{February 16-22nd}
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| Art by Daphne {swoon} |
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| Close up of Jupiter. What art! |
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| I made a teacup for Carly |
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| Carly's pottery |
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| When mom says brush your teeth, but reading is life. |
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| Wyatt's pottery. |
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| My pottery! I made that cute little jewelry holding leaf. |
Excited... to get dressed everyday because of shopping and organizing my closet. It's the best feeling!
Receiving... the new key chains I ordered on Etsy. Not using Amazon has been so much easier than I thought it would be! It just requires a little creativity. Etsy was the perfect place to get a new keychain for my mailbox key that can come off the keys, and the perfect place to get a super cute keychain since my old one broke.
Watching... Gabby Petito (so heartbreaking) and Love is Blind and Virgin River and The Crown. Josh and I were dying, mortified and laughing, over Tampongate. (If you follow the royal family and are curious, search up Tampongate and Prince Charles for a full rundown. {shudder})
Loving... the Milwaukie skinny permanent markers Josh bought me at Home Depot. They work so good, honestly better than Sharpie's even.
Celebrating... Valentine's Day three days late, on Monday, when the kids went back to school after their Snow Day Friday. Carly was delighted to celebrate, and even more excited that her friend, who had been gone for a dance competition Friday, was able to celebrate with the class on Monday.
Delighted... by the facial that Cadence gave me! She is currently part of the esthetician program through the high school, so my facial was only $30, but it felt so good!!
Running... a million errands on Monday trying to get things off my to-do list. I went to the bank and dropped off paperwork at Wyatt's school.
Happy... for Wyatt that he beat Mario Brothers on the original Nintendo (like the first one... the one we all had as kids) after years of playing.
Meeting... with a behavioral specialist at our clinic to talk about the potential of Carly having ADHD. We answered lots of fun questions during a game we played, and Carly told us that Logan is the definition of cool during this game. Hah- so cute!
Waking... up coughing every single night and having to go downstairs to make tea to soothe my throat.
Shocked... when Carly came in with my old American Girl doll, Molly, and her leg in her other hand. Haha! Her leg fell off! I promptly started to research how to get her fixed at the "Doll Hospital" AG company runs. While we're at it, we're going to have them fix up her hair as it's been tortured 30 years and needs refreshing.
Letting... Carly try making Jiffy muffins all by herself and scooping them into muffin cups as well. She' did so fantastic!
Filling... a cavity with some dental work and deciding after the appointment that I will not go to that dentist's office any more. They are always overbooked and busy, and today I could feel him rushing through my tooth repair. It didn't feel good.
Dealing... with anxiety and depression in my teens and struggling with the fact that I can't do more to fix it. Sigh.
Needing... to laugh. Between the stress of parenting and politics I knew I needed to blow off more steam, so I turned on the SNL Anniversary show, and oh my goodness did it deliver!
Focusing... thanks to my sister, on "Observing, not absorbing". It is so much easier said than done, but I have to try because absorbing the emotions and frustrations of everyone around me is depleting me.
Subbing... for the first time (ever!) in fifth grade, and with my new substitute teaching plan, it went fabulously! We even got to go to an assembly put on by The Reptile Lady, which was so entertaining and fun!
Going... to see The Reptile Lady again that evening. Josh, Carly, Wyatt and I enjoyed seeing, holding and petting so many critters that night! The Reptile Lady made me want both an iguana and a bearded dragon, neither of which I have ever wanted. But they snuggled so sweetly with her, I was like, "I want one of those!" Haha!
Discussing... letting our kids grow up with my counselor. After seeing the Reptile Lady, I was telling Wyatt that it was bizarre to me that in a few short years, our family will just be the four of us (me & Josh, and Wyatt & Carly). Wyatt goes, "I don't want to talk about it!" and then shared with me that when he thinks about the twins moving out he gets really sad. "It'll be too quiet," he said.
I think I'm in shock that they only have 16 months left under our roof for sure. I mean, they may stay longer, but that's all we have guaranteed. That's wild to me.
My counselor's suggestion for surviving the heartache of my kids growing up (and someday moving out) is to stay in today and consider what I want to do with the time I have left. My answer for that, for what I want to do with the time I have left, is to enjoy them. To hang out on the couch after school and laugh with them and their dad. To sit at the kitchen table, eating a meal we've had a hundred times, and ask about their day. To tuck them into bed at night, scratching their backs and ruffling their hair, as I have for thousands of days. More; I just want more. More of this mundane, beautiful life I have enjoyed with them the last sixteen years.
-Katrina Kenison
(The Gift of an Ordinary Day)
Proud... of Jack for going with his Graphic Arts teacher around to all the middle schools to talk about the classes she offers and what they should sign up for freshmen year. He had the best time, and the coolest part was that Wyatt got to see Jack at his school and hang out with Mrs. Robertson, whom Jack & Logan talk about all the time and adore.
Sending... a Crumbl cookie and thank you card with Jack to give to Mrs. Rob to thank her for being a safe place for my boys to go while they are at school. Words cannot express how grateful I am for her.
Losing... my voice by Friday and texting to catch up with my sister since I couldn't talk.
Doing... Carly's nails, hair and makeup before school Friday. It was so fun to spoil her and get her all gussied up.
Watching... the newest Love Is Blind episodes and loving love.
Keeping... track personally of banned book and encouraging people to read them. Reading is one of the ways we can resist, and learn more about other people to increase our empathy and belief in their rights.
"For it seems to me that suffering knows
no class, or rank, gender, or age
& we, each of us, brave our own darkness."
-Eowyn Ivey
Finishing... Black Bear, Blue Sky, and feeling disappointed by the ending. It was a good read, but it doesn't even compare with The Snow Child or To The Bright Edge of the World in my opinion.
Sending... Jack & Wyatt to Wenatchee for the weekend to spend time with their cousins. Logan was still grounded for grades, so he couldn't go. So Logan went with Josh to the land for the day Saturday, and came home early to game with a ride from his cousin Ethan.
Grateful... Carly has a neighbor friend to play with and thankful they play so well together.
Hearing... a door open and close around midnight on Saturday and telling Josh, who thought it was the front door, that I thought it was the pantry. Josh, confident it was the front door, ran down the stairs as I pulled up our camera app on my phone to see if anyone was out there. Sure enough, Josh was right, and Logan had left the house, run across the porch, through the grass, and out to someone's car in the street.
To be continued...
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