Winter wonderland

I don't necessarily love winters in Minnesota. They are cold and long and gray and the sun sets at 4:30pm. Not exactly my kind of weather. But with three little kiddos (ok, two for sure) who happen to appreciate a little white fluff on the ground, what has been difficult this year is the lack of snow and the deep freeze in temperatures. 

So when the weather started to finally warm up, we took full advantage of it. Oh, that and the fact that about the same time we got dumped on with a foot of fresh snow. Coupled together, these kiddos were in heaven!  

I love that Lincoln has very little fear. From a young age, he has come wherever we go (the "take along child") and has embraced each adventure. He now is the one begging for more adventures and has no problem tackling the nearby sledding hill. 

I guess if it has to be winter in Minnesota, I might as well embrace it too. 

Winter dance show 2018

A little picture overload going on in this post. I had trouble picking just one photo, so instead you get many :) 

The girls have been working in their dance classes towards the winter show (which I am forever grateful is held in January and not December). It's Christmas-time themed, but with the already busy-ness of December, the last thing we would need is a dance recital. 

Regan is old enough now to try out for the "cast" in this Nutcracker like production and was thrilled to make the cut. She was so dang adorable on stage and those little kiddos sure looked up to her when she put on her "cast" costume. 

The cast had 3 very long weekends to pull off all their dances; it doesn't sound like much, but they practiced 2-3 hours every Friday/Saturday/Sunday and their hard work sure paid off! They were amazing! 

And sometimes, when you're so excited it hurts, you take a silly pose picture for your mama. 

And your sister follows suit, with crazy bent arms. 

 Sidney is sure excited to make her way through the next few years before she too can join the cast. But while she waits, she does so with some super fun friends that helped keep her entertained back stage until it was their time to dance. 

Those grade 2-3 kiddos were sure cute up on stage, even though Sidney proclaimed they didn't all know the dances very well (and let's just say that bothered the daylights out of her). 

These show costumes are owned by the studio, and reused each year. Some are adorable, and others are, well, a little silly looking. So let's just take a look at that giant wreath bow turned hair bow....I couldn't even look at them without busting out laughing. It was seriously hideous! 

When all was said and done, the girls danced in a total of 3 shows, spanning 12 hours and a total of 29 dances between the two of them. That's a pretty incredible day if you ask me!
This was my favorite dance of Regan's regular classes, her tap dance "Hot Chocolate". So much going on and so many girls all tapping in unison. Incredible dance!  

I don't know how many kiddos make up this show every year, but here are most of them during final bows one show. There are a LOT of kids up there!  

I'm so proud of these two lovely girls. They worked hard and it sure showed. Great job girls! 

Eagle Bluff 2018

Back in September, Regan 's 6th grade class (and 7th too) were presented with the option to attend a 3 day field trip in Lanesboro at Eagle Bluff. She was intrigued and didn't waiver much on the idea of signing up. After chatting with some friends, she was all excited to sign up for the field trip. So we filled out forms, paid the fee and waited. 

Her trip was set to depart just after my birthday and before the big dance recital (more on that in another post). It was a busy week and as much as I wanted to go along as a chaperone, I just didn't think it was very practical to leave Ryan with the other two in the middle of show week rehearsals. Plus she wasn't very keen on my requests to chaperone....

Until that week before departure and we started organizing her packing. I could tell she was getting nervous, but was trying to act cool. So we discussed her concerns (mostly being without a phone and ability to reach out to me day/night), and how we could remedy them (her friend's mom was going and already had my number in her phone). 

Unfortunately, we had a bit of weather come through on my birthday, which cancelled school for the 1.5 days prior to their field trip which added more concerns for her: she wasn't able to collect all of the required homework that she would be missing! That poor girl was unncessarily fretting and there wasn't much I could do about it. Thank goodness for technology and an email reply from her teacher reassured her that she could still go and they would worry about homework later. Whew! 

