Around Here: Week 40 2025

 {September 28-October 4th}

Painting... our house!!! Well, I'm not painting it. Josh and his brother Samuel are. I just chose the color with Josh at Lowe's.  We went with an almost denim blue with some grey in it, with white trim. And eventually we'll paint the front door a deep buttery yellow. 

Getting... on the same page as Josh after disagreeing over parenting. These kids are putting us through the ringer, I tell you. 

Prepping... the house for the week, cleaning and replacing hand towels, toilet paper and bath towels.  I always love how Mondays feel with the house clean and the week spread out in front of us. 

Sending... the twins to the dentist on their own as I worked that morning. It's still so bizarre to me that they're nearly adults. That I can send them to appointments on their own and they can communicate and manage it all on their own. 

Grocery shopping... all by myself on Monday which was wildly difficult. Feeding a family of six (four of whom are the size of grown men) for two weeks is no small feat. First I made a menu for dinners; then I wrote the list, checking the fridge, freezers & pantries for ingredients; then I headed to the store, reusable bags on hand, and walked up and down every aisle. Once the cart was piled high with food, I maneuvered the cart over to checkout and proceeded to take everything out of the cart and load it onto the conveyor belt. Once I'm done loading the conveyor belt, groceries have piled up as the checker has scanned them and I have to hustle to catch up and start bagging them.  At this point I'm already sweating and feeling the pressure of keeping up with the bagging as the worker sends more food my way on yet another conveyor belt. Finally I'm done, and somehow I have bagged all of it and loaded it precariously back into the cart, using every square inch available, and then I go to pay. $495, $521, $601... It's nearly always $500, sometimes more if we haven't gone in a while. And this is just for groceries. I do a separate sundries list for laundry detergent, toothpaste and the like. That trip is usually around $300. When I'm done paying, she hands me a receipt that's as long a small child is tall and I grunt as I push the cart toward the parking lot. I aim the cart at the back of my van so it won't roll away and begin unloading the groceries into the trunk and then return my cart. I always return my cart. 
One time Wyatt was with me and I returned a random cart someone had left in a parking spot, and he said, "How did you even live in Vancouver?" (the bigger city- 400,000 people vs. 26,000 in our small town now- where I grew up) I asked what he meant and he joked that if I returned other people's carts when they were left out, I could potentially end up spending all day in the parking lot returning carts, especially if I were in Vancouver. Haha!

After loading the car I drive home and pull into the driveway backwards. Then I begin unloading the van. I put the dogs in their crates so they won't get out the front door and watch for the cats who have been known to get curious and go outside if the doors aren't shut.  I unload all the groceries onto the kitchen table and bar and then begin the process of putting them all away. By the time I'm done, I've probably invested three hours in this endeavor, and I swear to myself I will not be doing it again without at least one child accompanying me to help out. 

Reading... The Wolf Wilder with Carly. We are starting to get really obsessed. It's about a little girl whose mother teaches wolves previously kept as pets in upper class Russian homes how to go back to living in the wild. The girl and her mother are called Wolf Wilders. But new military leadership in their area has their jobs (and lives) being threatened. Carly is nine, and fairly sensitive to violence, and this was a perfect book for her. It talks a little of a mean leader, and some wolves being hurt, but nothing that had her dealing with nightmares or anxiety.  It was so good, I found myself wanting it to be Carly's bedtime so that we could start reading the next chapter! Hah!

Subbing... for our school's resource teacher this week, which was fun and fast paced. All day long, different groups of kiddos come to see us to work on math, reading and writing skills, and I am telling you that I blinked and the day was over. I love the kids, but one of the best parts of subbing for this job is the staff assistant I get to work with. She is a little older than me, with all her kids raised and moved out of the house, and I just love how non-judgmental she is about my kids' shenanigans and how comforting she is to me- promising that it will all turn out okay. And because she's walked this road before with her own children, I believe her. 

Receiving... a new shirt that I ordered off Amazon and loving it's thumb holes. Why do we love pockets and thumbholes so much?! Haha! We are so very easy to please. 

