The Chipmunk Family.

Hello, hi-there little blog.  I didn't forget about you.  Apparently I just needed a good snow-day with the kids to get my creative mo-jo back.  And I just needed to do it.  Post.  Hit publish.  So tonight was the night.

Last summer Georgia and I took some pictures of her Calico Critters having fun outside with the intent to write a story about them.  Well….summer plans started rolling and time got away from us and we kind of forgot about it.  Earlier this winter I found the pictures on my memory card and had them printed.  And today was the day we made this story happen.  

I buy blank books for Georgia at the dollar spot at Target whenever they have them.  She can churn out books faster than Danielle Steele so we like to have a good supply on hand.  

When we took our pictures last summer we decided that the story would be something like….the chipmunk family needed to move…..for a reason yet to be decided, and they'd make their way from their outside home to an inside home.  

A few of our pictures…….

And this afternoon we put everything together……

She was pretty proud--as she should be!  She's thinking maybe her teacher will read it during snack time tomorrow.  Super simple project you can do with your kids--with just about anything they collect or love.  So head to the dollar spot at Target and keep your eye out for cheap blank books and show your kids how to self-publish a book!

Luke 2:19. The verse for moms.

A couple years ago I stumbled upon the verse Luke 2:19.

….."but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often"…….

She was a new mom….people were coming to visit her brand new baby……she knew who he was and who he was going to be…..and yet…..she had these secret mom thoughts…..moments that were all hers…..that she could bring back whenever she wanted to….whenever she needed to……because that's what moms do.  

I'd read it before but it didn't have a big impact--probably because I wasn't a mom yet and maybe because there are some various opinions on what it means.  But I remember reading it as a new mom and I thought, 

This.  This verse was written for moms.  This verse was written for moms who contemplate and think about and love their babies to the ends of the earth.  This verse perfectly describes the two hundred times we kiss our babies heads while we rock them to sleep and drink in how amazing their little heads smell….hoping to never forget that scent for as long we live and inevitably conjuring up that memory when we think about our kids, miss them, and long to hug them just one more time when they get on that bus for the first day of school or when we check on them at night before we go to bed.

As moms we all have those 'things in our heart' and we think about them often--because they belong to us--just us.

The way Crosby's feathery soft fingers feel when he brushes them along my arm while I'm feeding him a bottle.

The way Georgia shouts, "BEST DAY EVER," if I let her have ice-cream.

The way Crosby smiles with his mouth shut and his cheeks puff out so big he's lucky I haven't eaten them both.

The way Georgia mumbles she loves me when I kiss her on the forehead before I go to bed and she stirs in her sleep.

The way Crosby lays heavy against me when we sit on the blue couch and listen to Georgia play the piano--and he's mesmerized by her.

The way Georgia shakes her hands and nods her head when she's really getting into telling me a story.

The way it feels when my kids grip my hands, by shoulders, my legs, my face when they need me--when they need to feel safe and reassured.

The way Georgia tells me quietly that her stomach hurts a little bit when she gets nervous and can I pray for her to feel brave.

The way Crosby slaps the bed with his feet at the same time when he sees me peek over his crib to get him in the morning.

The way he giggles when I put a blanket over his face and ask where he is.

The way Georgia hunches over artwork and I can see her think so hard about what she wants to add to a picture next…..and next.

The way she reaches forward from the backseat and extends her hand signaling she wants to hold mine.

All those moments and what it really feels like to be in them--they're all mine.  I can list them for you, paint a picture kind-of--but really…..to live them, breath them, feel them…….they're mine.  You can't possibly know what it does for me, to me, and in me.  Just like I can't know yours.  They become part of the rhythm of our mom hearts and set the beat that keeps us going and each of us has a little different beat.

I'm reminded of verses like this and how deeply I love them at the beginning of a summer; when I have weeks stretched out ahead of me with everyone home where I can be present in so many moments that I want to store in my heart forever…..and think about often.

A few from tonight……
Two little amazing friends having so much fun on the trampoline, Disney radio playing on my phone from the lawn, the trees blowing in the wind, and just these two giggling and plotting 'moves' together as they jumped.

Get ready to store some moments this summer.  When they happen, you'll know it.  You'll know they're the ones.  The ones you'll think about often and always and that are all yours…..how it felt to be in them, how they made you love your kids even more, how grateful you were for those giggles, those little hands, that kiss, that wink, that question, that sigh, that smell, and that look.

Luke 2:19 this summer.
It's my new verb.  

