Spaghetti Fun!

Recently Jamie had a dish that had spaghetti in it. It was so adorable to watch him eat it, make a mess, slurp the noodles that John and I decided we needed to have spaghetti night in the Atwood household. So tonight I made spaghetti and purposefully decided to make it a fun dinner night. Jamie slurped it up so cutely and Anne joined right in!

Sledding!

We had a really surprising sledding experience the week before Christmas. On one of the warmest days that week (I think it actually got above freezing), I got the kids dressed up to go sledding. Snow pants, hats, gloves, coats, everything. Took them out to put them and in the car and realized I didn't have a clue where the sleds were. It turned out they were in the attic, with absolutely no way for me to reach them. So back in the house and undressed the kids went-no sledding to be had that day. A few days later, it occurred to me that maybe I could pile up a bunch of snow and have the tiniest of sledding hills for Anne. It worked out and she had a fun time sliding down it on her sled. We tried with Jamie but the hill wasn't sturdy enough for his bulky baby sled so he did a lot of walking around while Anne slid down.



The interesting part comes in that while Anne was sledding down, I thought to myself how great it would be if John came home early and saw us sledding on the hill and then we actually went sledding for real. This seemed impossible since it was only 4 pm and John had another hour before he was even off work. I forgot that it was the day before Christmas Eve and since everyone had Christmas Eve off (due to Christmas being on a Saturday), John actually was getting off early that day. Not joking, two minutes after I thought how neat it would be for him to come home, he pulled up! He was quite surprised to see us out in the snow since I've never hidden the fact that playing out with the kids in the snow-especially by myself-is not my cup of tea. About 10 seconds after he got out, I said "Let's go sledding!" John and I are no where near fly by the seat of your pants people. Normally to go sledding we'd have to plan for it at least a day in advance. Not to mention at that point, we'd have at best 20 minutes of day light left. Still, it seemed fun and doable so with just a little prodding (and I mean not much at all) John loaded the kids up (who were ideally already dressed and ready to go), I threw the sleds in the trunk and off we went! It was fairly warm when we left to go but even 15 minutes later, with a setting sun, had a big difference in the temperature. By the time we got to the hill it was a good 10 degrees colder (I thought). We only had about 20 minutes left of daylight but still, we took advantage of it. Jamie has a baby sled, where he can be strapped in and it has some sort of piece on the back that makes it anti-tip so he was able to go down by himself. John and I took turns going down with Anne. She did great and was such a trooper. I'm excited to go back when there's more daylight and it isn't quite so fridged.

Daddy and Jamie going down-John holding the ropes to keep some sort of control on Jamie's sled.

Fall Fun!

One of my goals back in September was to spend more time outside this fall. To be honest, I'm not sure at all that I even came close to accomplishing what I had in mind. I thought we'd spend every daylight hour out at the park, the back yard, fall walks, and taking the dog to the dog park. What it really turned out to be was what it always is-a few days a week when it was nice and when it worked out, we hung out outside. Most of the time though, we had chores or errands or just plain busyness that stood in the way.
We did however, make it to the Arboretum one particularly chilly day this fall. It was lovely! The stream beds had dried up, making it sort of a bouldering experience for the kids. Jamie has never been able to play in this stream bed because it's just too uneven for his still-mastering-walking feet. But since it was all dried up and not quite so slippery, he was able to navigate it quite well. We also discovered a rope bridge that I didn't know existed and although it said it was for at least 3 year-olds, Jamie ran across it a dozen times at top speed without any problems at all!
It was a lot of fun. The Arboretum, for me, is a place you have to seek out entertainment. It doesn't come to you like it does in so many other kid hot spots. It isn't blown up in bright colors or set out in a huge display. Instead you have to spend time, looking at the details and using your imagination and really getting back to the essence of being a kid to be entertained. And that's why I love it there. Because it forces my kids to look at a leaf and stop seeing it as a part of a tree but instead to view it as a hat, a plate, or a magical wand. The Arboretum is especially magical when you can get to it on days when it's deserted and the peace, quietness, and simplicity of it can speak the loudest. That's what I found when we went this fall. I can't wait to go back on a day when it isn't quite warm enough to draw crowds but warm enough that my kiddos can get their feet dirty without their toes falling off.

