Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

I had the loveliest Christmas Day . . . and took almost no pictures. Yay for just being present. Here are a couple of the ones I did manage to take. I know that others who were around took more. I'll get them eventually. Right now, I'm still tripping over train parts and Duplos, so the memories are quite vivid, thankyouverymuch. So, Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

Ready for morning!

Santa brought Minnie's house!

And some "tucks!"

And yesterday's (not)substantial snowfall meant the kids had to play in it.

1/2 inch won't stop them!

Meanwhile, 2016 is about to begin. 

I'm not usually into resolutions, but I'm doing a little goal setting this year anyway. Read more. Write more. Be present more and on my phone less. That may or may not mean I'm around more. I hope it means that I am. 

I, as I always do, jumped on Jennifer Fullwiler's Saint Generator train to select a patron saint for the year. I got Blessed (soon to be Saint) Teresa of Calcutta (i.e. Mother Teresa). Sounds like a good choice to me! :-)

The bigger question, for me, is a word of the year. I didn't do one last year, for whatever reason that I don't recall, but I know that my 2014 word, patience, came back over and over and over again, in so many different aspects of my life. This year, the word that came to mind is boldness. I don't know where that will take me or whether it will look the same in 12 months as it does now, but I'm excited to find out.

Meanwhile, here's my everybody's doing it Instagram #2015bestnine:

Happy New Year! Blessings in 2016! (And, above all, be safe out there tonight!)

This Morning

Hi there! I'm alive, and have the usual caveats of no promises if/when I'll be back, but I had a chance to type and something to say, so here I am.

Today started on a, "will I survive?" note, since Clare has been awake since 5:15, and going back to sleep, in spite of my best efforts, did not happen for either of us.

Then, Peter woke up and his crazy morning antics got me laughing and snapping, so I thought I would share a peek at my morning.

Most mornings, before I can lift him out of the crib, Peter insists on grabbing a stuffed bear or two. Today, it was three and his blankie . . . but one bear was bigger than he is.

Bear Crazy

Then, it was time for breakfast. I ate a bowl of oatmeal. After just the tiniest bit of debate and negotiation (ha!) my mini-me non-breakfast-eater agreed to eat some fruit and some milk. Peter ate a small apple, a clementine, a large piece of mango, a bowl of oatmeal, a cup of yogurt, and some milk.

Oatmeal not pictured (still cooking!)

After I took a picture, Clare needed one of her, too.

Look at that feast!

Not pictured was this interaction:

(To myself) I should change Peter out of his jeans so that he can wear them tomorrow, and I don't have to do laundry.

Peter starts crying in the basement where he was playing.

(Down the stairs) Come on up, Buddy, Mama's right here!

Peter climbs the stairs crying . . . and hands me his jeans! I don't even want to know . . . 

Then, wearing a different pair of pants, he sat down to watch a show while I gave Clare the bath she refused to take last night. 

Taking a load off

The plan had been to go play at the park and have a picnic, because we've had gorgeous weather, and rain/seasonal temps/indoor weather is coming back tomorrow. Then, as I was getting ready and debating which park to go to, I decided to forego the park altogether and head to the zoo!

Peter was, as always, so enthralled with the animals. I love it.

Ti-goh. Roaaaaaa!

Clare, unlike last time we were there, was obsessed with all of the statues. Last time, she was terrified. Today, we stopped at each and every one so that she could climb on them.

Up close and personal.

The second mini-me moment of the day came when she chose this route to the lion statues:

Yep, she scaled the boulders!

I'm still exhausted, and I still wish that we'd been able to sleep a little longer this morning, but know what?!? I've made the most of it. I didn't give into the temptation to throw in the towel when things didn't go my way, and we had a pretty great morning. <--Maybe writing that down will help me remember for next time! ;-)

(Pumpkin) Patch Work

Normally, I wouldn't dedicate a whole post to the pumpkin patch. I mean, it's kind of cliche, and I would probably just throw it in some sort of update/photo dump kind of post at some point.