Six year old recap….

A little late on the six year old birthday party recap.  But…..we've been busy-ish around here in all good ways and just working on other stuff here and there even though I always want to make sure I capture these memories in this space.

The new Cinderella movie came out at the perfect time and Georgia decided she wanted to take a group of her classmates to the movie and out for frozen yogurt.  I was game for that since it was minimal planning and offered built in entertainment.

It also provided me at least fifteen trips to the bathroom during the course of the movie as inevitably each little girl had to use the restroom at different times and never when a friend was going (thank goodness my mom was with us so we could tag team who stayed in the theater and who visited the facilities).  So, Cinderella seemed pretty good.  I'll need to watch it again at a later date to fill in the holes.

It was a fun afternoon and I always love the chance to hang out with Georgia's friends a little more.  She's met such an amazing group of girls this year at kindergarten and it's so interesting to hear the stories each day after school about how fantastic each one of them is, how beautiful so and so's dress was, what she had for lunch, how she's so good at making up games at recess, and how funny that girl is.

Later that night we had the family over…..and lo and behold……I might have won mom-of-the-year (at least this year) for our gift…..

G's cute twin cousins and a Cinderella cake made by Grandma Cathy. 

And then…..the mermaid tail.  It will for sure result in a broken ankle or something….but G's face upon opening it…..pretty spectacular.

And lest you think this is just a water toy and 'where are we going to be in water this time of year outside of our bathtub?' fear not….this gets worn while laying around the living room, in the shower, while sliding down the steps, while lounging on the kitchen floor, while practicing piano (beginner players don't have to use the pedals--thankfully), sometimes to bed, and anywhere else Georgia can talk me into it.  

Oh look….a mermaid on the rock in our front yard.  Magical. 

Oh look….that fin almost took one of Tarah's eyes out.  She's graduating from college soon and I think a mermaid tail just might be in her future.

Happy birthday you amazing six year old!  It's mind-blowing to Chris and I that we are here, with a six year old, who amazes the heck out of us everyday.  Who's exploding with new skills and observations and thoughts everyday.

She's our favorite girl in all the world and she makes our family our favorite place to be.

Right by my side.

An ode to Georgia.
On becoming a big sister….
all of a sudden.
And doing it with all the…
excitement,
love,
trepidation,
intensity,
and care that a big sister should have.

I'll never forget Georgia, that morning, November 11th, when you came downstairs and told me you didn't feel good.  And I gave you a hug and told you I loved you and asked you what didn't feel good and you just said….you felt hot.  And you did. You had a fever.  So we took care of that and then told you…..

we were going to meet a baby that morning, daddy and I, that hopefully we'd get to bring home to be your little brother. And you got tears in your perfect eyes and then you shrieked and laughed.  Because that's what you do, even when you are horribly sick (and now we know that you were) you push through and love life--every single drop of it, always.  And you said you were so excited and that finally, finally, finally you would get to be a big sister.

It was so fast.  We didn't even know our last night as a family of three was our last night.  We didn't get to prepare you, talk about what that change would look like, how life would feel different, what a brand new baby really meant, and how amazing you were going to be at all of it even when it felt hard.  And I cried about that.  I was worried about it and felt guilty and missed you and we hadn't even left yet.

And then we did, and you got sicker, and sicker.  And I just wanted to be home with you and introduce you to your new little brother…and just be with you…..because being with you makes me feel like me.  But we couldn't leave the hospital with him yet and it felt like a lifetime away from you as you headed to the hospital yourself.  And I knew you were safe and you were with people who loved you so much and you'd be okay….but……

just…..but.

And finally…..when we got home….you showed us….how you were meant to be Crosby's big sister…..a little brother born just for you.

You take it so personally when you can't get him to stop crying.
Probably, because normally, the minute he sees your face he flashes one of his famous little lazy smiles.
His first laugh was for you.  Naturally.
He is amazed by your energy (as we all are) and you can mesmerize him for a 1/2 hour as you dance and shake all of his rattles.
You can't get close enough to him.
You told me once that you love him so much it makes you want to cry.
And then right after that you told me it wasn't fair that he got to go to bed later than you.
You beg for him to be able to have a sleepover in your room.
You tell him you can't wait until he'll wrestle with you.
You are dying to give him his first bite of rice cereal next month--I think you're more excited about it than your birthday.

And the list just goes on.
You're doing an amazing job G. It was a whirlwind ride for us all back in November…..and you are just awesome at your new big sister job.  It makes me love you more everyday…..and I just didn't know that was possible.

