Oh so punny...

So as we had leftover Manwiches from Cortlan's birthday for dinner, he says, "Wouldn't a Manwich be a warlock?"  It took me a second... ;)

Sometimes Plan B is Awesome

With plans to run with my running buddy suddenly derailed on Thursday, I was left with a few options:  1.  Run by myself at 8pm in the dark, 2.  Skip the run, or 3.  Figure out somehow to run that somehow incorporated the kids while John was at taekwondo.  I opted for #3.  It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my week.

The neighborhood across from ours is essentially a mile loop with cul de sacs that add another mile or so.  Though my original plan for the evening was to run about 5-6 miles, I knew that I had to adjust that goal if my kids were involved.  I decided that 3 miles would suffice.  The kids got their helmets and bikes and I laced up.

Initially, I thought my kids would be outpacing me by a bit.  We had a plan for them to ride around the cul de sacs until I caught up and then we would head to the next one.  It turns out that I can run up hills faster than they can ride up hills.  There were enough hills that we more or less took the same amount of time to make it around.  In some cases, I had to stop for a bit to wait, but they gave it their best.

The hills turned out to be a highlight for me, as behind me I heard Everly, pushing up the hill, yell "Victory is mine!!"

I started down the hill before they made it to the top.  But I knew when they were right behind, as Everly yelled, "Comin' in hot!!"

As we continued, finally finding a flat stretch where we could keep pace with each other a bit better, Cortlan said to me, "Mommy, I love that you love to run."  That meant the world to me.

And it only got better.  We finished the run/ride with a couple more stops (and Cortlan asking, "Next time we stop, can I have a hug?"), and made it safely home.  As I was tucking the kids in for bed, Cortlan tells me, "That was a happy moment in my life."

I completely agree.

Vow(el)s

As I was reading a beautiful book called Blueberry Girl tonight to my kids, Cortlan asked, "Did you have to read a poem like this and hope it came true?"

"What?" I asked, confused as to what he was talking about.

"I mean for your wedding.  Did you read a poem like this for your wedding?"

"Oh, no.  But Daddy and I did read our vows," I responded.

Then, Everly piped in, as serious as ever. "What were they?  A, E, I, O, U?"

Yeah, Cort, were you?

As we were leaving the kids' school today, Cortlan says, "Well, I am surprised.  Miss Michelle said she was going to tell you about me being bad, but she didn't!" 

Who needs Miss Michelle to tell us, apparently. 

"I really wasn't bad though.  It wasn't me."

Of course it wasn't.

"I got yelled at, but it wasn't really me.  Miss Michelle said I was being bad, but I wasn't!"  Cortlan continued on, telling us about his friends who were misbehaving, and the part he played in the whole thing, as we got into the car.

Meanwhile, we tried to get the real story out of him, even if from between the lines.  "Miss Michelle said you were being bad?  Really?  Is that what she said or did she say you weren't being a good listener?  Or did she say that you were being a little too crazy?" I asked, trying to figure out exactly what "being bad" meant.

But it was Everly who really knew how to get to the bottom of it.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, deeply involved in this conversation, she bluntly and very seriously asked, "Were you just jacking around?"

Hard to recover from that one.

The best campaign poster

Yesterday was election day.  I absolutely hate politics - especially for how devisive it is - but I couldn't help but love this:

 



Cortlan's class held elections for a variety of positions, and though he didn't win his bid for "Smart Board Teacher," he handled it well.  And you can't beat his campaign poster and his platform: "I will pick fun games."

As heard from the front seat

Cortlan (to Everly): I am staring at you because I don't like that sound, you know.

Everly continues to shake her ziplock bags containing her breakfast.

Cortlan: I hope those bags open up and then your food goes everywhere.

Everly continues.

Cortlan:  If your strawberries fly out and your bagel flies out, you will just have bags left, you know.  (Pause.) Then you'll just have to eat your bags for breakfast.

Suddenly, the noise stops.

Take THAT...

