What they Share

One morning last week Nick went upstairs to wake the kids for school. When he got upstairs he found Isabelle's bed empty and both of the kids in Henry's bed. They had slept in the same bed all night even though they share a room where their beds are just feet away from one another. We remain unsure as to why they decided to sleep in the same bed, but it is clear they just love each other. This got me thinking of the ways they are similar since I spent last week focusing on their differences. 

Some of the ways Henry and Isabelle are similar:

1. They each really enjoy books. While they often have different topics of interest, their love for books is the same. They often act out scenes as Jack and Annie from the Magic Treehouse books. I pretty much love when they do this as it combines literacy with imagination in such a fun way. 

2. Henry and Isabelle share an unwavering love for Nick. They are truly thrilled each night when he gets home. When they greet him you would think he had been gone for days. They fight for the first moments of attention from Nick, but he always finds a balance and a way to make them both feel special. 

3. Isabelle and Henry love music and love to dance. Henry is more of a The Clash, Black Keys and Johnny Cash kind of kid. Whereas Isabelle is all about Arctic Monkeys, Rod Stewart and a touch of hip hop. I hope they never lose their interest in music as it is so important. Henry told me he is ready to take up guitar so he will start lessons this spring. I wonder what will capture Isabelle's interest? 

4. I know I'm their mom and maybe a touch bias, but Henry and Isabelle's eyes and smiles make every fight, fit and struggle worth the effort. They have an element of sweetness that can really make my day. 

5. Both kids have pretty extreme tempers. I'm not sure where they picked up on this quality because I am always SUPER calm. Just this morning Isabelle told me I was the meanest mom ever because I said if she wanted to change costumes for the 16th time she would have to do it on her own. She then screamed and cried for 21 minutes. I'm the worst!

I guess what I'm trying to get at in these last three posts is that I really appreciate the uniqueness of my children as well as the many traits they share. I really appreciate their closeness and how much they truly care for each other. I admire how creative they are, how free spirited they are, how they honestly believe Nick and I would not lead them astray, and just how intelligent they are in their own individual ways. I know there will come a time when they will not want to spend every minute together, share a room, and play Jack and Annie, but I'm going to go ahead and savor the moments and find joy in the giggles I hear coming from the next room. 

--maggie 

The Belle

I'll be honest, I'm still getting to know Isabelle. She's 3 1/2 and very temperamental. I'm not really sure what we are in for with her, but I think it's going to be rad. So, I will make an attempt to illustrate her personality as I did Henry's, but I think there is more to come. 

Isabelle:

Here are a few gems about my girl: 

1. Isabelle does not like anything. She either loves or hates. As in, "Did you like school today?" "No. I loved it." Or, "Did you like the movie?" "No, I hated it." 

No middle ground with her just yet.

2. Isabelle pronounces the word girl as gil. It is my favorite thing to hear her say.

3. She finds nail painting fascinating and will sit still and not speak the entire time I paint her fingers and toes. Once done, she will remain still and silent until I say they are dry. Then, she will spend another several minutes just admiring them. 30 minutes later she peels the paint off.

4. Isabelle will not name her dolls, babies or stuffed animals. If you say, "I love that stuffed monkey, Isabelle. What is its name?" She will reply, "There is no name. This is the monkey uncle Alex got for me at adventure land." Or, any description of how she came to obtain the object in question, but never a name. 

5. Like Henry, Isabelle thinks she is the funniest person alive. Here is her latest joke:

-knock, knock

-who's there?

-Woody Allen 

-Woody Allen who?

-What do you want me to do? Answer the door?

I have no idea what she is talking about, but she thinks it is hysterical. 

6. Isabelle loves Henry. I think it is because he mostly does what she wants and he doesn't seem to mind too much. She has him upstairs playing Sofia the First right now. 

7. Isabelle will not let me give her a kiss. Only Nick.

Here is an Isabelle story/quote from today.

Wednesday, 3:00pm

"Look at the sky, mom. I like to look at the sky and think about babies and princesses and pirates."

Isabelle is seriously funny. And, seriously challenging. She knows what she likes and would like everything to align with her wishes. When it doesn't, well, you know? She's three. I think as she continues to grow she will push the boundaries, but intelligently and with purpose. Isabelle is smart, strong willed and has two parents who love her very much. I think that is a perfect combination for an excellent leader. 

--maggie 

Oh Henry!

I've been thinking about the different personalities of both of my kids this past week. Really thinking about it. So, I've decided to write a post about each of them, but separately so as to not get distracted.