Anne at 4.5 years

Anne is officially 4 and a half now (or as she says "An older four"). I cannot believe how quickly my little girl has grown; honestly the past 4 years have flown by. I love nearly every second of her at age 4 and a half. I love the conversations we have. I love hearing what she's thinking about. I love seeing her funny reactions to things. I love how she's a big helper with Jamie and how much she loves him. I love seeing them play together and Anne being compassionate with him if something goes wrong. Four has been an amazing half a year so far. What will come next?

Buddy...Talking!

Jamie has been slow in the language. As I've said before, he was honestly mute until he was 8 months old. He didn't make a peep other than to cry. Then suddenly at 8 months he started cooing and babbling like he'd done it all along. Until 18 months he was basically wordless. He could say a few words-3 or 4 if I was being generous, but that was it. Then, again, at 18 months he quickly started putting words to things and now at 20 months he easily has 30+ words in his vocabulary. Even more amazing is the self control and ability this little guy has to put words to his needs and thoughts. He can seriously be in the midst of a meltdown temper tantrum and I can ask him what he wants; he will stop crying and tell me (in single words) "Eat" or "Wa-wa" or point to what he needed. He has "conversations" with us all the time. I'll be doing a chore and he walks up and points to something, says the word for it. I'll repeat it back to him or ask him a question about it and he'll tell me something else about it (Buddy: "Car." Me: "Is that a car Bud?" Buddy: "Rrrrr..." Me: "Yep, the car goes 'rrrr.'") Seriously amazing to me. But tonight he had another exciting first in the language department. I was holding him on my lap at the dinner table and Winnie, outside, barked. Jamie looked outside, pointed and said "Wimmie woof." He put 2 words together! Wow! This is the starting of sentences! And how cool that I was able to be there and recognize this exciting and fun first! Go Buddy, go! You'll be talking in no time!

Turkey Hands

We did another holiday craft this week. I'm loving doing crafts with Jamie-seeing how much he can participate, seeing what he comes up as he mindlessly sticks things on and scribbles. It's adorable. I love seeing how Anne is growing in her ability to cut, and glue, and create. I treasure these little crafts the kids have been doing.

Anne did a great job of putting "feathers" on her turkey. She insisted on cutting it into a lovely square too-as Jamie had his in a circle.

Jamie's chubby hand. Unfortunately he wouldn't stay still long enough to get a really accurate trace of his hand, so it's a bit bigger than his real hand. What a fab job he did scribbling his picture.

Crafts!

Anne and I used to do crafts all the time. We decorated our house with crafts of the season, making new things every few months. That was before Jamie. And before preschool. When I was still stuck in the bliss of having an only child who wasn't yet school-aged with a schedule. Now our lives our busy busy. Jamie needs nearly constant attention (otherwise he will jump off tables, fall down stairs, color the walls with chalk, and try to eat cat food-and in case you haven't realized, he's done all that this past week.). Anne's schedule rivals that of any celeb (and she's not even in full time school yet!) and the days of crafts are mostly in the past.

Since Jamie has gotten a little older and I've becoming willing to let go of routines just a bit more, we've started to do a few more crafts. Just a few. The other day I had a great idea for a Halloween craft that both kids could do! Perfect! So I got everything ready and cut out and we sat down at the kitchen table-Anne next to me and Jamie on my lap and we went to town. It was wonderful. Jamie "participated" even though every move he made went over his head and in the end we have two beautiful Jack-O-Lanterns decorating our kitchen. I am in love with both and I could stare at them all day because they represent my kids. Anne's, who cut hers out all by herself and put all the parts in just the right places, shows me what a big girl she has become. She is becoming so independent, such a little person. Jamie's, with his pieces stuck every which way in a Tim Burton-isc style, reminds me what a baby he is and what a big boy he is becoming. Happy fall and happy Halloween, whether you are celebrating it in a big girl way or a crazy toddler boy way!

Jamie's precious pumpkin

Anne's perfectly precise pumpkin

Shorewood Scoot 5K

John and I have done the Shorewood Scoot for 4 years in a row now. The main reason we do it is because it is literally 10 minutes from our house. In the Chicago suburbs where everything seems to be a minimum of half an hour away, finding something so close is a gem. The past few years John and I have leisurely run it together; last year Jamie was a tiny baby and we walked the whole thing. This year though, I am probably in the best shape of my life, I weigh less than I did before having Anne (thank you for that gift you gave me Jamie while I nursed you!), and I am really fast with running! Before this year, I was running at a comfortable 11 minute mile pace. Maybe a 10:30 if I was having a good day. In the running world, that's practically walking. This year, I am comfortably running a 9 minute pace. Much much faster than I ever hoped I could run.