We had a really nice day yesterday, with a trip to one of the city's museums in the afternoon.  Several venues in the city were free over the weekend as part of a large event.  We took the opportunity to visit one of the museums that is not part of our membership and spent about two hours touring the exhibits... just enough time to not lose interest or be too tired, but certainly not enough time to warrant a full admission.  Perfect.

We left the museum at closing, which was 5pm.  Thinking it would be quicker to grab a bite to eat out (a rare occasion) than to go home and cook, we checked our coupons and found a restaurant that we had never tried before.  We got to the restaurant only to find that it wasn't open on Sunday...unfamiliarity with the hours being a clear downfall of trying a new place.  We were hungry.  Unfortunately, at that point, the only thing close enough and quick enough was Dairy Queen as a plan B.  Certainly not the type of restaurant we had originally picked, but it would do...and it has been a while since we have had an ice cream treat.

On the way home, John and I struggled to have some sort of conversation in the front while the kids alternated between getting along and bickering in the back.  At one point, I heard Cortlan threaten Everly with, "Well then you aren't going to be allowed to come to my 'Life is Good Festival'!" which is a festival that actually exists and we heard about on the radio, but one about which Cortlan knows nothing.  Apparently, he liked the sound of it, so he has developed some make-believe festival by the same name.  And apparently, Everly did something to warrant being banned from said make-believe festival. 

The conversations continued, and I more-or-less tuned the kids out for a bit, letting them have their own discussions while John and I had ours.  It wasn't long, however, before I heard, "Daddy?"

It was Everly, and she sounded a bit peeved.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to stay home with Cortlan on my birthday?" she asked.

We were confused for a minute.  "Stay home with Cortlan on your birthday?" I repeated for clarification.

"Yes.  Because he isn't allowed to come."

Ahhhhhh.....Cort, I think she one-upped you on the "Life is Good Festival" banishment. 

And she even covered for your supervision.

Can this count as 4 posts?

A couple weeks later and here we are. This is what has been happening.

EVERLY:

• has started calling her brother "Cotlan" instead of "Totlan."
• wore jewelry to school three out of five days last week; one of those days, she got her necklace taken away because she wouldn't stop playing with it, even when her teacher asked her repeatedly not to. She's not allowed to wear that one to school anymore.
• changed her clothes three or four times this morning before leaving for school. Ultimately, she wanted to wear a sweater. As soon as we got to school, she took it off anyway.
• has been getting out of her bed regularly at night. I finally told her that I am going to start marking down how many times she gets out of bed, and there are going to be consequences if she gets too many marks. (I have yet to figure out how many is "too many.")  Last night, she didn't get out of bed until 11pm, when she woke to go potty. (She won't get a mark for that.)
• loves cutting and gluing, is very good at recognizing her letters and letter sounds, and is very motivated to learn.
• thinks that she can spell, because she keeps randomly spouting off letters and asking me what that spells. For example: "Mommy, what does 't-t-t-t-l-p-l-r-y' spell?." Usually, I sound out what she spells and then tell her it isn't a word. Once, though, she said, "Mommy, what does 'e-a-r-l-y' spell?" I had to give that one to her. Cortlan was amazed she could spell "early".
• doesn't care much about saving things. When she is done, it can be thrown away.
• started gymnastics and loves it. Though, she needed to be sure to have the ponytail holder that matched the leotard she wore.

CORTLAN:

