Around Here: Week 42 2025

 {October 12-18th}

So proud of my boss-man husband!

Carly trying on my braid piece I ordered from Amazon

Dealing... with the aftermath of broken trust with one of my kids and wishing so much that it wasn't so hard on my heart to walk them through life's ups and downs.  I keep telling myself to try and just watch their roller coaster ride, not jump on it with them. Easier said than done.

Blown away... by the projects the twins brought home from woodshop. Out of eight designs, they both chose to make the same piggy bank (seen above); a Chevy symbol. Jack just didn't get around to staining his. After choosing the same design (even though they are in different periods and didn't talk about it) they got to work making them, and Logan's is an exact mirror image of Jack's. Their brains and the similarities and differences between them fascinate me.

Subbing... Monday afternoon for a third grade teacher and enjoying her class so much. I have been teaching these kids since kinder, so it's always fun to get to spend time with them.

Cleaning... Carly's room with her. When I can't control anything else that's happening in my life and around the world, I find that I turn to our house and try to do what I can there. This week that meant tackling Carly's bedroom one evening because it made me feel a little better.

Keeping... Logan home sick Monday & Tuesday. Tis the season.

Subbing... in kindergarten (which I always love) and meeting this teacher's second monolingual student. It's always a fun challenge to try and communicate with little kindergartner's who don't speak English. There is a lot of pointing, gesturing, demonstrating, and at least a few times where I pull up Google Translate to let them know something important (like, "Mom is picking you up today. You're not going on the bus"). Every time I meet a new student who is monolingual I wish that I spoke Spanish (or Russian) so I could understand everything they're trying to say to me. I also find myself feeling in awe of their bravery to show up somewhere where they don't know the language and nothing is familiar, and to do their best. So much courage.

Receiving... the gift of gourds from the neighbor. She grew the most amazing arbor of hanging gourds, and now that the season is ending she asked if I had any use for them. I told her I'd love to have some for my front porch and she said to go for it! They're gorgeous! Thanks Emily!

Taking... Wyatt and Carly to the dentist and getting the good news that they are both cavity free. We are going to be working on flossing more regularly, but otherwise, they're doing great! (My plan for more flossing is to fill a small jar with disposable flossers in each bathroom and to lead by example.)

Blessed... with two furry helpers when I'm getting ready in the morning. They love to be on the counter, messing with my makeup or laying in the sink while I attempt to do my hair & face. It's occasionally annoying, but mostly I'm grateful that they like spending time with me. Having adopted them from someone with 30+ outdoor cats out in the country, I'm lucky they're not feral. Hah!

Happy... for Josh that he loves his new job and that he was celebrated so well at work this week on bosses day. I think we were both unsure when he took the assistant principal job... just holding our breath to see how he liked it once he had the chance to really try the role on. But he absolutely loves it. He enjoys problem solving and moving throughout the building. He enjoys his administrative coworkers and loves working with teachers in this different way... It's just a great fit and I'm so glad. 

Subbing... another day in a different kindergarten class and feeling nervous about the day with one student who struggles with disappointment and controlling their body. Thankfully the connection we had made from my previous times subbing meant that the day went off without a hitch, and we avoided any meltdowns. Woohoo!

Saddened... to hear about losing Diane Keaton. She was such an amazing actress and example of aging with grace. I loved her wild fashion sense and confidence. I loved her in her role as Sybil Stone in The Family Stone most of all.

Thinking... of my sweet lost babies on Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day October 15th, and feeling so touched that my friend Tabitha saw a poem by Rachel Beachy (Miss/Carry) and thought to send it to me. It's so beautiful. {Scroll to the bottom- it's the last shared photo} I am at peace with our current day family and don't think of my miscarriages all that often, but I do wish I could see who they would have been. 

Crying... so hard about some of my kids' choices and feeling, honestly, like a failure.  I knew I needed this cry, so after everyone went to bed, I put on my sad playlist (does everyone have a sad playlist? Or just me & my sister?) and did every single dish that was in the kitchen. It was awful while I was heaving sobs... but afterward I felt so much lighter. Damn if those feelings don't just want to be felt before they float away.

Grateful... for friends who lift me up when life is really hard and heavy. I had to do some hard and humbling things this week, and knowing I had people who were loving & supporting me through it made it all that much easier. 

Watching... my niece Romy for a night while my sister & brother-in-law took their teenage boys to Scarywood for their birthdays. Romy & I went to pick up Carly first, then they played and colored and drew, and before we knew it, it was time to take Carly to her friends' birthday party. While she was gone, Romy just enjoyed being able to play with allll the Barbies & accessories, and then I gave her a bath. After we grabbed Carly from her party we all had dinner and then I *attempted* to settle them in for bed. They actually fell asleep really quickly, much to my surprise... but then they woke up around midnight and were COMPLETELY WIDE AWAKE for like four hours. Finally at 4:00am I just sat in there until they fell asleep, playing calming music and not letting them talk. They slept about three more hours and then were up for the day. Hahaha! 

Making... pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips on Saturday (a double batch) and feeling like it's finally really, truly fall. The whole family loves those things and I'm so glad!

Loving... the connection that Romy and Logan have. They both have the same brand of unstoppable energy, little bit of mischief and buckets of charm that just make them some of the most lovable people I know. Romy loves when Logan teases or tickles her, and Logan loves when Romy is feisty and sassy with him. They are peas in a pod, those two. 

Celebrating... Romy's eighth birthday on Saturday with one of her birthday gifts (we saved the second one for her party) and lots of fun activities. We went to the park where the girls played so nicely together. Then we came home and we showed Romy how to do leaf tracings and then the girls played Carly's pizza game (it's so cute and easy- we all love it!). Before we knew it, my sister was here to pick her up and we were waving her off! 

Falling... off my JournalSPEAK practice this week as I was just too tired to wake up early to journal, and then getting thirty minutes to myself, uninterrupted, in the afternoons or evenings feels impossible. I know I need to do it, but I'm finding that making it a priority has been hard this week. 

Canceling... our plans for the pumpkin patch's haunted maze because it was raining and I am just too old and lame to mess with bad weather.  Luckily everyone still wanted to meet up, so after we got the kids all settled, Josh and I met his brother and his fiancé; and his sister and her son and we had dinner. It was a lot of laughs and I wasn't freezing cold and miserable like I would have been had we followed through with our original plans. 

Watching... so many Mariners games this week, and feeling delighted that they won three of the five games. Fingers crossed they can pull off another win next week and go to the world series. I would have some really delighted guys in my house if they can!

Ordering... my 2026 calendar from Lore Pemberton. This will be my third year using Lore's amazing calendar (with the most beautiful artwork) and I am obsessed. I use my 2024 calendar to rotate pictures in my bedroom each month and I really appreciate the thick art paper that the calendars are printed on. So gorgeous. 

Cherishing... the feedback from Carly's teacher that randomly came home this week. Our little girl is a super hard worker with a thoughtful heart who asks lots of questions, and I just love that about her! Keep up the good work, Carly May!

Reading... Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. I have been looking forward to reading this for at least a year. Her book Once There Were Wolves is among my Top 5 all time favorite reads, so I've been counting down the days to get my hands on this one. 
Also this week, Carly and I finished The Wolf Wilder (so good! highly recommend for teachers grades 4-8th and parents of kids 9 to 13) and she's been reading I Survived books, which is exciting for me. She mostly likes graphic novels, (which I am totally fine with!) but I love to see her challenge herself with regular chapter books every once in a while. 

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October 2014

My sister said this mom reminds her of me. Aww!

Grandma Pansy & baby Carly 

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This is the prayer.