Back when I started doing races, I knew that I was-at best-a 10 minute miler girl. So I always thought it would be cool to run 3 miles in under 27 minutes (or in under a 9 minute mile). That translated over into wanting to do a 5k in under 27 minutes, even though that meant doing an 8:45 or so. I never ever thought I would even come close to doing that. But this year, since I was already running so "fast" I thought I might actually try for it. I made up a training schedule for myself that included one day of speed work, one day of mock 5Ks at a faster pace and one day of a "long" run. Last week I ran my final training 5K in 27:35 and thought I just might actually have a (long) shot at making my ultimate goal for time in a 5K.

So today was the race. I was totally nervous. Even though we paid for John to do the race too, he decided to stay at the finish line to watch me come in (since we were both so excited that I might actually make my goal). The first mile I was incredibly fast. I finished it in an 8:20. The second mile I finished in an 8:40, still well within my goal. By this point, I was feeling it big time in my gut. When I exert myself with running, I get what's equal to the worst side stitch but in my stomach. So I was feeling that a lot. The beginning of that mile started with a hill so I slowed my pace for a few minutes and ended the 3rd mile in 9 minutes. I had only 1 tenth of a mile left to go-about one minute to finish that, give or take a few seconds. My watch said I was at 26:05 or so. I didn't think I'd finish that tenth before 27 minutes but I still picked up my pace. The last 30 seconds or so I debated slowing down and jogging it in because I thought I wouldn't make it anyway. But then I thought of finishing just a few seconds over 27 minutes and didn't want to be kicking myself for not giving it my all. So I sprinted it in-and made some nice breathing noises-I'm sure my co-runners thought I was giving birth. But I did it! I finished it in 26:55 (and actually even faster since I didn't start their start line right away). Awesome! I almost cried! I cannot believe I actually beat what was basically an unattainable goal. I have absolutely no desire to beat my time-I think this may go down as my fastest 5K in my life and I plan to run until I die. I had a great time and am so thrilled my training paid off!

Later on Anne and Jamie ran a race. Anne actually came in 4th out of probably 20 kids. That's my girl! And Buddy came in dead last, but in his defense he had no clue what was happening. Here's some pictures of our fun morning.

Before the race

Me finishing

Anne running her race

Look at her go! She's like lightening!

Jamie "running" his race. Look at him go! He's like molasses!

Jamie in his fire hat-his prize for finishing the race.

Anne in her fire hat.

September Resolutions

I've heard for several years now how a lot of people view the fall-with the start of school-almost as a new year. It never really resonated with me until this year. I feel as though I am on the cusp of something new, something fresh and crisp and unblemished. I have resolutions-always reserved for the New Year-running around freely in my head. So what do I hope to see happen this fall? Well:
1. Our Fall Bible Study starts up again this week. I hope I can start doing devotional times again. Something. Bible reading and prayer have been sorely lacking in my life. I hope with the start of the Study, it will trickle down to my personal life too.
2. I hope that the kids and I spend lots and lots of time outside this fall. In the summer we never go to the park mainly because the slides and swings are hot enough that we could bring raw eggs with us and cook them on there for breakfast. I hope we spend lots of time going to the park, walking in forest preserves, hitting up the dog park. Anne is in school 3 days a week and I have to pick her up at 3 pm. Usually she and Jamie are in their rooms doing quiet time/naps until 3:30 or 4. So on school days I always feel like I need to fill in that extra time. I hope we spend most of it at the park or somewhere else outside.
3. I am looking forward to cooking. Yeah, I know, I spent pretty much the entire summer cooking away, but anytime I turned on the oven, it was with guilt-knowing I should really reserve that type of culinary fun for the colder months. We'll they are here! (Practically) So I am looking forward to making lots of yummy muffins, biscuits, casseroles, cookies...I can't wait to incorporate the Autumn harvest too-sweet potatoes, winter squash, apples, pumpkins...my fingers are itching to bake and cook as I type this.
4. As always, I hope that I can start to get a handle on chores. I do chores every day but I'm always behind. Mostly because we go out too much and I spend way too much time on the computer. Maybe I can cut some of that out, get on top of things in the house, and spend sometime in peaceful, personal growth (see #1).

So that's what's been floating around in my head for the past few weeks. Hopes for the coming months. Next week is supposed to be mild and I'm hoping the week after starts the beginning of the crisp air that's here to stay.