• laughs and says "You kicked me?? No you didn't!" when his sister clearly means "tricked." He calls her on her mispronunciations all the time...maybe that is why she has started to say his name right.
• was on "yellow" three out of five days last week at school when we picked him up. This isn't as bad as red, but he should be on green. His teacher said, "He was being way too silly with his friends."
• has been doing a great job at getting himself dressed in the morning. For the most part.
• seems to be taking advantage of his color blindness (for John's benefit: his color vision deficiency). Several of the worksheets that he has had lately have required him to correctly identify colors. For example, he was to color all of the pictures that rhymed with "boat" blue and the ones that rhymed with "jar" red. Other worksheets had him using as many as eight or ten colors. I asked his teacher how he has been doing with those activities. She said that his friends help him tremendously, giving him all of the crayons, telling him what color they are. "Here, Cortlan, this is the brown one! This is the red one!" I can just picture it.
• went to the allergist in August and found out that, among the things for which he was tested, he is severely allergic to grass, ragweed, two other weeds that I can't remember, oak, and cat. He did not show a response for crab, lobster, or shrimp. He is on a nasal spray, a liquid allergy medicine, and eye drops. Yesterday, at the follow-up appointment, we found that he may have to get his adenoids removed. An ENT appointment is up next to find more information about that.
• must save everything. It is driving me crazy. Every piece of paper. Every bottle cap, paper towel tube, even the used dixie cups he drinks water out of at school. He sobbed when I told him we were going to have to throw some of it away.
• started soccer again. He got a goal in the first game and was thrilled! The second game didn't go quite as well, but he did seem to enjoy it. He is really liking gymnastics.

JOHN:

• has been working hard and doing a great job at what he does. I am proud of him...it isn't easy to deal with as many people as he does with the grace and respect in which he does it. He is very appreciated at work and at home.
• has been able to experience the "gymnastics thing" this year which involves listening to a whole lot of moms chatting away in the viewing room. He is driven as crazy (or crazier) than I typically am.
• washes dishes like nobody's business.

I:

• have been wondering how I got such a high maintenance daughter.  Seriously. 
• can't believe that I spelled kindergarten incorrectly in two posts. And my mom had to call me to let me know about it.
• have been running regularly (though half the time not getting home until after 9pm) and finally was convinced to sign up for my 3rd half-marathon.  I have a running buddy that I get to run in the evenings with most days, and I have been loving the opportunity to chat and have some social time while exercising.  Often, it is the only socializing I get to do.
• have had some very stressful days at work lately, but I am kind of proud of myself in how I handled them.
• am somehow calmly appreciating my life.  I have alone time (kind of); I have time when it is just me and the kids; I have time when it is the four of us; I have time when it is just John and I...and I appreciate and enjoy all of those times for what they are.  I realize that I need all of that, and that it is all good.

He said, She said

I had to laugh the other day when I heard a scream and then Cortlan say, "Everly scared me out of heck!"

I had to worry yesterday when, after Cortlan asked Everly why she liked shopping so much, her response was, "I just dream about it."

Oh, what they say

If you read the post about Daddy-Daughter Date Night, you got to read the sweet quote from Everly about her feeling as though she was full of flowers.  This is a small continuation of that story, which happened later that night:

Me (to the kids): Time to brush your teeth!
Everly:  And get a shower!
Me:  No, you had a bath this morning.  You don't need a shower right now.
Everly: Yes I do! My hair is dinky!
Me:  Your hair is not stinky!
Cortlan (deciding to chime in, sarcastically):  Yeah - I thought you were full of flowers!

And another unrelated gem:

As we gathered our stuff to go swimming at my parent's house, I told the kids to grab their underwear, as they had their bathing suits on under their clothes.

Everly: You need to get your underwear, too!
Me (showing her what was in my hand): I have my underwear right here.
Everly (seeing only part of what was in my hand):  That isn't your underwear!  Those are for your bombs!
Me (laughing): My "bombs"?
Everly (pointing): Yeah!
Me: It is called a bra, Everly, which is considered part of my underwear.  And those are not bombs.
John: Yeah, they are boobs!
Cortlan: Hahahahahaha!!!

Gotta love it.

Happy Father's Day from the kids

What is the best thing about Daddy?
Cortlan: That Daddy is here.
Everly: Father's Day

If you could give Daddy anything in the world, what would it be?
Everly: A hug.
Cortlan:  A kiss.

What do you like to do with Daddy?
Cortlan: Go places.
Everly: Go eat.

What is the funnest thing that you have ever done with Daddy?
Cortlan: Go bike riding at Graham Park.
Everly: Ride bikes.

