Week 8 Around Here {2019}

 Enjoying... every minute of our weekend getaway.  Originally we were supposed to go out of town, but because of the massive snow we got, we had to cancel those plans because the pass got closed.  We ended up just staying at a hotel here in town, but let me tell you, three days without our kids, we didn't care! Hah! 
Josh's parents watched the kids for us, staying at our house to make it easier, and we were so beyond grateful.
We spent it reading, watching TV, sleeping, laughing & eating good food.  We also picked out glasses & sunglasses for Josh at the eye doctor's office, & found a new snow coat for me. Shopping and eating out alone is such a luxury after so many months without a date.  It's hard to believe that we will celebrate 19 years together this April.  I am so grateful we still like each other!

Reading... Five Feet Apart and listening to Sing Unburied Sing on audio.  I also finished The Poisonwood Bible, Vox and The Water Cure this week.  Of these five, Vox is the one I would absolutely recommend the most. It's so, so good. I could not stop listening.  The Water Cure was, in my opinion, awful, and The Poisonwood Bible was, while good, probably not for everyone.
When I finish Five Feet Apart and Sing Unburied Sing I will report back to you!

Quitting... coffee after my week of loving it. To be honest, my body did not love having it, even though my mind did.  So I was more than happy to give it up. I immediately noticed a difference in my headache levels and energy levels, which made stopping really easy!

Working out... everyday this week and last week.  I am really proud of how consistent my workouts have been this month! And it's all because of some silly stickers I put on my calendar each time I work out. Who knew!?!

Losing... two pounds this week thanks to giving up coffee, working out and eating a little better this week.  I still haven't recovered my holiday weight gain, but I am heading in the right direction!

Loving... Carly's help with the chores, matching socks and loading the dishwasher.  She's so adorable and enthusiastic.

Listening... to the boys reading at bedtime, and really focusing on that one on one time, hoping that it will improve the twins' behavior.  So far, it really has been, and I am thankful that a little extra attention seems to be doing the trick.  It always seems to be the case that when I am most sick of my kids (#momtruth) is when they need to be spending more time with me.  (#foreheadslap) Haha! 

Slowly... transitioning Carly to her big girl bed, starting with just nap time.  She doesn't like the idea, but she's doing really well! She's napped in there three times now and stays in it.  I am so proud of her. Maybe next week we will try having her sleep in it at night.

Crying... when Wyatt lost his top front tooth this week.  He is nearly 8, so I know we're lucky to have had them as long as we did, but because of that, I kind of fell in love with that teeny tiny perfect smile of his.  He, however, was ELATED to finally lose that stinker! haha! 

Embracing... my stay-at-home mom status this week, really relishing rocking Carly to sleep at nap time; folding the laundry; and tidying the house.  I have so much to be grateful for, and it's really been in the forefront of my mind that being home everyday is a blessing I longed for years ago.  I don't want to take it for granted.

{love this}

***

Week 7 Around Here {2019}

{flashback to 2 years ago}

Enduring... a crazy weekend of blizzard conditions and so.much.snow.  Roads & highways got closed, certain stores weren't opened, and we were basically housebound for four days straight.  Thankfully, Josh saw the storm coming and went grocery shopping before the weather hit!
Once the wind quit, we were able to get out in it, and the kids were SO HAPPY to have snow.  Especially Carly who loves to eat it.  Haha!
The boys went sledding and dug snow caves.  They had snowball fights and climbed on the "mountains" created by the snowplows.  Wyatt laid down to make a snow angel and told me to take a picture and then put it on Facebook with the caption "#hardestsnowangelever" because the snow was so deep.  That kid constantly cracks me up!!!

Drinking... coffee and creamer this week as a special treat in the cold weather.  I (mostly) gave up coffee in 2018 because of how it made me feel with my anxiety.  But I've been craving it with our temps being so low.  I will occasionally get it at Starbuck's after a particularly rough night, but otherwise, I exist without it.  So it felt super luxurious to have it all week!

Snuggling... up with the kids & our kitties and tons of blankets every morning as school was canceled over and over 3x this week.  They would watch cartoons and I would read and drink my coffee.  It was the stuff dreams are made of!

Napping... almost everyday as well, which was so lovely.  Josh, who is a teacher, also had a lot of days off due to weather (he works in a different district than our kids attend) so we were all 6 home together, and I really enjoyed sneaking in a nap each day after lunch despite all the kids being home.

Reading... and finishing Orange is the New Black on audio.  I also finished 52 Things Moms Need to Know and started reading The Poisonwood Bible, which is deep (and long!), but really good so far.  All these snow days made for some awesome reading time, and that made my bookish heart so happy!

Receiving... my Book of the Month order (hooray!) and feeling like it was Christmas as I pulled each of the three books I ordered out of my big blue box.
This month I ordered The Winter Sister, Circe and The Heart's Invisible Furies . The Winter Sister is my February pick, Circe was the 2018 book of the year, and The Heart's Invisible Furies was the 2017 book of the year.  I am going to finish The Poisonwood Bible, then The Water Cure and then Five Feet Apart (both library books), then I will either start Maid (another Book of the Month book) or The Winter Sister.

Celebrating... Valentine's Day casually at home with dinner as a family, but planning a getaway with Josh for next weekend.  We are pumped!!

