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!

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