Hello 2013.

It’s a little crazy that I didn’t post a single word in December. But December was a little crazy, along with every day of our life.

Last year, I resolved distinctly not to resolve to anything. We were right in the midst of life swiftly and quite effectively kicking our butts in one of the hardest seasons of our lives. I just wanted to survive it and someday be past it. I think maybe we finally are, but it took most of 2012 to get there.

Looking toward 2013 is new and exciting and different. I pray that it’s a year of growth, of peace, and of joy. I’d like to leave a few pounds behind, eat a few more salads (although I tend to oppress the health benefits with piles of cheese and dressing and all the reasons those aforementioned pounds are sticking around), organize the piles I shove in bins and boxes when I’m trying to clean and don’t have enough time to do it.

I want to cherish today. I really want to take more pictures and capture and remember my precious children just as they are now. I have to start writing down more of what Carter says, because those gems are too precious to forget. I want to cherish my time in the Word. I want to actually go on dates with my husband, something we didn’t do nearly enough of in 2012, and cherish our marriage. I want to cherish our friendships and the family we have in our lives.

I guess that’s my word for 2013. Cherish. Cherish means to hold dear and love, but it also means to care for. There’s an element of intention, a responsibility.

And I’m just going to pretend like Madonna didn’t ruin that word for all of time. 

Full of gratitude.

I am full to the brim with thankfulness this year. Overflowing, even.

I am so thankful for the little people in my life. My sweet boy who lights up my life, makes me laugh each and every day, helps me grow and learn so much. My wild girl who brings joy to my heart, with her adorable smiles and the best hugs, her sneaky antics, and the way she curiously observes the world.

Of course I'm thankful for lots of bigger people too. Among them is a husband who is as involved a father as he could be, who keeps me grounded and keeps me laughing (sometimes at myself).

I'm thankful to have the last year of our lives behind us, to leave some of the pain and frustration, but thankful to carry on those lessons learned and perspective gained in those difficult times. Although it's not perfect, I'm thankful for the season we're in. Thankful for our relatively good health, for little things like warmth in our home and cupboards full of food. For cars that drive us where we need to go.

For the new babies around us, and for the much-prayed-for baby growing in the belly of a dear friend (who I'm guessing will be happily passing up a glass of delicious wine this Thanksgiving).

We're thankful God is giving us an opportunity to help plant a new church, even though we're sad to leave behind the church we've called home for over 7 years and friends we've grown to love like family.

If I counted a day of thankfulness for everything I'm thankful for, I could probably go on for a year. A few days ago, Carter was running around the grass playing with his sister. Completely unprompted, he paused for a minute and sprinted over to me and said "I just told God a nice thing. I told him 'we're so happy you made us!'" I can't come up with anything better than those precious words. I'm so happy to be here, in this life, and so thankful for all the many, many blessings I've been given.

Parents of the year.

Courtesy of the New York Times, "Thrill-seekers watched the tide at Hampton Beach in Hampton, N.H."

Evacuation orders and natural disasters always bring about some interesting behavior, but these people really need to get their kids away from the biggest storm to hit the US, maybe ever. Especially that sweet girl in pink clinging on for dear life. She needs to be home snuggled with a blanket and some hot cocoa. 

Conversations with Carter

Carter really does say so many things that catch us off guard or are just so funny, I can't even remember them all. This is my attempt to capture some recent treasures-

Last night, when getting ready for bed:
"Daddy, it's getting dark outside. The earth is rotating."

Driving home from school, when I was trying to ask him how his day was:

"I'm not telling you about my daaay! It was just lots of things that were boring. All my friends were just ransacking. I'm just kidding about that."

The boring thing is a variation of what we sometimes tell him when he asks about work stories we're telling. Also, to my surprise, he correctly defined ransacking. 

He is so into Star Wars right now. When I picked him up from school, he was perched on top of a tunnel/toy thing they have and he exclaimed:

"Mama! I was racing to the planet! It was about to explode! but I saved it."

His teachers may start questioning our parenting. 

Weekend Recap

1. SeaWorld at Halloween with small children is awesome. Two words: Treat Stations.

2. Getting stuck at the top of the sky tower is not. Two things you don't want to hear from the ride operator: "the mechanics are on their way up" and "this is making me a little nervous, too."

3. Three story Targets are cool, but I think I'll stick to my one story Target.

4. Jillian Michaels is trying to kill me. Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred is not kind. I was yelling at the tv, and today I'm sore in places I don't even understand.

