Around Here: Week 35 {2018}

Playing... at what Carly calls the "car park" because we take the car there instead of walking. (haha)  There is a sand box and lots of cool workout equipment that the kids like to try.  They had fun and I got to sit and journal, which was just what my mama heart needed the weekend before school started.

Making... Josh's salads everyday for his lunch at work.  We fill them with all sorts of goodness- spinach, cucumbers, peppers, cheese, ham, broccoli, mushrooms,  peppercinis, and tomatoes (from the garden!).

Watching... the smoke from wildfires in our state come and go throughout the days leading up to the first day of school.  Thankfully it has finally dissipated.  We're all so grateful to be able to go outside and to be breathing easy again.
We've also been watching lots of construction vehicles as our road was resurfaced this last week.  The kids, especially Wyatt, loved seeing all the big rigs and special equipment.

Spending... date night alone as Josh was out of town helping his brother lay flooring at his parent's house in preparation for their house being listed so they can move here (!!!).  I made myself a hawaiian pizza (that was delicious, if I do say so myself!) and watched Tully, which I have wanted to see since it was in the theater.  It was different than I thought it would be, but I was spellbound throughout the entire movie. I loved it. I highly recommend it. It was so validating as a mother.  What we do is HARD.

Enjoying... movie night with the kids Saturday with homemade pizza and cookies in a cup.  (If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend you do. It's super simple to make, and so yummy!)  The kids are constantly begging for it!  I am not sure if this makes me a good mom or a terrible mom but we rented both Daddy's Home and Daddy's Home 2 this week and watched them.  There's a little swearing, but overall, they're really funny movies and the boys and I laughed our heads off watching them together.  It was a fun way to spend the last few days of summer when we were stuck inside with the smoke.
We've also been enjoying LOTS of Legos with the smoke.  The boys suddenly took a new interest in their Legos again, and I'm so grateful.  Logan especially has been loving them and spent the money his great grandma sent him to buy a set of new Ninjago guys. The twins so rarely participate in quiet activities that I love when they play Legos.

Improving... my book numbers for August.  Last week I had read ONE BOOK in August. Pitiful!  This week I finished No One Cares About Crazy People, In Shock, and I am making progress on To All The Boys I've Loved Before and I started After Anna on audio.  I am hoping September will be more fruitful than August both because the kids are back in school and because Josh shouldn't be out of town as much.

Liking... Logan's new ID bracelet.  I had gotten him (and his brothers) Road ID bracelets because they're trendier and kind of cool, but twice now Logan has lost the metal part that has his name & our phone numbers on it (which is kind of the whole point!!!), so I went old school and ordered him the kind I had growing up.  He loves it and I have much more peace of mind knowing he won't lose it, especially considering his epilepsy & recent seizure activity.

Skating... at the skate park the day before school started at Wyatt's request.  All four kids ended up having a fantastic time and we were there for over an hour.  They rode scooters, skateboards and ripsticks.  Carly played mostly by just sliding down on her bottom.  She was filthy when we were done, but she had so much fun!

Potty training... Carly against my own will.  She has started telling me, "I need to potty train" meaning she needs to pee, and then asking me to take off her diaper. It started last week, as I mentioned and has continued this week, so I have her in panties whenever we're home and we're just seeing how it goes!  She lives for candy, so the m&m's are giving her life, and she loves to go on the potty.  She poops on the potty no problem, and prefers the big toilet to her potty chair (which is great for me, because #lesscleaning!)  I wasn't quite ready for this step yet, but she's self motivated, so I am rolling with it.

Attending... back to school night with all four kids on my own because Josh had his school's back to school night the same night.  Luckily the twins just played on the playground and Carly was really well behaved.  I'm pretty sure she thought she was getting ready to start second grade, too.  She sat in the chair next to Wyatt and pretended.  Wyatt's teacher is amazing (she just had a baby 12 days ago!) and her long-term substitute is also amazing, so I have a feeling it's going to be an awesome year.  His sub has asthma herself, so she was very understanding about his health situation and I think we're going to have really good communication when he's absent which gives me hope for when/if he gets sick.

Starting... school Wednesday.  All in all, I would say the first day was a success.  We made it through the morning routine, got to school with plenty of time to play at early-morning recess, and were all smiles at drop off.  Wyatt barely even looked at me as he ran off to class.  Each day since has been the same.
Last year he required elaborate hugs and songs and dances and silly goodbye rituals so he wouldn't cry, and this year, I have to remind him to turn around and wave. Hah!  I am so grateful!!!  Thursday night as I tucked him into bed he said, "I can't wait to go to school tomorrow!" and Wednesday when I picked him up from his first day he said, "I think I have the best teacher at my school!" I am just so happy for him!
The twins had their first experience riding on a bus (they ride from our home school to another campus for some of their time, just a short five minute ride there and back) and they can't get over how you don't have to wear a seatbelt.  They seriously won't stop talking about it.

