Get Set,

Go!

Hold On.

Paul means to say “on your mark” but market is a cute mix up.

as they run around the house

pushing little Olivine around in an empty box like a race car.

She giggles and claps at their ideas, happy to play along.

When I think those peeking eyes mean “I am done”

and I go to pull her out she squeals in frustration to be put back in

as if to say “I am playing with my brothers, leave me alone. We are just having some fun.”

 Along with my fresh start post from the other day, this year is also going to have a theme.

I just finished another Henri Nouwen book that really had me thinking so this is where my theme of Beloved comes from.

Along with the on going project of keeping my gratitude journal (Inspired by the book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp) and I hope to get to one thousand as I record my list of what I am grateful for.

I am also really looking forward to a new mail art project with my lovely and long time pen pal Angela. Her and I started a postcard project called “December Daily” where we sent one postcard each day in the month of December. This helped us reconnect from one coast (CA) to the other (Vermont).

Then she announced her pregnancy and her recent move to Portland already had me scheming up a new project for 2013 and it is settled: “52 for You” is our year long postcard exchange. I am committing myself to one postcard a week to show this far away friend from love, but also to give myself the space and time to do a small dose of crafting by making some fun postcards.

These are a lot of small and hopefully do-able goals for this upcoming year.

I am so excited for the change of the calendar and all the new ideas.

Happy New Year- Again!

One of the best gifts this Christmas from Alton, Jen, and Kurt who swung by on their West Coast Tour from Minneapolis.

They brought a set of family kazoos. 

Baby girl and I missed out on all the fun since we were in the hospital.

But we made up for that tonight.

After she got out of the bath we had all sorts of fun.

She gets a little distracted but hey she is only 11 months old.

And that means one month from today folks…my baby girl turns one.

Ahhh! (heart sigh)

Joe has recently busted out our kid backpack as Olivine gets bigger and more squirmy.

They make the same faces without realizing it.

Luckily, Long Beach buses are free for college students (at CSULB) and all three of them are young enough to ride free as well.

Oh and yes, that is Paul playing hookie from school to hang out with his dad.

The nice part of the backpack is that just like the bike cart and the sling, this little girl will fall asleep wherever she can be snuggly.

These two boys are looking so tall (almost the same height) and I love how much they love eachother.

A day out in the chilly weather makes for rosy cheeks and long naps that a momma comes home to discover.

The older I get the more I appreciate New Year’s. I love the opportunity to reflect and think about all that has happened and what I want to be different.

Joe and I started a new tradition of writing down what we consider top priorities to help us stay focused in the coming year. We finished the sentence; “Any time spent _______ is not a waste of time.” Suprisingly we each wrote three and they matched one another. So it was kind of a like a game. Now it is framed, in our bedroom, near our mirror where we will both see it regularly.

Every year we want to save more and so we are trying a new, visual and idea. We will put money in the jar each week, to match the number of weeks. So we are in week two, we put two dollars in the jar. We will practice saving more and watching it multiply. According to Joe’s calculations we will have over a $1,000 in a year. Yay!

So I guess these are like new year’s resolutions.  I am just excited to for the new year.

Joe usually says grace

while our squirmy ones try to calm themselves and baby girl sits munching. She has been eating her dinner earlier so that she goes to bed earlier (asleep by 7 pm).

Tuesday was my first day back at work and all that work made my hungry for some home cooked enchillidas (my mother’s recipe) with rice and beans.

Hope your dinner table is full of yummy food and good conversation.

I can happily report I am not sick but did play hookie from work today so that I could find out about Henry’s hives. They are most likely an allergy but could also be viral. I am suspicious after Joe had a fever and now Paul has a fever. Baby and I have been staying away, and I am headed back to work tomorrow.

Today I took Henry to get a haircut.

Then we spent time outside getting some Vitamin D.

I must say I love these socks!

She sometimes feels like a real-life doll. Such a cutie pie.

Paul was learning how to use his new bike bell today.

While Henry was going fast and practicing crashing into stuff.

Joe made pizza for dinner while I helped Paul with homework.

We are slowly getting back into the routine.

there’s a breakfast bagel I often make for Joe that reminds me of the Atlas Cafe in SF 

little boys playing with slime

a gift picked out all by Paul at school, with the joy of bringing it home for his little brother

they stretched, rolled, and smelled it but did not taste or fight over it (yay)

and a variety of cake balls being prepared

as a happy new year’s gift for some folks I love.

These hives have been coming and going on my little Henry.

I just want my kids to be healthy.

They insisted on licking the bowl.

We think her appetite is finally making a come back.

This hat is one of my favorites for obvious reasons.

I am dreading going back to work on Monday and want to stay home with these little ones.

All that time in the hospital means there have been requests to create an elevator

remembering that they are going upstairs to floor number 4 to visit the baby.

Then there was tonight with an evening full of Santa play

complete with his hat and beard (from his gnome costume), 

a tie (I have no idea why),

a pillowcase full of toys to deliver,

and I was even coaxed into setting out a plate of cookies for this Santa character.

The other night (during the same game) Henry was Buddy the Elf (yes we showed him the movie Elf) and their bunkbed was the sleigh.