It's All Good

Let's just say that we are emerging from that winter funk that has had a tight grip on us.  Or at least the grip it's had on me.  Even the snow that fell on the weekend couldn't bring me down.  It was Easter and it was time to bring on some pastel colors, cook up some good food, and celebrate with our peeps.  

Yet another year without an outdoor egg hunt, but when life gives you snow, what's a family to do?  Make snow people, go for quad rides, pull out some lawn chairs, and await the rebirth of our earth that has been lying dormant for the last six months.

This Mom, who lives in Florida, has her family ship her autumn leaves every fall, doing her best to create the aura of the four seasons for her kids in a climate that doesn't allow for it.  I think of this as I attempted to create a pseudo spring indoors with brightly colored table cloths, spring scented candles, tulips and fresh flowers, Easter baskets, and colorful art projects.  Kinda like getting the placebo in the research project...sometimes it works.

I reaped the full benefits of the indoor spring placebo effect.  Getting ready for Easter brunch with our family, the extra at home day, colored eggs, chocolate bunnies with bitten ears, happy girls and smiling faces was exactly what I had been craving.

And when my house was full of people on Sunday, everyone talking and laughing, kids running and playing, fresh coffees brewing and delicious food smells floating from the kitchen...that is when you will find me in my happy place. Life is good.  It's all good.

Cabin Fever

The house is a disaster.  There is stuff everywhere.  Every surface is covered with random items like in one of those I spy books.  I spy a wet spiderman towel on the living room floor, gum wrappers all over the table, Barbie's wardrobe strewn across the room, a hairbrush and leave-in conditioner on the shelf, and a pile of movies spilling out of the TV stand.  Next to me on the couch is a CD player, a Sears catalogue, receipts glued to paper in the name of art, an open puzzle, kleenex used by someone, miscellaneous polka dot sock, and the list goes on.  Feeling defeated, I decided to make myself a cup of tea and sit down at my computer to write about it instead of cleaning in up.

Yesterday I was grouchy.  It was actually quite funny.  I knew I was grouchy and said to my family, "I'm grouchy today but I don't know why."  And the straw that broke the camels back you ask?  I opened the cupboard and the nesting bowls were not all nested together from largest to smallest.  "Someone" had just shoved a large bowl on top of the stack of bowls instead of putting it in its rightful nesting bowl order!  And this is funny because the entire house is a disaster why should a bowl out of place push me over the edge? But it did.  

My only explanation for my grouchies and freak out over the bowls is that I was suffering from a serious case of cabin fever.  Wikipedia suggests that therapy for cabin fever may be as simple as getting out and interacting with nature. But Wikipedia didn't account for the fact that it is precisely Mother Nature's shenanigans that contributed to my grouchies.  Nevertheless, I grabbed my camera and made my way outside after I stumbled over the thirty or so boots we have at our back door because that's how many boots a family of four needs of course.  

The fresh air helped.  A bit.  The smell of the barbeque triggered warm happy thoughts.  Watching Callie try to ride her bike and seeing Lexi drag the swings out of the garage gave me a fresh perspective.  They were making the best of an ugly, cold spring day.  Not worried one little bit about bowls, boots or what was for supper.  We can learn a lot from kids.  Some days you need to let the fun factor fuel your day. 

Today was a better day.  There is still way too many boots piled at the backdoor and still too much rubble all over the place but its all back in perspective.  Things will get done in their own sweet time.  Order will be made of disorder.  We had a good laugh over my nesting bowl hissy fit and now we're all calm and carrying on.  

Have a great week.

Looking For Spring

With skating lessons wrapping up last week, the calendar being flipped to April, and today being the last day of our Spring Break that must mean Spring is on its way right?  The girls and I decided to leave our snowpile and the dad behind.  We packed the truck full with snacks and blankies and iPads with the newly downloaded  movie Frozen and we headed out on an adventure in search of Spring.  On the open highway we sang our hearts out to our new anthem Let It Go, being sure to sing the signature line with as much conviction as we could muster up... the cold never bothered me anyway...

We didn't find Spring on our road trip but our adventure landed us in our favorite farm yard of my BFF.  It may not have been warm and melting but if you ask my girls this is one of their favorite vacation spots.  For some reason they think a house that has four kids is better than any all inclusive beach resort.

