I think I *might* just be raising a winker.

I couldn't be more delighted.

Paper Airplanes

I didn't check this book out to be fancy, I just really don't know how to fold a good paper airplane.  Pretty sad state of affairs.  (When did I lose this ability?) 

It is a necessity here -- so I recruited some help.  We're loving it!

Bonus: it makes a winning "waiting for our big kid" activity.

Weekending

To know someone is to know what makes them truly happy.  If you know me, then you know this weekend's "weekending" with my littles was my absolute heart's delight.

My big girl learned to pour the pancake batter she's been perfecting and to know when and how to flip her cakes.  She was so proud.  That face!

We threw in a big kid how-to-clean-up-after lesson, too.  She did the dishes like a champ.  

(Bonus: she also now knows where the expression "first pancake" comes from.  And that it's all a part of the process.  Good life lesson shared.)

There were many games of Sleeping Queens -- special request of my sweet little guy.  He loves the game, but more so, I'm quite sure he loves that it's the first game in which he isn't on a "team."  He positively beams from his side of the game.  And, I do, too.

And while they made up their own radio show, I made good progress on a blanket stitch I can finally live with.

Thanks to Amanda, my inspiration for snapping a few shots of our weekending!

Make + Listen Along: Morning

This morning's all about comfort and home as we make + listen along with Dawn.  So Good.

Listening along:
Francis England

Making: 
Milo's Dutch babie
Memories

We made our FUN
playing Sleeping Queens
while we waited
for breakfast to cook

To You!

Happy New Year, friends near & far!

I am ever-so-grateful for the gifts you have given me. 

I carry them in my pockets, and I smile when I come across them --

(though they do get a little smudgy next to old tissues and wrappers and rocks I'm asked to hold on to).

They remind me of you -- and how fortunate I truly am.

Thank You.

And now I'm off to watch It's a Wonderful Life.  Because it really is.

In a Word

For the last couple of years, I've eschewed resolutions and instead have chosen a word to guide my year.  What I really need is something to come back to during the year -- all year.  An idea more than an action. Something simple, but sturdy.  Something to get me out of my tangles -- not create more.  A re-grounding, a re-centering.

So, 2014, you are about Beginnings.

A friend and I were talking about parenting recently, and she said, "Beginnings are hard."  We hadn't been talking about something that I'd even seen the "beginning" in, and it stuck with me.  When something is hard: is there a beginning in there that I have to catch up to?

I started seeing beginnings.  Other kinds of beginnings.  Some are big and profound and observable by everyone.  But, maybe even more importantly, there are lots of little beginnings.  So many are small, subtle, overlooked, invisible.  These beginnings give us the chance to choose -- if we can see them.

A beginning can be as simple as a deep breath or a new sun rising outside our window.  It can also be as complicated as forging a new path through the brambles.  But, what if even these beginnings are just series of the the deep-breath, sun out your window beginnings?

We live old patterns.  We play out old dramas.  We forget to update our files.
We stop seeing what's really in front of us.  We get caught up.  We stumble and trip over the past tangled around our ankles.

If we can remember to see beginnings, to use beginnings, to explore the possibilities, to notice where the old script has been set in motion but no longer applies, we get a fresh start.  We can use all that we really have at our disposal -- today, in this moment.

Beginnings give us more options.  They say, "Start here."

If you have a word for 2014, please consider sharing it in the comments!  I'd love to know about your journey through 2014!

Celebrate

The Big Dance

To all the mamas & daddies who planned, 

shopped, wrapped, shuffled, baked, made, 

cooked, assisted, fretted, cleaned, and gave up sleep

to put together a special holiday for your family --

you did it!

Wishing you a joyful day & a harmonious 2014!