Gingerbread Monsters

After dinner this evening the girls ate some of the gingerbread houses they had made before Christmas, with some help from their Daddy, of course. It got SO stinkin' silly at our kitchen table. Ben kept taking massive chunks out of the girls' houses, which in turn made the girls laugh hysterically. This led to all manner of silly jokes, funny voices, and other forms of just plain nuttiness. They were all being goofy and laughing so hard they could barely breathe. It was a great 15 or 20 minutes of delirium with four of my most favorite people.

Laundry Adventures

Today I am grateful for advances in the technology of clothes washing. I was pulling out of the dryer my fourth and final load of laundry for the weekend when I saw it: black spots on at least half of the girls' clothes. A similar thing had happened a few days ago when I was pulling out a load of laundry to find very similar spots on clothes. I had thought a pen must have been washed accidentally, but after combing through the entire load I had found nothing. Today at least I found a culprit in the form of a crayon wrapper - JUST the wrapper of a black glittery crayon. After having a calm conversation with Ava about not putting crayons in her pockets anymore (I did after all have to take responsibility for not having checked her pockets), I went about the task of examining every article of clothing. The clean ones got folded, the stained pieces got treated with some Oxy spray to be washed a second time. I was very grateful that for the entire time I had to tend to this load of laundry the girls not only occupied themselves but managed to do so peacefully. And while the stains did not come out entirely, after a second wash cycle most of the clothes can be considered wearable once again. So today I appreciate having solved the mystery of the black spots, having children who behaved while I had to tend to this minor crisis, and products that help clean our clothes so we don't have to walk around wearing spotty attire.

The Dust Settles...

After an incredibly fun and incredibly exhausting week, we finally found ourselves alone with nothing to do this afternoon. It was NICE. The girls continued to discover their new toys and other gifts. Then we ended the evening with a pizza and carrot sticks picnic in our pajamas watching The Muppets' Christmas Carol. It's a favorite of mine that we hadn't watched yet this holiday season. After so many days of going, going, going, I think we all enjoyed a quiet evening at home relaxing.

Movie Date

Today our holiday excitement continued (I told you it was going to be a crazy fun Christmas season!) with the arrival of Ben's cousin and Molly's godmother Bev. I was washing dishes when her car pulled up. I said loudly, "Girls, miss Bev's here." Within SECONDS, there was squealing and running outside - no jackets, no shoes, just gleeful kids that their friend had come to play. To give you an idea of how excited my girls get to have miss Bev here, it took only about an hour for this to happen:

As if Bev just being here wasn't enough fun, she offered to treat us to go see the movie Frozen. It was definitely Molly's first time going to the movies, and I'm 99% sure it was Jocelyn's first time as well. It was a blast: the movie was great, the girls were really well-behaved, and the planets even aligned so Ben was able to meet us and enjoy the movie as well. I VERY rarely go to the movies because I hate how much it costs. I was so glad that Bev suggested we do this. Sometimes, if you can spare the extra money, it's worth the financial cost to have such a special and memorable experience.

Even More Merry!

Christmas is far from over for the Sewards. Today we celebrated yet again, this time with our friends the Carlsons. They had their annual Christmas gathering, and for the second year we were invited to join in the festivities. It was a nice reminder that while this year we were blessed to have actual family with us at Christmastime, we have been able to form this "adopted" family who love us, support us, and include us as their own family when we have none physically near to us.

One of the moments that touched me most was when my girls received gifts from one of the other families that come to this party every year. This woman gave the girls gifts last year as well. Neither year were the gifts anything special - last year it was coloring books, this year those little wands with water and glitter and confetti floating inside. But this woman recognizes that for small kids it's often just the act of opening a gift that is exciting. It means so much to me that each year this woman has thought of my girls. Her small gift makes a huge impact on how special and loved they feel.

A Very Merry Seward Christmas!!

Today's post will just be full of pictures from our Christmas Day. It was a day full of fun and family and so very many blessings.

checking out the tree first thing

Santa came!!

Molly getting the loot out of her stocking

So back in October, Ava was talking about asking Santa for an iPod. After several conversations about WHY she really wanted an iPod (to listen to music? to play games? because all of her friends have one?), she ended up deciding not to ask Santa for this very expensive gift. In the end she didn't really ask Santa for anything, so he said he would find a good gift for a girl her age. Turns out Santa knew what he was doing - Ava got a simple mp3 player, and could not have been more thrilled (as you can see from her beaming face in this picture)

Molly made this request of Santa at the last minute. I was very glad he was able to come through with this, because it quickly became Molly's favorite gift of the day. (I also love that Ava is STILL celebrating in the background of this picture!)

