Goofy Kids

Here's a video of the kids "skating" around the den as they watched the pairs skating short program tonight. It's dark for a few seconds at first, until I remembered to turn on the light. Notice Grant trying to spin Hope around like Ladwig and Evora. Ross is skating in the style of, well...Ross.

Relaxing

Tonight after work, 4 colleagues and I drove to Minneapolis for a meeting tomorrow morning. And although I miss Kris and the kids, I have to admit that I'm enjoying a little slice of time to myself. The group of us ate steak dinners at Mabel Murphy's in Fergus Falls, so we didn't even pull into the hotel parking lot until 9:40pm. But the dinner and the good conversation were so worth it.

I'm sitting here in my very own hotel room, watching Celebrity Rehab and painting my nails. It's almost 11pm, and although I'm tired I'm not *sleepy.* Pretty soon I'm going to crawl under the covers with all the fluffy pillows and read my book. Tomorrow will be a busy day followed by a long drive home, but right now I'm looking forward to not having to rush when I get up tomorrow...and sleeping in until (gasp!) 7am!

PS--the two best parts of my week were (1) last night, reading to all three kids at the same time: Grant on my left, Ross on my right, and Hope on my lap while we read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Mrs. Wishy Washy. It was an idyllic moment in time.

(2) Going to be early on Tuesday night and having both Grant and Ross climb in bed with me. While I read my book, Ross snuggled up next to me and Grant lay quietly next to Ross. It was so peaceful listening to their breathing get slow and sleepy, and glancing over to see their eyes drift closed. When I turned off the light, Lola barked at some unknown sound and roused the three of us. But you know what? That was okay because it meant Ross resettled back into a cuddle and we fell asleep holding hands. To borrow Bonnie's word, it was bliss.

It's Saturday night,

and we're all here in the den watching Mall Cop (yes, Mall Cop). It's sorta lame, but we all love it. I just tucked Hope in, the boys are eating bologna slices, Lola is drooling over the bologna, and Kris is playing World of Warcraft. There's laundry to wash and fold, bathrooms to clean, floors that need vacuuming and washing, a week's worth of mail to go through, but hey--this mom needs some time to veg.

Grant wrote out everyone's valentines today--all 18 of his, all the ones for Ross's class, and all the ones for Hope's daycare. What a huge timesaver for me! And the best part was that he did it all on his own initiative; I never asked him to--he just started the process and worked on them all afternoon. Earlier this evening we got all the candy treats taped to each valentine, too. So even though there's a crapload of housework to do around here, at least that job is done.

Do you ever get to the end of a post and not know how to wrap it up? Me too.

Copying my sister's post of

rambling thoughts. I haven't posted in a long time because I haven't had anything to say. It's been insane at work, and it's not going to ease up any time soon. I'm *so over* winter, too. I hate bundling children, buckling seatbelts over bulky coats, losing gloves and hats, and the ice that covers every surface of sidewalk and roadway. Tonight, I just bought the boys new winter gloves because we haven't been able to keep track of the ones we had.

Bonnie stated such a truth the other day on her blog:

My kids are all asleep. Why is it that when they are sleeping I miss them? Why is it when they are awake I feel like I need a break?

Um, I completely agree. Even Hope has been getting on my nerves. She's definitely showing signs of being two--whining, acting defiant at times, and clinging to her blanket and nuk.

I'm also frustrated with myself for not yet being able to build in time for exercising on most days. It seems like something else always takes priority--work, kids, housework, sleep. I know that it's my job to make it fit. It's like a puzzle whose pieces keep changing, and I'm getting sick of trying to solve it.

Dancin' Dudes

Grant and Ross recently finished an 8-week all-boy dance class through Just for Kix. Bonnie's girls are in Just for Kix and she raves about the teacher and the overall experience for the girls. She's right--Miss Carly is awesome, and the boys had a great time learning a routine to "Bob the Builder Mambo #5." It was really cute. Unfortunately, Ross almost didn't perform; he was nervous and kept saying, "It's too hard, mom. It's too long." I asked him to show me his saddest face, and he did (see pics below). When I showed it to him, he cracked a smile, so I asked him to show me his happiest face. Then I asked him to wink. That broke the anxiety and he joined his group after that. We also got to see Olivia's Wee Petites dance group and she was so precious.

Ross's Perspective

The other day, one of the preschool teachers, Eric, stopped me as I dropped off Ross for the day. Eric told me that the director was doing a project for her Master's classes and wanted to try out her questions with Ross. Ross threw poor Eric under the bus:

Lacey (the director): Ross, who is the oldest person you know?

Ross: Um, Eric.

Lacey: Really? What about your grandpa? Isn't he older than Eric?

Ross: No. My grandpa's 47. I think Eric is 69 or something [fyi, Eric is 33].

Lacey: Hmmm. Well, how do you know Eric is old?

Ross: Because he's dusty. He's old and dusty, I think.

What do you say to that? Priceless.

Lullabies

As I was rocking Hope before putting her down for her nap on Saturday, it occurred to me that this might be an interesting topic to reflect upon.

When I was little, I remember my mom singing to me when she tucked me in at night. We would say prayers, and then she would sing Away in a Manger to me. I'd listen and think about the "little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay."

I have always sung lullabies to my children before bedtime (at least until they got too big to cuddle and rock--although I can still manage that with Grant and Ross if they're interested). When Grant was a baby, my favorite lullaby to sing was You are my Sunshine. I would rock and cradle him in my arms, look into his quiet baby eyes studying my face, and sing softly to him--

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are gray
You'll never know, dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

I felt such a connection to Grant through this song. I sang it to Ross, too, but I tried to find another song that could be 'his' song, and Hush Little Baby became Ross's signature lullaby.

Then, when Hope was born, I had a little girl to sing to. For whatever reason, that opened up my options. I experimented with Words by the Bee Gees but quickly hit upon a very unlikely, but very appropriate song that makes a beautiful lullaby when sung softly--Sweet Child O' Mine. Yes, the Guns N Roses song. Don't believe me? Check out how appropriate the lyrics are for a little girl:

She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stared too long
I'd probably break down and cry

Oh, sweet child o' mine
Oh, sweet love of mine

She's got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder and the rain
To quietly pass me by

Oh, sweet child o' mine
Oh, sweet love of mine

I still sing this to Hope. She snuggles into my neck and I rub her back while singing softly. Another favorite for us (if you slow it down) is the chorus to Michael Jackson's Rock with You:

I'm gonna rock with you
All night
Dance you into the sunlight
Rock with you
All night
Rock the night away

I'd love to hear what the rest of you sing to your little ones.