5.23.2019

Week 20 Around Here {2019}


























{That time Carly "helped" carry the watermelon}














Enjoying... movie night with the kids last weekend, with homemade pizza & cookies. Yum!!!

Loving... my Mother's Day.  Josh went grocery shopping for me (bless him!) and made dinner for us all.  The kids made me cards and Wyatt brought me a coaster he had made in class.  He drew a mug on it with my favorite colors (yellow & blue) and wrote "Best Mom Ever" on it. The sweetheart.
I got to spend most of the day reading, which is my idea of the perfect day, so I was a very happy camper.

Listening... to some marriage advice from Jody Moore on her Better Than Happy podcast.  The podcast was about meeting your own needs in marriage.  At first I thought it was a radical idea, but as I kept listening the idea really resonated with me. It's brilliant!

Cheering... at the twins' game & Wyatt's games along with Carly.  I love watching them play.  You can really see how they have improved as the season has progressed. 

Taking... Wyatt to the orthodontist where he got a spacer placed just like his brothers.  Logan & Jack needed them as part of their first phase of braces, to straighten their teeth, whereas Wyatt needs it to help with his deviated septum (basically the inside of his nose is crooked which makes it hard for him to breathe through his nose).  Because of his deviated septum, he is a mouth breather which makes his sleep less restful and his sleep apnea worse.  We are hopeful that between his tonsillectomy in January and his spacer that we can eliminate his obstructive sleep apnea.

Making... progress in the yard and feeling so thankful that Josh is such a hard worker.  He planted some grass a few weeks ago and it's all grown in and looks so great.  He also did some weed and feed and all our plants are growing in... it just looks so great and makes me so excited!

Telling... Wyatt about his pineal cyst after his referral was approved to see the neurologist in Seattle.  We don't know for sure if his insomnia and headaches are from his cyst, as many are asymptomatic, but there doesn't seem to be any other reasons for them, and we aren't sure where to go from here, so a neurologist is our next logical step.  We are hoping for more answers once we meet with them.
He took the news pretty hard, saying he just doesn't understand why nothing can go right with his body, listing his asthma, tonsils, headaches, sleep loss and now pineal gland as all the things that have gone wrong.
I hugged him and assured him that sometimes life is hard. And that he surely has my sympathy.  But that also, it helps to look for things to be grateful for when life gets hard.  That while he does have asthma, but we can be grateful that with his meds, we have it under control.  That while he did have issues with his tonsils, his tonsillectomy was successful and now they are gone.  Things like that.
After a few days, he seemed to have come around and now seems at peace with it. 

Reading... That Kind of Mother  which was the best book to finish on Mother's Day.  I highly recommend it to every mom.  I absolutely loved the detail and how well the author (a man!) wrote about nursing and mothering.  Then I started The Wet Nurse's Tale, which I also really enjoyed.  If you like birth stories and babies and nursing, you will love it!  And I ended the week listening to Once A Midwife, the third of the Hope River Midwife trilogy.  They were all really entertaining and fun to listen to.  If you enjoyed Call The Midwife (the book or the show) you would like these books by Patricia Harman.

Cleaning... up the mess Carly made when she dropped the entire watermelon on the floor while in the process of carrying it to me so I would cut.it.up for her already. 
I heard the sound of something dropping when I was in the garage emptying the stroller from our walk to the school to get the brothers and when I came inside and saw what had happened I gasped and then saw Carly's face all bawled up and red, ready to start crying.  She BURST into tears, afraid the watermelon was ruined and I had to scoop her up and assure her that it could be salvaged.
I cut it up and gave her a bowl full which she immediately consumed and then she was happy as a clam.

Resting... Thursday while Carly spent the day with Grandma after a crazy morning spent trying to get Jack's spacer put back in after half of it fell out while he was sleeping!  Then after I got the spacer put back in at the orthodontist and got all the kids donuts for breakfast on the way to school, Carly realized she had forgotten her purse full of puppies at the orthodontist's office so we had to swing back by before heading out to Grandma & Papa's land.
Phew! It was quite the morning. But I finally got everyone where they needed to be, and was able to come home and spend some time journaling and reading and blogging and enjoying some much needed "me" time.  (Thanks, Grandma!)

Eating... the first corn on the cob of the season, and it was delish!  Carly was particularly delighted and it was so cute to watch her eat it!

Proud... of Jack for getting a part in the music program at school.  It's a speaking part, and he's so excited!  He's been practicing and memorizing his lines. 

Struggling... to let Jack feel his feelings when he didn't get into AVID (an honor program) like he wanted to.  He was so disappointed, and seeing him feel that way just made me want to make him feel better. Immediately.  So I didn't really make room for his sadness. 
In the future I want to make sure that I let him feel his feelings and not rush to move past hard things.  Disappointment is a fact of life, and helping him through those feelings is an important part of my job. 

Devouring... the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide and adding even more books to my TBR list on Goodreads.  I've listed the books that caught my eye.  Out of 30, I only chose to add 12 to my list, so I feel pretty good about this... however, my TBR list is going in the wrong direction, up and not down. Haha!



