Around Here: Week 46 2023

 {November 12-18th}

"I am thankful for... my mom because she's sweet and kind and lovable."

Why does every horizontal space in my home end up cluttered like this?!

Coolest trivets that match my Fiesta ware 

Oh George. We love you, you silly cat.

Grady, you're such a good boy!

I know some mom's Neverending Story is laundry...
but mine is dishes.

Reading... Anne's House of Dreams. Anne of Green Gables is my comfort read.  Whenever I have a hard time getting into a book or am too distracted by life to read, I can turn to any of Anne's books.  The writing is beautiful, but the storyline's are nice and slow, so I can read them without having to focus too greatly.  Anne's House of Dreams might be my favorite other than the original.  It's her and Gilbert, finally married and starting their lives together, and I adore it. 

Decorating... for Christmas, which I know is early, but which brings me total joy. Thankfully Josh is on board and doesn't mind at all. 

Keeping... Carly home sick Monday. Poor girl was wiped out! She passed out in my reading chair. We did get to do some reading together, though, and we did a Santa Clause drawing on Art Hub, which was fun!

Seeing... my counselor this week.  We talked about some family stuff and about how I'm almost done with my double classes (hallelujah!). One more week.  We also talked about church.  My old church apparently had their fifty year anniversary and a friend sent me pics of sweet baby Shelly who loved Jesus and the church so wholeheartedly.  I used to look at her and blame her for being so dumb. But now I know that I was mislead.  I forgive myself for being tricked. And I recognize the way it was so brave to leave.  I was happy to tell her about how I've been meditating, journaling and working out everyday. It feels good. I also shared with her the revelation I had last week which is this: I only want to be who I really am. I don't want to be anyone else. I don't want to censor myself or water myself down for anyone. It's refreshing to feel this way. 

Attending... book club at Emilee's house and it was so good and so needed.  We all poured our hearts out, sharing the hard parts of mothering and wifing and living... and it made me feel so much less alone. (Love you girls!)

Accepting... that some things aren't mine to tell, and working to live my life staying in my lane, knowing that everyone has stuff they can't talk about. And keeping things private isn't the same as keeping secrets or deceiving others. 

(re)Learning... how to figure slope so I could explain it to the twins.  Sure wish I had paid better attention in math in high school and that it had stuck. It was always a struggle for me. 

Taking... the kittens to the vet for their vaccinations and to treat their worms. Thankfully it's a single dose solution. Phew!

Subbing... in kindergarten this week and loving those little cherubs so much. It's the class I will be student teaching in and I'm so excited about it. They're an amazing group of kiddos. 

Celebrating... my birthday with my mom and sister at the Art Garden in town, painting some pottery and going to dinner at Michael's. I ate the most delicious street tacos and opened the most thoughtful presents from my mom & sister. Mom got me the cutest Fiesta ware hot pads that are easy to clean, as well as a necklace, Barbie inspired teacher shirt and utensil rest for the stove that's shaped like a Christmas light. So cute! My sister got me a little self-care package with lip gloss, a bathbomb and body spray. But honestly, my favorite part is just the company.  The three of us talking, uninterrupted, is just dreamy.  With nine kids between us, my sister and I rarely have a conversation without a child interrupting, and same goes for when we're with my mom because the kids are usually with us. 

Doing... homework on my birthday, which was sad, but knowing the end is in sight helps. Josh took all the kids to the land so I could focus and I was super grateful for that. When they got home we had spaghetti dinner and cake & ice cream. Yum!

Loving... my sister and feeling so grateful for her.  She posted a Happy Birthday message and with it, this quote: "An older sister is a friend and defender- a listener, conspirator, a counselor and a sharer of delights. And sorrows too." -Pam Brown
That quote meant more to me than I can adequately express. She followed it with "I love you and am so proud of you always, but watching you go back to college has been especially inspiring. Looking forward to seeing you in your Teacher Era." My Teacher Era. Can you even? I cannot. It makes me so excited for what comes next, even though closing my current stay-at-home mom chapter has been feeling a bit heavy as of late. 

Frustrated... that our third dishwasher died.  We have bought two dishwashers since we moved in here, and now we need a third. We have only lived here five years!  That's insane to me. Sigh. They just don't make things like they used to!! Lucky for us my parents offered to buy us a Bosch (my mom did some research and says they're the best there is) so we're hopeful that this one will last longer than the last few!

Reaching... the breaking point with my acne and ordering Proactiv. It's gotten to the point that it's super painful along my jawline and I feel so self-conscious of it. I hate it. So I ordered ProActiv via Amazon which is nice cause then I can use Subscribe & Save. I've had success with it in the past, so I'm hopeful it will help this time as well.  I had Logan take some before pics for me in hopes that it improves so much I want to post Before & Afters when all is said and done. After taking the photos I wanted, he also snapped a .5 of my forehead. Obvs. Sigh. Teenagers (smh)

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