Grace in small things: In which Zo wears 10 costumes at once edition (December 7, 2016)
- Oh my gosh, self-selected costumes are cracking me up this week...
- Luke refusing to strap into his car seat until he gets a "strap in hug." Also it can't be quick...if I try to make it quick because were late getting somewhere I get scolded for not hugging long enough...
- Kids making a terrific mess in Zo's room, and explaining it by the fact they were playing "Terror Kitties." Where the heck did Terror Kitties come from, lol?
- Floating orange lights in the distant sky out our living room window this evening...like luminarias floating up into the sky...beautiful...I've never seen anything like it...
- I've been singing the kids Christmas carols in the evening, but Zo especially is not OK with the traditional carols, instead I have to make them hippo (or other) animal carols by subbing hippos in where I can. For example: "Hark the herald, hippos sing, glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and hippos reconciled." I try to sing them normal and Zo says, "No Mommy, that's too boring." I love singing Christmas carols to the kids, even hippo versions, because one of my clearest childhood memories is singing them to my newborn baby brother, rocking him in the rocking chair...
Great day.
XOXO
Grace in small things, December 5, 2016
- Such a thrill for the kids to come downstairs and find their elf-on-a-shelf each morning. His name is "Mumpho Elphie," cracks me up...
- Finished X-mas decorations today with John Denver on my iPOD while I worked (reminds me of my Colorado childhood)...house looks amazing! :)
- "Dress up day" today...we were at home and I let the kids cycle through costumes (about 4 each) vs getting dressed...it's almost bedtime now and Luke is in PJs but Sis is in pink cowgirl garb...
- Kids are playing an elaborate make-believe game up in the loft while I sit on the couch up here and finish up work. "What are you guys playing?" I ask. "The fishing game," Luke says. "What happens in the fishing game?" "You have lots of powers and defeat the bad guys. Our hands blast lightening!" There are butterflies and bunnies too and oh my gosh, I've got to video this...this is too funny...
- We're getting some real snow...I think this week is the week I'm going to finally make it onto the mountain...I've been hesitant because the snow hasn't been that great yet...
Happy Monday!
XO
Grace in small things, December 4, 2016
- Out in the forest by Columbine (a little past Hahn's Peak) to get a Christmas tree today...my husband got the perfect tree for us...great day, even though it didn't go like it had in my imagination (e.g., really, really, really cold; a total meltdown on Bub's part; etc)...still...my Christmas-tree-from-the-forest dreams totally came true. :)
- Driving around to look at Xmas lights tonight at Sis's request...and such a thrill for the kids...love how much they love it...
- Sis: "I love holidays because there are lots of treats and pretty stuff!"
- Sis: "My favorite animals are sheep, bunnies, unicorns, and pegacorns!" (Pegacorns are the name she and her Daddy came up with for a mixture of a unicorn and pegasus...)
- Early to bed tonight...
XOXO
Grace in small things, December 3, 2016
- Snowy walk with Bubs today (love the look on his face in this last picture, it's just before he threw a snowball at me)...love having some one-on-one time with the kids...got some "Girl Time" with Sis today as well...
- Grocery shopping and some healthy food in the fridge...
- Luke so excited about the Hot Wheels track he made with his Daddy this afternoon...
- Xmas shopping done from the couch this AM, yummy cup of coffee in hand...
- Plans made to go to Clark tomorrow for a permit and then to cut down our own Xmas tree...so excited... :)
XOXO
Grace in small things, December 2, 2016
- Starting to decorate for X-mas...so fun...love, love, love this time of year...
- "Pajama Day" for the kids today...we really need occasional days at home like today without a million things happening...
- Sis is sooooooo much better after serious skin rash early in the week...so grateful...
- Sis, coming down from playing with Luke upstairs while I talked to a San Francisco friend on the phone: "Mommy. You're not going to be happy. We made a terrible mess!" (Said in the sweetest voice imaginable)...
- Big fluffy snowflakes this afternoon...
- X-mas packages starting to arrive...
- Takeout curry and a movie (Mulan, one of my favorites) tonight...think this is going to be our Friday night ritual this winter...
- Luke tonight at tuck-in: "Mommy, why are you sad sometimes?" Me: "Usually I'm missing someone who's up in Heaven, Buddy." Luke: "You know why I get sad? It's not because people died. It's because I'm hungry or because I need hugs."
- A fire in the fireplace and about to turn our electric blankets on and go spend some time on the porch with the stars and my husband and maybe some snowflakes and some sparkling X-mas lights and a small glass of whiskey...no place I'd rather be on a Friday night...
- Life is so good right now...so appreciative of every moment...
XOXO
Thanksgiving 2016
Such a lovely Thanksgiving with my brother and his family, including Zo and Bae hanging turkey garlands Luke and Zo made, Daddy story time, rides on the horsey tire swing, making a Christmas chain with Grammy (something I remember so well from my childhood), a chance discovery of a shop in Denver that sells whiskey + donuts (my husband was in Heaven) and a fun day at the aquarium. Also an incredible Thanksgiving dinner with relatives (thanks Jaimie!), lots of other yummy meals, my parents there, so great to see them, the kids all playing beautifully together (thanks Bailey and Bodie for being such great cousins!), Hello Kitty Uno and Sorry! and Battleship and Zingo, fun movies, a new puppy at the neighbors, warm fires built for us in the morning by my brother (thanks Ben!), lots of time with everyone and a Jeep with lots of fun new off-roading parts to drive home (thanks Ben!). And also Zo got sick and spent 2 afternoons in urgent care but she is on the mend...so grateful for Auntie Jaimie and all her great advice and love and support (thanks Jaimie!)
Let the X-mas season begin!!
XOXO
Grace in small things, November 22, 2016
- Zo's love for accessorizing her favorite stuffy, "Lambie 2"
- Takeout curry tonight instead of having to cook...yum...and grateful for one less task in a busy day...
- Work taken care of, laundry done, bags packed, a little present made with the kids...
- Light snow most of the day today...so pretty...
- Early to bed...
XO
Kid cuteness, November 2016
At the library yesterday, the craft was to make a "Thankful Turkey."
"I'm making a flamingo," Zo said. "Named Zoey."
Love her flamingo. And Luke's Thankful Turkey...he did the feathers on his own, no prompting...
Zo, at the store: "Mommy, let's get a Christmas tree!"
"We're going to get one with Daddy in the forest," I said.
"But what if wolves come to get us?" she asked.
"Don't worry," I said. "There are no wolves in Steamboat."
"But if there were," she said, "I know what we could do! Plug in a blow dryer, and turn it on, and it'll make a lot of noise, and scare the wolves away!"
Luke: "We're playing hospital upstairs with our stuffies. My duck has broken leg-itis."
The kids have been helping me make scrambled eggs in the morning. They call the shells egg peels, and when they're ready to scramble they say, "OK, let's kill the eggs!"
Zo: "What are dreams?"
Luke: "What's football for?" And, when a flag was thrown: "Why are they throwing banana peels onto the field?"
Zo: "Do you remember when we went to the playground last winter and got ice points?"
Me: "You mean icicles?"
Zo: "Yeah."
The kids have been describing objects (e.g. a fairy, a car) and then having me guess. If I guess in one or two guesses they say, "Yes! Record time!"
XOXO