Jocelyn's Santa haul included a new scooter

happily playing with the new Princess Sophia figurines

they fit rather perfectly in our castle we already have - all three girls were happy as clams

After Santa gifts it was breakfast time. Josiah helped Ben with the cinnamon rolls. He was SO excited to be able to help

It's dark, but Ava took this picture of the family eating breakfast. It may not be easy to see, but I think you can still make out the happy faces 

In our house, we've had the tradition of each person giving a gift to one other family member. This way we can spend a little more on a gift for one person rather than buying several little nothings for everyone. This year was Jocelyn's first year to really understand and participate in this. She had to buy a gift for her Daddy. As Ben opened his gift, I'm not sure who was more excited. It was so special to see the girls embracing the importance of giving as well as receiving.

Ava bought Molly a gift, and was bouncing up and down to see if Molly liked it

we all received homemade pillowcases from my grandmother; Molly preferred using hers as a "blanket"

we gave Zeke this hand-me-down toy as a gift. Although we didn't have a lot of money to buy big gifts for Kevin and his family, we wanted them to be able to open something from us on Christmas morning. We were so happy to have them share Christmas with us; I hope our small gifts helped show the great appreciation we had for them driving down to spend the holidays with us.

THIS was Jocie's gift to Ben: a track to shoot cars down. Jojo, Jocie, and Ben greatly enjoyed shooting the cars across the room together

Molly playing with her fancy new Barbie car (for the record, Ava is in very few of these pictures because by now she was busy listening to her new music player. We didn't see much of her that afternoon)

Baby Zeke, our Christmas cutie :)

the kids' table at Christmas dinner

Jojo, Marissa, and Kevin - can't say enough times how nice it was to have them here

For weeks now we have been getting cookies, candies, and other sweet treats from friends as Christmas gifts. I had even bought a peppermint pie for a special Christmas Day dessert. In the end, s'mores won out. Ben roasted the marshmallows in our fireplace fire, and the kids devoured their s'mores treats. Who needs fancy Christmas desserts when you have that kind of deliciousness? A great end to a truly great day!

Christmas Eve

Today was what I envision as the quintessential Christmas Eve. It began very low key - I spent a bit of the morning helping the girls wrap their gifts for the family, and spent the other time getting ready to have my brother and his family as our guests for Christmas. About mid-afternoon I stopped my preparations of the house to prepare myself, Ava, and Jocelyn for Christmas Eve Mass. After a lot of internal struggle, I had decided to leave Molly at home with Ben for Christmas Eve Mass - it is such a long service, it can be hard for well-behaved children to sit through, much less an antagonistic three-year-old. In the end I was SO glad to have made this decision. Ava and Jocie were wonderfully behaved, and I was able to enjoy Mass for the first time in a very long while. We came home, and shortly afterward Kevin, his wife Marissa, and their boys Josiah and Zeke arrived. We had tamales for dinner and the kids played before heading off to bed.

Today reminded me so much of when we prepared for one of our own children to be born. There was a calmness in the mundane tasks we performed - laundry, cooking, picking up - but with an underlying excitement for what was to come soon. Feeling this connection of preparing for my children to be born with awaiting the birth of Jesus made this year's holiday all the more personal and special for me. Today was a wonderful way to truly kick off what I'm sure will be a fun and blessed Christmas season.

Proud to have had these lovely ladies accompany me to Mass

... and as much as I adore her, I'm pretty glad I didn't attempt to take this turkey with us ;)

The Best Day EVER

... that's what today was according to Jocelyn. This evening we all piled into the van with dinner to go and drove around looking at Christmas light displays in the area. As we began our trip, Jocelyn said, "Mom, this has been the best day EVER!! We got to watch the Grinch on TV, we get to eat dinner in the car, we're wearing our PAJAMAS (they got into them before we left the house), AND we get to see Christmas lights!" It's such a blessing to be constantly reminded how perfect the world is in the eyes of a child. None of those things were really highlights to our day, but these small treats were special to Jocelyn and made the day extra wonderful. May I continue to see the world through these eyes and treasure the small blessings as the great gifts they truly are.