Opening... a letter from my friend Ashley and loving how thoughtful she is.  She always includes things in her letters to me. Wildflowers one time; stickers and inspirational quotes another. It makes receiving mail from her so much fun. Not to mention that her handwriting is seriously like a font. I've never seen anything like it. I love it so much. Ashley, I love you girl. And I'm sending you so much strength and coziness for getting through the fall & winter. 

Writing... every morning when I wake up for twenty eight minutes per the instructions from Mind Your Body by Nicole Sachs. Doing her "JournalSPEAK" practice is supposed to help get my fibromyalgia and random aches & pains under control, so I'm giving it a go. 

Getting... Carly's braces off!!!!!! Sister was SO excited to go directly from the orthodontist to the store where she could buy some chewing gum. She has missed chewing gum so very much for the last year and a half. 

Shopping... for Carly's Halloween party which will be on Saturday!! It was fun to have her help choosing what to have at the party. 

Watching... all the baseball games this week and celebrating another Mariner's win!! So excited they will move on to the next bracket!

Taking... Jack to his follow up sleep study for him to try out sleeping with a CPAP since he has sleep apnea. I slept on a little cot and in the morning we drove home early. He should get his own machine soon which I am hoping will improve his life on multiple levels. Getting good sleep is so important. 

Picking... up Carly's retainer from the orthodontist the day after she got her braces off.  The new retainers are clear and go over the roof of your mouth as well as your teeth. She will wear her new retainer 23 hours a day for the first few months, taking it out only to eat and brush her teeth. 

Chatting... with my counselor this week and talking about the hard parts of my life that are hard to share here (privacy for my kids & husband) but too heavy to carry on my own. 

Subbing... in a new (to me) kindergarten classroom, and oh my goodness was it a beautiful classroom! So organized and just aesthetically pleasing. The kids were great as well and they day went off without a hitch!

Making... chocolate pretzel wands for Carly's Halloween party.  She helped and they turned out so cute! The Halloween sprinkles Carly chose look fantastic!

Planning... to sell our white metal dining room chairs that I got off Amazon. They hold up to 350 pounds, but they are SO uncomfortable. The worst part is how the way they're made puts pressure on the side of my thighs, which is where my fibromyalgia pain is the worst. (All down the sides of my body, arms & legs.) As a mom of aging kids, I want our table and chairs to be comfortable and inviting. I want to linger at the table longer. And I don't want chairs to be the reason we don't. So at my sister's encouraging (she literally shopped for me and sent the links to three different chairs that would better meet my needs) I ordered a new set of chairs; communicated with the company I got the original chairs from (they didn't want me to return them because of the cost, but they did reimburse me $50 and said I should sell them locally, which I'll do on Facebook marketplace); and then listed them online. Thanks for the push, Roxanne. 

Continuing... to drive the twins to work. It's annoying, as most teen punishments are, that their consequence also feels like my consequence, but they hate not being able to drive, and we want to drive home the idea that their behavior is not acceptable, so here we are. 

Hosting... Carly's Halloween party. She has been looking forward to this for weeks! Three of her good friends were able to make it and they ended up having so much fun! They played musical chairs, cup stacking, Don't Make A Face (eating sour candy), balloon pop, and so many more games. They had a fantastic time.

Participating... in Senior Sunday on Instagram & Facebook and posting pics of the twins as babies each Sunday. Because I am an oversharer, I generally also share some kind of story, memory or anecdote with their picture. It's been really fun to look back at their infancy & childhood, and I think by the end of the school year, I will be really happy to have revisited so much of our memories together. 

Laughing... about Josh getting a raise along with his move in admin and teasing that now we've got that "sliced olive money". When we were living on a teacher's income with four kids, we bought whole olives and had to cut them by hand for pizza or enchiladas. But now that he's making more, we decided we have sliced olive money. I am joking about it, and we do laugh when we talk about it, but it really truly does feel luxurious to purchase them already sliced after two decades of having to slice them ourselves. It really is the little things. 

