"My am Sad"

Last night, I made Gavin and Graeme fish sticks as I knew they wouldn't eat the enchiladas on the menu. Toward the end of dinner, Graeme held out a piece of fish to Craig... as follows:

Graeme: Here Daddy!

Craig: Thanks Graeme! Thanks for sharing!

(And he gobbled it up. Then, Graeme looks at Craig, then at me and starts crying - with full frownie face.)

Graeme (crying): Daddy ate my fish stick! My am sad.

A lesson I suppose he needs to learn: if you offer something to someone, they just might take it. Be prepared to part with it.

Craig and I couldn't help laughing little, but then (since Gavin wasn't eating his) Craig took a piece of Gavin's fish and gave it to Graeme. Then Gavin started crying too.

I just had to laugh. They were both crying over a fish stick. And Craig was the bad guy without being a bad guy at all. I guess that's how it works sometimes too.

Urban Christmas Adventure

Here are some pictures from our Christmas adventure into the city this weekend. The kids enjoyed riding the carousel and I wish I could've captured Gavin's face while he was riding. So sweet! Graeme was a little cranky by the time we got to the carousel, so there aren't really any good ones of him there. But here he is with his "scary" face as he tried to scare all the pigeons at Pike's Market:

They weren't paying very much attention to him. Maybe they had seen some scarier sights.

Gavin's caption: "That's one of Daddy loving me!"

Our kid-friendly, kid-decorated Christmas tree with two monkeys in full view.

Gavin on his horse after the ride was over. Not quite as precious as seeing his expression during the ride, but I was afraid he'd fall off if I let go of him to take a picture. It was a pretty fast ride. I got a little dizzy. That was the most adventurous we were on our outing. Otherwise, we had a few yummy snacks and just enjoyed the day!

Yoga Room Completed!

I'm SO excited to say that I have my own yoga room... er, dungeon... but whatever. I can close the door. That's the important part. No toys, no trucks, and definitely no boxes of who-knows-what. Only my mat, some pictures, all my yoga books and magazines, and - if needed - our stash of wine behind the curtain. Just in case. (Note to self: put another bottle opener in yoga room.)

As you can see, it is very rudimentary without drywall or heat. I do have a space heater and some candles (Craig approved). And, an old Seattle SuperSonics sticker that adorned the wall just after I was born.

The idea, as stated before, is to wake up at 5am every morning and do a little yoga, then read a bit. Maybe plan a class, maybe write a little, maybe meditate. Just the idea of having a "room of one's own" is delicious, and hopefully I use it enough to keep me focused and sane as we move into the New Year!

Looking ahead...

Yesterday I received in the mail my Baker Creek Heirloom Seed catalog! I was surprised how excited I was... and now I'm already thinking about next summer's garden. (Let's hope for better weather!) I've been glancing at it all day and circling varieties I'd like to try. I have vowed (sort of) to keep to the things I know my kids will eat or things I can freeze and use later. That means lots of beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers... but lots of other stuff too. I think I'll just plan to buy peppers at the farmer's market though. I've had enough disappointment in that area. I've even got Craig thinking about how I could rig a light in our laundry room to grow starts properly... stay tuned... (oh, our exciting life!).

In any case, planning a summer garden is something hopeful on a very wet and somewhat dreary day! (Though we did have a few amazing sun breaks today!)

How Sweet It Is...

Since it is the Christmas season and Craig's birthday today, it has been pretty sweet at our house lately. I thought I'd share the sugar and post a few pictures from the madness. First, we have Craig's cake - a mixture of birthday and Christmas. Gavin helped me make it (mostly by playing in the "snow" with his cars) and I had to take over the decorating. (For those who might care, the noses are dried mango and the scarves are fruit rolls.) It was pretty yummy!

