This Time of Year…

I love this time of year. The smells. The songs. The sights.  The memories. The meaning.  It is just so filled with family and friends and food. 

Yesterday afternoon I started doing some decorating during nap time.  Adelyn came downstairs in my arms afterwards and saw the stockings hanging by the fireplace. Her eyes lit up and she gently whispered, “Christmas!”  It is a beautiful thing to witness this time of year through the eyes of my small children. The wonder and excitement of it all. It just makes it all much richer to me.

This afternoon we are surprising the kids with a family get-a-way/early present.  Chris has some vacation time to burn before the end of the year, so we’re headed to Duluth to stay at an indoor water park and go to a Christmas lights show for a couple nights.  The kids have no clue about it, except knowing there is a surprise awaiting them today.  I am giddy with excitement and woke up at 5 unable to sleep!

In other news as my blogging has been so sporadic lately:

1. I’ve begun remodeling the bathrooms in our home. I am tackling the guest bath downstairs first.  I had to remove wallpaper, fill holes in the walls, sand, and then paint.  I chose this color.  It is bold and bright and I love it. I am obsessed with this color lately. Hopefully it won’t rub off too soon!  I will post some pics on here when it’s all done!

2. Chris is in deep with the boys loft bed building.  Our play room has been taken over and is now the building, painting, and prepping station. We are going to paint them navy blue. I found new bedding for them with red, blue, and gray stripes.  They are pretty excited about it!

3. It is getting cold here.  It’s true.  It takes me about three hours to get the kids dressed and out of the house to go anywhere.   I still love it though.  I love how cozy our house is when it’s frigid outside. Just makes me want to drink hot chocolate, eat cookies and get fat!

4. We’ve been taking a parenting class called “Growing Kids God’s Way” through our church. It has been an incredible gift to Chris and I and has equipped us with so many new tools for parenting effectively.  One thing I realized that we were falling in to the trap of was catering to the kids with meals. I was starting to find myself making two meals at dinner time. Theirs would often resemble ours in some form, but it was still extra work for me.  During class last week we were talking about how many choices we prematurely give our children before they are equipped to handle them.  It dawned on me that meal time was one way we were giving them a choice to be picky and not have to eat our family meal.  I was nervous about changing those habits, but this past week has gone incredibly smooth!  They have eaten what I have prepared without much grumbling at all!  Now believe me, they don’t always scarf it down happily without any faces or protests, but for the most part they have not put up any fight!  It has made my life all that much easier!

5. I have gotten hooked at the gym.  Zumba is every Wednesday morning at 9.  My friend/neighbor Julie and I go together and position ourselves in the very front of the class.  Our instructor is named Rachel and man that girl is good.  It has become so fun because I know the songs and the moves now.  It is like taking part in my own little flash mob every week. (Which is so on my bucket list!).  I also have gotten in to a weight lifting class called Body Pump.  I do it three times a week for an hour each time.  It works every major muscle group of the body and it is paying off! I can see definition in my arms, feel it in my legs, and even have a small bit of definition in my stomach as long as I don’t bend over or slouch! Haha.  It has also helped my back get stronger and I have found that I rarely have back pain anymore. 

Those are just a few things happening in our little end of the world.  Pictures to come in the next post!

The Cutest Little Potty Trainee

{Showing off her mad dancing skills}

We are in the beginning stages of potty training little Ms. A.  She was pretty excited about having her big girl panties on and wanted to use the potty constantly.  Then she proceeded to pee on the couch – so needless to say we still have a long way to go!

I am no where near as stressed or as rushed with this whole potty training adventure as I was with the boys.  Perhaps partly due to the fact that A. I know she’ll get it in time. or B. She’s most likely our last child and I don’t want to rush her too quickly and truly have to say goodbye to my last diaper wearing baby.

First Family Vacation

 

A couple of weeks ago Chris and I snuck away with the kids for our first official family getaway.  We finally felt like we had reached a point where the kids were able to handle it and thought we could really enjoy a couple days away from it all.

We rented a rustic cabin at a state park here in Minnesota.  We went in the middle of the week and felt like we were almost the only ones at the park.  It was so secluded and quiet.  As quiet as it can get with these rascals at least!

We brought our bikes and rode some trails. We chased up deer and all kinds of critters.  The kids were in heaven!

At night we slept in this small 14x16 one bedroom cabin. There were two bunk beds.  Of course both boys wanted to sleep in the top bunk!  They loved it and did great both nights. We set up Adelyn’s pack and play between the two beds.  It was slick!

We played board games, colored, read books, had fires and went on nature walks. 

We came upon this 100 foot tower while out walking.  Adelyn and I made it up about 20 feet before we decided to turn back around. The boys on the other hand wanted to keep climbing and asked their Daddy to go with them!  They made it all the way to the top! I was such a mess.  I couldn’t bring myself to look up at them as they were climbing.  I took pictures of Adelyn to keep myself occupied!  I was a proud Mother once their feet touched ground again!

It is so awesome to be at this point in our family where it isn’t all about newborns and night feedings and diapers.  I loved all those stages, but I am loving this time of our life when we can begin to experience new things as a family.  There is nothing like being with those four precious people.  They are my glue.