Around Here Week 05: 01/29-02/04

 A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this moment. 

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 7+ hours (of 1000)
We snagged a some outdoor time this week when it was sunny but chilly after school and helping Pappy and Daddy with the new goat fence too. The sun feels good but still too cold to go out without full coats and hats. It's been flip flopping days that the ground is frozen and then to muddy mess disaster and then back to frozen again. It's been wacky. 

Reading and finishing My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. Holy cow. I want everyone to read this book, but I want to give all the women and girls who read it also to feel my support around them as they do. Just, holy crap, incredibly honest, raw, brutal, and powerful. I'm going to be thinking of this book forever. 

Catching up with Chum and Abba now that they are back from their vacation in Mexico. We got to see their photos and hear about their trip and best of all - Chum found a cool coin and Gem pulled out her microscope and we were all going full science nerd trying to notice intricate details on the coin. 

Finishing our January family puzzle! yay! It was mostly completed by Violet and I if we are being honest, so Vi got to put in the final piece! As is standard for us, we are missing one single piece. Literally every year, we have misplaced one puzzle piece!

Well check ups for Violet and Olive (finally! oops!) I took a half day on Monday to take them, and they both looked good...except for Olive's ear infection that she showed zero signs to us that she had it. She got some antibiotics but other than that - all looks good!

Sending hugs to all the little brothers and sisters out there (especially our Violet, Rusty, Red, and Olive) who log major hours on the bleachers watching older siblings' games. Bless their concession stand-loving, learning to count from watching a scoreboard, cheering and clapping, little hearts. 

High fiving Violet and Rusty who were the only ones in our family that were hoping that the groundhog saw his shadow for 6 more weeks of winter. All of the rest of us were hoping for spring. So hilarious to remember that Brandon and I used to live in Punxsutawney before we moved to Erie, PA. We had the tiniest little railroad-style apartment and we were so busy at that point in our life (me, traveling to NYC with Scantron and B in the height of Aldi District Manager training). Gosh, how wild life twists and turns. 

Taking off of work to stay home with sick kids on Thursday while our babysitter was sick too! Agh! So much sickness and germs floating around our schools and area right now. B was home too because he and his dad worked on putting up the fence for our new goat coming next week; a boy who needs his own space. I kept all the sick kids in the house and I took it easy too because I was on day 3 of almost no voice - such a sore throat, terrible cough, and congestion. 

Picking through Osa's fur as she had her first encounter with a briar bush. HAH. it was ridiculous.

Packing up some The Hunting Daddies books for Gemma to take to school for her teacher who is having a baby in a few weeks. The PTO organized a baby shower for her so her students could celebrate her and they all brought in books if they wanted. 

Sending love and compassion to anyone out there struggling with addiction and/or loving someone with addiction. xxox

Celebrating Daddy and Uncle Jonny at Washington & Jefferson on Saturday. The college invited 1,000 point scorers to come back for the Mens' basketball game to be announced during halftime and then attend an aftergame reception. We made a sleepover out of it and stayed at a hotel with the Kochs (Uncle Jonny, Ninna, Tessa, & Tristan) and had fellow teammate (and godfather to our Rusty), Dobber and his son, Caleb join us on Friday night for late night hotel pool swimming and snacks (buff chicken dip in the crockpot in the hotel room for the win!) On Saturday before the game, we went to a nearby bowling alley that had Glow bowl (!) and the kids had a blast and tired out a little bit before we went to the W&J game. I can't believe I got to marry this man! Kind, charming, handsome as heck, unwaveringly patient, a leader to his core, the most calming vibes, and an incredible athlete. Jackpot of my life, honestly. 

Taking a turn for the major sick. On the way home from Pittsburgh, Olive threw up twice in her car seat and Reddy had continued to go downhill with his cough and sickness. Rust was complaining about his eyes (chlorinated hotel pool? or sickness?) We were just a mess by the time we got home late Saturday night. We got some cough syrup into everyone (including us!) and we went to bed with our fingers crossed that we'd be better in the morning. (spoiler alert: we weren't)

Teaching with a very hoarse voice. We did a lot of independent work this week because I barely had a voice. My Spanish 2 students had me smiling because they offered to read aloud the chapters of our book as they walked around the room "like you do, Señora." It's easy to feel like the kids barely even notice you until they make some hilarious observation like how I walk all around the room while reading aloud. Spanish 1 was on a crazy present tense regular verb conjugation practice, and Spanish 3/4 worked on finishing their Super 7 preterito verb charts (poor things- they keep saying, "Señora! Spanish was so nice to us before preterito! Why is it so mean now?" LOL but for real. On Saturday at the W&J event, I got to visit with two of my former students; The Walker sisters (Sierra and Savannah). #oncemykidalwaysmykid 

Sporting with two basketball practices and two jr high games for Grey. Gemma had one basketball practice and two games this week too. At one of Gemma's games, we got there in a rush (Studers coming in hot!!) and it was late in the evening so everyone was already hungry and tired. We get to the top of the bleachers to watch the game and it's at that moment I realize the whole bottom of my shoe is covered in dog poop. Vi and Rust got my wet paper towels from the bathroom and I cleaned it up, then Olive started finding old candy in the bleachers and eating it (?!) and Red said a million times he wanted to go home, and then Liv took her shirt off. One of those moments you are just praying for patience. LOL.  Brandon had a basketball game in Franklin that we took the whole family to go watch! It was so great to catch up with Lyndsy while we watched our husbands still playing basketball together. (if you're in the bleachers with your husband's wedding band on your thumb- you might be a basketball wife. hah!) 

Making creative meals because we need a grocery trip and didn't get one until Thursday. We had chicken tender/mashed potato bowls with gravy and corn, pork chops and tater tots, and baked ravioli. And most nights of the week, I end up making Grey a goodnight meal that includes eggs, because this boy is a bottomless pit. Gem has been on some kind of baking kick and make chocolate chip cookies and then peanut butter reese chip cookies the next night. I made cowboy cookies. For Keto, I had shrimp tacos with avocado and siracha sauce, beef & brussels with cheese, and kielbasa. 

mini goal check in: 
20 minutes outside: 3 days
make-out: 1 day (germ avoidance is making me sad now)
write 100 words in my novel: 0 days (switching to a new goal for Feb- this one is not doing it for me!)
affirmation:  7 days
(new for Feb) out of bed by 5:45a: 3 days