STOP. WINDY ROAD AHEAD.

While playing Mario on the Wii with Sam today, I realized that January, for me, is kind of like the invincibility star. At the beginning of each year I feel like I have super powers. I'm motivated, I'm energized, I dream big, I have epic plans, I move fast...I'm invincible. I move couches and rearrange beds. I carry wardrobes down stairs, mop floors, organize drawers and cupboards, sharpen my pencils, hang pictures, plan out a month's worth of meals, choose which marathon I'm going to run in...

But like the invincibility star, my powers are only temporary. The feeling of starting fresh and being able to do anything I want turns into crazy lady who is emotionally unpredictable and frustrated and can't sleep at night thinking about the all the things I want to accomplish now.

So today, when Will would not nap again at noon, which is also the only moment in the day when I have free time to tackle my lists and resolutions, I started feeling less like invincible Becky.

So I put on my runners, put Will in the stroller and walked for an hour and a half...and then took a breath and reminded myself that there are still 360 days left in the year. And more importantly, what I do have is love, health, beauty and joy in my life, never mind a Starbucks and a new Cobbs up the street (where I walked to and got a latte and a cinnamon bun, and which I consumed without interruption since Will did finally fall asleep).

2010

My first post in 2010. There is so much pressure to write something really good!

But let's just move on to resolutions. If you recall, my family usually follows a To Be, To Do and To Have format:

To Be: Joyful. I'm totally copying my Dad on this one. At first, I thought Simple should be my theme word of 2010, but I'm changing it to Joy. So...to be more joyous, do more joyful things and bring more joy to people's lives.

To Have: Time. Time to organize my home, and in particular our basement. Time to create a weekly meal plan and cook delicious meals. Time to play the piano. Time to exercise. Time to go on dates with my husband and hold hands. Time to really play with my kids. Time to read books. Time to write. Time to do creative things (like paint).

To Do: Train for and run a 10K race and officially start a photography business! And then of course, there is also my list of things I want to do before I turn 36.

Jake still needs to make his resolutions, but Clara would like to have a chocolate fondue, learn how to skate, go on a girl's date, play games and draw pictures with mommy. Sam wants to go to Pasley, play with Max and Truman and play with Max and Truman at Pasley. And Will still does not talk so he did not participate in this.

So Happy New Year everyone! Doesn't it feel good to start fresh? I have already moved around lots of furniture in our house and sorted through 2 drawers full of crap.

And this is what we did on New Years Eve:

Ate delicious lobster dipped in truffle butter, drank champagne and celebrated the New Year with friends (and our kids). It was perfect!

And Sam even got to blast Nerf darts onto the tv screen with Uncle Geoff (could not get any better):

HOLIDAY VISITS: COFFEE AT THE RAWLINGS

This morning brought a visit with my 2 friends, whom I have known since I was 3. All our kids were in tow, except for Clara who is on night 2 of her 2 night sleepover at Grandma's. By all accounts, she is having the time of her life and would rather not come home anytime soon.

I love catching up with old friends and I love seeing all our children playing together. Our kids are the age that we were, when we first met and became friends. So strange and wonderful at the same time.

And here is my son, showing everyone his butt yet again. YaYa and Grandma would not be amused (unlike the audience he had today).

HOLIDAY VISITS: DAY AT THE RATHBORNES

On Monday I invited myself over for a visit with Annie and the family. Once again, I found myself in their cozy (and very clean) kitchen in front of bowl of homemade soup, buttered homemade bread (still warm) and a cup of tea. The kids disappeared downstairs to play and we got to have lovely chats. I miss the olden days when we were both on maternity leave and we would play every Friday with our kids!

It was a play date record...we even stayed through dinner.

The girls immediately dressed up in their bridal outfits and planned out another wedding play (same as here). Sam didn't run away this time. In fact, he was really into kissing his 2 wives, and it was the girls who ran away from him (much to his chasing delight).

Thanks Annie (my top 5).

GOODBYE CHRISTMAS

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

We had a magical and cozy Christmas here at our house. I spent 3 days in my new pajamas, enjoying Christmas breakfast leftovers and turkey sandwiches, playing games on our new Wii, admiring my new vintage globes, planning meals from my new cookbooks, wearing my new winter coat to take Kirby out to pee and trying out my new camera lens (love, LOVE).

My only complaint is that Christmas went by too quickly. Jake was back at work today and this morning I looked around and saw that our home looks as though it has been burglarized. I can no longer ignore the fact that our house needs serious cleaning.

A few photos from the last few days, including Will's obsession with the ornaments:

Papa C's cake he made (from scratch). It is hard to believe that Jake is his son. Although Jake IS really good at opening a pickle jar and a bag of chips:

Christmas morning stocking opening on our bed:

Clara enjoying a moment with her Barbie dream house:

Will trying out his new shaving set:

The kids trying out all their bath paraphernalia at once (foam, tints, fizzes, bubbles):

Kirby desperate for a taste of Grandma's legendary Christmas brunch:

Sam riding his new Razor Spark super fast to the pond...

...where we tried out his new pump rocket (which goes REALLY high):

Naturally, Sam thought it would be fun if he sat on the launcher and the girl's pumped and launched him:

Daddy contemplating the TV/Wii/Blu-ray wiring:

Sam obsessing on hand held games:

XOXO

FRESH AIR

I decided we needed some fresh air and some running around this morning. It has become apparent that Sam can only listen to Christmas music, decorate cookies and glue gun flowers onto alligator clips for so long. If my boy doesn't get to run off some of his energy in the day, he can get wiggy, whiny, pesty and sometimes violent.

We met our friends this morning for warm drinks, then rode our bikes to a nearby park. Happy 2nd Birthday Flora!! I'm continuing to take some pictures of you and Will for your future wedding slideshow...

Will with his coffee:

2 more sleeps left. Holy crap!

#9

An online Christmas card...unorganized and ran out of time, or my part in helping the environment?

I did not design and mail (on time) a family Christmas card as I had hoped to do before I turn 36. Perhaps a News Year card counts? But Love and Happiness to you all. And wishing you a Lovely and very Merry holiday!