You are right by my side all the time.  Helping, making me laugh, hugging me, you've even wiped a tear off my face a time or two when I was just so tired, and telling me just what I need to hear most of the time.  You're an amazing almost-six year old……just amazing!

And I don't think it's any coincidence that you loved this song all summer….and now….it makes so much sense.  And we've played it so much since November, even Crosby gives a little smile when he hears it.  It's your song--yours and the Cat Man's!  Love you G!

I Love It…..That Valentine's Day…and I Always Will.

It was a favorite of mine growing up and still is.  Even as a single girl with no boyfriend I loved Valentine's Day.  I think it's sweet and pretty and cute and not this huge blown up, overdone, drop hundreds of dollars on it holiday. We don't really buy gifts or go out for expensive dinners usually.  But we do eat lots of cinnamon candies, wear hearts, and paint our nails red.  Who wouldn't like that?

Last year I started a Valentine's Day tea party tradition with Georgia using the antique tea cups that I got from my grandma.  It's super simple.  We make a little craft, have some heart shaped cupcakes, a little bit of candy, and the girls of course, try some tea. I love it because it plants the idea in Georgia's head that Valentine's Day is about something sweet to do with your friends and that holidays can be fun with simple and special traditions.

A few pictures…….

Every little girl has a favorite animal.  So we made glitter Valentine's animal necklaces out of plastic animals spray painted with an eye hook screwed in the back of them.

And a few weekends ago Georgia and Chris went to their first daddy/daughter dance.  It was adorable. Adorable.  Between these cute little Valentine's Day celebrations and Crosby only getting up once a night most nights….finally……February is my favorite month of 2015 so far.

Love.  It's fun to celebrate it.  Love for friends, and kids, and everything sweet!

The Pledge of Allegiance & Math vs. Home.

Earlier this week Georgia told me she had this kindergarten thing down.  I mean after all, mastering the Pledge of Allegiance was her barometer for success and she was way beyond that.

Yesterday she told me she'd been wrong.  While she could recite the pledge like no one else, now she had to do math--and kindergarten might be harder than she thought.  I exercised appropriate parental discretion and did not tell her that math would most likely ruin many days to come.  (First time I ever got in trouble at school was for cheating in first grade; on a subtraction test.  It's seared into my psyche.)

But overall--we're doing well with this school thing.  As I suspected the hardest part for Georgia is the realization that she has to go everyday.  Everyday is hard for her--not because she's tired, not because she doesn't like it, not because she isn't making new friends (Paizlee & Ainsley & Kate; I hear about them everyday), and not because school is too hard….but because she LOVES to be at home.  She told me yesterday that she feels confused because she likes school a lot, "It's terrific," but she likes to be home so much too.

I get this girl.

I genuinely liked school.  I chose to keep going to school for my career. I live and breathe school.  I think being in a school is amazing.  AMAZING.

But I love being at home.  Everything about home I love.  And it's always been that way.  We lived in a red house on Bishop street growing up and I can tell you everything about that house even though my parents moved out of it almost twenty years ago.  The way it smelled, the sea green floral wallpaper in the upstairs bathroom, the window seat in my bedroom, where my favorite sweater hung in my closet, the little peach and brown floral stencils around the top of my sisters room, the secret passage-way that connected my mom and dads closet (the best spot during hide and seek games), and the TV cart with the antennaed TV that my parents would roll into our rooms if we were sick.

One of the things I was the most sad about when it came to Georgia going to school is the amount of time she'd be away from me.  The idea that the memories that would become fore-front in her mind might not be about our family and our time together.  But then I started thinking about myself….and I realized that's not really true.  School can be great--and we can love school…..but if home is great too--and we love being there as well………..home will always win out--even when it might feel like the minority of our day.

I can name you countless memories from school when I really think about it.  But, without thinking, when I just recall life in general, it's family vacations, family dinners, TGIF, shopping with my mom, baking cookies with my dad, building elaborate block houses for our little ponies with my sister, and doing crafts on the back patio all summer long that are just there……filling in the biggest spots in my mind…..edging out even the best memories of school for the makeup of my life.

And that's what I'm banking on for Georgia too.  She'll love school--the pledge, art class, Spanish, journal writing, PE (even though she's cried during PE both times so far), and maybe even math…..but I'll never let it beat out being at home.  And I think….if us moms can help our kids love school…..and love being at home…..we're doing okay.