I love these kind of friend visits.  The kind where nothing needs to be planned.  Nobody needs to be entertained.  The kind where we just show up and join into their life, doing what they would normally be doing on this week in April because for them, Spring Break is later, closer to actual spring.  And joining into our friends regular daily life was full of experiences that were new and different from our own.  

The girls got to see their friends perform their Ukrainian dances.  They explored a different yard and tried winter trampoline jumping.  They watched as the school bus drove right up to the house. They made art at a different dining room table.  They put on fashion shows and enjoyed movie nights.  The list of small pleasures is endless.  Watching these kids reconnect and grow up together, getting to know each other better with each visit makes this mama very happy.  

Since we didn't find spring at my BFF's farmyard, the girls and I packed the truck up again and headed to the city.  If we couldn't find spring, then maybe we could buy it!  We had a girls shopping trip and loaded up with shorts and super cute sundresses.  Lexi got some fancy high heels and Callie finally got some tie up shoes that she's been begging for since she mastered the old loop and swoop technique.  

After some shopping, a Muppet movie and a night at a hotel, it was time to head home.  We missed the dad. And guess what...when we got home, the snow pile was a little smaller, there was a small puddle to jump in, and our Nana and Papa got home from their long trip.  All sure signs that we are a little closer to finding Spring.

I Just Do What I Do

The saying goes that being a parent is the hardest job there is.  And I get that but sometimes I think being a teacher has to be tied for first place on the hard jobs list or at least get an honorable mention or something. Teachers get to spend a lot of time with our children.  Our pride and joys.  The same kids that make us laugh, snuggle us, jump all over the living room furniture, interrupt us when we're on the phone, tell us stories, make messes, crawl into our beds at night...the exact same kids that we love to the moon and back and would do anything for...they spend most of their day with a teacher.  And since the teacher didn't have to birth my child and therefore be obligated to love her by default, I know that the jumping around and the interrupting and the story after endless storytelling is not quite so precious.

Callie got an award at school this week for Citizen Improvement.  I asked her if she knew why she got the certificate.  She replied, "I have no idea, mom".  I stumbled over trying to explain the award business to her. I wanted her to know that I was proud of her accomplishment, but of course I don't want her to think I'm not proud of her if she doesn't get an award at school.  I wanted to tell her that she got it for working hard at school, being a good listener, being helpful and kind but I had to correct that somehow because I didn't want her to think that she isn't all those things if she didn't get the award.  I think I said something like, "if you don't get an award it doesn't mean you're not a hard worker, it just means that you didn't get picked this time." "But why did I get picked, mom"?   So I told her she got picked because her teachers think that she's a good student.  

"I didn't know my teachers thought I was a good student, mom, I just do what I do."

She proudly hung her ribbon next to her medal she received last year and continued about, doing what she does...talk, tell stories, jump around, make messes.  You know, the things that only a mother (and teachers) can love.  

It won't be long before Lexi will be at school meeting her teacher and telling her stories.  Telling about having strawberry-banana smoothies at our favorite coffee shop and about how she loves hot chocolate and marshmallows and all things sweet.   

But before we even start thinking about sending Lexi off to Kindergarten, we've got a bit of snow to melt, some spring to be had, and a long awaited summer to experience.  And then there will be even more stories to tell.

Friday Night

Tonight, when I drove home from my workout at the gym, the sun was shining so bright I had to flip the shade down in the truck to shield my eyes. Thanks to the time change last weekend, we are slowly beginning to emerge from what I like to call "the dark days".  The temperature was a balmy -15 and I could almost smell a steak cooking on the barbeque and I had a vision of cold beverages being sipped on the deck. That's basically the only way to get through long, cold, dark winters...you need to look forward.  And if you have nothing to look forward to then you better make something up, quick!

I feel like painting things in our house...walls, furniture, whatever.  I want to paint in every bright, cheerful color imaginable.  But when I look around, I have no idea where to start, what colors to pick or what to do. And then I think about the mess and how helpful the girls would be.  And then I get overwhelmed so I sit down and watch home shows instead.  This weekend I'll settle for getting the outdoor Christmas lights unplugged (yes, not only are they still up but they're still turned on!) and maybe we'll get the furniture put back that we moved for the Smurfday party.  

So, what are we going to look forward to this weekend?  A whole bunch of life's little things.  Some more time outside, possibly.  Maybe a coffee at our favorite shop.  A movie and some snuggles?  

We'll have to see what comes our way.  Happy Friday Night!  What are you looking forward too?