Intentional Hours Outside: 297 hours (of 1000)
29 hours this week...only one hour short of my goal, boo -- but also yay!! because that's pretty darn good after weeks of being well below 20 hours. We were pool hopping every day from Sunday-Thursday, so that accounted for quite a bit of outdoor time. We also grabbed more hours at Greyson's all-star baseball tournament last week and his practice this week, where we load the whole crew up in the car and spend the evening outside with snacks and babydolls while his team practices.
Reading The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain and finished The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, which is my second most favorite book ever and to re-read it was one of my 100 small things tasks for the year. There are so many great bits and pieces throughout the book, but one of my personal favorites is this bit, "Well, maybe I just want to know the future so I can prepare myself for what's coming.' "If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise,' said the seer. "If bad things are, and you know in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur.'..If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve the present, what comes later will also be better....Each day, in itself, brings an eternity."
Celebrating with family and friends this weekend at our dear friend's Bruce and Jessica's wedding on Saturday night. The kids had a blast dancing and sneaking into the photo booth multiple times. Then on Sunday, we had a beautiful Baptism ceremony for our Rustin James followed by a pool party at Gigi and Pappy's house in his honor. It was a perfect day for it and our kids were thrilled to get to spend it in the pool with their cousins and friends. full post about that special day coming next week!
Worrying about my momma who is suffering through kidney stones since last week. She's always on the go; cleaning, gardening, working, and helping others - especially her elderly neighbor - so not only has she been feeling awful with pain, but I know it's also been making her crazy to be forced to slow down and rest (she's where I inherited that personality trait!) But, I believe she's on her way to healthier days after taking care of herself (good job, Abba!), and we are all looking forward to seeing her feel better! Love you, mumma.
Visiting our newest baby cousin Blake this week. We drove out to Cranberry for the afternoon to spend time with Tete, Mallory, Hunter, and baby Blake at their local pool and the kids basically had their best day ever. Violet was jumping off the sides in her puddle jumper (head underwater and all) about thirty times in a row. Gemma got braver with going underwater to swim and jumping off the side. And Grey, well he's a full blown swimmer now, wrestling, flipping, and switching from kiddie pools to deep pools by himself. It was such a perfect pool day and I loved having all the cousins together and spending the day with Stef (aka Tete). Baby Blake is the sweetest little darling and he and Rusty are exactly three weeks apart in age. I love that all our babies will grow up together just like Stef and I (and our siblings) did too. cousins make for such great friends!
Holding onto random little bits of things that feel very fleeting at the moment in my preemptively nostalgic mind. Like how the kids all say, "Will you wake me up when we get there?" anytime we take a drive and they start to feel sleepy. Or the way Violet says "Dop it" (stop it). I've found myself trying to remember the last time I picked Grey up, it's really now only if he falls asleep in the car and I'm the only one home - but I keep thinking about it since reading The Last Time poem, "...and then one day you'll carry them around on your hip and you'll set them down. And never pick them up that way again."
Relaxing into what it feels like to be a family of six now, while rounding out week six of the rotten eight! Rusty still has bouts of colic, but it feels more manageable now - whether that's because he's feeling better or we, as a family, are responding better to him is a mystery - but we are all a little more comfortable this week. (Thank you all so much for your words and messages of support and encouragement last week on raising colicky babies. It is so comforting to feel not alone!) The big kids are really helpful for the most part and we have a 'rule' that only one kid can cry at a time -hahha, which helps manage whining. I snuck out of the house to make a Walmart run at 6am before B left for work on Tuesday morning and the cashier said, "boy, it's awfully early out to be shopping!' to which I responded, "it's either now or with four kids under six in tow!" Most people who have seen us out and about have commented, "wow! you have your hands full!" which is certainly true...but my favorite response to that comment is, "you should see my heart."
Starting the 21 day fix challenge! I have been considering starting Shakeology for quite some time, and after reading about Shelly's thoughts on it, I finally decided to jump in. My cousin Stefanie is a coach so it was perfect to talk to her and she hooked me up with Shakeology and the 21 day fix special that was running. I only started yesterday, but I'm really loving it so far - Brandon pointed out that the reason I'm liking it so much is because of the tracking sheets for the containers - I'm so motivated by marking things down and having data (hahhah!) I'm excited to see what happens but mostly excited to have more energy in body and spirit! I want to be able to play more with the kids and feel more comfortable. woohoo!
Making this grilled lemon salmon recipe that were so delicious and family favorite YUM chicken in the crockpot. We were lucky to enjoy two meals at grandparents' houses this week: pizza and evening swimming at Gigi and Pappy's and a cookout with grilled steak so delicious I'm craving it right now at Chum and Abba's house. I also got a night off of cooking thanks to a frozen meatloaf that my Aunt Dar brought to us earlier this month. thank goodness for my village - seriously.
Those last two pictures!!! Violet looks like she's flying (!) over the pool and I love the shot of the sisters on the bench with baby in his seat... So precious!
ReplyDeleteI'm crying reading The Last Time and finding it funny that I was also in a very nostalgic mood this week. There's this song by Hilary Weeks called Stand Still, and I found myself driving home from the chiropractor (stupid car accident!) sobbing while listening to it. If I can get my act together, there may be a blog post about it soon. ;)
And thanks for the shout out-- Shakeology really helped me feel, like you said, more comfortable in my skin and better able to keep up with all my kids! Four kids is no joke!!! I hope you find success with it and feel fabulous!
love!!!