Around Here: Week 8 2024

 {February 18-24th}

Absolute highlight of my week was seeing this kids' face

Uncle Steve & Grandma Pansy

Texts from my sister

How Hadley watched the movie on Saturday night.
No joke, she just sat there like this, watching. 
It was hilarious!

Enjoying... a three day weekend which was so lovely. It was like one day to do homework, one day to do housework and one day to just relax. If only we could have that every weekend!

Sending... Josh to the vet when he was home Tuesday (his school district had a mid-winter break so he was off Friday through Tuesday).  He had to take Hadley in because she seems to have an eye infection. The vet said it's like pink eye and gave us an ointment to use on her. Unfortunately it's contagious between cats so we gotta keep an eye on the other two cats as well. 

Subbing... all week as my mentor teacher was either out of town or subbing for the principal. It's exciting that I can do this on my own!!

Thankful... Josh was able to take the day off Wednesday as well to take the twins to the dentist and out to lunch (best dad ever!) and then he took Wyatt to the eye doctor (time for new glasses!).  Then he had to leave work Thursday to be home with the twins because of the friend drama that's happening. High school is hard enough but this situation on top of it is super intense. 

Struggling... to be at work as the twins are dealing with everything. The rumors, the emotions... it's been a lot. (And if it's a lot for me, a grown up, I can't imagine how much it feels like to my kids) 
On the other hand, I'm grateful for the distraction of 19 adorable 5 year olds that keep me in the moment and that I get to teach them.

Staying... late Wednesday to lesson plan.  My goal for next week is to not have to stay late any days for lesson planning. We'll see if I can do it!

Highlight... of my week was absolutely answering a Facetime call from Jack and having the face on the other end be his best friend Ainsley. I love that kid and have been so worried about him. I could have cried, but instead just hurt my face smiling so big and telling him I loved him as he called me mom and told me he was doing okay. 

Realizing... that parenting is hard not just with your own kids, but also with their friends making  poor decisions. All week the boys have been having a hard time staying at school. The situation is really heavy, impossible to imagine at times, and the rumors are flying.  Oh my mama heart just hurts.

Leaving... for school on time after days of running late. (Thankfully "running late" is usually just 5 or 10 minutes, but still!) In addition to my own four (plus making sure the cats and dogs are taken care of) we've been taking one of Carly's friends to school in the mornings, and let me tell you, the chaos level in the five minutes before we leave is 10. Hah! Hoping next week is a little more calm and a lot more timely.

Getting... coffee from a friend (thanks Mr. Z!) which I needed so much after the morning I had Friday.  My kids were so moody and snappy. It was a huge relief to drop them all at their respective schools and get to my empty classroom to find a frappuccino on my desk. 

Feeling... terrible that I forgot to call parents about their little one receiving an award at our end of the month assembly.  I'm certain it's not the last time I'll make a mistake, but I am going to try really hard not to make that specific mistake again!!!

Wrapping... up lesson planning during my prep time Friday. I think I am finally in a groove with making lesson plans and it feels so good to have figured it out. (And to not be working on it over the weekend!)

Reading... A Little Life (which is deep and dark and so captivating!) and listening to Meth Lunches (a heavy, real read about meth in Vegas). At bedtime I am reading Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes to the twins and Wyatt and while it's incredibly long, we are really enjoying it and can't wait to finish and watch the movie. 
I'm loving Carly reading Wyatt's collection of Dog Man books.  Her friend Eden was reading them and she wanted to give them a try. Now she's reading them like they're on fire. Hah! Like mother, like daughter.

Logan... did his final drive for Traffic Safety this week and passed! So now we are on to the written final. So proud of him! (sidenote: it is completely surreal to me that I started this blog when he was 8 weeks old and now he's a man-size teenager who drives. What is this life?!?)

Josh... drove the twins out to the land to spend the night at grandma's and they were delighted to ride their dirt bikes and work on the mini bike. It makes me so happy they have the land and their hobbies out there. What lucky boys. 

Grateful... the boys adore their dad.  Gosh, he's a good one.  I know that and I have always known that.  But when they posted "See a good dad, post a good dad" and shared it on their stories on Instragram, I just melted.  The feeling is mutual. Josh is always saying he can't wait for the boys to be 18 so he can be more their friend than their parent. He enjoys them (and they enjoy him) so much.  My mama heart just gushes over their adoration of each other. 

Adjusting... to this new schedule/life where I talk to my mom and sister only after school or on weekends. It's hard! I miss them! But we're making it work.

Watching... a scary movie (The Purge) with Wyatt after Carly went to bed on Friday and enjoying it so much! It was a little gory, but so fun to watch with him. Next he wants to watch A Quiet Place.

Paying... up when Carly lost yet another tooth.  She's fairly certain I'm the tooth fairy, but pretends so she still gets her cash. Haha!  The tooth she lost this time already has a grown up tooth behind it. And her front teeth are super far apart. I am imagining that braces will be in her near future. I got them in fourth grade and I think she'll be the same way. 

Losing... a young boy in a neighboring town who was speeding and lost control. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and died.  Reading about it, I was just heartbroken for his parents and siblings, for his friends and teachers... It lead to a good conversation with our boys, though, about the seriousness of speeding and seatbelts. Gosh raising teenagers is hard!!!

Loving... my man when he rubs my feet and legs on Saturday mornings.  My fibromyalgia makes my whole body sore, but especially my legs and feet and when he rubs them, I swear I float to another dimension. He's so good to me. 

Seeing... pics on the middle school website of Wyatt at his dance with his friends and it made me so happy.  I was so proud of him for going and I just love him so dang much. 

Shopping... Saturday and running errands and getting some cute new pillows for the couch downstairs. It's crazy how a $10 pillow can spruce up a space! I also bought some slime for Carly and some Legos for Wyatt. It was fun to surprise them. At Safeway I got some fruit for Carly (their raspberries and strawberries are far superior to Winco's) and some roses for myself, plus the cutest new pitcher vase. 

Lucky... to be married to the handiest man ever. This weekend he fixed the heater in my van (which hasn't worked for about a month now) and gave it an oil change and swapped out the winter tires. I am so grateful he can do so much. And not only does he do all that for me and our family, he takes the time to teach our boys as well.  The twins helped with the oil change and the tire change, and Jack was out there helping with the heater repair as well. They will be just as handy as their dad and it'll make them such awesome adults. 

Making... three pizzas for movie night- a cheese & olive; a pepperoni & olive; and a hawaiian with white sauce. Yummm! I bought The Baby-Sitters Club from when I was little for all of us to watch, and by the end I was the only one watching it. Hah! But I enjoyed it! 

Preparing... for Monday by doing laundry all day on Saturday. The trick, I have found, is to set a timer on my phone. Every time it goes off,  I stop what I'm doing and march downstairs to swap it out. Otherwise the day gets away from me and I've done one load. 

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