Henry:

A few gems about my boy:

1. Henry is terrified of rats and mice. Also, The Nutcracker play. And, Ratatouille.
2. He is not a fan of getting in trouble by people who are not myself or Nick. If he has a problem at school he tells me the second he sees me.
3. If the situation is risky, Henry is not interested. Not yet.
4. Henry is a sports fanatic. He likes to play them, watch them, read about them, consume them. He will sit with Nick in the recliner chair and watch most any sports event. In our basement Henry plays imaginary football games everyday after school. He has the basement mapped out for his games and involves stuffed animals as opponents. It's totally awesome. After dinner another round of football usually takes place upstairs involving Henry, Nick and, on occasion, Isabelle. 
5. Henry has a major temper and gets frustrated very quickly. Sometimes it is full on alarming how angry he can get and other times it is hilarious. Not to him. To me. 
6. I think Henry has a great understanding of other people's feelings and is pretty sensitive and caring. I think this is what I admire most about Henry. 
7. He has the greatest laugh when he genuinely finds something funny. Henry also thinks he is the funniest person alive. Here's his most recent joke:
-why did the coach go to the bank?
-to get his quarterback.
That's funny, friends.
Also, bathroom talk. Funniest thing to him and most annoying to me.
8. Henry digs Isabelle. I think he is a top notch brother and treats her with kindness most of the time. Isabelle really knows how to push his buttons and set that temper off, but I think they share a pretty special relationship. 

Here is a Henry story from last week.

Wednesday, 3:00pm
-Henry, I had a lot of fun visiting your classroom today.

- Yeah, I wish everyday was Wednesday.

-Why is that?

-Because that's the day you visit my classroom. I love when you visit.

-I love being there too. In fact, I think it would be cool to be your teacher.

-Yeah!

-Well. I take that back. I like that Ms. Denning is your teacher. She certainly does better with you all than I ever could.

-I don't want to hear those words, mom. It makes me feel sad. You could be a really good teacher.

I'm not sure I could love Henry more. Sometimes I think I am really screwing things up and that he will most certainly end up resenting me for all of the mistakes. But, then he says sweet things to me, treats people with real kindness, occasionally uses his manners without a reminder, and gets me every time with his  caring eyes and funny jokes. 

--maggie 

For Your Health

Here's the deal. I've been thinking a lot about my health lately. Maybe because of the new year, maybe because I can't really move or breath in the current pants I'm wearing. Either way, I am thinking about health. Not a diet, but my overall habits that make me healthy and unhealthy.

Here's my healthy list:

1. I go to the gym. And I really like it. I've even taken to Zumba because you get to do moves like these: 

And this:

I love me some Zumba and some alone time at the gym.

2. I eat plenty of vegetables and don't mind doing so.

3. I do a lot of work on behalf of my mental and emotional health which has a positive impact on my physical well being. 

Here's my unhealthy list:

1. I enjoy the sweets. All of them. I rarely deny myself. 

2. I don't love fruit and rarely eat it.

3. I enjoy the alcohols every now and again. But, mostly super sweetened drinks or very heavy beer.

4. I would most certainly rather snooze in the recliner than count calories. 

After spending some time thinking about my health, I went ahead and scheduled a physical with my doc. It took a bit to coordinate the appointment as I was trying desperately to find a time to go when I wouldn't have to take my three year old along. Because, ya know, going to the doc with kids pretty much sucks. I got an appointment during Isabelle's preschool time and was actually looking forward to going. I had a few minutes between drop off and my appointment so I ran into the store to pick up a little snack. Because I've been thinking about my dang health, I chose an apple. But, I wanted a donut. The person in line ahead of me wanted a donut too and bought one for .69 cents. My apple was two bucks. True story. That's not right, friends. 

When I arrived at the doctor's office, the receptionist informed me that the doctor was running 45 minutes behind schedule. I called Nick to see if he could pick up Isabelle from preschool since I would be late. He was unable to due to a meeting. I was not pleased with the situation. I went up to the receptionist to plead my case and this may have happened:

I may have started to tear up and possibly mention the fact that I just chose an apple over a donut because I wanted to impress the doctor. And, had I known I wouldn't get in to see the doctor I would have bought the biggest, fattest, sprinkle covered donut in the case. 

They let me in to see the doctor. I thought it was because they were worried about my mental well being. It was really because the person ahead of me cancelled her appointment. Thank the maker. 

I am glad it all worked out and I think I'm on the right track as I'm making a real erffort to consider the choices I make on a daily basis. It's for your health, ya know? 

Plus, I really want our kids to see us making healthy choices and I want to model an authentic positive self image. So, here's to two dollar apples and healthy beginnings. 

