Just a Girl

Posted by Bree

King-Sized

We thought it would be fun to push the kids' beds together like a giant king-sized one.

Their room is so small that it takes up most of the floor space in the center of the room. We had just about gotten over the ridiculous night-time insanity of the two of them laughing and goofing together at bedtime when I had this brilliant plan to go and undo all we had worked towards.

My intentions were loving, I mean, I remember as a little kid the feeling of wanting to cuddle up with my sister at night so I wasn't alone. I know these two have wanted to try this forever, so..... we did it.

A normal bedtime gets them in bed at 8pm with cuddles for about 10 minutes and goodnights. They are both sleeping by 8:20pm (well, sometimes Chloe isn't but she is at least quietly resting) and then awake in the morning by 7:15am. With the giant bed, they have been awake until 9pm and awake the next day at 7am.

Today, they were both tired and cranky so they both laid down for a nap at 2pm. An hour later, I checked each of them, expecting my overtired children to be dreaming peacefully.....

Nope.

Looks like we will be doing early bedtime. Maybe separating the beds.... I don't know.

Posted by Bree

Crossing Over

I don't know when it changes.
I don't know if there's a moment that it switches over.

All I do know is that I found myself at the grocery store this morning with two wonderful big kids... and they were my own.

Evan was pushing the cart ("Don't guide it Mom.... Move your hand.... I want to do it by myself") and Chloe was walking ahead following the lines on the floor stopping every few steps and looking back for us ("I'm waiting for you Mom!"). And there I was, just walking along with them, shopping and feeling for once like I could think clearly. This is not a feeling easily or frequently attained while doing anything with young children.... my children. But today it happened. And I guess I'm just stunned.

All the trips out, training them to stay close, be cooperative, be helpful to mama, be quiet so I can think, stop when I say stop, keep moving when I'm moving, don't get too far ahead, wait quietly in the checkout line, don't grab things off the shelves, hold hands in the parking lot, walk -- don't run...... Sometimes I have thought it would be so much easier if I just did it ALONE!!! We go to two stores which takes about ninety minutes and feels like an eternity. It is so much work. just. to. get. food.

So when did it change? Today apparently. Today they grew up a little bit more. Today they considered all the things they have been learning and put them into practice. Today they were big kids helping their mom.

Today we walked past a young new mom with a baby carrier on the grocery cart who was just watching my big kids and smiling as we walked towards her ... and I remembered being her, being new and naive and scared that I wouldn't do it all right. And now here I am, and it's all working and I'm good at it (at least I think so :-) and I breathed a big deep breath as we walked passed this smiling face....... And I smiled too realizing that we were crossing over. Even me.

Posted by Bree

Squished and Smiling

They like to pile on in small spaces. Closer and cozier. Sometimes for a book, sometimes for a chat or sometimes just for a cuddle. I love it all :-)

And it makes them happy too:


(this is the kids' "sippo" face.... whatever that means.... but I equate it with happiness)

Posted by Bree

Polar Bear Club

This was a video we took of the day Evan stripped down and ran outside to the snow pile on the deck. After Chloe saw his do this, she wanted in on it. She had no idea what she was getting into....

So this was Evan's second time out and Chloe's first.

Polar Bear Club from Bree Monde on Vimeo.

What Happens in February

February leads to boredom.

Boredom leads to cabin fever.


Cabin fever leads to insanity.


Insanity leads to desperation.



Desperation will lead one to do this:

Then when you come to your senses a bit

you put on a light jacket and some boots and thin gloves

(no undershirt or socks thankyouverymuch)

and

go back outside.

Ahhhhhhh, that's better.

I think we may make it through the
February-blahs after all.....

Posted by Bree

Dad's Home

Let the sword fighting begin....



aaaaaannnnnd.....

Chloe's screaming.
That didn't take long.




Okay, where were we....
Oh, right.
Keep the swords away from Dad!




Or he'll attack....
aaaaaannnnnnnnnnnd
Chloe's crying again.




No wait.
She's laughing and crying at the same time.




Nope.
She's definitely crying.
Wailing actually.
It's pitiful.
And funny.



Everything is fine
as long as SHE has a sword.




She's pretty powerful.
And she has only one enemy.
Dad!!!




...who always ends up stealing her sword
which makes her fall to the ground
in mass hysterics,
instant tears flowing....




Not sure who's having the most fun with this game....




Chloe's back with a vengeance.
Seriously.
This girl's got some rage.




To Evan, this is child's play.
He is laughing almost the whole time.
Oh, and beating his Dad mercilessly
(which is pretty funny).




Chloe really doesn't like this tug-of-war part.
At all.




Oh no.....
She lost.




You know what's coming next.....






...she's rolling on the floor in tears
again.