Teaching... Carly to wash her face now that she's wearing a little bit of makeup (mostly eye shadow and some sparkles). I was cracking up that she is so water conscious (she must get that from her PNW Papa Barry) that she washes her hands, turns off the water. Then gets her face wet and turns off the water. Then rubs the soap on her face and has to remember to leave the water on. It goes so against her to waste water that she has to say, "Don't turn it off" out loud to herself. Hah. 

Putting... fake nails on Carly and remembering how absolutely fancy and grown up fake nails made me feel when I was her age. Shoot, I still feel that way. Haha! 

Saddened... to hear about the loss of Jane Goodall.  She was such a gift to this world, to the animal kingdom, and to women who want to follow their dreams. Thank you for everything you did, Jane. 

Wondering... were returns always such a part of my life? It feels like I always have returns I need to do, and I am so over it!!! Do you have this problem? Do you have a stack of returns constantly giving you dirty looks from across the room while you're trying to relax? 

Ordering... a last minute corsage for my blessed son THE DAY BEFORE THE DANCE and almost weeping with gratitude that a fellow senior mom I know at Safeway took pity on me and placed the order even though I was most absolutely past the last time frame in which to order. (Thank you Kacey!) I paid dearly for this last minute order, though, as the boutonniere and corsage were $50, but at least it's done and he won't have a sad girlfriend on homecoming night. I am telling you, sometimes I think his ADHD is going to kill me. Lock in, kid!

Obsessing... over Taylor's new album with Carly.  She loves Elizabeth Taylor and Ruin The Friendship, while I love Opalite and Actually Romantic. On repeat 24/7 around here. 

Bribing... the twins within an inch of their lives that they could go to homecoming (Logan) and Scarywood (Jack) only if they went to school every single day this week, no skipping. Hallelujah, they did it, and I am so grateful. The way they like to skip is the bane of my existence. So having something they were working to earn made this week a delight!

Noticing... that my left foot hurts when I walk all of a sudden. It started on Saturday before Carly's Halloween party and it takes my breath away. It's awful. 

Letting... Logan go dirtbiking the morning before homecoming, which seems crazy to me, but for him, waiting around all day for the dance was just too painful. So he went and got some energy out; injured his leg; and then came home and napped until it was time to get ready. It's been so good (and sometimes hard) to live with these people (my kids and my husband) who have brains that are so different from mine. It has taught me to be more open minded and to understand that what makes sense to me is based on how my brain works, and what makes sense to them is based on how their brain works. And that's why we struggle sometimes to see eye to eye. 

Feeling... so many emotions as Logan left in his suit to pick up Elyssa. I was also incredibly grateful they came back by the house so I could see Elyssa (she looked so beautiful. Every detail- the bow in her hair that matched her dress; the tips of her nails which also coordinated; her gorgeous black shoes; and her stunning makeup... she just looked amazing.) and take pictures of the two of them. 
In addition to letting me take pictures, Elyssa shared the pictures her parents had taken of them by the lake, and some from the evening. It was so thoughtful and filled my mama heart. 
Seeing Logan in his little suit made me think of the first time he wore a suit, which was to his Aunt Andrea's wedding. He looked so sweet in that little grey jacket. I can't even. How is basically a grown up now?!?

Sending... Josh to Scarywood (a theme park nearby that goes "scary" for the month of October with rides and haunted houses) with a van full of teenagers, god bless him. It's a three hour drive that lands them in Idaho, the next state over, and they'd be driving home after it closed at midnight, and Jack's still grounded from driving... so all those reasons combined had Josh chauffeuring them to the park, hanging in the parking lot for five hours while they went in (tickets were spendy, $75 each!) and then driving them home again, arriving around 2:30, 3:00 in the morning. He's the best and I hope Jack knows it!!!

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Save this for a happiness boost!
So useful!

Me this week.

Listen to Taylor's song, Eldest Daughter. It's so good.