What do you think that Daddy likes to do with you?
Cortlan: Play soccer.
Ev: Ride bikes.

If there is one message you would like me to type for Daddy, what would it be?
Cortlan: I love Dad!
Ev: A cow one.

How much do you love Daddy?
Cortlan: For one million days!
Everly: 40 pounds!

Mother's Day 2012

I was standing in my bathroom on Sunday, fixing my hair, listening to the conversation happening in the living room between Cortlan, now five, and Everly, now 3, and it wasn't too pretty.  Suddenly, I heard things crash off of what I believe was the coffee table to the floor, and I could only deduce that it was Everly who had done it and that it was Cortlan's toys that went a flyin'.  It wasn't too hard to figure out based on the conversation that ensued, which went something like this:

Cortlan: EVERLY!!! Why did you do that?

(no response)

Cortlan: Fine.  I just don't care about you anymore.  I don't like you and I don't care about you.

(This was the first time that he had used the "I don't care about you" phrase, but not the "I don't like you" phrase, unfortunately.  There was still no response.)

Cortlan: Do you know what?  I am going to e-mail Santa Claus or write him a letter or tell Mommy to write him a letter and tell him that you shouldn't get anymore toys ever.  And I might break your toys so you don't have any.

(This got her attention.)

Everly: NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Cortlan: Well, you shouldn't do that then.

On one hand, I wanted to go in there and discipline them.  On the other, I wanted them to figure it out themselves.  On one hand, I wanted to cringe at the words.  On the other, I wanted to laugh.

This parenting thing sure isn't getting any easier.  And no, my Mother's Day wasn't perfect.  But I loved it despite the stinging words and the rain that fell from the sky.  I loved it because of my handmade cards and my special breakfast.  I loved it because I got to spend time with my family, including my own mom and my mother-in-law.  I loved it because I didn't clean or do laundry.  (Ok, that isn't true - I did have to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer.)  I loved it because I read the newspaper in silence on the sunporch and fell asleep on the papisan and didn't feel the least bit guilty. 

I loved it because I am a mom.

Rain

Cortlan's class was learning about the weather last week.  On Thursday, he drew a lovely picture of his favorite weather and labeled it "RAIN."  Since I had no idea that his favorite weather was rain, I had to inquire: "That is a really nice picture, Cort!  What made you decide to pick rain as your favorite weather?"

"I like rain because it helps things.  And I like flowers, and rain helps flowers grow."

How can you not love this kid?

A special visit

If there were more hours in the day, I would find something to do with them.  And then I would want more hours in the day. 

Thinking back on it, it is amazing how much we were able to cram into our four days last weekend.  I want to record it all, but I am finding myself without the time to do it all justice.  I certainly am not able do this post justice in the five minutes that I have before going to pick the kids up from school, but I am going to post it anyway, for fear that it won't happen at all.

I wish that we were able to visit my Grandma more often than we do (I am making a resolution to try), but I was thrilled at how excited my kids were at the mere mention of visiting Great Grandma on our last day of break.  I was a bit sad we didn't get to go over on Easter, but there is a limit to what we can do in a day, so a surprise visit on Monday would have to do.

We got there and the kids entered the house shyly, but all it took was an offer of a cookie, and they quickly began to warm up. 

"Great Grandma?  Do you still have that toy box?" asked Cortlan after we had been there about ten minutes.

"Oh! I sure do!" was the reply.

We all made our way to the livingroom.  Grandma brought out a big cardboard box from the cupbord that houses detergent bottle lids, blocks, empty spools of thread, old Matchbox cars, some train tracks that my PapPap made, some stacking toys, and other miscellaneous trinkets.  Then my 91-year-old grandma got down on the floor and started playing with my kids.

I honestly don't know who enjoyed the visit more - me, the kids or my Grandma. 

But I do know that we are truly blessed.

