Self Care Play

My friend's husband came up to me a while ago and said, "Jess says she really likes hanging out with you and one of the reasons is you're really good at self care." That made me laugh! What a reputation! 

What used to be be called R&R is now self care, our new buzz phrase. It's thrown at moms the most-having a hard time? stressed out? BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR SELF CARE? There's a pressure for moms to be really really great at self care to keep them mellow.

I'm good at doing things that makes me happy. I hang out with friends, I run, I (try to) meditate, I have hobbies, etc. I'm a hoarder of self care and most of my things are done away from my family and outside of my house. 

Not anymore though! My new favorite, most exciting form of self care is stopping it all and being with my kids. Playing, sitting, talking, answering questions, chasing, etc. It fills me so much right now! I say NO to my perceived fatigue, the mom chores, and all the other things. Like going rogue, I'm choosing self care that keeps me right where I am and embraces the love that's right in front of me. 

Burl Does Bath Time

A babysitter recently relayed some info that she gathered when she was here. Ridge told her that Fern plays with him, but Burl does not. When I passed this along to Burl, he was shocked and almost offended. Burl definitely plays with Ridge-to which Burl pointed out all the ways they play together! Camping, obstacle course, tractor, legos, trampoline, etc. In an effort to regain big brother points, Burl has really ramped up the Ridge time! It's been hilarious and absolutely precious.

I was reminded of all that big brother-ness when I saw these pictures taken a few weeks ago. Burl asked if he could do bath time. At first I micromanaged the potential mess, then I let go and sat back with my camera and my fuzzy mom feelings. 

Burl used his gentile voice and his big smile the whole time! 

When he finished the washing part, he asked me "now what?" I told him now was the fun part. He can just play with them. In true Burl-ness, he started a puppet game with the dragon washcloth. The two littles were buying whatever Burl was selling! Burl was eating it all up. 

One of my hopes is that we are fostering a connection between our children that will be enjoyed into adulthood. While I wish I knew what I need to do now for the future, only time will tell me how it turns out. Instead of living in the future like I tend to do, I'm trying to focus on the now. 

The now is pretty great and the smiles are full throttle. 

A Barefoot Day & Noodles

I'm loving being home with the two littles. They are increasingly more engaging and more fun! It's not hard for me to admit that my time with them often reminds me of my similar days with Burl and Fern. We did the same things, but without the hustle of school. For my sake, I try hard to keep our pace as slow as I can. I linger on the floor with them, take time to tickle them as I buckle them in their car seats, or hold them a little longer than normal. While I can't do this everyday, the days that I do it are the best!

I don't have any new tricks, so I just repeat what I did with Burl and Fern. It worked ok in my book! A household favorite are NOODLES! 

I set up the kids table in the kitchen and give them a bowl of dry noodles with spoons and measuring cups. They love the sensory, the freedom to do it on their own, and making a mess!

I try not to get involved but I do hover with total fixation on them. Look at Lark's little mouth in the picture above. Such focus! I love seeing this. 

Towards the end, I showed them that they could drive their trucks through it to make roads. That turned into them piling every truck that they had on top of the noodles. I loved it so much because it's just another little way these boys are being boys together and ramping up to the next level. I love them and my barefoot days with them. 

Finally! A Hike

I've really been looking forward to blogging about this little hike. Illness hit us (a reminder that we've actually been pretty healthy this season), so I've fallen behind on some of our goings and comings. Before the end of the year, however, we were able to get in our first local hike of 2018!



Besides our camping trips, we hadn't hiked in 2018! It's crazy to me, because it's meant so much to our family. When I look back at the year, I remember that we've spent a lot of time doing baseball then the bathroom reno that never stops.

John and I made a commitment to get in a hike over Christmas break. First, we passed this trail on the way to another trail on a land trust. When we got there, it was closed. I was so upset-what a setback with four kids! Anyways, we went back to this small, there-n-back spot that's not as interesting. 

My attitude quickly turned around because of the kids. Children are wired to have fun-they're always looking for it and always making it. Burl was especially adorable as he felt unleashed and could run ahead, going as fast as he wanted and climbing whatever he could!

An exciting part of the trail is that it passes under the Incline Railway and passengers always wave back!

Another highlight was finding the recently developed boulder fields just off the trail. This was a great surprise. We had so much fun exploring, climbing, and making loud noises. This spot off the guild trail was perfect for our family. We were really impressed with it! So much so, that I returned there with the two littles with some mom friends and their kids a week later. 

As I remember this trip, I remember how happy I felt. I told John that I really want to do more hiking this year. While I've heard some hilarious comments about hiking (there's no vending machine out there/it's just a walk in the woods), I don't relate. It calms me, it excites me, and it makes feel happy in a way that I can't fully understand. I'm so interested in it. As the country song goes, "I like it. I love it. I want some more of it."