Around Here: Week 42 {2018}

{How is she even real?!?}

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Spending... Saturday morning by myself as Josh took all four kids out to the land to visit his parents while they were in town. It was a lovely (much needed) break after a week of not being able to work out because of my silly broken toe!  (It's amazing how much working out releases my pent up stress and makes me a better parent!)
I spent my break time journaling and reading and enjoying the quiet.  It was crazy-windy that morning and we actually ended up losing power for the entire day (from about 10am until 5pm), which forced us all to slow down and relax for the day.

Celebrating... Halloween a little early with a fun fair in Wenatchee with my sister and her kids.  The kids wore their costumes (all except Jack, who seemed shy/embarrassed about wearing his, I'm not sure why) and played games to earn candy.  The weather was gorgeous and it was a really fun way to spend the day.

Making... apple crisp for the first time (ever) with Samuel since Uncle Paul and Aunt Lynne brought us bags and bags of fresh apples.  The crisp was crazy-good and the kids loved it.  Up next is a batch of apple cake with caramel frosting for my beloved husband, and maybe some apple muffins for the kids. Yum!

Thankful... that everyone was healthy this week!  All the kids have gone to school each day, and Josh and I have been healthy as well.  It feels like such a sweet blessing and one that I do not take for granted!

Riding... bikes to school this week since walking is out of the question.  Josh fixed up my bike and Wyatt's (we had flat tires) so that we can ride!  He hooked up Carly's bike trailer and I bundle her up each morning, and off we go!  She loves it, as do Wyatt and I.  My thighs burn for most of the ride (#truth ha!) but I feel like a kid again riding a bike, and riding doesn't hurt my broken toe at all!  It's also nice because the mornings are cold here now (between 28 and 35 degrees) and riding is much quicker than walking! (P.S.- thanks for the bike, mom & dad!!!)

Weighing... down another pound at 165, meaning I have lost 35 pounds now since January.  I am so darn proud of myself for eating so healthy and continuing to lose this week despite the small setback of my toe. I am hoping to lose another pound so that I will have lost 36 pounds by my 36th birthday (November 18th), but at this rate, I may even lose closer to 40 pounds by then.  Woot woot!

Loving... the feeling of the house after dinner is done and the kids are in bed and the house is tidied for the night.  I've been lighting candles lately, and there's something about a clean table and a lit candle that just satisfies my soul.

Reading... and finishing An American Marriage on audio, which I wasn't sure about at first, but which I loved by the end.  I also finished listening to Hillbilly Elegy, which was absolutely fascinating. I didn't want to turn it off each time I listened. I finished reading my Book of the Month book, A Mother's Reckoning, which was, of course, a sad read (it's written by the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the shooters at Columbine High School) but it was also insightful and illuminating about brain illness and taught me a lot about depression and suicide awareness and was just a really fascinating read.  I highly recommend it.
So now I am listening to Love Does by Bob Goff, which was our book club book a few months ago, which I missed reading thanks to #life, and I am reading Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott, whom I love (!). I am like five pages in, and already I'm underlining stuff.  Ha!  Our next book club read is The Prince of Tides, which is coming from Amazon, so as soon as that gets here, it will take precedence and I'll get reading!
I am super excited because I have already read (and listened to) 8 books altogether this month, thanks to my social media break, and I have almost hit my 60 book goal for the year, and I've still got ten weeks left in the year! I'm thinking I might add (at least) another 10 books onto my goal, making it 70 for the year.  Heck! I wonder if I could read 80!!! (I really am SUCH a nerd! Hahah!)

Savoring... the slow life.  Compared to how we ended last year, this year is so simple, and I am loving it.  At the end of last year, I was watching some friends kids a few days a week after school; the boys were in baseball; and I was working for VIPkid, waking up at 3:30am many mornings a week.  Now, there is none of that. It's just me doing the kids, and Josh going to work.  In the last two months, I feel like I have been able to catch up on the house, myself (mentally & physically) and really embrace my role as homemaker.  I am so happy, and feel so light and free.  It's the best feeling ever.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

"We're a culture of people

who've bought into the idea

that if we stay busy enough

the truth of our lives won't

catch up with us."

-Brene Brown

I love this quote.  I wrote it in my journal a few months ago.  The more often I see it there, the more truth I find in it.  As I have slowed down, stepping away from busyness, away from social media (this month, anyway), and away from constant motion, I have discovered the truth of my life, which is that this is it.  This day, this regular, blue sky Friday, with Carly playing Legos on the living room rug, is my life.  And I don't want to take a single second of it for granted.  So no matter what's going on- if Wyatt's having asthma, if I have broken my stupid toe walking down the hallway- I want to spend my days finding joy. Choosing joy.  Manifesting joy.  Even amongst the mess.  I hope you all can go forth & do the same!

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