Weekend Recap

• The weather lately has me completely unproductive at home.  Typically, I clean on the weekends.  I just could not bring myself to spend hours in the house (and hence, keep my kids in the house for hours) when it is over 70 outside in March.  So, my house is a mess.  But, at least most of the laundry is done.  And we got more fresh air and Vitamin D than we have had in months.
• I realized that my kids have no summer clothes.  Typically, I do not need to have them at this time of the year, but it was definitely shorts-wearing weather this weekend, and will be for the rest of the 10 day forecast (unbelievable!).  So off we went to Target to buy some $4 mix and match shirts and shorts.  Cortlan seems to be developing quite an opinion as to what he wears, and his choices sometimes baffle me.  But I let him pick which shirts he wanted, so he better wear them. 
• Saturday was St. Patrick's Day.  Friday night, I put some fruited Irish oatmeal in the Crock Pot so we were able to have a nice Irish breakfast in the morning.  I had never made steel-cut oats before, but this recipe was delicious.  As the kids sat at the breakfast bar, I thought I might make them a special surprise.  I got out the food coloring and put a drop of green in each of their cups.  Then I took the cups over to them, and I poured their milk, which instantly turned green as I poured it.  I wasn't really trying to act like anything magical happened, as I thought for sure they had just watched me get out the food coloring and drop it in, but Cortlan's eyes lit up, and ever since, he has been telling people that a Leprechaun turned our milk green.  After nap - homemade shamrock shakes.
• We truly enjoyed the beautiful weather on Saturday.  It is so nice to see everyone emerging from hibernation.  Our neighborhood is typically alive with kids running around and parents talking once the weather breaks.  This weekend was just like summer.  Ahhhhh....
• The musical at the high school where I work was Peter Pan this year, and for the first time, I decided to take the kids.  Honestly, I can't imagine a better high school production than the ones that go on at our school, and Peter Pan did not disappoint.  We had seats in the fourth row and Cortlan absolutely loved it.  He laughed so hard even when no one else was laughing...the orchestra members were turning to look to see where the giggles were coming from.  He could not stop talking about it.  On the way home, he even said, "I just can't wipe the smile off of my face!"  I loved it.  Everly enjoyed it, too, and she did pretty well at sitting still and being quiet.  Though, I think her favorite part (besides when Peter pan did flips in the air) was folding herself up in the seat so her knees were in her face and then smiling, saying, "I'm stuck!"

It is in the genes (or not)

When Everly turned one, her aunt and uncle got her an American Girl doll for her birthday.  When she turned three, we finally let her open it.  Her doll's name is Lanie, and she came with a chapter book with Lanie as the main character.  Last Friday, after Ev opened her gifts from us, both kids played while I read a chapter of Lanie's book to them.  To be honest, there was so much going on, I didn't think anyone was even listening to me read, but I plugged on.  In the first chapter, Lanie described herself as a scientist; she likes to do experiments, and she also loves to be outdoors.  She said at one point that she thinks that her mom and dad and sister got "inside genes" and she got "outside genes," as no one else in her family enjoys being outdoors as much as she does.

Neither of my kids are stereotypical for their gender, and I kind of like it that way.  Everly was just as excited to get a GeoTrax remote control train (so she doesn't have to fight for her brother's) for her birthday as she was to get PJs for her doll.  Cortlan is just as happy to play with his sister's doll house as he is his Bat Cave and superheros.  But something Cortlan said yesterday while he was digging in the dirt kind of amazed me (for the connection he made and the fact that he was actually listening and paying attention to Lanie's story) and made me laugh (because it is so typical). 

"Mommy," he said, "I think that you and Daddy and Everly all got shopping genes and I didn't.  I wish I never had to go shopping."

Understandable, buddy.

If I were you

So we were standing at the bagging area of the grocery store the other day and Cortlan said to me, "If I were you, I would arrange the refrigerator by food groups."

"If you were me, huh?"

"Yes, I would arrange all the food by food groups."

The checkout lady chuckled.

"If you notice," I said, "it kind of is arranged by food groups.  The vegetables are in the drawers on the bottom, the cheese is in the drawer on the top, the meat is usually on the bottom shelf..."

And do you know what he said?  "Yes, but if I were you, I would do a better job."