My lil pumpkins with the pumpkins.

BUT

It was such a great experience for one simple reason: Peter had a great experience.

Okay, they were both a bit unsure of this one.

See, Peter can be Mr. Separation Anxiety. He just doesn't like it when his Mama leaves him. And that's very sweet and all. But I want him to run and explore and experience the world. He's (mostly) fine at home and a few other places, where he feels safe and knows his surroundings. He's reaaaaaaaaaally wary of people who aren't me (and sometimes Charles or Clare). When we're out and about, he tends to be very clingy, especially when we're with a group.

Not at the pumpkin patch. No sir-ee. I think he had the best day of his entire life. He had so much fun. He kept running off . . . and I'm so unused to having to keep track of him, that I kept "losing" him. I've never been so happy to not have a kid in sight range. At one point, he even decided he wanted to ride the train again, and did it . . . all by himself. #proudmama

I think Clare had fun, too!

And so, because Peter had so much fun, I had so much fun! I say it over and over and over again, but I love seeing my kids blossom and learn and really live. I love seeing joy on their little faces. Monday was all about joy for Peter. And me.

I cannot get enough of this picture. I mean, look at Peter's smile! You can't fake that.

Accidentally Amazing

On Friday, we accidentally had an incredible afternoon.

Charles had to go to Salina at lunchtime to work in a clinic there for the afternoon. He called on his way out of town, and as we talked, one thing led to another, and we decided that the kids and I would drive up with him and kill time for a couple of hours while he was working. We had no real agenda, just a decision that a little adventure would be fun.

So, I grabbed a bunch of stuff (water, snacks, shoes for the kids) and we were off. An hour and a half after Charles' initial phone call, he was dropped off . . . and I decided that rather than randomly driving around, hoping to figure out a plan for our down time, I would use my resources and Google it up. So I typed in park, figuring that running around and burning some energy would help the littles with the drive home.

And so, I happened upon Oakdale Park, which was huge and wonderful. I mean, maybe if you live in Salina you don't agree, but we loved it. We ended up staying until Charles texted that he was ready to be picked up. The weather was perfect: the sun was warm, and the breeze was cool; I was neither hot nor cold. The kids played and played and there was barely a squabble or shriek between them. 

Without plan or intention, it was the most perfect day. 

We saw the train.

Can you guess which kid was more interested?

We played. 

Clare was the "captain."

We made music.

We played some more. (And made a giant mess!)

And yes, they are both laughing. 

I mean, I know I keep going on and on about how great it was, but I mean it. We had the most lovely afternoon on a day I had planned on folding laundry and making a casserole. 

Isn't that how it goes oftentimes? We have these big, great plans that we are sure will bring us joy and wonder, and things go askew. For whatever reason, they just don't measure up.

Then, we let go and let God. We go with the flow. Grasp an opportunity. Do something that maybe even sounds a little crazy (e.g. drive two kids to Salina, KS, for an afternoon for no reason.) And it ends up being accidentally amazing. Totally amazing.

Why Yes, I Am Alive. Thanks for Asking.

I just haven't had much chance to sit down and blog. I have some ideas and thoughts that I'd like to turn into drafts, and maybe, eventually even hit publish. *Gasp!*

Charles had nights last week, and I made the decision not to try to blog during those evenings. I am a morning person, so when I try to write at night, it turns into mostly web surfing and, if I do write, it is pretty much not something worth reading or writing. I decided instead to just relax. I watched a little TV and read, and overall, it was just so.much.better. 

Otherwise, things have been pleasantly quiet here. Fall -- real fall -- is coming at the end of the week, and I'm excited. There's bread rising on the counter. Sweaters to pull out. New recipes to try.

Chalking. Helping in the kitchen. Eating apples. Blowing on "hot" food.

Life is good.