Around Here: Week 19 2025

 {May 4th - 10th}

Honoring... Josh's dad, Papa Carl, on his birthday, as well as the anniversary of his death. We love and miss him so much. I always think of him when I see dragonflies. And the boys often bring him up when discussing projects or mechanical things. I think that would make him happy. 

Waking up... and going for a walk on Sunday. I've just been on edge and want to keep the anxiety at bay and the stress under control.  Thankfully a walk outside does just that.

Sitting.. on the porch reading, and loving it so much. Our flowers are starting to really come in, and the porch swing is so lovely. When I sit there I can't help but feel rich.  What a blessing that space is. 

Reading... The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane; Enchantment by Katherine May; The Lost Wife by Susanna Moore; It Didn't Start With You by Mark Wolynn; and Three Women by Lisa Taddeo. The Half Moon was good, a warm read. Enchantment was meh.  The Lost Wife was engrossing, but the writing wasn't as good as it could have been. It Didn't Start With You offers so much insight about generational trauma. And Three Women is shocking and an absolute page turner!

Planting... flowers with Carly after stopping at Lowe's for plants and supplies before school one day. She was so happy to help, and I let her, even though she made an absolute mess with the dirt and pots. Growing up, I always helped my across the street neighbor Kerry put in her flower bed, and I always looked forward to it so much. So I channeled Kerry's relaxed demeanor and let Carly go wild. 

Attending... Jazzercise twice this week, per usual, and feeling grateful for those few hours to myself. The songs, the comradery, the strength building and the sweating... it all just feels healing. 

Grateful... that Josh was able to do a Costco run for me after a day spent doing professional development in Wenatchee. He is the best!!

Going... to an appointment with someone who needed support, and feeling grateful to live in Washington state where a childs' voice is heard and respected.

X-raying... Carly's arm after she injured her arm falling off her bike. The pain and tenderness continued for a few days, so we decided to go in and have it checked out. Thankfully (!) it was not broken, only sprained.  She kept a sling on it for a few days, and then it finally started feeling better.

Feeling... frazzled on behalf of Logan who showed up at a baseball game to ump, only to find another ump already there. Thankfully, he thought quickly and checked in with his boss.  The mistake was not Logan's, but he has a car and was willing to go to the new location and ump for that game. He was a little late, but made it and the game went off without a hitch. Poor kid! The other two days he umped things were much simpler and he was glad!

Loving... Carly's sense of "fashun".  She wore head to toe strawberries Wednesday to her school's spring BBQ because she knows that her Aunt Julie loves strawberries and Julie was meeting her there since I had to work. (We are so blessed to have such an awesome village for our kids. Thank you, Julie!) She also wore flower earrings this week, and even some fried egg earrings. I just can't with her. 

Subbing... at a new (to me) school after Carly's closed due to electrical issues. Unfortunately, it was not the warmest welcome and I started my day crying in the empty classroom, waiting for the students to show up. Thankfully I managed to pull myself together before the kids showed up. And oh, was I ever happy when they came! I always love seeing kids from our school, and they always seem to light up when they see me. It's truly the best!

Coloring... one night after the kids were in bed. My sister often uses creativity to bring her stress level down, and I figured it was worth a try! I loved the flowers I colored and it was very zen. 

Opening... a text message from Josh and instantly bursting into tears. It was exactly what I needed to hear:

"While you're overthinking

and doubting yourself,

someone else is looking at you

wondering how you do it all.

Keep going."

Getting... the all clear from my yearly mammogram. That's always a relief for this health worrier.  I always thought mammograms would be more painful, but for me they haven't been too bad!

Showing... up a week early for the twins' doctor appointment. I was so annoyed at myself... but not as annoyed as they were. Hahaha! 

Loving... our local library's quarterly book guide.  I always get the best recommendations of books to add to my TBR or find on audio via the library Libby app. 

Titrating... Logan off his seizure meds as they were aggravating acne all over his face and torso. As we titrated him off one med, Depakote, we were titrating him onto another, Zonisamide. Fingers crossed it works and he doesn't suffer any terrible side effects.

Spending... half the day subbing in first grade and getting to see my little kinders from student teaching. Oh how I love those cuties! I also adore their teacher, who left me a Teacher Appreciation gift, even though I am just a substitute. It meant more to me than I can even put into words that she thought of me. 

Grateful... for my staff and teacher friends who show up for me and my girl when I can't be there. This week I was subbing during Jog-A-Thon and both Carly's classroom staff assistant and her teacher sent me pictures of Carly. It meant so much to me. 

Laughing... as Josh and Logan arm wrestled and Josh won. He said he promised to enjoy the victory because he's sure it won't be long before Logan is the winner. 

Watching... Carly at gymnastics this week and feeling so inspired by her drive to keep working at it. It makes me realize that all the things I do are things that I was good at pretty much from the beginning. I'm not good at, or comfortable with, failure. I could learn a thing or two from this girl of mine.
Her twirling bar from Amazon came this week, and she is thrilled to have it set up in the garage. I have sacrificed parking in the garage for the time being so she has a place to practice bar and beam and cartwheels. 

Listening... to this weeks' De-Influenced podcast and loving it, as always. I also found the song "You're ok" by Ron Pope, and found myself crying as I listened and sending it to my sister who said it's been on repeat since I sent it. Isn't that the best? When you find a song that speaks to you like that?

Watching... Perfect Match and enjoying all the drama. I really love trash reality TV.  It's my guilty pleasure.

Going... to tricities with Wyatt's friend Kaeden and his mom Jodi. Wyatt and Kaeden have been friends for two or three years now, and I've gotten pretty close with Jodi. We took the boys go-carting, where we got to visit and they got to go as fast as they could. We all had the best time! Then we went out for lunch, eating on the patio in view of the river.  It was just so fun and great to spend some special time with just Wyatt. That so rarely happens. 

In love... with Giselle Dekel's new art piece for my laundry room. I ordered "Pile of Laundry" from her website, and then a frame from Amazon and I am in love with the result. I teased my kids and told them it was a "self portrait". 

Angry... at one of my boys for dragging another of their brothers into their own bad decision making. I hate that I can't (won't) go into it here, but if you are struggling with parenting and wondering if any of your efforts are worth it, you're not alone. This job is so hard. And so thankless. 

Learning... all there is to know about dinosaurs from Carly who is currently obsessed.  She is watching a cartoon version of Jurassic Park everyday and loves gathering dino facts from the episodes. 

Admiring... Logan & his cute girlfriend Elyssa. They're just adorable. I love them. 

Writing... in my journal. I am finding as the kids have gotten older, my journal has become even more important. There are so many things about parenting older kids & teens that I can't readily share on Facebook or the blog and I need that story, and the accompanying emotions, go to somewhere. 

Enjoying... pizza and cookies with Carly & Wyatt while watching Elemental (have you seen it? I love it!) in my bedroom. It was a cozy night with my youngest two and just what I needed. 

***

The text Josh sent.
Words of affirmation are absolutely my love language.