Carpe Diem

I wish I could write more here. Not for me but for you two. I want you know your stories, the love, the struggles, the mundane. January can be mundane, long, dark, cold days. Alot of people complain about winter. Alot of people also complain about summer heat too, so it evens out in the end. But I hope the two of you will be the type of people not to complain and wish away the days for warmer, beach weather but will take the day as it is given and do something with it. Sometimes the snow is quite annoying and the wind chill that makes your face hurt. But in January I love sitting in front of the wood stove warming our backs. I like catching up on watching movies. We probably watch 1-2 movies a weekend, today it was the Lego Movie (again). I like spending time in the snow with you two, making me laugh. We love skiing... and being on a lift, there is something so invigorating. The enjoyment we get skiing together has been immeasurable this season. It would be easy to complain, to just hibernate and wait for spring but that isn't your father and I. It isn't what we want for you both. Winter isn't always my favorite time of year, there is alot to not like, but that doesn't mean we stop living, stop enjoying life.

We can complain about our circumstances and weather and almost anything, really. But why waste the time? There are adventures to be had, we just need the desire to take them. Carpe Diem.

Gymnastics with Coach Alex. (you're the blur in the air)

Slides are extra slippery in the snow... slid right off the end!

The park playground is much more fun in the snow! 

After Leadership Circle with your class for MLK's birthday. You are holding the main sign. 

Glow Golf!

My favorite ski picture, maybe ever. Daddy is literally carrying 4 pairs of skis and poles.
He is amazingly talented! 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Surprise! We made a Rainbow cake!

I don't know who is more excited by this gift. 

Nora's first research project on the Adelie penguin. A life size cardboard cut-out. With a rock nest. 

Going to see Annie at the Hippodrome!

Lunch with Clare and Nick at Perri Perri.
Lucy is showing off her impeccable table manners. 

Saying goodbye before the show with real-life Nick and Ken-doll Nick. 

Melted snowman... made by Ashley and Skylar (before it melted). 

Just finished your first group lesson! You did awesome!

Snow day activities....

Snow day play.

New winter coat from Nonna (courtesy of Unique). 

2hr delay Birdie breakfast... we were ditched. 

Lu skiing for 20 minutes before packing it in for playcare. 

Child-free on the main lift! 

First tracks... we were the first ones down the trail. 

Hot cocoa break after lesson. 

Pizza Leone lunch... a huge stuffed lion stared at us during the meal. I took this picture from my seat. 

Lu and Daddy in the background. 

All by yourself. You don't need to hold onto anyone!

Lift ride together. 

Lucy will conquer the magic carpet, after taking a tumble off it. 

The only skier on the mountain who uses a paci while skiing. 

Love!

Winter Celebrations

Winter break has been restful. No airplanes, no formal plans. A little skiing, a few parties, some nights with extended family, some afternoons with new neighbor friends. We have exchanged gifts with loved ones and generally had a good time just being. Daddy and I redid your bathroom. I watched 2 full seasons of House of Cards in the evenings with a glass of wine.

The weather has been eh. Some days beautiful, mostly just grey and wet. We have watched movies and played alot with new toys. We have walked around town everyday, to the library, to the coffee shop, to the tea bar, just to walk and get outside. But that isn't something out of the ordinary for us. in fact, the first question you both ask when we get to our back gate to go somewhere is "Are we driving or walking?"

As the new year begins, Lucy will take a test for pre-K and you will start the final two-thirds of your Kindergarten year. You will be 6 in 3 months. How can that be?

I have been in awe of you and your understanding of concepts. I pointed out a make-shift menorah out of tea lights at Birdies, our coffee shop. In a quest to provide educational opportunities and questions during break, I asked you how many candles were on the mantel.  "Nine." you said without hesitation. "Well actually 8 candles and the shamash."
The what? I asked, baffled at your words.
"The shamash." you said, "It's the middle candle where all the other candles are lit from during the 8 nights of Hanukkah."
I immediately took out my phone and Googled: "middle candle in the menorah" and you were right, it is called a shamash. Who knew?

I can't take credit for your knowledge. Kindergarten curriculum has certainly changed since I was in school. Well I went to a Catholic school and I didn't take a world religions class until junior year of high school. This past December, you have studied Winter Celebrations around the world and how those celebrations use light in their festivals. During this unit you learned about:

• How Christmas trees symbolize Christmas. 
• St. Lucia Day (yeah Scandinavia!) 
• Kwanzaa as a celebration of family, community and culture
• Hanukkah & use of menorah 
• The use of Fanoos (lanterns) in Ramadan
• Diwali (Hindu Festival of Lights) 
• Las Posadas where you got to make your own costumes and carry lights around campus asking for "any room at the inn?" while using your Spanish vocabulary. It was adorable. 