Spirit of the Season

Today began horribly. Frustrated to the point of tears by the end Mass, going home to get back in bed and forget the morning ever happened kind of horribly. I reemerged in the afternoon feeling slightly better but not much. It is a few days until Christmas, however, and I needed to take Ava and Jocelyn out to get family Christmas gifts. A few years ago we started the tradition within our family that each of us would buy one gift for another family member - Ben buys a gift for Ava, Ava buys for Molly, etc. This way each person could spend a little more money on a nice gift rather than a bunch of small gifts. Ava bought a gift for Molly and Jocelyn was buying for Ben. It took some work but Jocelyn finally found a gift she's really excited to be giving her Daddy. On the way out of each store we visited Jocelyn would say "Merry Christmas!" to the cashier as we were leaving. Each time it brought a huge smile to the face of the person she had said it to. This afternoon Jocelyn reminded me of some of the real joys of the Christmas season. It's not about how many gifts you receive, or even how many you give; it matters that you were thoughtful in your gift-giving and that the gift shows how much you love and care for another person. This season is also about bringing joy to everyone - not just those we like but anyone we meet along the way. Jocelyn made those cashiers' days a little brighter with her Christmas cheer, and that is a gift in itself. I was so glad to end my day being reminded of the spirit of the season - a season of selflessness and love and kindness.

Molly's Birthday "Party"

This morning we celebrated Molly's birthday for what I think is the last time this year. We had her birthday "party." I put the word party in quotation marks because it was honestly not much of a party at all. This is the first year that Molly was really old enough to understand about her birthday and getting a party, and she has had her own idea for her party. For nearly two months now, she has consistently told me, "Mommy, I want my birthday party at my house, and I want Mason, Gresham, and Logan to come to my party." Mason is a friend from the dance studio, and Gresham and Logan are classmates of hers this year. I don't know why these were the three who made the cut, nor why she didn't ask for anything more extravagant or fancy. But seeing as how this party was supposed to be about HER, I did as she asked. In the end Mason couldn't make it, so we basically had a playdate with cupcakes for Molly and her two classmates. It was very nice - the kids all played while the parents sat and chatted. It really didn't seem like anything special, save for the cupcakes and birthday song, but it was exactly what Molly wanted. She was a very happy three-year-old today, and in the end that is what made the "party" a complete success.

the party guests playing Lincoln Logs together

chowing down on her cupcake with green (her favorite color) icing

three silly friends

Marathon Day

This afternoon and evening were INSANELY busy. The timing worked out "perfectly" as it were, for me to drop off Ava at dance, take Jocelyn and Molly to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday party, only to go straight back to pick up Ava and be home at 7:45pm. It was nothing less than exhausting. I had initially planned to just bail on the party, since I thought there was no way I would be able to swing it all on my own. When I heard the time would work out as well as it did, and I considered how excited Jocelyn would be to go to her friend's party, I knew this was a crazy plan I wanted to take on. For as tired as I was when we finally got home, I looked at three happy and fulfilled children and knew that it was all worth it in the end. I am not even attempting to be productive anymore tonight - that is my personal reward for surviving chasing after these little socialites all day long.

Pick-Me-Up

Today I was in a funk. This in and of itself is not earth-shattering news - everyone has their "off" days, after all. What was weird for me is that usually if I am in a funk I know why. I had a strange dream, I am stressed about an upcoming event, I'm not on good terms with someone... whatever the reason, I can usually pinpoint the reason for my less-than-cheery disposition. Today I was making a conscious effort to identify what my problem was, and ultimately came up empty.

When Ben came home this evening, I was in the same crummy mood. He asked me what was going on, and I was honest with him: I'm in a funk and I don't really know why. He responded with, "What can I do to help?" My first thought and response was a request that he make the cookies I needed for teacher gifts tomorrow that I just wasn't excited about making. As soon as the kids went to bed, he pulled out the ingredients and made my cookies for me. It was a small thing for him to do that made a huge impact on my day. I am so blessed to have a husband who is so ready and willing to help in whatever way he can to make my day better. Tonight Ben was my knight in shining (and sugary) armor.

Angels and Birthday Fun

Our day began with a Christmas play at Jocelyn and Molly's preschool. It was very sweet and well done, as it is every year. Both my girls were angels and sang as sweetly as any angel ever has.