Have at it, my son.

Happy Birthday, Cortlan!

I am now the mother of a five-year-old.  Crazy.

This birthday will be remembered for a number of reasons:

1. This was the birthday without heat.  We realized that our furnace was not working last night as the temperature began to fall rapidly.  Sure enough, the ignitor needs to be replaced.  We got ready for work this morning in a 60 degree house (it could have been much worse) warmed by two space heaters.  The breaker went off when I tried to blow dry my hair, but all in all, not too bad of a morning, considering.  We kept a heater going for Elly (the dog) and Dora (the fish) in our bedroom throughout the day.  They were fine when we got home; the temp was 58 degrees.  Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, all will be back to normal.
2. We listen to Sirius XM Kids Place Live all the time on the way to and from school.  On our way home, Absolutely Mindy is usually giving her birthday missions: she announces ten kids' names and gives them missions that they have to complete so they can become another year older.  I may have been the most excited of all when they announced Cortlan's name, where he is from, and that he was turning five today.  The funny thing is that one of the missions was to do a Freeze Dance in the living room.  Honestly, it was too cold to do a freeze dance in our living room.  We are postponing the birthday missions until it is warmer in our house.  That may be a later post.
3. Another result of the cold house was that we didn't spend much time here.  Instead, we went out for pizza - Cort's requested birthday meal - and frozen yogurt at Yum.  We had never been there before, but Yum is a place where you get to serve yourself from eight or so flavors of frozen yogurt and then choose from about a million toppings.  Then you pay by how much your cup of yogurt + toppings weighs.  Fortunately, Cortlan's was free for his birthday.  He chose an interesting three-flavor combination of gingerbread, vanilla, and very berry with toppings such as chocolate rocks, rainbow sprinkles, and snow caps.  Needless to say, his weighed more than the rest of ours combined.  Everly got a miniature version of his.  She simply adores him and is so proud that he is five now.  She told everyone, "My brudder is FIVE!"

4. The day ended with a few gifts and on a very high note.  Between the crown he wore at school and passing out his cupcakes to his friends, to recieving birthday phone calls (we have got to give him some more practice at talking on the phone), to the fun we had the rest of the day, Cortlan assured me he had a great day.  This was reassuring after last night when as I tucked him in, I excitedly said to him, "This is the last time you are going to sleep as a four-year-old!  I can hardly believe it!  When you wake up tomorrow, you will be a five-year-old!"  I had forgotten that this might not be the most exciting thing for Cortlan.  Whereas most kids are thrilled at the thought of growing up (I know Everly is), Cortlan instead came to near tears.  He more or less told me that he didn't want to move out when he was nine.  (Apparently, that is the age when parents kick their kids to the curb; that is when kids become grown ups.)  I explained to him that he doesn't have to move out at age nine and that he can stay with us for a long, long time.  His concern at that point:  There can't be two Daddys living at the same house.  (Apparantly, when you are a grown up boy, you are also a Daddy and that there is some unspoken rule that having a Daddy and then his Daddy living in the same house is a no-no.)  In my head, I was thinking, "You are darn right you won't be living here when you are a Daddy."  But I told him what he wanted to hear, and what is most likely the absolute truth:  "You can live with us as long as you want to."  As I left the room, he double checked: "Forever?"  I love him.

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy.

It was a Good Day.

I thought I had lost $30 the week before Christmas but this morning I found it.
I was eating my breakfast, which is the last thing I typically do before waking my kids, when one and then the other showed their smiling faces in the kitchen and said "Good morning!"
Everly brought me her pink tights and said, "I want to wea dese today!"

I wish I could say that I taught a killer lesson, but it was fine.
I did, however, have a student ask me about pursuing physics as a career, and I had a former student come back for a visit, which is always nice and validating.

On my way to get the kids from school, I stopped at Aldi's to pick up some peppers and chicken.  While I was there, I found Christmas Reece's peanut butter cups on sale for $0.99.