And, yes, the gingerbread gluttony! Here we have Graeme who at most of the decorations for his house. At some point, he did finally stop gobbling gum drops and started rearranging them instead. But this is what he looked like for most of the process:

Then there was Gavin, who was SO excited, and actually didn't eat much of anything. I was surprised. (Anyone who's seen Gavin around sweets knows what I'm talking about.) He did try a few gum drops and had the same reaction I had: "Eww! Those are icky." But he LOVED that his house had a functional door and he did eat a few round candies.

Overall, quite fun. Hopefully, it will create a bit of tradition without cavities. We brushed teeth well both nights (like always, right?) and we'll have a sugar break for at least a few days. Then maybe we'll do Christmas cookies next...

Life in Pictures

A few pictures from the last month or so...

Stories in cozy jammies.

Very proud of his "monster truck Mater" taller than him...

The sweetest outfit we've concocted yet... it had to be documented.

Sorry Graeme.

Friendly burrito with Sarah when the Thiel's came to visit.

One of my favorite pictures of Gavin.

No, he's not sleeping... just being a monkey.

Carry Me! Carry Me!

This morning Graeme had to have everyone downstairs to snuggle on the couch. Here's how it went down, as I'm standing in the stairwell waiting for him:

Graeme: Carry my pi-wo. (Brings me his pillow.) Carry my milk. (Brings me his milk.) Carry my George blanket. (Brings me his giant Curious George blanket.) My carry Monkey and Pengie. (He brings over his lovies to carry them himself.)

Me: Are you ready?

Graeme: Carry Monkey and Pengie. (Holds out his lovies for me to carry those too.)

-Big smile. He grabs the railing and starts down the stairs, as I walk backwards carrying ALL his stuff. No small load. -

Graeme (halfway down the stairs): Carry me! Carry me!

Me: Graeme I don't have any more room! My arms aren't long enough!

Graeme: Mummy carry me! Carry me!

Then he proceeds to sit on the second to last step and begin to cry. (Quite cute actually.) So, of course, my arms grow a little longer and I manage to pick him up and take him to snuggle on the couch. Big smile again.

Possibility...

Though I love the title of my blog, a recent post by another blogger has my thinking about how I might re-frame my perspective. Here's the link to the full post if you are interested:

http://whitehottruth.com/inspiration-spirituality-articles/beware-of-possibility-thinking-how-to-leverage-your-manifestation-ju-ju/

In short, the idea is that if you are always focused on things being possible, they may never manifest. You get stuck in this 'what if' scenario where your dreams are always just beyond your reach. They are possible, but without any 'stick-to-it-iv-ness', nothing really ever happens. You're kind of in limbo. This resonated with me, because I have lots of dreams and things I'd like to happen. My natural reaction to dreaming, however, is to take a nap.* While this creates a hopeful, rested me, it doesn't actually move me toward realizing dreams. Naps are far less scary than actually putting yourself out there.

*While this is my natural inclination, it doesn't happen really anymore. To be truthful, I'd still nap if I got the chance.

New challenges, new habits.

It's now December and things are beginning to change in our little world. The boys, of course, are growing like crazy and getting interested in big kids things like drawing, writing letters, and doing projects. (This means that I need to tune into my craftiness!) It has been fun to see their interest grow... Gavin has even been playing around on the piano with his "music notes". This is where he spreads out all the sheet music he can find and then bangs on the piano a bit. But it's a start, right?

My new project is trying to get up early. 5 am. I did it today and it felt pretty good, so we'll see if I can manage it everyday. For a long time, I've wanted (wanted? maybe realized it is necessary?) to get up early to do yoga, read, write, or generally get some quiet time to tune in and learn a little something. Now, however, I will be starting to teach a 5:45am morning yoga class at our YMCA on Monday mornings. So, I need to retrain my body so waking up early is normal... so I can me mildly functional in front of other people. To help them wake up too.

I've also got a few other 'irons in the fire' so to speak where I could be teaching at other places, but nothing is finalized yet. I'll keep you posted. I'm nervous and excited to be beginning a new adventure... whatever form it takes.