Molly ready to get this play started (this hands-on-hips stance is very typical of her)

adjusting the halo so it's JUST right

Jocelyn is always so excited to get to perform for her loved ones (this smile was for Daddy)

Miss Molly proud of herself for a job well done

In addition, today my "baby" Molly turned three years old. Three!! It's amazing to believe it's been three years since I was stressing out about having a Christmas baby and ruining someone's Christmas by dumping my older two on them. Molly had us prepping for the worst, then arrived at the most convenient time possible - the perfect third child. Three years later it seems not much has changed - Molly spent much of her day being toted around to her big sisters' activities, but we made sure there was time focused just on her as well. Ava and Jocelyn broke out into "Happy Birthday" songs at least once every 10 minutes or so all day long. It was a race to see who could share first with anyone they encountered that it was Molly's birthday today. It was a busy day as most Wednesdays are, but we took time out to have dinner together, share in some cupcakes, and watch Molly open a few presents. It was a great day to celebrate this spunky, silly, dramatic, high maintenance, independent, stubborn, sweet ball of energy we were blessed to have join our family three years ago.

eagerly awaiting her cupcake and birthday song

she literally sat just like this throughout the entire birthday song - SO excited

blew them all out in one try!

"CHEEEEEEESE!"

Prioritize and Trust

This morning I found myself in a bit of a moral dilemma. (This may be a tad dramatic, but we'll go with it.) Ava's class was making winter t-shirts this morning and the teacher had requested help from a few parents. I had said I could go in if she NEEDED me, but I was hoping to use one of my last childless mornings to get a few last gifts purchased. Teacher said they should probably have enough parents, so I didn't have to come and if I'd rather get my shopping done she'd understand.

So what do I do? Be the good and helpful person or be selfish? I decided in the end to go to the school. After all, we have all of the big gifts already. All I was looking for were a few extra stocking stuffers or small gifts to fill in under the tree. It will not matter in the least if the girls don't get any more than we've already gotten for them. We are all so blessed with material things; I felt I needed to focus more on the non-tangible aspects of Christmas a bit more.

In the end, the t-shirt painting went really well - the kids did a great job making sponge snowmen on their shirts and I managed not to ruin anything. AND, I was still able to run to the stores I needed to go to and got all the shopping done I'd hoped to. I felt like God was rewarding me - I helped others and was willing to sacrifice my shopping time, so he made my shopping easy enough to get done in the shortened time I had to work with. I think I need to work on doing this more often: trusting that the important stuff will get done, and the unimportant stuff is just that - unimportant. I was glad I made the choice I did today, which allowed me to share some Christmas fun and spirit with a few of my favorite first graders.

Channeling Betty Crocker

I am horrible in the kitchen. I don't like to cook much, and I'm not very good at what I attempt. Occasionally, however, luck is on my side. Tonight was one such occasion. Molly has requested to bring in cupcakes for her birthday snack tomorrow at school. So this afternoon I preheated the oven, mixed the batter, filled cupcake liners, and put the first batch in the oven. That batch came out... and was in surprisingly good shape. So I put my second batch in. Other than the batter making 3 less cupcakes than the box said it would, the cupcakes came out perfectly. While the last batch was baking, I started on my parmesan-crusted chicken so that as soon as the cupcakes were finished dinner went into my already-heated oven. I waited only a few minutes before starting the rice that would accompany our chicken, and threw the kids' nuggets into the microwave just as everything was finishing up... at the SAME time!! All the food was hot and tasted good - about the most successful I ever hope for in my kitchen. I in no way anticipate this happening again in the near future, but today it felt good to find success in an area that usually gives me nothing but grief and frustration.

A picture of my finished cupcakes - I'm not winning any awards, but they look pretty good if I say so myself :)

Christmas Card Cheer

I have so many things on my holiday to-do list, one of which was taking pictures for and ordering Christmas cards. Initially I was going to use one of the photos we took on Thanksgiving when we visited Santa at the Carlsons' house. Katy used her fancy camera and got a few great pictures of our family. The more I looked at them, though, the harder it was to see that sweet picture as our Christmas card. Don't get me wrong, they are perfect pictures - almost TOO perfect. Our family is many wonderful things, but perfect is rarely one of them. So today I took a few more pictures that I felt fit our family a bit better. They are fun as well as nice - they fit our family well. I won't spoil the surprise for most of you who will be getting Christmas cards from us this year, but I will tease you with one gem that didn't make it onto the card. It's great to have one more thing checked off the list and have it turn out so well.