They had so much fun those 3 days: snow shoeing, ziplining, high ropes course and outdoor learning. Seventy-five percent of their days were spent outside! Thankfully it was pretty warm (30-40's) so they could enjoy the outdoors rather than freeze in their outdoor classes. Once again, the beauty of technology proved helpful because those amazing teachers/chaperones created a private Facebook page to keep those of us back at home updated with photos of their daily adventures. I loved seeing how much fun she was having! But boy did I miss that girl of mine :) 

I was elated to have her back home (despite that she was tired, stinky and crabby!). The stories of adventures are still trickling in, and I know she had the *best* time experiencing something new. She's literally growing up before our eyes! 

Paw Patrol "be there on the double"

And now that you too are singing the theme song....you're welcome :) HA! 

I had the opportunity to take Lincoln to Paw Patrol Live this weekend, as part of his Christmas gift. I wasn't sure what to expect, I mean, I had seen Sesame Street Live as well as oodles of ____ on Ice performances. But I was puzzled about this show. Maybe it's because to me, Paw Patrol is still a pretty new cartoon. But I also wondered how they would animate these dogs. 

Our girls never watched this show; and even during dance carpool today, Regan's friend gave me a look  like I was speaking Greek and finally replied "that must be a new cartoon cuz I've never heard of them"! 

Well, Lincoln and I sat through a 90 minute performance of those giant stuffed Paw Patrol puppets, and he loved every minute of it. Oh the things we do for our children! He was so worried it was going to be over (long before it was) and kept asking after each song if it was over. He just wanted more! I'll be honest, I had more fun watching him than watching the show. But isn't that how it always goes? 

He wants to go back, I suggested he bring Ryan....who would probably rather poke his eyeballs out with toothpicks than watch that show ;) 

But like I told Ryan "you're not 4, so you aren't going to love it!". 

Until next time Paw Patrol! 

Post-Christmas wrap up

I noticed quite a few pictures hanging out on my phone that are certainly blog worthy. Let's be real, if I had more time to devote to this, I would put all our photos on this website! Just kidding. Sort of. 

Regan received this old-school toy in a new-age version: the pins! Only hers lights up. My brother had one of these bad boys when we were growing up. I always loved playing with it. So when Lincoln and I got it equipped with batteries, I couldn't help but giggle at this "sculpture" one of us created. 

Ryan gave me the most wonderful drawing for Christmas. Seriously, I like the hand-drawn picture almost more than the actual gift itself! *almost* It was pretty sweet to see him put some effort into this gift. And for the record, I love my new car starter too. My dad would be proud...even as adults, he always gave us a "toy" for Christmas. Usually it was something completely ridiculous like a small flying airplane or something. I think he'd approve of this "toy"! 

Regan was asked on a whim to play on a softball team for a tournament (which ended up being played in the middle of our work week instead of a weekend....that was a big snafu!). While she takes clinics and lessons throughout the winter, she was taken off-guard to be in the middle of a dome at 11pm playing ball one night. We spent our time just trying to stay warm in said "dome" while trying to look on the bright side: it was like a date! 

It's safe to say that Lincoln has gotten creative in his play. Poor Paw Patrols were eaten by his dinosaurs! And he came up with this idea all on his own! Giggling all the while. 

Pretty safe to say that we had a great holiday break, enjoying whatever life has to send our way. 

Perspective

Today was one of those days where life was put in perspective. Let's be real, I work in a hospital, it happens daily. But today was a little different.....

Last evening, I received a notification that "power was out" in our area. I mildly panicked, quickly tried to tidy up the house, finish laundry, power up all phones/iPods, and find candles and flashlights. I felt relieved going to bed while we still had power! Sadly, that ended around 5:15am when we woke to two screaming kids who realized that both their nightlights were out and white noise machines were silent. The house was pitch black. And silent.

After calming said screaming children, we laid in bed, checking texts/voicemails and emails hoping to find an answer to the outage, which was now throughout the neighborhood. The most we could find is that it would be a couple of hours at best before we were restored. Thankfully, we were all heading to school/work so we didn't have to sit in the dark very long.