Time to take a break.



Twenty minutes later she was napping peacefully.


The End.

Posted by Bree

More Hair

Okay, so Todd is wondering how a post about Chloe's lovely locks turned into a comment session about his .... um.... well, he's just wondering. So, here's more hair talk. Let's see where this one takes us.

If Chloe has the hair that grown women envy, my son has the hair any teenage boy in America would give a limb for.

Exhibit A:

It also has that great fluff factor all the boys like. Very springy (as evidenced while jumping on the trampoline).

I would really like to get my scissors on this mess. It's bordering on too much for me. But not for him. He hates haircuts. Plus he says long hair keeps his ears warm.

What is funny is that this crazy big "bushy" hair is entirely his idea. We kept his hair really short for most of his toddler years. Then one summer he just wanted to grow it longer.... and he's never looked back. Lucky for us it's in style. Especially after it's been brushed:

Teenage boys eat your heart out.

Posted by Bree

Long

The hair.

It's growing so long!

After a bath is my favorite,
all silky spirals and swirls
and streaks of blonde and brown.
I have hair envy for my three year old.

Posted by Bree

One Cold Hour

We walked around the block yesterday.

It was windy and freezing (somewhere around 20 degrees), but the sun was shining bright and it looked like a spring sky. Snow was crunchy and difficult to walk on in clunky winter boots. There were patches of ice all over the grass that made good "snacks" for the kids. Giant snowballs had been left behind by the plows that were perfect for pelting each other or smashing to bits on the sidewalk. Snow mounds beckoned to be climbed on, jumped off of and slid down. Some driveways were covered with ice for skating and slipping. Dragging sticks behind them, the kids made trails in the snow.

We just wandered.

And an hour later we got back to our house.

Posted by Bree

Legos

The giant collection of legos we have been borrowing from Jeff (a friend of Todd and me) has finally made it into daily playtime. We got these over a year ago and, with the exception of a box of lego cars and trucks that Evan plays with occasionally, he hasn't wanted much to do with them. Oh, and the cars and trucks he's been using were all built by yours truly.

Evan wasn't so much a fan of the idea of 'creating' something from nothing and really had no concept of following instruction maps... so confusing when you are five. But here he is at six and a half and he loves them now! Our living room floor is cluttered with his very own lego creations. And this boy has got some wild ideas:
And then after building, there is so much more fun to be had making modifications as only a boy could dream of. Check out the super lift:

Posted by Bree

Furniture

Todd has made peace with the fact that if he is at all still, whether sitting or laying or even leaning on something, he is furniture in our children's eyes. They see him stop moving and are drawn to him like a magnet. This phenomenon happens daily with his adoring and cuddly daughter. Evan uses his dad more often as a trampoline or punching bag or a car ramp. It is all in love and as much as it can be annoying, it is (like everything else) just a phase and he knows he'll miss it when it ends.

Posted by Bree

Vicarious

She is eight months pregnant.

I do not wish to be pregnant again, but I if I could.... I would do it all over.
I would do it the way she is doing it.

She's not under "modern prenatal care" and testing and appointments and sonograms.
She's having a home birth with a lovely midwife (who just happened to have delivered Evan and my nephew Luke too).
She's doing cloth diapers.
She's not afraid of anything.
She's using recycled hand-me-downs to save money (and the planet :-)
She's not stressed out about all the things she might be forgetting.
She's collecting neutral colored anything knowing it's only for a couple months until they can shop for pink or blue.

She's doing this the way I wish I had.
The way I wanted to (all except for that crazy cloth diaper idea... that's all her).

I have lived this pregnancy vicariously through her. Mostly because I have seen her literally every single day since the day she found out she was pregnant. But also because my experiences were so unlike what hers are and will be. Just the thought of it being different brings me comfort. She loves pregnancy and it radiates from her face. I did not enjoy pregnancy, but through her, I can. The natural home birth was my dream -- I was told years ago it was impossible in our state, illegal even, and couldn't do it. My goals were naturally oriented but virtually impossible in a hospital. So through her, I will experience one. Before Todd and I knew any better, we collected all the baby gear you can think of. We filled our house with clutter and then realized how useless and pointless most of it was (we did way better with the second kid, but still...). Through my sister I can experience the simplified version of bringing a baby into the world without all the accessories.

I am so proud of her. So proud. And so thankful to be a part of something perfectly beautiful. It has changed my attitude about pregnancy, childbirth and all that it encompasses.

And, soon I will vicariously change diapers too.
Or not.
That's the beauty of it all :-)

Posted by Bree

At It Again

He is always making faces.

I can't remember when it started.

To him, camera = mirror.

Funny reflection = laughter from the entire room

So I guess he does it because I laugh.

It's my fault.

Posted by Bree