Getting... cell phones for the twins.  I am nervous to even share that here, for fear of judgment (#honestmoment) since they are only ten, but I like to be transparent here.  So there you have it. We got pay-as-you-go phones for about $40 each.  We decided to go for it because I got tired of going out into the neighborhood to knock on doors and ask the twins to come home for dinner. (#lazyparenting)
We had talked about getting them cell phones about six months ago at the peak of Logan's seizures so that if he had one while they were walking to school Jack could call for help, but we never made any final decisions.  Then, as of late, they've been spending more time playing at friends' houses and it's hard to get a hold of them.
We are nervous, but figure that we can always take them back if it's not going well, and the boys have to do well at school and be showing respectful behavior at home or they lose their phone that day.  We can log into their phones on our computer and see all their activity, which offers me great comfort, and they know that, so they have had good behavior thus far.
I think that this will be a good opportunity to teach them good phone etiquette and build their responsibility.  I'll let you know how it goes!

I saw this last week:

This is my virtual fist bump for you.

We got this, girls.

***

Week 6 Around Here {2019}

Dealing... with tough parenting.  Lots of attitude, lying, consequences and even my first "I hate you"... Boy these days aren't easy with the twins.  They are ten and a half, and I can tell their hormones are in full swing, they are growing, and their frontal lobes (where the idea of "This behavior WILL have a consequence" exists) are not adequate in relation to their emotions and actions... It is making me so, so weary.  Every single day, it is something.  Either a fight, or a referral, or a bad grade, or a call from the teacher, or a lie.  I just pray that with enough consistency Josh and I can get through to them that this behavior is not acceptable and their normal, good selves will shine through past the hormonal messes they have temporarily become.
Lord help us.

Reading... The One and Only Ivan and All You Can Ever Know.  All You Can Ever Know was an insightful look at adoption (I listened on audio), and The One and Only Ivan was a sweet, quick read (I read it in a day and a half) which would make a great read aloud for families. (Josh actually did read it aloud to our kids, then it was our book club pick for this month. Ha! The kids loved that I was reading a book they had already read.)

Finishing... All The Ugly and Wonderful Things and being turned inside out by the book!  It was so good!  It's about a girl whose parents are meth dealers, and she ends up falling in love with an older man who cares for her. It is so wrong, but it feels so right... words can't even do it justice. Just, read it.

Waiting... for my Book of the Month box to get here with The Winter Sister, Circe and The Heart's Invisible Furies inside. The Winter Sister is my February pick, Circe was the 2018 book of the year, and The Heart's Invisible Furies was the 2017 book of the year.  Oh man, I can't wait!
I am also waiting for two library books to arrive in my mailbox- The Water Cure and Five Feet Apart, both of which I have heard amazing things about. I can't wait to crack them open.

Watching... The Handmaid's Tale in the meantime because I don't want to start any other books while I am waiting for those books to come to me!!!  It is so intense, but so good, I can't stop watching and thinking about it!!!

Listening... to Vox on audio, and being disturbed by how similar it is to The Handmaid's Tale so far. (I am only in section 1 of 8) I like it and think it will be a really entertaining listen.  I also have Sing Unburied Sing in my audio library queue, so I am excited for this month!

Having... dinner with the neighbors & their kiddos this weekend.  The kids had a great time, and we had some good laughs.  I am so grateful to be friends with this mama, because mama friends are not to be taken for granted, and having one in your very own neighborhood is the best kind of luck.  Already this week we have swapped watching each other's kids, and it's just the best ever!

Blogging... about my 2019 book buying ban.  I have cut myself off from book buying except for Book of the Month, which only allows 3 books/month max.  My goal is to read half of the books on my To Be Read (TBR) shelf (I started with 101) this year.  Hopefully I'll make a good dent in it!

Making... a February TBR list, but it is (very) subject to change.  Currently it consists of:

• Fahrenheit 451
• The One and Only Ivan
• Reading People
• Maid
• The Poisonwood Bible
• All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

Helping... a distant neighbor round up the black cat that lives in our back yard.  We think that it may have been his daughters (who passed away back in December) and so we are trying to tempt it with food, and would eventually like to try and catch it.  Wish us luck and send me any advice you have- he seems very skittish and scared after two months on his own.

Going... to counseling this week, and loving how amazing I feel when I walk out of there each time.  I always go in with an agenda (things I want to talk about), and it's like I leave behind such a burden when I depart.  His advice this week was to go slowly, journal a lot about my feelings and be proud of how far I've come.  Such good advice for all of us, right?  Breathe, take a minute, go slowly.  Write about your feelings, and then be proud of yourself- you're doing amazing!!!

Loving... the new laundry room flooring (& hot water heater!) that Josh and his brother installed for us over the weekend.  It looks amazing, and I'm so excited to have enough hot water for all the kids to bathe each night.

Sending... Carly to Grandma School at Grandma Carol's on Thursday.  She learned the letter "A", made an ant out of an egg carton and learned the signs for mom and dad. She showed me in the car on the way home from school today. It was so cute. 
I am so grateful that Josh's parents are here, and I am so utterly thankful for the break it gives me, and the joy it brings Carly to have all that undivided attention.

Working out... all week this week.  I started putting stickers on the calendar for the days I work out, and it's stupid how much that motivates me.  I am on Day 6 (in a row!) of working out, and I swear to everything holy, most days, it is JUST the thought of putting that little heart sticker on the wall calendar in the kitchen that makes me put on my tennis shoes.

Finishing... Kon Mari'ing the entire house. It feels so good to have everything organized and sorted through.  I can't even begin to explain it!  And the amount of free time I have now that all my life is set up as I want it... it's ridiculous! So awesome!!!

Preparing... for up to a foot of snow this weekend.  Josh grocery shopped yesterday and during naps today I am going to make sure everything is out of the yard.  I also got gas yesterday and am going to make sure everything is good to go here.

I wish this wasn't so funny (& true) to me.

Hah!

***