelujah!) and then we all got some sleep. 

Touched... that Carly got a birthday gift from her little friend Charlotte.  It was the cutest nail polish set along with a candy treat. What a sweetheart- thanks Charlotte!

Working... on letting those around me have their feelings without it impacting me. That is such a challenge for me!!!

Running... errands with Jack to drop off a load to Goodwill, run through the car wash and do the grocery shopping at Winco. I hate running errands, but I do love the feeling of crossing all those things off my to-do list. 

Laughing... at Carly making a "phone box" for her Lego house. She even found some little Lego phones to put in it. We have taken a gun box Josh had and we use that to lock the boys phones in when screen time is over. For a period of time they just put them in a basket on the kitchen counter, but then they were always sneaking a peek or getting back on it. So this was our solution. The boys (of course) hate it, but to Carly it's just part of the kitchen, so she had to include it in her Lego kitchen. 

Ordering... some good Eucerin cream lotion for my hands at work. I am washing my hands and using hand sanitizer so much to avoid germs and getting sick that my hands are killing me, they're so dry. 

Parenting... so hard this week. For the sake of my kids I am not sharing all the details of parenting my older three, but suffice to say that homework is a battle sometimes and I'm tired! 
I also had to do a little bit of hard parenting with our girl as she woke up one day this week at 3am! She never went back to sleep! So I had to get stern with her and let her know that if she wakes up (and stays up) before 5am, she's going to have a consequence. 

Walking... up to Carly in the hallway outside the gym during inside recess and seeing her sitting there reading her chapter book. She's so darn cute. She hates how loud the gym gets in the morning, so she usually tries to sit outside of it. I love how she can acknowledge and meet her own needs. 

Happy... that my roses from Josh last week have lasted so long. They're just gorgeous!

Grateful... to Josh for making the cake and cupcakes for Carly's party while I did homework Friday night. And grateful he ran to the store for me as well.  He is really stepping up as I take on more responsibility in student teaching and if I have homework, he's on it. So blessed that he's mine. 

Hosting... Carly's birthday party on Saturday with my mom, sister and Carly's little cousins Romy, Lu & sweet Baby P.  We had decorated earlier in the week, so all I had to do day of was set up the table with things to do hair and nails and frost the cake & cupcakes. I ended up letting the little girls frost their own cupcakes, which they loved.  Carly did my hair. I had off kilter pig tails with Barbie hair clips, and Jack was mortified at how I looked. Haha!  Then they went upstairs to play. I was so happy for Carly to have such a special, fun-filled day. And (bonus) I got to love on my sister's baby, rocking her to sleep and getting the sweetest little baby snuggles when she woke up. 

Driving... to Quincy to get Milo so he could sleepover with Wyatt, and on the way there I decided to swap cars with Josh out at the land (I hate driving his five speed if I can help it).  Well, on the way there, I realized my cycle had started and I needed to use the bathroom, so Josh's brother met me at the end of the gravel, swapped driving seats with me and drove me through the immense mud to the front door so I could go in and use the bathroom. Then when I was done Samuel picked me up in the side-by-side and drove me back to the gravel where my van waited. The mud was seriously so crazy. I had on tennis shoes and would have been screwed if he hadn't helped. 
Thankfully throughout that whole debacle, my dad and Milo were SO patient. I ended up being about forty five minutes late. oof. Sorry guys!

Making... pizza for dinner after Wyatt made cookies. It was a lowkey evening just Milo, Wyatt, Carly and I and I climbed in bed early with my computer to do a little homework and blogging. 

Talking... to Carly about periods and feeling incredibly validated when she asked me how many years I've been getting it every month (29 years!) and telling me she can't believe I put up with it every month.  She said it must be very inconvenient. Haha! Girl, you have no idea. 

Loving... the rainbow tent my sister got for Carly for her bed. She's been sleeping in it every night since! What a great gift! I also love the sparkle markers & Lisa Frank stickers my sister-in-law bought Carly and the American Girl doll my mom got her.  Carly named her Hannah and she goes everyhwere with us! What a loved girl Carly is and I hope she knows it!

Laughing... at our little bunny cat Hadley.  She sleeps on her back with her paws in the air and it just cracks us all up. 

***

My kids' birthday is always the perfect time for me to 

reminisce about their birth & younger years. 

Carly has always been the cutest, sweetest soul. 

As hard as parenting might be, 
going from the age of 11 to the age of 18 is 100x harder.
This was a good reminder of that. 
Our kids are going through a lot. 
They could use some grace. And a LOT of love.