Saturday the 14th...?

Forget Friday the 13th. Yesterday I had a perfectly normal, non-traumatic day. TODAY, however, was a doozy! The morning actually seemed positive and productive - I took a solo shopping trip and got several needed items as well as quite a few cute things for myself. In addition I had found myself in a bit of a babysitter crisis (I had dropped the ball on getting a sitter for Ben's work holiday party tonight) but one of our friend's daughters offered to swoop in and save the day so we were good there too.

Then this evening happened. In full disclosure, I am writing this the next day and therefore can look at this with a little more humor than I could last night. As we are driving to this "party," I discover it's not an official work party at all but rather just an informal gathering planned by a few of Ben's coworkers. Several minutes later, we arrive at our destination to discover that instead of the nice dinner with friends we thought it was, we walked into a dive bar in DC. To boot, it seemed there was quite an extensive ugly sweater/Santa Claus suit-wearing pub crawl we walked into the middle of. So now not only am I nervous about meeting Ben's coworkers for the first time (and making a good impression), I am now profoundly uncomfortable. I am dressed not SUPER nice but certainly nicer than 99% of the other people in this bar, a place I probably wouldn't have gone into when I was fresh out of college, much less now.

The other day, one of my meditation thoughts was to not let myself by "imprisoned by my comfort zones." I am not sure I could have been more imprisoned than I was last night. I am not good with life's curveballs; I don't adapt to surprises well. When we left last night I was a mess, feeling like the night was nothing short of awful. Now, looking back, I can see that while it was certainly less than fantastic, it wasn't all THAT bad. In the end Ben and I did get to spend some adult time together, which is never a bad thing. And I learned, or was reminded, that while life can throw wrenches in plans it is not the end of the world. I may never be naturally good at being flexible or going with the flow, but I can still learn from this situation and do a better job of stepping outside my comfort zones without totally losing my cool.

Meditation Magic

This evening I did a bit of meditational prayer. I am sad to say I have slacked a bit in my prayer life the past few days, and tonight I felt it catching up with me. I have a few devotional books on my nightstand, and tonight I read through and meditated on two of them. It is simply wonderful how a few moments praying and lifting up my worries, stresses, and hurts have completely recentered me. Life is no different now than an hour ago. But my views and feelings toward my life have changed. It's a shame I do this to myself from time to time - let my relationship with God go by the wayside. Amid the stress and craziness of being a wife, mom, and woman, it is even more important that I actively maintain my spirituality. Without God as my rock everything falls apart. Tonight I feel blessed to be loved by a God who never stops forgiving and giving second chances to make tomorrow better than today.

Early to Bed

Today was ROUGH for Jocelyn. Every few weeks it seems life in general just catches up with her, leaving her tired and unbelievably cranky. I had hoped that she would take a nap this afternoon, but circumstances of life made that not possible. Fast forward to 7pm, and the child had a meltdown of catastrophic proportions. I looked at her, and simply said, "Time for pj's, you're going to bed." That of course initially led to more wailing and gnashing of teeth, but by 7:15pm my middle daughter was in bed with the lights turned off. I cannot be positive that she went straight to sleep, but I can say that she did not reemerge from her room nor did I hear a sound come from the bedroom. I was grateful that she was able to settle herself and get some of the extra rest she so desperately needed. Hopefully tomorrow morning she'll awake a happier child, excited at the prospect of a new day.

Jocelyn's Prayer

Today was an exhausting day! The girls ended up having school delayed two hours this morning, which seemed nice at the time but in reality just made my day all the more hectic. Drop off Jocelyn, drop off Ava, get gas, come home for an hour or so to unload dishwasher and other random chores, drop off Angel Tree gifts to church, run in and out of Michael's, pick up Jocelyn, come home for another hour or so for "quiet time," pick up Ava, come home long enough to change girls into dance clothes, go to dance studio, watch Jocelyn's class, come home, cook dinner, inhale dinner, go back to dance studio to pick up Ava, FINALLY come home for good. I got just a little more tired writing all that out!