--maggie 

Slowin' Down

When you wake up to -20 degree weather and school cancellations, you have no choice but to slow down and stay inside. It wasn't until today that I realized how much I schedule in a day and I can't remember the last time I just stayed at home with the kids. We always go somewhere, everyday- school, the gym, the library, errands, out to lunch, appointments, etc. I think I have a stay at home all day phobia because when I found out I would not be able to leave the house today I kind of panicked. And went Pinterest crazy! I felt like I better come up with tons of activities for the kids or we all might not make it through. Here is my list of activities and their results:

1. Boil water, throw it outside. Fail. The kids just stared at me like I was crazy.

2. Blow bubbles outside. Fail. The kids just stared at me like I was crazy. 

3. Make a giant suncatcher out of ice (did this last night so it would be done today.) This is what the internets said it would look like:

Here's mine:

I can't get it out of the dang pan and when I finally do, I don't think it's going to look too cool. I didn't even bother showing this one to the kids. They've suffered enough disappointment. 

4. Freeze water and food coloring in balloons.

 Theirs: 

Mine:

This one I will not call a fail because Henry seemed to think it worked out, but there is a short back story as to why. On New Year's Eve, I had each of the kids make a wish for the new year and as they wished they threw sprinkles into the yard. 

When I filled the water balloons I set them outside to freeze and happened to set them in the same spot as the sprinkles. Henry saw the balloons and freaked out with happiness because, in his words, "our wishes are starting to come true! balloons are growing our wishes!" To me, mission accomplished. To him, magic was happening. When I cut the balloons off of the frozen ice he was even more blown away by the colored ice. He thinks his wish will be realized once they melt. I wonder what he wished for??? 

5. I bought the supplies to make slime with the kids. I'm still waiting for enough courage to try this with them. I think can. I think I can. 

The reality of our freeze day at home is this: 

The kids like being home. They are playing nicely together upstairs as I type. We are all wearing some version of a sweatsuit and have enjoyed cartoons, pancakes and Nintendo so far today. They don't need constant cool activities or days spent on the run. I am happy to be home with them today and we are all thankful for the warmth from our furnace and the companionship we share. 

(But, check with me tomorrow. Just got a call that school is cancelled again tomorrow.)

--maggie 

For Auld Lang Syne

Well, we have an ice dam in the middle of our roof. We found out about this prob after returning home from spending Christmas in Iowa. Here's what we saw in the living room:

The damn dam caused a leak in the attic which resulted in the above ceiling situation. It kinda really sucks. We had just returned home from a lovely, almost drama free holiday to have to deal with an ice dam. After freaking out, I realized things could be worse and I needed to take it down a notch. Nick figured all of it out with insurance and a removal company and the dang dam is gone. I then decided to reflect on 2013 as a way of remembering the wonderful things about life that brought us joy this past year. Here is a brief year in review, dedicated to the ice dam of 2013.

-- Spending spring break in the Wisconsin Dells with my sister and brother in law and their three girls. We have a lot of fun together and cousin time is the best. The fun memories keep us laughing even today. 

-- Celebrating my grandmother's 80th birthday in Wilmar. She's a real delight and I look forward to helping her celebrate many more years. 

-- My ma helped me completely reorganize, clean, and fix up our nasty basement. This is a real accomplishment because it provides another space for our kids to play. Have I mentioned our house is super small? 

-- Isabelle joined her first dance class. She now hates everything, but dance class.

-- I went to Washington DC to meet my niece and help celebrate my nephew's third birthday. Every minute spent with my sister and her family was so important as I rarely have the opportunity to fly out to see them. What a wonderful family they have. 

-- Soundset for the second year with my brother in law. I really love being introduced to new music each time we go. Looking forward to it again this year!

-- Summer was really awesome with tball, a cabin visit, pool time, and celebrating my mother and father in law's 40th wedding anniversary. 

-- In August I had the honor of officiating the marriage between two of my dearest friends. It was such a privilege to be part of something so wonderful. 

-- Henry started first grade and Isabelle started preschool. Both kids transitioned amazingly. Me. Not so much. 

-- In October Nick and I celebrated 11 years of marriage and I became obsessed with mini pumpkins. 

-- We hosted Thanksgiving for our family and then immediately moved into the Christmas season. 

Which, brings me to the current season. The season of reflection and resolutions. We spent New Year's Eve just the four of us. We ate dinner at our favorite local restaurant, had a dance party, watched It's a Wonderful Life, had too many drinks, had another dance party and listened to 89.3 count down the top 89 songs of 2013. It was a great evening.

For 2014, here's what I resolve: 

I will work on being kinder to my body.

I will work on being calmer. 

I will work on being kind to people. 

And, I will remember this each day:

"All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away."

Happy New Year, friends.