I didn't even know some of these celebrations / religions existed until high school. You are only 5 years old teaching me about the universal use of light in winter to celebrate life, hope, prosperity and faith. All of these winter light celebrations were not taught in isolation, you learned about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah in Math and Music and Fanoos and Diwali in Art too. So even now, a month later, you have retained most of what you learned and discovered. To say that I was impressed with this unit would be understatement. I cannot believe the exposure and understanding you have gained. It seems so natural to you, this appreciation for other cultures and openness to the world. You know that other religions exist, heck, in your kindergarten, (21 in the grade, 11 in your class) you have Christians, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim students. In your little mirco-community, you have represented the 5 major world religions. What a blessing to know and grow with these friends and their families.

After I became a mom, I felt like my life broadened and at the same time, shrunk. I wrote in the last post that we live day to day. Surviving the week. Which is true but this winter break, we have had more time to ponder and chat. Now, with school and your maturing (almost 6, remember?), we have meaningful conversations. We discuss. We learn from each other. You ask me questions. I ask you questions. I see light in the darkness of parenting young children. I know one day we will have more meaningful conversations. You will be able to critical think and discuss topics on a much deeper level. But for now, the flicker of light, the moments of awe of your understanding of the world, makes me quite excited for the future. You already have a better understanding of the menorah than me. 

Snap circuit fun!

You suddenly seemed so old the other morning sitting in my classroom doing your homework. I sneaked a picture.

First time at our library sitting and reading a book all by yourself. 

Unexpected snow day the second day back from break. 

7 Year Itch

Yesterday your father and I "celebrated" our 7th wedding anniversary. It really wasn't much of a celebration. Nora, you had Frozen Gymnastics camp with Ashley and we left the house at 7:45am, not expecting to return until 5pm or so but Lucy started screaming and holding her ear on 795 and she didn't open her eyes because they were crusted shut. So I quickly drove you down to camp with Ashley but her mom got a flat tire and Ashley wasn't there to help you adjust and a huge meltdown ensued. At the same time, your father scheduled a pediatrician appointment back in Westminster for 45 minutes later. It took an hour to get to the camp. So we waited for Ashley to arrive and then I drove 80 mph around 695 and up 795 to get Lucy to the doctor (only 10 minutes late). Lucy was diagnosed with a double ear infection and an eye infection. Thankfully, your dad could go to the pharmacy and pick up the prescriptions, but half of our town must be ill since the wait for the medicine was over an hour. I was able to drive back down to Jessica's house just in time to pick you up at 2pm and watch your awesome gymnastics show! After, we did go to Chick Fila for ice cream and a few minutes of play before we had to come back home to get you, Nora, to your next event; a play date with your friend Catie. I finally got home around 6pm and Lucy had been sleeping for 3 hours. Your father and I woke her up and decided not to take her anywhere. Daddy ordered from Papa Joes, an authentic Mexican restaurant in town. I shared my quesadillas with Lu while she sipped on chicken broth and antibiotics. I fell asleep to watching some kid program only to be woken up to get Lucy to go to bed with me. So  Lucy and I watched an episode of Hour of Cards on the iPad and snuggled under the blanket of vaporized steam. Your father stayed up until midnight to polyurethane your bathroom floor. Daddy decided to tear up the bathroom floor and redo the sink in your bathroom last week (under the ugly linoleum we found beautiful tongue and groove hard wood floors, score!). And there was our anniversary. It wasn't all bad, your father made me a sangria for my quesadilla and we talked about what our intentions were if Lucy hadn't gotten sick. No cards, but your father bought me a desk set which is for the 7th year of marriage. I have yet to verify that information is accurate. Desk sets? Really?

But the 7th year of marriage is usually known for an itch / dissatisfaction/ unfaithful time / wanting something different.

I don't think we have time for itching really. With driving you two all over the place, fostering our work relationships and responsibilities, taking care of 2 kids and a dog and a 115 year old house, we don't have time to itch for something else. We live in the present, the now, the today. What do we have to take care so we survive this week? It isn't the best way to live but for now, with a 5 and 3 year old, that's where we are. But in moments of quiet and moments of solitude (few and far between) I remember the man I met 15 years ago. How I fell in love with his kindness and gentle spirit and his endless pursuit of having fun. I can't explain why I fell in love with your father. I wasn't looking for a relationship; I wasn't looking for my husband but here we are. I know something is "right" in my life when it just is. I can't explain why or how. That it is effortless. The two of you are effortless to love. You simply belong. That's how my love for your father began and exists. The love was just there one day. Like it had always been. He is my past, present and future. It is in his love that I exist. His warm spirit has surrounded me for 15 years. Although we have only been married 7 years, I can't imagine my life without him.

We don't need fancy dinners or flowers or cards or date nights to know our love. It exists inside the mundane days, the exciting events, the stressful times, the intermittent calm and/or boring days. We simply don't need a special event to celebrate / commemorate our love. It just exists within us between each other. A security and absolute rule that I can't explain.

So I guess I could itch for something different. A job, a house, a new group of friends or a car but never your father. Never his love. Never the life I built with him. He has always been and will always be the love of my life. When the house seems too clutter, when our jobs seem too stressful, when life seems to always be surrounded with illness, it is the love that your father and I share that holds us all up and it is the place from where we grow.

Happy New Year my loves.