So Much Super Stuff!!!

I have been absolutely terrible about carving out time to write over the past few months.  I won’t lament that [here]…but I am very thankful to have jotted down a few gems over the past few weeks.  Super stuff, for sure!

1)    When GG was here for Thanksgiving, we surprised her by having uploaded her picture to JibJab, the video making site.  We were all in hysterics, seeing her dance online to Feliz Navidad, the girls along beside her.  She had never seen anything like it, and just couldn’t quit laughing.

2)    In the fall, a children’s author came to visit the girls’ school.  They were so impressed, and they told me all about what he said.  When we brought out our Christmas books for the season, my A noticed he illustrated one of their books.  “HENRY COLE!!!!!  Mommy, HENRY COLE!!!!!  He came to our school!!!!!  HENRY COLE!!!!!”  I LOVE her enthusiasm…AND that she would read the name of the illustrator by herself!!!!!

3)    One of our first Christmas activities was to make snowflakes.  I got out some coffee filters and showed the girls how to fold and cut them.  The girls were intrigued.  And when B finished hers, she must have said five times, in awe, “Mommy!  It’s just so beautiful!!!”

4)    I took the girls to see Rudolph the Musical at our local performing arts center.  It was our first time to go to a show there, and the girls were in awe.  What a pleasure it was for me to take them...to introduce them to one of my childhood favorites, at that!  And My A, in particular, was sitting on the edge of her seat!  I’d prepped the girls that the Abominable Snow Monster would be a part of the show.  They were nervous, but they both did great, keeping it in perspective.  My A later said that was her favorite part of the program.  HA!

5)    The girls learned (maybe from school? as we didn’t focus much on it during our reading at home?) to name the 8 reindeer.  They are fiercely passionate about doing so, any time they see a drawing of Santa and his reindeer…and then they interrupt whatever story or situation to break into song about “the most famous reindeer of all”.  Hee hee!

An elf and a reindeer...my loves!!!

6)    We had a really crazy day on Friday before Christmas.  It’s a post (or two) in itself, involving numerous X-rays and a potentially broken arm.  When the day finally closed on a high note (with the option for us to just watch B for any signs of distress), I told her we should celebrate at the Dairy Queen.  That baby girl looked like she had a new lease on life…that was definite cause for a celebration!

7)    During our Crazy Day on Friday, I told B at one point (before it was all over), “It’s been a crazy day.”  She tearfully replied, “And I don’t like it!”  Me, either, Baby Girl!!!

8)    On the first weekend of Christmas break, we were having a pretty ordinary day.  We were doing laundry, coloring, cleaning up a bit.  Out of the blue, my precious B said, “Mommy, I just love days like this!”  Me, too!!!  Oh, how I miss our unstructured time!!!

9)    One morning during Christmas, my A asked, “Are we going out today?”  I originally told her no, to which she exclaimed, “YES!!!  I can wear my pajamas ALL DAY LONG!!!”  I later remembered we had an errand to run.  She reluctantly got dressed…but she came home and put her PJs back on!

10) WE GOT KITTENS!!!  The girls have been looking forward to this for months and months…and so have we.  They are the sweet big sisters to those furry babies!

11) We got our kittens on December 21, and of course we had to make stockings for them.  We decided to use the stockings the girls brought home from kindergarten…we cut out the kittens’ initials from felt and glued them on.  The girls were so excited to hang them over the fireplace!

12) A couple of days after we got the kittens, A asked to spend Quiet Time in the basement with them and her daddy.  She “napped” on the couch with them (I CANNOT believe she slept…but she was quiet for a good while!).  Afterwards she said, “This was the best quiet time EVER!”

13) We went to a sandwich shop over the holiday break, one we hadn’t been too in a long time.  I could not believe that B walked in and immediately remembered that her daddy spilled a cup of water the last time we were there – a year ago!  These girlies don’t forget anything!!!