I managed to get ready for my day (with the help of a battery powered lantern-thank you mom and dad!) and then headed to the grocery store, which I discovered was being powered by a generator, to grab coffee and donuts. After all, it was barely 6am and those kids needed breakfast...and we needed coffee! I left for work and eventually Ryan brought the kids to school. We still didn't have power.

Throughout the day, I received messages like the one below. I was frustrated and pre-occupied with worry about regaining electricity. Things buzzing in my mind included: frozen pipes, spoiled food, darkness and cold.

And then, about mid-day, I was graced with the presence of a cute little girl. She was about Lincoln's age and she made me hit the 'pause' button on my day. I listened as her adorable voice chatted away to her dreary eyed mother. Her gorgeous little bald head and slight limp in her walk pained my heart. And I realized at that point, any worry I had in my life held nothing against what that mommy was dealing with. The fact that we were on hour 5 without power no longer mattered. And just like that, my life squealed into perspective again.

I know that it can seem like I'm a pushover as a parent. But in reality, I like to think that I have life in perspective. I don't get worked up over spilled milk. I'm just grateful to have children spilling milk. I despise a messy house, but I thank my lucky stars for a family to make it messy and a job to help pay for the roof over our head. And yes, our kids drag out the bedtime routine like nobody's business. Yet I know to appreciate having the strength and ability to climb those stairs 3 times over again for "just one more good night!". So while it was incredibly inconvenient to lose power for a total of 7 hours today, it really was a minor problem in the grand scheme of things.

Christmas Day 2017

Christmas day has come and gone. It makes me both sad and happy (and Ryan is very happy to have far less money spent on gifts!). I love Christmas time and all of the fun it brings. And kids on Christmas morning?, there is simply nothing better. 

Let me back up 8 hours to our overnight.....

I think I finally crawled into bed around 11:30pm. 

And then Lincoln woke up at midnight begging to crawl into our bed. Fine. 

He woke up again around 1:30am and needed to go pee. So I take him pee. 

Just as I was falling back to sleep, around 2am, Regan came bouncing in the room, tears in her eyes and a wavering voice, complaining she can't sleep. #facepalm. 

She's too amped up and can't control the Christmas excitement! Get her back in bed.

By 6am Lincoln was waking up for the morning. I did my best to keep him occupied for another 30 minutes (thank you iPad!). 

But then....it was Christmas!!! 

I have to giggle at how blurry all of these pictures are; it proves just how fast everyone was moving! 

Christmas morning is like none other when you're a kid. 

My mom made the trek later that morning and greeted us with more presents and a big Christmas smile. Oh, and an Ugly sweater party!

It was sweet and sad, having planned this day 365 days prior when both mom and dad showed up last year with ugly sweaters. It was at that moment we knew we had to make it a full-family experience and we all got busy finding the perfect sweater. 

We sure missed dad this year, miss is an understatement. And I know he would've picked out quite the sweater.
I just hope we made him proud ;) 

Christmas Eve 2017

We spent Christmas eve at home relaxing and enjoying the moment. Because we both come from small families, each only having 1 sibling (who either lives out of state or out of the country at the moment), hosting Christmas is just the way to go right now. It allows the kids to truly enjoy the Christmas moments and puts much less stress on us.  

My mom came Christmas day, and Ryan's folks came Christmas eve. We opened gifts, attempted lighting lanterns again (mostly failed due to weather conditions) and ate dinner. The kids enjoyed playing with new toys and devices and it was just so darn nice to be home. 

Merry Christmas Eve! 

Twas the night before Christmas

I love that the kids let me take their pictures so often. And I love it even more when they come up with ideas and ask for me to take their pictures! 

Just before Christmas, Lincoln said he needed lights just like on the tree. I couldn't believe that he remembered doing this scene the year prior and was asking for it again. He and Sidney got all tangled up and posed for me under the twinkling tree. 

I tried getting a picture of them facing forward wearing their Christmas pajama's, though couldn't capture all of their eyes at the same time. I knew I had a better shot at turning them around and letting them admire the tree and talk about the presents that would soon fill the space below. 

I love these three with my whole heart (and then some).