Around Here: *Bonus Week* 2021

 {December 26-January 1st}

**I like to write my blog posts starting on
Sunday and ending on Saturday weekly.
So this year, I ended up with an "extra" week
to write about for 2021. 
So here's my bonus week post!

Comparing... Carly's pencil posture with my little brother's.  Carly holds hers in a quite specific, odd way.  Her kindergarten teacher isn't worried, but I am curious about it. And when I saw a video of my brother drawing, I noticed a similarity. 

Deciding... to get a puppy!!! What?!?  We saw the litter up for adoption, and talked about it... then we sent all the kids outside to go play and decided that we really wanted to go for it.  So I filled out the (pages long) application and we started talking about which puppy we wanted from the litter. 

Smiling... when I realized that the cinnamon roll the boys saved for me for the day after Christmas was the one that had a heart at the center. (See last week's blog post for the whole story)

Undecorating... for Christmas and wanting to remember the special Christmas decorations that Carly's classmate Shaurya made for her. The cutest little santa, stockings and elves. So sweet. I start out hating taking Christmas down every year, but by the end I am so happy because the house feels new and fresh (and always bigger) and the job is done, which always feels great. 

Caretaking... our little sweetheart as she woke up with a high fever (102.5) and a terrible headache.  I was lucky to get her in quickly where she was diagnosed with a sinus infection (everything else came back negative- COVID, strep and influenza) and we were given antibiotics.  She was not a fan of the amoxicillin, but she did great taking it twice a day everyday.  It took about three days for her to start feeling better, though, poor thing. 

Reading... The Holiday Swap and surprising myself with how much I loved it.  I also listened to Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (my second time with that book) and Cultish by Amanda Montell (a fascinating look at the language of cults). 
I ended the year with 60 books, fairly respectable, I think, and spent some time sorting through my TBR bookshelf as well.  I am hoping to read more next year, but specifically more from my Unread Shelf.  What about you? Any reading goals for 2022? You know I want to know!

Squeezing... in as many snuggles as humanly possible over the last few days of break. Carly being sick really lead to lots of couch blanket snugs.

Transferring... birthdays from my 2021 calendar to my 2022 calendar. That's always one of my favorite Type A things to do. Haha! 

Watching... Carly interact with Josh's dad and just melting. She is so sweet with him, hugging and touching him, and this day she shared all her Christmas toys with him, showing him each little thing. I just love her heart. 
I also melted with she fell asleep in Josh's arms on the couch one afternoon while she was still recuperating from her sinus infection. 

Rocking... Carly myself a few nights, as that's all she wanted- to be in my arms as she drifted off.  And let me tell you, now that all three of my boys are past the point of me being able to hold them, I am going to rock that girl every time she asks.  You just don't get these days back. 

Shopping... for all the puppy stuff in PINK for our newest addition in preparation for her arrival. It was so fun to pick out stuff for her and envision her in our home. 

Sending... the twins off with my mom to Wenatchee for a few days of cousin/grandma/grandpa time and feeling like our house was suddenly so big and so quiet. Ha! They had a great time, and I was happy for them to get that special time. 

Letting... Logan go bowling with a friend and her friends, which felt like a big parenting step. There were no grown ups, I just had to trust that he was going to be where he was supposed to be, and do what he was supposed to do.  All went well except the time he couldn't hear his phone ring and I was (shocker) worried. Hah! This whole "kids going out into the world" thing is going to take some getting used to. 

Meeting... our puppy! (and some of her siblings) It was so fun to see the different ones (we got to see one brother, Zane; and sisters Gypsy and Nala) but we all fell hard for tiny little Mila (her given name) and knew she was the one for us. I filled out the paperwork after she and Grady met and proved they could get along (I had no doubt Grady would do great and he didn't let me down) and then we started the two hour drive home from Cashmere, WA.  
We all laughed when Logan was talking about the dogs he saw roaming around their property in the trees.  (It was an orchard, covered in snow)  He goes, "It was just so random to see these dogs running through this apple forest." Oh.my.gosh. We laughed so hard and swore as a family that none of us will ever call it an orchard again. #appleforestforever

Naming... the little sweetheart after hours of debating.  We settled on Piper and it fits her so well.  She is just adorable and playful and loves to be with people. We think she's going to fit in our fam just perfectly.

Comparing... Grady when we got him to Grady now and HOLY MOLY he grew! Hahah!

Not Wanting... to share my failure with you just to show reality. Haha!  But even though I don't want to share it, I will.  I started my daily gratitude journal at the start of 2021 with all the enthusiasm of someone at the new year convinced that this year will be different, better.  I made it pretty far, but gave up the last six to eight weeks... I just got tired of keeping it up.  So if you have things you also didn't do all year, you're not alone. 

Enjoying... my Christmas card door so much that I am not taking it down. Maybe in February I will, but not yet. I love seeing all those smiling faces, lovely families, and kind words when I go to leave my house. 

Setting... a simple goal for 2022, "Be present" that I will write more about in an upcoming post.  What I can promise you is that I did not set any diet goals or weight loss goals because 95% of diets fail, and I know I need to do something deeper within myself to address the issues I have going on there. I'll keep you posted as I figure things out on this journey. 

***

Wanting to get stronger in 2022.

I think this challenge will be helpful!

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