11.13.2021

Around Here: Week 44 2021

 {October 24-30th}















Carly's teacher and the other kindergarten teachers dressed up as Pop Its. So cute!








Doing... chores, per usual on Sunday. Each kiddo has a list of chores that rotates each week. It's great because it teaches them how to clean, and lightens my load. (I plan to do a post on how we do chores soon!)  Wyatt had a runny nose last week, so emptying his garbage meant corralling a thousand kleenex into a bag to take out to the trash. It was funny to watch. 
Even Carly had a "chore list" that she wrote herself Sunday morning. It was the first thing she's ever written, sounding it out, all on her own.  It said, "Make bed" and "Do Barbie House". I was so proud of her!

Visiting... our family member who suffered two weeks ago, and feeling very optimistic, uplifted and hopeful for a full recovery. 
We also visited the pumpkin patch this week, but that will be a post all its own. It was so fun!

Recieving... Carly's school pictures and loving them so much!! Gosh she's so cute. 

Taking... Wyatt to his yearly check up and getting both his and Carly's flu shots.  They both did great. We spent a lot of time waiting, and I got maybe a hundred pages read of Apples Never Fall.  It is so good!

Shocked... that Carly made her own sandwich one morning to go in her lunch.  Her growing up before my eyes never ceases to amaze me.

Sending... Josh to Wenatchee to watch Jack's game after school while I stayed home with Wyatt (who is still a bit sick) and Carly, who was so tired. Jack forgot his backpack and we spent the whole next morning before school trying to track it down. Thankfully Mrs. Brown, his assitant coach, saw it and grabbed it for him, so it wasn't left on the bus or out of town. Small blessings!!

Journaling... about the last few weeks while sitting in parent pick up. I tend to arrive about a half hour early, and spend that time either reading or writing outside the school. It's a nice way to prepare for the onslaught of four children post-school day. 

Running... errands with all four kids and questioning my sanity while doing so. We ran to Petco (to get cat toys because Molly keeps eating our clothes!! and to get George a new, bigger collar) and the shoe store (to get Jack & Logan Vans for skateboarding) and Walmart, to get Halloween candy among other things. The kids complained like they thought it was maybe my favorite thing to shop with them. It most certainly is not! But it's good for them to do things they don't like to do. 

Signing... Jack up for the school trip to Rome, Athens and the Greek Isles summer of 2023.  He is so excited and I am excited for him. I'm so happy that he's going to have this opportunity. He will be fundraising and working to help earn the money.  In the meantime, the school has the payments divided into monthly amounts that are automatically deducted.  So it's less overwhelming in cost. 

Dressing... Wyatt & Carly up on Friday for costumes, which are allowed at school.  I love that they get to dress up, and there was even a parade. Wyatt wore his Lego man costume, and Carly was Cinderella.  Wyatt said as he walked through the parade, the kindergartners started shouting, "Lego guy! Lego guy!" and clapping.  Carly told us about it at dinner and said, "It was like he was a hero!" 

Accompanying... Logan and his friend Easton to the skate park one town over.  While we were there, Carly and I played at the park, and when they boys were done skating the bowl, we grabbed some pizza and ice cream at Walmart and picked up Jack and Channing from their house and all enjoyed pizza and a movie together. I felt like a really fun mom and the boys were grateful. 

Painting... my nails, and enjoying them so much. It's a pretty blue/grey color from my friend Jessica. 

Seeing... Josh off to the land and our three boys to Wenatchee for the day on Saturday.  Josh is pouring a concrete path with his brother for his parents, and the twins were in Wenatchee so they could celebrate their cousin Ferris' birthday.  They saw a movie, played at my mom's house and had cake and ice cream. Meanwhile at home, Carly and I were hanging out, and thrilled when Josh came home from the land (where his parents live) sooner than we anticipated. 

Reading... Apples Never Fall, Once There Were Wolves and listening to September on audio. I joined a Read-a-thon hosted by @readwithkat and got so much reading done this weekend because of it. I shared that I was reading Once There Were Wolves on Sunday on IG, and the author, Charlotte McConaghy, liked my tagging her!! I was so geeked out!  100%. 
 I am now reading The One and Only Bob (the sequel to The One and Only Ivan) written from the dog's perspective to the boys and they often fall asleep downstairs as I read to them.  It's a very cozy way to end our day, and I love it. 

Attending... my Mine To Tell meeting and deciding to let go for a little while of my big project, and instead warm up to writing by catching up my blog. It feels good to have a smaller project to start on and I will be happy to have our family memories recorded. 

Looking... back at old Halloween pictures and feeling nostalgic for little kids and tiny costumes. 

Ordering... our Christmas cards on Shutterfly and feeling so excited for them to get here! Every year I look forward to doing our Christmas cards and writing our Christmas letter. It is the first step in our holiday season. 

Losing it... one evening when thinking of the twins dating and falling in love. (Josh was only three years older than they are when he and I met.) I remember thinking that Josh's mom was so strict but now I understand!! Josh was her baby!! Who was I to swoop in and love him and steal all his attention?!? Hah! Truly though, I can't imagine how I will navigate that. I guess we'll take it one day at a time. And I'll work really hard to stay close to them. My boys. My babies. 

Loving... this quote that my friend Theresa shared with me,
saying she thought of me when she saw it:

"You know, they say the cracks are where the light gets in,
but really I think the cracks are where the light gets out.
Yeah, the beauty you don't realise you have.
The strength inside you never get to see.
The bravery you demonstrate by showing up everyday, by trying, by not giving up...
it's in your cracks that we see your light.
And you're bright, darling.
In your deepest, darkest days, you're just so bright."

-S.C. Lourie

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