Monday moments...

Hailey was so excited to be learning how to write in cursive.  She couldn't wait to come home and show me the letters they learned that day. 

Our waiting in the car selfie.  On Wednesday we spent about an hour and a half sitting in the car - waiting and chauffeuring the boys.  We drove to the middle school to pick up Evan's cookie dough from his band sale.  We got that in the car and waited for Evan to get out of play practice early so we could drive him to Ross Park for his DI meeting.  (The roads were snow covered and basically awful BTW).  We dropped Evan at DI and drove back to the middle school to wait for Spencer to finish with play practice.  Then we drove home where I dropped off Spencer and Hailey so I could drive back out to Ross Park to pick up Evan.  I think the TAXI sign must have fallen off my van.

Thursday was PTO skate night.  Hailey wanted me to rent her the "walker" but they were all being used.  She put on her brave face and did a great job.  She was slow and careful, but that is fine with me - we certainly don't need another broken arm.

Saturday we trekked up to the cabin to check out the damage from the storm and see if we could find Trent's keys.  It was a beautiful day - no wind, sun - a great day to hang out outside.

Evan and Trent were trying to start a winter fire.  They didn't have much luck.

It was so good to see the sun!  And that blue sky!

Hailey spent most of her time there making mini snow men.

Picking up the needles

Packing up the Christmas decorations was hard for me this year.  It is always hard for me but I think this year I finally figured out what bothers me so much about it.  As I pack up ornaments and pick pine needles out of every nook and cranny I feel such a sense of dread. I used to believe it was due to the holidays being over and that feel of the holiday season that I love so much being packed up and boxed away for another year.

As I packed up the Santas and the home made pot holders with my kids kindergarten hands shaped like reindeer on them I realized that a big part of what I feel is an almost paralyzing fear of the unknown.  These items that are going in their boxes are not things that are taken out monthly or weekly - they are going away for almost a year.  A year is a long time and we have no idea what our lives will look like a year from now.  The next time these ornaments or that Santa makes an appearance, someone could be sick or no longer with us - we could be facing challenges we know nothing about right now.

I realize that unless we possess and know how to use a crystal ball, unknowing is the very essence of the future, but for some reason right after Christmas it hits me hardest.  It always has, I just never realized what exactly it was until now.  This Christmas it was even harder as I read Facebook posts from an old friend who is facing cancer for the second time.  Cancer that he was told he was clean of a month before.  I don't know how that can happen - and it makes me so sad for him and scared for people that receive a good diagnosis that their situation can change on a dime.

I am extremely blessed in this life, sometimes so much so that I feel like I am just waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me.  I hate to think that way so I try to be as positive as I can.  I add my yearly notes into the boxes of the ornaments I chose for the kids and whisper silent prayers in my head over nativity scenes and stuffed reindeer that the next time we are getting ready to celebrate Christmas things will be as good or better than they are now.

Once the boxes are put up in the basement and the house is empty and clutter free the positive energy starts to flow back in.  I love that feeling too - the new year feeling of hope and potential - the affirmations that run through my head of this year I can be better.

Maybe that is just the way it works.  Maybe I need the terrifying low to feel the hopeful high. These three making pine needle snow showers in their pajamas always help too.

Monday moments...

On Tuesday we had our first snow day of the year!

Hailey used her snow day to sell some Girl Scout cookies to the neighbors.

On Wednesday she attended Cookie University and received her first GS pin!

 Friday night 7:15.  In my jammies and under a blanket.  Happy place! You know you are old when...

 Evan getting ready to try out his new Camelbak on the snow hill.  I don't know what the chef hat is all about.

Saturday afternoon Hailey's fondest wish came true when we took her to the store to spend her birthday and Christmas money on an electric scooter.

She has been riding it in a steady start and stop all around the "circle" of the house.  I finally told her she better stop or she was going to wear it out before she even got it on the road.  Spring can't come soon enough for her.

She put pillows and blankets inside the box the scooter came in and hangs out in there with her ipad watching movies.  It is her "theatre".

On Sunday, Evan and I cleaned his room.  We went through every drawer and shelve. We changed it around.  He was amazing.  He got rid of so much stuff.  All that is left now is his closet.  That is my gig - ugh - I hope I can get to it today and be done with one whole room!

I still can't believe it!

Monday moments...

For my personal theme of 2016 I am challenging my inner Elsa and trying to "let it go" (more on that later).  With that mantra in mind I was vacillating about doing a 365 day photo project this year.  I absolutely LOVE the one I did a couple of years ago but just was not totally feeling the commitment of having to take a picture every day. Yet I always have pictures on my phone that don't really warrant a full blog post but are still things I love to look back on and remember.  

That is where Monday moments came from.  I am going to try to post the random phone pictures that I have every Monday and that will hopefully quench my nostalgia thirst while not having the pressure of a photo a day hanging over me. 

Hailey's back to school breakfast face.  Don't think she didn't ask for a different one every day after this.

Birthday treat rainbow cupcakes.  Kind of a pain, but not too much of a pain that I would never do it again.

They looked pretty cool in the pan.

And turned out pretty awesome!  The birthday girl was thrilled!

Making mini cut out cookies with the leftover sugar cookie dough.

I love looking into her room and seeing her reading.  She is starting to do it a lot more.  She has discovered graphic type novels that seems to be less intimidating to her than a page full of words.

Bowling alley birthday fun!  I love this age.  We could just sit back and watch the fun.

A screen shot of a video that the cousin's sent Hailey on her birthday.  She watched it over and over. She laughed so hard at how excited they seemed singing to her and their crazy antics.