Happy New Ye...err, February!

It’s always good when your goal is to write once a month, and you miss the very first month of the year. Apparently, it’s February! Like, multiple weeks into February! I’d love the excuse that I was working on other New Years goals (going to bed earlier, re-watching the original Star Wars, you know, big stuff). But really the only goal I’ve been consistent on is yoga classes at the Y. These alternate between lovely stretches and ambitious bending that makes one cuss calmly on the inhale and cuss less calmly on the exhale. We tried a family yoga with the girls while Sheaff played basketball one day. Bria mainly made pretend snow angels on her mat, rolled herself into at least 8 versions of burritos, stacked/restacked the blocks, and then re-burritoed. (Hide and seek, Mama!). Addie paid attention adorably for about 15 minutes and then crawled beside me to say, “I’m ready to go now Mom.” Genetically, we aren’t wired to relax purposefully, but it’s great to try!

2018 has been hopping so far. After the chaos of Christmas (which was full of joy, new traditions, fun gifts, tacky outfits and the magic of believing), we were pretty ready for the magic of routine. Hilariously enough, between snow days, some cancelled-because-it was-cold-days, January holidays, teacher workdays and our little trip for Sheaff’s work, routine was rather elusive for most the month, though for very acceptable reasons. The cousins had a blast in the snow – perks of living near family! Bria is no longer scared of it; Addie could have sledded for hours; and Gracie was pretty hilarious to watch go down a slick slide –some serious air time at the end … do we sense a new Olympic sport? Now it’s above 8 degrees, so while it might be raining every day, we at least have rain boots, thus the ability to send small humans out to find the muddy puddles. #thankspeppa

Adalyn and Bria both love their school time and waving to each other when they pass on the way to the playground and such. Apparently in circle time when they go over what the date is (or any numbers), Adalyn gives reports on the corresponding LC basketball players for each number. Homegirl is paying attention!! Bria loves running to us all the time saying “I made dis! I made dis.” Often it’s art work from school, lego towers, or a piece of paper with 398 pieces of tape on it.  They picked out their Valentine’s this weekend; a thrill I almost forgot about until we had kids. Adalyn got Moana; Bria Peppa Pig. I hope their choices stay this solid through college years.

Both girls are getting into games. Bria gives all of us a run for our money in matching games, and Adalyn could play CandyLand for 8 hours straight (Bria mostly yells the colors and then wanders off with the mint or lollipop card). They love their lego building, fort building, making up crafts, and arguing over whose turn it is on the scooter. Addie was pretty anti-wheel the first 4 years of her life, but I believe the need for speed has finally hit.

Both girls love jamming out to music, and requested the Hello Dolly soundtrack so much that even Sheaff knows all of the words. If you had asked me 10 years ago (our first date! Feb 14!) if I pictured him driving our girls around in a mini van singing all the words to “We’ve Got Elegance”,” I would have laughed out loud.  But I guess I’m laughing out loud anyway, so the joke’s on you, time!

I asked Sheaff what the girls are into these days to see what I might be forgetting. His comprehensive list, with my subsequent notes:

·      YMCA/swimming (super fun, albeit exhausting)

·      Basketball (they know boxing out and defense! Yes!)

·      Olympics (Addie likes skiing and “the little guy.”)

·      Tickling us (parent note: while tickle monsters are supposedly hilarious, it’s really hard as an adult not to instinctively throw an elbow, especially when surprised.)

·      Gymnastics (they live for the trampoline track; coordination may or may not match enthusiasm)

·      Not listening (very selective hearing. also, attention span of the dog in Up)

·      Cooking (Addie really enjoys making cheese and mustard sandwiches for us. how…nice?)

·      Not eating (Bria thinks all real food is The Worst, and ain’t nobody got time for it)

·      Science (this week’s special: mixing-fizzing-colors to make rainbow crystals.)

As for Sheaff and I, our grown up worlds are exciting too. We did have fun at Sheaff’s conference at the Homestead again. Highlights included: eating meals at a reasonable pace without instructing anyone else to finish 5 more bites; hike through snow to test challenged circulation in feet; craft beer tasting in which Sheaff got both beer and a tshirt thus pure happiness; a good balance of fancy nights coupled with plain relaxing/catching up on This Is Us just in time for the ole superbowl cruelty. Sheaff’s basketball team is headed into the playoff’s, so you know, go Dad’s! I’m teaching two classes with great groups of students who really like to participate, aside from the 14 who have had the flu.  I’ve never washed my hands so much in my life.

As we head into the rest of Winter, we hope the rest of you are staying warm and happy. May your Valentine’s Day and February be as glittery and covered in red, pink and purple sparkles as ours!