Getting... Logan's first seizure at school over with.  Around noon on the second day I got a text from the teaching app his teacher uses letting me know he had had a two minute seizure, had done amazing and was doing okay afterward.  I felt immediately very sad (for both Logan and myself) and powerless.  I hated the feeling of not being there.  I desperately wanted to hug & comfort him.  But I was also really grateful, because it sounded like they (and Logan) had handled it beautifully.
The whole day Thursday I had had a feeling one was coming and had even warned Jack before they rode to school (they leave a little ahead of me) "Stick real close to Logan.  It's been a week since his last seizure and he's due."  Sure enough, Thursday was the day.
Monday, on the advice of a friend, I had called the neurologist and sent her the video of the six minute seizure.  She had suggested a dose increase (from 150 to 200mg 2x a day of Lamictal) so Tuesday he started that.  It will take a few days for that change to really be in effect though.  He's doing the increase only at night for the first week, then he will take it in the morning as well.
My mom asked me if I was hopeful and I, being brutally honest, told her no. I'm not.  I feel now, after one failed dose increase already, and worsened seizure activity, that Lamictal is not the medication for Logan.  That said, I am totally okay with being proven wrong.  I think I am just tired of getting my hopes up, only to have them shot down again.  It's exhausting.
I guess time will tell.

Walking... the boys to school everyday, which is an awesome workout. (Back & forth twice is about three miles.)  The kids love riding their bikes or scooters and I love that the exercise is built into our days.  I think my workout routine this past week is the only thing that has gotten me through the stress of all the changes that have come with the start of school- teacher meeting, supply gathering, routine starting, etc.

Drinking... smoothies every morning for breakfast.  In them I put, 1 banana, half an apple, 5 ice cubes, 1 cup water, 3/4 cup spinach, 4 strawberries & 1/2 cup frozen berry medley.  They're super yummy and so much healthier than the honey toast and coffee with (massive amounts of) creamer I used to have. ;)

Weighing... a pound less this week!  I'm down to 168lbs which is a new low for me and I'm so pumped! I am down 32 pounds since January and am feeling so darn proud of myself.  I feel like I have really learned how to handle my stress in a productive and healthy way (exercising, journaling and going to therapy) and you can see it in my life.
The lowest I've been since having children was 158lbs when Wyatt was really sick as a one year old with Hand, Foot & Mouth and I spent 48 hours nursing him pretty much constantly.  So my goal is 158lbs right now.  I can hardly believe it's only ten pounds away!!!

Buying... a new washer & dryer set.  When I discovered our washer was leaking again, Josh said not to call the insurance people again (we have a home warranty on our appliances) because he was not interested in waiting six weeks for another part, just to have something else break next month.  Our washer is at least fifteen years old and it was just time to bite the bullet and buy something new.
Well, it was lucky timing, it turns out, for our washer to break so close to Labor Day because Lowe's was having a 40% off sale, and we saved $600 on our set!!!
We were able to bring home the washer on Thursday night, and the dryer should be available sometime next week, which is fine as our old dryer is still working.  I have never been so happy to do laundry as I have been the last two days.  The new washing machine is amazing.  We got a top loader without an agitator and I swear I could wash an elephants entire wardrobe! It's amazing! I love it!!!

Basking... in my role as a homemaker.  As most of you know, I was able to quit my job as an online tutor back in June.  (I used to work for VIPkid teaching Chinese students how to speak English) It was a great gig while it lasted, but the hours were brutal (I had to wake up at 3:30am to teach) and it took a lot out of me.  I feel like since quitting, I have slowly been reclaiming "me" and it feels so good.  I am more patient, kind and loving.  And I am really digging into making our house a home again, and am slowly making a list of what things I'd like to improve around here, (mostly organizationally) now that the kids are back in school.  Since I spent the summer taking care of myself (working out and getting my mental health back on track) a lot of my house went to crap.  And that's okay, but it feels really good to be taking care of the house again as well.

Laughing... at the twins trying out the stilts they built with Josh after I told them that we had stilts growing up.  They are hilarious and determined on them and I'm so proud!  My sister said we officially have a circus now.  Ha!!!

Loving... Wyatt's experiment he saw at school and tried out at home with a toilet paper roll.  He took a toilet paper roll, then stacked five super heavy books on top of it, and the toilet paper roll, magically, did not crumble under the weight.  He said it didn't collapse because of its shape.

Remembering... that parenting is hard sometimes and grace can go a long way.  I won't go into a lot of detail here, but parenting the twins has been extra hard this week and those two can go from "best of friends" to "oil and water" in the blink of an eye.  Josh and I are often finding ourselves completely worn out from attempting to problem solve and keep the peace between them.  Their twinship creates a unique challenge that we are attempting to navigate, but boy! It's tough!  We often feel we are making it up as we go along and just crossing our fingers that we aren't screwing them up in the process!!!  As quick as they can go from calm to angry, I can go from "They need to be punished!" to "They just need a hug!" After a quick prayer sent to the man upstairs this morning, though, I decided that I am going to try and give a little extra grace throughout this next week as these big boys of ours adjust to this big transition of taking classes on the middle school campus, having new teachers, new friends and adjusting to summer (and all their beloved screen time) being over. Haha!  I seriously thought today, "Maybe they're just detoxing from screen time," and then images from shows I've watched on A&E flashed through my mind. (dramatic enough, Shelly?)
Please, friends, tell me I am not alone!

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Meditating on these quotes as I close this week:

"Remove any of your fear with faith.

Trust the power of God to guide you."

M. Russell Ballard 

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Praying for the strength to trust God

to guide me as I struggle with parenting 

(& life in general)

Praying the same for you, too!

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