1000 pieces with a 3 and 5 year old

It's still sub-zero here in Minnesota and our family is basically living within ten feet of the cozy hot fire at all times. So I decided it was time to whip out a puzzle. My sister-in-law Sara raved about this puzzle at Christmas. She called it "a joy" and said it was so fun because even though it is 1,000 pieces, it is easy to find where a piece goes. Now that's my kind of puzzle. So yesterday I bought it for $11 at Target and brought it home to Ivar and Elsie.

Surprisingly, it is going really, really well. Ivar is proving to be quite the faithful, patient, puzzler. Elsie mostly likes to eat pretzel sticks and watch us. But their attitude is great. And we've only knocked a cookie sheet off the card table two times. (Rory and I are taking bets as to how many pieces will be missing once the puzzle is complete.)

Anyway, I recommend this puzzle too. Ivar is able to find where pieces go, and the design lends itself to easy sorting.  It's like four or five mini puzzles inside of a bigger one. We're loving it and I think you would too.

snow day on the island of sodor

My friend Faye posted a picture of her son pushing cotton balls around with his little bulldozer and loading them into the dump truck for snow removal. So awesome. So yesterday Ivar and I bought a bag of jumbo cotton balls for a buck and suddenly the train table became the favorite activity again. Lots of snowy storylines came to life, and lots of need for Byron the bulldozer to clear the rails to keep Sodor safe and the trains running on time.

Parenting Little Kids is like a trip to Panera

So we've been home a lot these past two weeks. Everyone has taken a turn getting sick and even though it's miserable to be sick, it's also shed some light on what is actually possible in my life with a 5 year old, 3 year old and 3 month old.

And I've come to realize something. At this season of time: YOU PICK TWO. Just like Panera gives you two items in an entree, any given day gives you two tasks to accomplish.

Each day it seems, between feeding the baby every three hours, feeding the family three times, and leaving room for all the surprises that are sure to surface, there is margin for just two more tasks:
YOU PICK TWO:
-Fun Mom: This option includes a mom that makes play dough, helps build lego helicopters, puts her snow pants on, makes hopscotch out of masking tape on the carpet and bakes muffins with her children.
-Scratch Cook: Come dinnertime, this option ensures that there will be more than frozen pizza or fish sticks on the table. If not chosen, those items are completely acceptable.
-Play date Pal: A play date is good for everyone. But you can't do anything house-related when you're at another friend's house.
-Housekeeping: This option ensures the house looks generally tidy at the end of the day. Maybe even vacuumed...
-Laundry Lady: Washed, dried, put in the general right place (may still live in laundry baskets...) your husband will be glad he has clean socks and underwear again.
-Shower for the Mama: In the case that a mom is not actually able to rise before her children, this shower has to happen at another point during the day, and a shower takes time.
-Grocery Getter/Target Trip: This option has to happen at some point during the week. If it is not factored in there likely will be waffles for dinner with a side of fruit cocktail and canned corn.

So there it is. In this season of life, I can accomplish two of those tasks in any given day. And then it's up to me to assess my day accordingly. If I went grocery shopping and made a good meal in a day, then the fact that the house has gone to pot and the laundry is still strewn all around the house is okay. Maybe tomorrow will be their day.

I recently started reading Jen Hatmaker's For the Love on the recommendation of every living soul on planet earth. I'm not super far into it, but if I could xerox chapter one and hand it out on the street corner, I would. Next time you're in Target, take it off the shelf, stand by your cart and read that first chapter. And then you'll likely place the book in your cart to purchase making this perfectly legal. But man that first chapter is something special. All about how ridiculous our expectations are for being a woman and running a household with ridiculously high standards.

It got me thinking along these lines and then I decided my own measure would be the Panera Plan. I will evaluate myself on the two tasks I picked for the day and give myself all the grace in the world for the other tasks that were not picked and therefore exposing the reality that I cannot do it all. But I can pick two.

little becca

Rory is starting to call Harriet, "Little Becca" because she seems to have a few of my personality traits. 

Last night we had her laying under her play gym happily and the rest of us went into the kitchen to eat. Soon she was crying in the living room and Rory went to put her in her bouncy chair and bring her in the kitchen. When she arrived she lit up and started chatting and we imagined her to be saying, "oh hey. I think you forgot about me. I was just in the living room, but then you were all together and I wasn't here but now I am. with you guys. where I think you probably meant for me to be." I've got some serious FOMO (fear of missing out) and it seems Harriet does too.

She's quite sensitive. If I don't go to her right away (usually during tummy time) when she is crying she will let me know her feelings have been very hurt when I finally do. She can stick her lower lip out (something I did until I was like seventeen...) and dig her face into my shoulder and just wants me to know she's a little sad and tender that I wasn't coming when she called for me.

And finally, she's chatty. All day long she narrates her day. We hear her jib jab and sing out and coo and it seems she already is hitting her 20,000 words a day as a female. And that's no surprise. I definitely hit mine every day. And Elsie for sure uses hers.

sistertalk

Elsie loves Harriet with her whole heart. And it is so fun to watch. She loves to hold her sister. And when Elsie comes down in the morning she jogs to Harriet first and sings a falsetto song that says something along the lines of "hi baby harriet. are you awake baby? I love you." combined with lots of nonsense words...) I took this video after the kids had just been sledding and had their hot chocolate. (Deep thought: why oh why do we give our children hot chocolate after they have been outside to run off all the sugar?!! I ponder this every single time I end up with sugared preschoolers on my hands...) Anyway, you can see that hot chocolate all over Elsie's face, and she's sporting some awesome hat hair.
sistertalk
I captured this moment and I love it. They are connected already. And will be forever. That warms my heart so much. There's nothing like a sister.

I got a great line from Elsie last night. Elsie was trying to cross my legs and then ride on my foot like a pony. If I'm in the right chair at the right height I can do this, but I was holding the baby, on Elsie's bed and I collapsed my foot sliding her to the ground. I said, "Elsie, I'm just not strong enough. We can't do that game right now." And she furrowed her brow and said, "but you have a lot of hair!"

She was referencing Samson and Delilah and I was proud.