A Christmas Adventure

With two kids under the age of four, isn't everything an adventure?

Mostly, yes.

Today we took the boys ice skating. TheHotness' work rented out the skating rink for it's peeps and their families... so we bundled up in our matching red buffalo plaids, heated Jax a bottle, grabbed the telephoto and hit the road.

We had a great time. James was so excited to try. He is very in to ballet these past couple of weeks. I think it was the Nutcracker that did him in. That and my iPod's Christmas playlist heavy with Handel's Messiah and George Winston... *Cue.the.music* His little feet point and the pitter.patter starts. His arched arms go up, and he flits and flitters all over the house. Twirl! Spin! Dip! Leap! It's so precious that even Marcus doesn't have the heart to stop him. *I love that about theHotness... he's not 'macho.' Being a momma of boys, I pick up on that overly.macho.daddy stuff I see sometimes in other daddies. The idea of 'toughening up' little boys, frankly, makes me want to hurl. So when Marcus lets James dance in the kitchen and looks on with patient eyes, I appreciate HIM being the man my children call Daddy. He's comfortable letting them be children first, little boys second.

Anywho, James has talked about his ice.skating debut all week. He's told me all about how cold the ice would be, and that he thinks that I should be his partner. He has told me to dress in a 'pink puffy.skirt' (he means tutu) so he can 'fro (me) up in the air so i can catch you.' And as if that wasn't cute enough, he would promptly follow that declaration with 'see, like this' *jump.JUMP.grabby hands.BIG.bow* Very cute.

On our way, I asked him if he was nervous. He said, 'No, I just haff to try my best.' He asked if he was going to fall down. We jumped in, 'sure you will. You may fall down a lot. But that's a part of the fun.'

He did fall down... a lot. But as promised, he did have lots of fun.

It was a great experience. TheHotness is the Worlds.Most.Patient man, and let James skate/fall til his heart was content. I was amazed how he could navigate the rink with a 40lb toddler slip.sliding between his feet and hanging on whatever his hands could grab on his way down without falling once. We ended our adventure with big tufts of cotton candy. (And ibuprofen for Marcus... since there is a good chance he may regret this little activity in the morning.)

I love these boys. I love my life. I'm so glad that this choice led to that choice ultimately bringing me Here. So many things could have gone wrong along the way... but here I sit, utterly amazed with the life Marcus and I have created together.

Lately when things get loud... or messy... or both, like magnets searching for our poles, we inadvertently grab hands or catch each other's eyes and we can't help but grin. A little weary grin of validation. Our life is chaos. Hard work and guts mixed in with bursts of chaotic 'oh.my' moments. The combination is honestly combustible. And thankfully, most of the times we burst into laughter rather than tears- because when the dust settles, and I survey my life and how I spend my time, I'm pleased with what I see. My downy soft nest glitters with signs of Life. My sweet.Little.Three clamouring for my attention... I get to mother them. I get to claim them. I get to whisper Dreams into their ears at night as they sleep before falling into my own bed. What an absolute privilege I've been given...

I want the peace in knowing that one day, when Recollection grabs me, I can look back and find this moment in time and know that I savored every acute detail of being the mother to my Littles. They will always be mine, but they won't always be little. In fact, with every new day, they slowly change from being my moon.eyed.bebe.boys to something less familiar but equally magical. I want to be focused, present, and real... so when they look back into their own memory, they will find me here... fully invested in them. Content... wishing to be no where else in the world.

Now, on to the action shots! :)





These were taken on our way out when we were making 4ish trips back and forth between the car grabbing this hat, that hat, a snack, extra bib- you get the idea. ;)










A little less like Nutcracker on ice... but splendid fun none the less! :)

Peace, love, and spun.sugar.
xo
lmkw