The moments we live for.....

Man oh man do I love my kids. They are quite simply what makes my heart beat, my lungs fill with breath, my feet hit the ground in the morning. Yes, I gripe. Yes, it isn't always sunshine and rainbows. 'It' is HARD. Nurturing, influencing, educating these little people. Tiring, draining, relentlessly hard work. But SO very rewarding.

A few snippets of sigh-worthy moments of late....

Lane has taken to asking 'Teach me Mama, teach me'. How awesome is that?! He has a thirst, yearning, hunger for the world around him. So much to see, do, LEARN. I marvel at how quickly he catches on, how he remembers, how he questions. How he is becoming kind, thoughtful and loving. How simply inspiring to be directly influencing THAT!

A couple of days ago the girls were watching something on Family channel. An 'Anti-Bullying' commercial came on where a boy is hiding in a locker. Lauren was quite alarmed and asked what was going on. I told her why he might be hiding, why they were advertising those sorts of things and why it is so important how we treat people so as not to make anyone feel the need to hide. She still seemed kind of upset, and Madison noticed, so she said to her 'Lauren, don't worry, we don't have any bullies at our school'. After which Lauren visibly relaxed. Now, of course their school may have bullies, but how fantastic that my 9 year old hasn't noticed it?! How my heart swelled to hear that as of yet they haven't been subject to such torment OR witnessed it! How great that, maybe, MAYBE their school is doing such a great job creating a nurturing, respectful, positive environment that, indeed, they don't have any bullies! Kudos to the school, and kudos to the kids for making it such a wonderful place to learn and grow in.

And last night. Oh you should have been here to see what I saw last night. I worked, so Brad was home with the kids for dinner, homework, bedtime. When I got home he explained to me how Lane had asked to sleep with the girls. (Just so you know...they have been sleeping together in the spare room in a queen size bed we had set up for holiday company.) I was incredulous to how it could have ever worked and probably said 'you're kidding me, right?!' He, being the softy he is, told me 'I should have seen how he asked', the whole 'Pleeease Daddy' routine and all. So, I guess he told him he could have ONE chance to settle down and go to sleep. That the girls have school in the morning...yadda yadda yadda. Well...guess what?! He fell asleep with them! Quickly, with no issues! So, as a last image before I went to bed, I gazed in at my 3 sweet, loving, content children cuddled together in slumbering bliss. How perfect. On top of that...before I went to wake them this morning, I could hear that they were already awake, laying in bed, warm and cuddling, SINGING to each other. Sigh-worthy or what?!

So there you have it. The moments we live for. Sure puts everything in perspective and makes all the other nonsense fade into the distance, doesn't it?

Smiles, Be well,

Crystal

Meh....sleep....who needs it?!

...........oh....hello. Sorry. I was yawning. I am so tired. Why? You wonder? Well, it seems my wee man, Lane, needs less and less sleep. Slowly, surely, since he turned 2 in October he has been shaving HOURS off. First it was his naps. Which were always consistent and always at least 2 hours....longer if I didn't wake him. Then, BAM! No more naps. Just like that. The first week or so he would fall asleep early evening if you weren't careful. (Those of you with little ones no how bad early evening 'naps' can be for you!) It didn't take long, though, for him to be easily making it through a day nap free. Sure, it was hard at first. Especially on me who suddenly had no 'down' time all day. But we adjusted. Also, he still slept 12 or 13 hours a night....straight...so no biggie, right?! Wait! Not so fast! Now he seems to think why not shave hours off during the night too. Again, it was gradual. Waking up between 5 or 6.....I managed to keep him fairly mellow with cuddles and singing, then we would get up for the day. Earlier than normal, yes. Tiring for me, for sure. Manageable though. Until last night. He woke up just after 4(!)am. Wide awake. BEGGING me to watch the 'puppies' movie. (Lady and the Tramp) For 2 hours I refused to actually 'get up'. I am completely unwilling to actually act as if it is normal to be up at 4. No, I don't ignore him or let him cry. I just don't start our day that early. We can cuddle. We can sing quietly. We ARE NOT watching movies. Maybe I'm wrong, but I figure if you let it happen, it will likely become a regular occurrence. I guess we will see. He fell asleep again around 6, and is still soundly sleeping. (So unfair!) So, there you have it. I'm tired....and really, really hoping this isn't the new normal for us!

Happy Friday Blog readers!

Smiles, Be well,

Crystal

Resolutions.....

Today is the day. Our holidays are officially over. We woke with blurry eyes and at least 2 swats at the snooze button. Lane's first word of the day was 'stupid'. Lauren commented she can't remember the last time she had a good sleep. Madison wondered where her agenda and reading books were. Yup, back to the grind.

Sadly, it kind of felt like our holiday come to a crashing halt last week with my sickness. Although it WAS nice to be able to stay in jammies and watch a LOT of movies, I felt bad not taking advantage of our precious last 'free' days. Plus, the weather was gorgeous. So, while I sniffled, coughed and whined, I also lamented the swimming, skating, playing that could have been. I AM on the upswing now, though. So fun WILL be had this weekend. I believe skating it is. :)

Obviously, for most of us, this time of year brings around a lot of thinking. Soul searching. Resolutions. Where are we? Where do we want to be? What do we want/need more of? What could we really do without? I have so much in my head on these thoughts I am having trouble sleeping. I'm not sure if it's just because it's a new year, because it's my 30th year living this life, or because I am really just aching for some change. Positive, uplifting, forward thinking, life fulfilling CHANGE. Whatever the reason, I am going to strive to make some differences. Here are some of my thoughts on where I want this year to lead....

~ Health. I take it for granted. Even with how I 'suffered' through this week long sickness, I am humbled to think how, for so many, their health is a daily, weekly, monthly, YEARLY struggle. How lucky I am to have a fully WELL functioning body. To have healthy children. My first resolution is to LIVE healthier. More exercise, more water, more vegetables. I also intend to work harder at instilling such habits and values in my kids.

~ Education. I haven't done anything since high school. Stupidly, I didn't try very hard at that in the later years either. This is the year to get the ball rolling again. I'm daunted, to say the least. I was more than able to be an excellent student, so I plan to draw on that and finally bring it to fruition. I have started with the most basic of inquiring emails and have the box out that contains my high school transcripts. Next step, set up a meeting to see where I stand and what I need to do. Stay tuned...I will need the support.

~ Happiness. Seems simple, right? For me, I need to fine tune some things. I am going to strive to be more POSITIVE. To surround myself with positive people. To think before I speak. To breath before I react. To be more in the moment. To listen better. To not validate those people and things that seek to dim my light, unintentional or not.

~ Wealth. I'm going back to basics with this one. I am going to consciously SAVE. Off every pay cheque. Not matter what. Of all my resolutions, this is going to be the HARDEST, but a lesson I really, REALLY need to learn. I. WILL. PUT. MONEY. AWAY.

So, there you have it. A condensed version of my wildly spinning thoughts on resolutions right now. Health. Education. Happiness. Wealth. Not necessarily in that order. Each should work hand in hand to develop them all as a whole. Me, as a whole.

I would love your thoughts. Your encouragement. Your support. Your help in holding me accountable. For 2011 I intend to think BIG. Let's do this!

Smiles, Be well,

Crystal