14) Before Christmas, B was taking guesses at what Daddy bought for Mommy.  When she realized she was right, she said, “That’s what you got her for her birthday, and for Mother’s Day!”  (Yes, I love dark chocolate…but Hubby is not very original.)  B’s horror and her accusation just made me laugh!

15) On the topic of presents, A worked hard to wrap up a piece of her artwork for each of us.  I overheard her ask B, “Do you have your gifts made for Mommy and Daddy yet?”  B said, “I don’t need to make anything…they already have the best gifts ever,” referring to herself and her sister.  Hahaha!!!

16) On Christmas Eve, we were buzzing around…doing the last few preparations for the big day.  During Quiet Time, I told the girls that Mommy needed a nap.  My A asked if she could snuggle with me and nap, too.  I’m so thankful I took her up on that…we piled on the love seat, stretched out, and that precious baby slept in my arms.  Merry Christmas to me!!!

17) Baby A has been so affectionate lately (not that that’s a new thing).  One of her favorite things to say is, “I wish I could snuggle with you every single minute of every single day.”  Me, too, Baby Girl!!!

18) I usually go up to check on the girls in their beds before I go to sleep.  As I pulled up the covers around A, she stirred ever so slightly…and then she whispered, “Thank you, Mommy.”  Heart. Melts.

Super Stuff, for sure!!!

Why I Haven't Been Blogging

Sigh.

I miss it.

I really thought by now…a full four weeks after having moved into the new house…I’d be back on track.

But I’m not.

After the first week or so, we were fully functional here.  We have all the necessities unpacked, and all of the main living spaces are in order.  I still have the office to organize, I still have my china and crystal to unpack, and there are a few random boxes that I don’t even want to think about delving into, but all in all, we’re in decent shape.

I just don’t feel like we’ve found our groove yet, though.

A big part of it is that things are downright busy, apart from all the house stuff.  I stopped to recognize on Saturday that the previous four days, we’d had somewhere to be, bright and early.  Tuesday and Thursday were school days; Wednesday the girls had flu shots; and Friday the girls had their field trip to the orchard. 

On days where we have to be somewhere in the mornings, I usually make my coffee in a travel mug.  That indicates I don’t have that precious time of the morning I’ve enjoyed for the past couple of years…the time after breakfast when the girls play nicely and Mommy has her coffee / computer time.  It has typically been during this time that I’ve written my blog posts…organized my to-do lists…gotten myself together for the day.

Hmmm…maybe that explains the helter-skelter feeling I can’t shake.

The other big factor, I’ve finally decided, is the new dynamic of the girls’ play spaces.  In our old house, the girls spent 90% of their waking time in the den, which was open to the kitchen.  They played in the living room, too, but that was just off the den.  In any case, they were always within 30 feet of me, at most.  All their toys were there, too.

In the new house, we haven’t really defined a play space on the main level.  We’re lacking a rug in the den, so although we have a bookshelf with some of the girls’ books, it’s not very inviting to sit down and read and play.

The girls have a fantastic play space in the bonus room.  It’s nothing short of awesome to see their toys so nicely organized, complete with a dress-up area and room for their play tent.  Although they’re closing in on five, though, they don’t have much experience playing totally by themselves.  They’ll play for short periods of time, but they haven’t been engaged for more than 30 minutes or so without needing a dose of Mommy.

We are really blessed to have a big basement, perfect for the indoor soccer ball and Frisbee.  That’s garnered the majority of the girls’ attention, the opportunity to run at full speed, any time they like.  That seems to call the girls away from their play room, too.

I say all this to say that the girls’ playtime is not as focused these days as it always has been.  I typically spend quite a bit of time playing with them every day, but I have always been able to step away for a bit of “quiet time” – for me and for them – in the early afternoon.

We just had a conversation today about how important some downtime is for all of us each afternoon.  I’m hoping to get back on track with that…for everyone’s sanity.

It’s all a process, I know.  And these are first-world problems, for sure.  But I’m ready to find our new groove and get back to basics (and to blogging).