Hebrews 3:13

But encourage each other every day, while you still have something called “today.”

Sidenote: this is from the "Easy-to-Read Version." I did not know there was such a thing, but for some reason I think it's funny. And although it feels like a less Holy version of the Bible, I like this particular translation. And this spoke to my heart this morning.

Shock and awe.

This morning, Carter wanted pancakes with "whooped” cream. I am not normally the parent to indulge my child in dessert topping for breakfast, but it's Friday, it wasn’t a plate of it, and he was going to school soon after where he more than burns off his energy.

So I agreed, but I told him he had to eat it at the table. He likes to sit on the couch for his morning snack, but I’d very much like to phase that out. In the new house, he can sit at the table and still see the tv (our deal is that if he cooperates and is all ready to go, he can watch a show before it’s time to go). He protested, and I braced for a tantrum. I explained that I didn’t want food on the couch and that the new rule was that we were going to eat at the table. (Followed by “Isn’t that so exciting?! Isn’t that a great idea?!”)

Here’s where it got weird. He listened. He hopped down off the couch and came over to the table. Mark it on the calendar, the morning of September 21. The first time my son complied. Calm, rational, logic won him over. I continued to praise him about 5 times.

This is really amusing because I am just about out of ideas with his spirited defiance. These books are currently in my Amazon cart, while I’m weighing which ones to buy:

Taming the Spirited Child, You Can't Make Me, Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Child, Try and Make Me!: Simple Strategies That Turn Off The Tantrums and Create Cooperation, Making Children Mind without Losing Yours, and Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles, among others.

I know this isn't that big of a deal. I shouldn't really be so surprised that my kid listened. But anyone who thinks that doesn't really know Carter. Oh, that child. His purpose in life is to test and grow me. 

Four beautiful letters.

While it's sad in some ways to close this chapter, but we are so thankful to be done.

Play time

It has been a busy summer. Sometimes it’s been a good busy, full of family and parties and fun adventures. In the midst of moving, we packed our weekends with fun things to distract us from the craziness. We spent time at the beach, the fair, endless celebrations.

Last weekend, we had a free Saturday. Such a thing has not happened since April. I am not exaggerating.

Every Saturday, Carter wakes up and asks if it’s “Stay Home Day.” He asks this many days, with a bit of hopeful anticipation. On Saturdays, we get to tell him it is and he can barely contain his glee. He sometimes dances, sometimes squeals. The boy loves a Saturday. And I do, too, usually to get up and get out of the house, to go and do and accomplish.

So last weekend, on this illusive free Saturday, I asked him what he wanted to do. I was flipping through the options in my head… taking advantage of our Sea World passes, or the aquarium, maybe the beach or the park, the book store, we could do a craft or science experiments…

His answer? Play. Just play. In our house. Preferably in his pajamas.

I want to accomplish, and sometimes it’s sheer necessity that I need to cram in an entire week’s worth of errands and responsibilities into one day. I have lofty goals of planning the most fun day a family has ever had, and everything must be perfect. But Carter just wants to play and relax and hang out. I have so much to learn from that kid. 

and this is why childhood obesity is a problem.

I don't have the greatest eating habits. I have a fairly unhealthy relationship with dessert, I eat Taco Bell, and I've been known to make vegetables that steam in the microwave.

That being said, my kids eat pretty well. I buy organic baby food and made some of my own. Carter didn't have juice until he was well past 2 and even then it was mostly water and 100% juice. He rarely gets dessert and Avery's never had juice or chocolate or a real cookie. Carter is a fantastic eater so I don't worry too much about him, but I'm pretty passionate about children's nutrition, within reason and moderation of course.

Which is why I'm a little fired up. Avery moved up to the Toddler Room this week at daycare, so she now gets the school-provided breakfast and snack and we can opt in to the lunch program. The menu is just awful. Half the time breakfast is just cereal and milk. For a one year old, I really think they should get a minimum of a protein, grain, and some sort of low-sugar produce. Twice this month they're getting JELLO for snack. Jello is not an acceptable snack. Jello is basically sugar, water, and chemicals. Jello is barely a food. We pay what I consider crazy amounts of money for her care, we shouldn't have to send a different snack than the one included because it's junk.

I'm hesitant to say much because we're still relatively new there and I'm already a pretty vocal parent (not surprising) but does anyone have Jaime Oliver's phone number?