The end of the day, however, came with two treats. First was Ben driving in just behind us at the end of the day. He had been in Virginia Beach doing Navy Reserves stuff since Friday night, and we hadn't been sure at all that he would make it home in time to see the girls before bed. It was so nice for the girls to get to see him, even for just a few minutes, after having gone so long without him here.

The second moment that brought a smile to my face was Jocelyn's prayer. She has, over the past month or so, learned the Our Father - more or less. This is how it went tonight (as most nights):

Father, who works in Heaven,
Harold be thy Name.
By Kingdom come,
My will be done,
On earth in Heaven.

The rest of it she actually says correctly. A part of me feels I should correct her, and sometimes she asks me if she's saying the right words and then I will help her out. But there's something sweet in her interpretation of this prayer with all its strange phrases and big words. The wording may not be precise, but the sentiment is true - she is fervently praying to her God, and I am sure that her mistakes are overlooked for the love and devotion she is offering up each night. The feelings are there; the words will come in their own time.

A REAL Snow Day

The girls had off again today due to weather. This time they had not known before they went to sleep, but when they woke up, saw snow falling from the sky, and heard they would stay home, they were pretty excited for a fun day ahead. And this snow day was finally a FUN one. We had a few solid inches of snow stick to the ground. This snow was the sticky kind that made great snowballs and snowmen. The girls spent an hour or two playing on sleds and making snowmen. It was fun to get to see them enjoy a true snow day and make many cold but fun memories.

Ava and our neighbor Sophia finishing up their snowman

Molly was OBSESSED with eating the snow!

giving the inflatable sled a go

Our pretty snow-covered house

Smiling faces loving a real snow day

Unplugged

The kids had their first "snow day" off from school today. We knew about it last night before they went to bed, so they were all excited about having a day off. I was too... until our power shut off at around 8am. Then I got a little worried. Would the house stay warm enough? I of course had thought up great plans of making cookies and listening to Christmas music - how long until the girls started getting antsy without their go-to movies and other forms of electronic entertainment? In the end we actually had a great day. The girls managed to find game after game, pretend play and arts and crafts to keep themselves occupied. During quiet time, while Molly and I were resting, Ava and Jocelyn even colored and cut out Christmas decorations for their room.

Power was finally restored around 3:30pm. The girls almost immediately turned on the Grinch. I sat near a vent and enjoyed every hot breeze that came out of it. It was definitely nice to have the comforts of electricity back, but it was also fun to spend the day together finding creative ways to entertain ourselves and keep ourselves warm on this icy day inside.

"Snow" Day

Today it snowed for the first time this season. I use the term "snowed" pretty loosely - snowflakes were in fact falling from the sky at times, and after a few hours enough managed to accumulate on the ground, but the snow was broken up by freezing rain which made the weather outside pretty miserable. Nevertheless, you had better believe my girls looked outside, saw snow, and nearly lost their minds with excitement. I made them wait until there was something on the ground to play with, but let them go outside and play in the "snow" for about 30 minutes. (They actually came back in on their own.) It was a short playtime in the snow, but the girls had a great time, and I was glad that while I thought the "snow" was pretty meager and puny, the girls had a great time together making the most of their snow day.

Social Day

Today was a very long but very fun day. The girls and I first went to the Halls' house for my last Thirty-One party before the holidays (at least that I have scheduled thus far). The kiddos hung out with the older girls while I gave my spiel and partied. Then we went straight to the Allans' house to take part in putting up Everett's Angel Tree. Last year after Everett passed away the Allans put up a small white artificial tree and adorned it with only angel ornaments in Ev's memory. This year they invited a few families over to take part in this with them. We were so honored to share in this special, if a little sad, tradition. The girls and I came home from our day sufficiently exhausted but happy. We are so blessed to be surrounded with such fantastic families to call our friends.

Just Let Go

Today was not supposed to be a super crazy day, and yet somehow that was exactly what it was. Case in point: I left my house at 3:30pm and ended up not making it back home until just after 7! Factor in a Jocelyn and Molly who were experiencing cabin fever or just being impossible 4- and 2-year-olds, and I was pretty frazzled.