I picked up the kids, who were as happy as could be, and on the radio, Absolutely Mindy was asking her listeners what they thought makes a "good day." Everly said, "Sunshine."

We got home and I didn't turn on the computer, as I often do. Instead, I changed my clothes and got down on the floor with the kids. We played with the Loving Family dollhouse, the batmobile, and the batcopter, simultaneously. (The babies were superheroes and are, in fact, quite skilled at flying.)

I cooked this for dinner while the kids colored pictures for me.  ("Is this beautiful, Mommy?" Absolutely. "Look, Mommy! I made a "H"!" Awesome!)  And the meal was delicious.

The kids watched fifteen minutes of Sesame Street by request and learned about amphibians while I quickly cleaned the kitchen and read this blog post, which was recommended by a friend. I loved this post and consequently fell in love with the concepts of Chronos time and Kairos time.  

Chronos time is the chronological, sequential time that we live in.  As the author of the post says, "It’s regular time, it’s one minute at a time, it’s staring down the clock till bedtime time, it’s ten excruciating minutes in the Target line time, it’s four screaming minutes in time out time, it’s two hours till daddy gets home time. Chronos is the hard, slow passing time we parents often live in." 

Kairos time is the time in between, a special time, or as the author says, "Kairos is God’s time. It’s time outside of time. It’s metaphysical time. It’s those magical moments in which time stands still."

Kairos is the exact concept of the moments that I try to find and appreciate in my life.  The desire for Kairos may actually be the reason I write this blog.  Not every moment is a Kairos moment, for sure.  But sometimes I think that it is far too easy in this world, in this life, for every moment to become a Chronos one if you don't pay attention, if you don't slow down just a little bit, every now and then.

After my fifteen minutes in the kitchen, I sat on the couch with my arms around my kids who were snuggled up on either side of me and we watched a bit of Abby Cadabby.  I was present.  Without realizing what was happening, I felt my kids' skin, and I watched the smiles slowly form on their faces, and I watched as Everly got down from the couch and danced with reckless abandon, and I noticed Cortlan adjust my hand on his knee and hold his hand on top of mine.  And my senses were overwhelmed, and my heart was full.

What makes a day a good day?  Today, Kairos.  And sunshine.

A trip to see Santa

We took the kids to the mall yesterday to sit on Santa's lap.  Knowing that it is a different experience every year, we did a practice run in the car.

Me:  So, Everly, what are you going to tell Santa when you sit on his lap?
Everly:  Umm.  I want a Dora watch and  Minnie watch.
Me:  Ok.
Everly:  And a Dora watch.  (pause)  And a Minnie watch.  And a Dora watch.
John:  And a Minnie watch?
Everly:  Yep.  And a Dora watch.
Me:  Ok.  Got it.
Everly:  And a Minnie watch and a Dora watch.
Cortlan:  Everly.  Why do you say the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over again?
John and me:  (chuckling in the front seat because it is oh so true.)
Me:  Cortlan, what are you going to tell Santa?
Cortlan:  Ummmmmm.......
Me:  What do you want Santa to bring for you for Christmas?
Cortlan:  Um.  Legos.  And some Geotrax.
Me:  Nice.  Now don't forget to tell Santa nice and loud so he can hear.
Cortlan:  We will.

When we got to the mall, the kids wanted to go directly to see Santa.  Everly was starstruck.  The look on her face was one of nervousness, not quite fear.  She timidly sat on his lap, with Cortlan on the other side, and told him exactly what she wanted.  Cortlan then surprised us both by saying, "Everly, is there anything else that you want to tell him?" Part of me was waiting to hear her repeat the same thing ten more times, but she just looked at Cortlan like, "Wait.  We didn't practice this part!"  and she just said, "Ummmmmmmm..." until I let her off the hook by indicating that was all she wanted to tell him and that it was Cort's turn.  He told Santa the same thing that he told us in the car, in his quietest voice (of course), and then the kids got their picture taken.  Multiple times.  With only one or the other smiling in each one.

But oh, how I love the magical moments and memories of Christmas time.