checking in

We are busy this morning getting ready for an impromptu camping trip with my BFF and her kids, but I wanted to drop in and share a thought for the day, as well as a link to my first post as a contributor to NW Healthy Mama, 3 Simple Ways to Completely Reset a Hard Day.

Pause everything (nothing’s getting done anyway), connect with your child, and feel the difference it makes in your day. Meditate on what’s ultimately important in life and realize that all the mundane tasks you feel pressure to get done can wait. Those dishes will still be there in an hour, an afternoon or even tomorrow, but our children won’t always need us in the way they do now.

That's just a little snippet from my post, be sure to click over, read it, and let me know your strategies for reseting a tough day.

gloomy mornings are for walking

It has been pretty gloomy the last couple of days but we've still managed to get out in the mornings. Since Riggs has turned three, it is like everything about him is amplified. It seems as though his feelings are felt more deeply and his energy has tripled. So, we start everyday with a walk. I notice such an immense difference between the days we get out first thing and the rare days that we don't, and that difference is what gives me motivation to get out when I'm otherwise lacking. 

Usually we walk a small loop near our house but today we both just felt like going further, and so we did. Riggs would have kept going when I decided we needed to turn around, but I knew he would be getting tired soon, and I didn't want to have to carry him and his bike back home. I love his adventurous spirit and how capable he is becoming as he gets older. 

In the end we walked about two and a half miles and I think he was pretty tired out by the end. He kept stopping to rest, laying his head on his handlebars and saying, "I'm tired out, mama." I so love his sweet little face. ♥

January days

January used to be one of my least favorite months; it seemed to drag on with nothing to make the month very exciting. This year I've realized that the slow pace of January definitely has it's merits. The sun arrives earlier in the morning and seems to linger so much longer in the afternoon. This January has just seemed so fresh and full of promise and I'm loving it.

Steve has been home for most of the month, with just a few days of work here and there, and that has definitely made the month much more fun for the whole family. He's able to get some projects done and spend much (much) more time with the kids every day than during the rest of the year when he works so many hours. Despite little bumps here and there, the kids are in pretty predictable stages in each of their development, especially where sleep is concerned, and so we are able to get a surprising amount of alone time during naps and the evening hours after the kids have gone to sleep. We'd love to sneak away for more dates than we're currently able to, but really we can't complain too much.

Our days have been filled with...

fresh snow

 lots of outside play

(despite it being -15 degrees outside)

 plenty of indoor snuggle time;

sleeping bags are always a great way to get

him to settle down and read for a while

 the first rays of sun returning to our yard since November

(one of the negative aspects of living so close to Pioneer Peak,

it completely blocks the sun all day long for nearly three months

of the year; so we get daylight, but no actual sunlight)

 more outdoor playtime for the kids

while Steve and I work on projects

Not pictured: plenty of cookies, hearty soups nearly every day, eggs-bacon-toast for most breakfasts, movie-watching, train-track building, Bible reading, and some deep cleaning thrown in here and there.

January, I'm sorry for disliking you all this time; does it make it better to know that I'm really warming up to you now?

Thanksgiving Recap

We had the most fun Thanksgiving this year with my whole family at a cabin we rented near Big Lake. It was probably the best Thanksgiving I've had personally in over five years, it was really special. Our family has been going through a lot with my grandparents going through the worsening stages of dementia and Alzheimers and it's put more of a strain on things than I really realized. Our family (my dad and mom, her siblings and my older sister mainly) had been caring for them personally since they moved into Anchorage from their homestead in Talkeetna in 2009 and after a lot of very hard changes, heartache and worsening health on my grandparents part we made the decision for them to be moved into the Pioneer Home here in Anchorage, specifically into the dementia ward where they receive round the clock care.

Understandably it hasn't been easy on a few different levels, but it has gone very smoothly considering and I'm very thankful for that. Thanksgiving was the first big holiday since their big move, and my parents and sisters and I decided to get out of town and spend the long weekend all together as a family (minus my little sister who couldn't make it home from college). We rented a really nice cabin on Beaver Lake (near Big Lake) bought a bunch of food and holed ourselves up to spend the holiday together.

We had bonfires, saunas, and hobbit-watching marathons and it was just the perfect way to spend Thanksgiving break. We all agreed that getting away together as a family needs to happen more often and I can't wait for our next chance to do just that.

just before loading everything in truck...I felt like we were moving haha

Goodbye November

After [finally] snowing over the weekend and nearly all of today there's now a few inches coating everything outside and I'm practically giddy with excitement. The last couple of years our winters have been so strange and unpredictable, so despite two sick babies I made a point to get outside and enjoy it. The groomed trails up at the Government Peaks Recreation Area would have been ideal but good naps were a must today today so we stayed close to home instead. Luckily there's plenty to explore around here especially at Riggs' pace.

It was Raina's first time in the sled and in real snow and she seemed to really enjoy it...as usual, she was all smiles. Riggs was up for skiing but just "not too fast, mama". I put my skis on too which seemed to make me even more eager to hit the actual trails as soon as possible. I'm hoping to go without the kids once a week this winter, but once every two weeks is probably more realistic. Luckily our ski club has double chariots available for use, which is so much better than shelling out the $800 myself.

We are very thankful for this little bit of snow, but are also anxious for more. It's December now, so please, let it snow! Christmas will be here before we know it and we need at least another six inches of snow to make it really feel right or this time of year.