In the middle of this madness, I had to pick Ava up from dance class early so she could make it to a Girl Scout function by our house. I left the restaurant where we ended up getting dinner at 6pm to drive about 5 miles to get Ava. In my head, we would get to the studio about 6:15, she would change clothes, we'd leave between 6:25 and 6:30 and have plenty of time to get her to her event at 7pm. That plan deteriorated quickly, however, when it took me FORTY minutes to drive those 5 measly miles. I was tapping my hands on the wheel, fidgeting in my seat, willing the cars in front of me to magically start moving faster or even disappear altogether.

Then I took a step back. What was all my stressing out accomplishing? Could I actually will these cars to move faster or make me less late? No. So I took a breath (well, maybe four or five breaths) and relaxed. I called the dance studio after a while and asked that Ava be pulled out of class to change so she would be ready to jump in the car when I got there. I pulled up to the studio, Ava got into the car, and I drove as fast as I was allowed to (how I describe it to my kids). And you know what? In the end we still managed to get Ava to her Holiday Hugs and Hot Cocoa event five minutes early. I had a refresher in letting go of what I cannot control. All I did by worrying and stressing out was work myself up - likewise, my letting go of my frustration and anxiety did not change the outside factors, but it made me more relaxed. I can't change everything around me, but I always have control of how I react to the world around me.

Movie Night!

Tonight at the dinner table Ava was asking Ben and I about what we liked to do as kids. While Jocelyn, Molly, and I left the table, Ava and Ben stayed and continued talking. I'm not entirely sure what was discussed, but a few minutes later they came into the living room and announced we were going to watch the movie Brave. A movie on a school night? Not exactly what I had in mind for the evening. At the same time, I could tell the evening had been a special one for my husband and oldest daughter. Who was I to ruin it? So we all sat and watched the movie together. It only ran us 10 minutes past bedtime, so the benefits by far outweighed the cost. It was a very nice and unexpected evening for our little family.

Sisters, Friends

Today was one of those days when my daughters spent the entire day acting not just as sisters, but as friends. I took a shower first thing this morning, and came downstairs afterward to find all three girls eating a breakfast Ava had prepared for them. They were chatting pleasantly and getting along beautifully. What a fantastic way to start the day!

Then in the afternoon I came across this scene:

Molly had been lying down watching television as she woke up from her nap. Jocelyn saw her, found her a few of her favorite stuffed animals, and gently snuggled up behind her. The cuddle time didn't last more than a few minutes, but the good relations did. Ben and I both feel so blessed to have three little girls who are not only sisters but friends - I hope for the rest of their lives.

Pretty Nails

This morning I had nothing on my schedule while all three girls were in school. This is the first time that has happened in probably months. I actually went grocery shopping a day early to ensure this would be the case. Why? Because I wanted to get my nails done. I have tried for the past few months to make this my once-a-month me-time. This morning it was completely blissful to have an hour to sit and relax - to not have use of my hands to check email, make phone calls, or do anything "productive." I very nearly fell asleep sitting there. This new habit of mine is one I often have to force myself to continue - it's so hard even finding an hour each month to do something so frivolous - but I am determined to continue this for myself. Some time to recharge makes me a better mom, a better wife... a better person.

Bedtime Stories

Tonight Ben and Ava were working on a school project together. Jocelyn has been asking to read our new Elf on a Shelf book since yesterday, so I suggested we read that in her room so as to give Ava and Ben some peace. Molly came with us. We ended up reading books together for just over half an hour, which is a pretty long time for those two. We read mainly Christmas books, so stories the girls haven't heard in a while and felt like they were hearing for the first time. I love these times of sharing my love of reading and books with my girls. It was a quiet and very lovely way to end our day.

Meet Chester!

When we visited with Santa the other day, Ava asked if we could get an Elf on a Shelf. This morning, we all woke up to find our very own elf sitting at the bottom of our tree. Ever since he was discovered the girls have been OBSESSED. Ava named our elf Chester - we figured since she had asked for the elf it was only right she get to name him - and has told every person we've seen today about our new house guest. Jocelyn and Molly have had to use every ounce of their restraint to not touch Chester, as the only rule about him is that he not be touched or moved. I am not sure how Chester will live up to expectations - Ava has heard many tales of elves doing some pretty elaborate deeds - but for now we are glad to have Chester joining us in celebrating this holiday season. Tonight I leave you with this image: Ava insisted on leaving Chester a snack to eat before he returned to the North Pole tonight. I'm sure he will greatly appreciate the kind gesture and put in a good word for Ava in his report to Santa.