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5.12.2019

Mama

This Mother's Day I am loving this post about motherhood
 that my friend Ashley tagged me in on Instagram 
that I think everyone should read.  
I've decided to share it here:


Mama, I see you ⁣
I see how you worry, Mama ⁣
I see how afraid you are of this big world ⁣
I know how you wonder, Mama⁣
Will she be safe, will he fit in⁣
I know how the fear can swirl ⁣

Mama, I see you⁣
how you feel alone ⁣
Isolated in your home ⁣
Or in your 9 to 5⁣
I see you working to the bone ⁣


Mama, I see you ⁣
Missing your baby ⁣
The one you couldn’t keep⁣
And oh, how you weep ⁣
I see you ⁣
Wrapped in the pain⁣
Tears falling like rain ⁣

Mama, I see you ⁣
The ache in your heart ⁣
the hurt and the scars ⁣
It tears you apart ⁣
no babes in your arms ⁣
The longing you feel ⁣
The waiting is real ⁣
Will it ever end? ⁣
I see you, my friend ⁣

I see you, Mama⁣
When you feel you’re too much ⁣
Or you’re never enough ⁣
When you try to find your tribe ⁣
And you only come up dry ⁣


Mama I see you ⁣
When you make a mistake ⁣
When you cause hurt and pain ⁣
When anxiety tells you it can’t be erased ⁣

I see you Mama⁣
in the yelling and rage ⁣
When you try to overcome ⁣
your own childhood shame ⁣
When you want to be good ⁣
But you feel like a fake ⁣
When you try to break the cycle ⁣
And you mess up again ⁣

Mama I see you ⁣
And you know what I see? ⁣
I see beauty and goodness ⁣
and someone like me ⁣
I see a valiant warrior ⁣
with a heart soft as mink ⁣

I see a woman showing up ⁣
who they cannot sink ⁣
I see your fire, your fury ⁣
Your refusal to shrink ⁣

And you are LOVED LOVED LOVED ⁣
And you shine and you shine ⁣
And Heaven looks down upon you ⁣
And says ⁣
“This girl is mine.”⁣

I love you, Mama. 

Wrote this for you

-Heather Schieder


5.11.2019

Week 19 Around Here {2019}







































{credit: @gorkiegork}




Grocery shopping... with all four kids Saturday to get it out of the way, and feeling amazed at how quickly we were done.  We really can divide and conquer and man, are we fast!!!

Taking... Wyatt to a birthday party in the park this weekend and having the best time with all four kids.

Watching... Brain Child with the kids on Netflix.  We've only watched one episode so far, but the kids can't wait to watch more.  (We all learned so much!)

Thankful... the guys washed my van this weekend with Carly's help, which motivated me to vacuum it, and now it's so fresh & so clean, clean!  I love that feeling.

Learning... so much more about the enneagram. If you've heard people talking about it, but have no idea what it is (or want to know more) click this link and listen to Christina Wilcox give a super quick (less than 4 minute) spiel about what the enneagram is, how it is best used and a few other important facts. I am a firm six. I believe with a wing 5.  Knowing this has made figuring out why I do what I do really fun as of late.

Walking... to school everyday this week and enjoying all the gorgeous weather and spring blossoms.  The walking is so good for my stress level and just makes me feel great about myself.  So grateful!

Baseballin'... three nights this week and feeling so proud of my boys.  You can really see the difference in their ability as time has gone on this season.  Jack & Logan both did great pitching and hitting, and Wyatt got on base multiple times this week.  Jack is becoming quite the catcher, and I love how he cheers on his teammates.  I loved seeing the twins get out and practice a couple times this week as well after school with the neighbor boys, taking advantage of the green space we have near our house.  This is the stuff I always dreamed of when we lived in Alaska and talked about someday having a house.

Growing... tiny, baby grass in our front yard and feeling so proud of it!  Josh and his brother worked really hard to till the land, lay dirt with manure in it and fresh baby seeds, plus so.much.watering everyday to keep it moist at all times.  I can't wait to see how awesome our yard (and adorable picket fence) look with a lush lawn this summer.

Doing... Carly's hair in little twists this week and loving the look so much!

Reading... That Kind of Mother and identifying with it on so.many.levels. There's something I am underlining on almost every page- some kind of truth about motherhood or parenting.  It's amazing. And the fact that it has so resonated with me, but was written by a man is blowing.my.mind.
I also finished Verity, which was insanely disturbing and still has me a bit stunned.
Meanwhile I am also listening to the last of the Midwife trilogy (Once A Midwife) by Patricia Harman, and hoping I can find some other books I enjoy as much once this series is over.

Sharing... my book choices for The Inspired Readers Book Club summer reads (over on Facebook- come join us!) in last week's Around Here post, as well as on social media.

We will be reading:
That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam for May
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett for June
The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand for July
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid for August

Sending... Carly to Grandma's on Thursday to play & learn at "Grandma School".  She had a great time, and even came home with flowers she had planted for me for Mother's Day! Awww!
On the way home (as always) she fell asleep, and when Josh got her here, he was able to hold her as she slept.  It was the sweetest.

Envying... everyone with mature lilac trees.  My aunt gave me three trees when we moved here, and they are growing beautifully, but they are still babies, so they aren't producing a lot yet.  I can't wait until they are bigger and full of blooms!

Researching... more on pineal cysts since Wyatt's begun complaining of visual changes (mostly having trouble focusing) in addition to his insomnia and headaches.

Playing... outside as much as possible this week, soaking up the sunshine after school, and loving the green grass & longer hours of daylight.

Making... wishes on "wishies" with Carly (who only wishes for her wishes to come true, but never actually ever wishes for anything), which is the sweetest thing ever.  She thinks it is so magical to find them, blow the little whisps into the air and watch them disperse.  I swear, seeing the world through her eyes never gets old.

Attending... Muffins with Moms at the boys' school on Friday morning and seeing so many of my mama friends with their kiddos as well.  The kids were thrilled to get chocolate milk with their muffins and I enjoyed sharing some special time with them.

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{credit: @anxiety.assist}

{credit: @yourenneagramcoach}

{credit: @justmyenneatype}
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