The Beauty of Sleep

Two nights ago Ben went in to turn off the kids music and lights after they were asleep, which he does most nights, and he came out of Luke's room telling me to "come look". As I walked to his bedroom door I saw him sleeping on the floor, favorite blanket and all, two feet away from his very comfy bed. It was so funny and sweet and I just couldn't resist taking a picture. It immediately reminded me of one of the most special feelings I have had as a mother. My mom once told me after a particularly hard day with Ivy, "Babies always redeem themselves when they are sleeping." It is so true. They could be grumpy and whiny and have exhausted you. All parents have those days. But there is a peace, a sereneness that they have while sleeping that I envy. They are never more beautiful to me than when they have happily drifted in to Dreamland. I have always loved to watch my babies sleep and now that they are older and sleep on their own I get to do that less and less. So I also went in to Ivy's room to take her picture. I had to turn on the light as she has started sleeping in complete darkness, another sign she is growing up. She was also sleeping funny. Not on the floor like her brother, but on top of her perfectly made bed (it's her favorite thing to do when cleaning her room) without a blanket at all. As I turned her light out and left her room Ben and I talked about how beautiful Ivy and Luke are and how much we love them, even though there are times they try our patience and wear us out. They had "redeemed" themselves, not really needing to at all

About three or four nights ago Luke was having trouble falling asleep so I let him cuddle me on the couch. I rarely do this as I think, especially on school nights, that bed time is bed time, and it is important for the kids to soothe themselves. I have always been this way. Even when they were babies I stopped rocking them to sleep by three months. I put them in their cribs when it was bed time and that was that. I have found that for me as a mom it works best. As I have spent most of the last eight years raising my children alone I have had to balance time, discipline, affection, etc. and it was a decision I made to teach them that bed time is important, even as babies, as I believe it starts there. Even in the summer I stick to our eight o'clock weeknight bedtime. I have found that the nights are so important to parents, first with Chris and me when Ivy and Luke were babies and he was working all the time, then after Chris died and I was doing it all alone, and now with Ben and me since the kids are constantly full of questions and stories and energy. We cherish the quiet nights we have together and we know that it is so important for us to spend that quality time together to stay close and connected and in love. So it was a school night and I let Luke cuddle me on the couch. It took all of about five minutes for him to fall asleep and it brought me such comfort. It had been so long since my boy fell asleep in my arms (he barely fits in my arms anymore). Since he started kindergarten I have been longing for a baby so badly. I want more children. Being a mother has been my greatest joy and my greatest success. I miss that baby smell, the little fingers and toes, baby food, even diapers. But while Ben and I can't wait to have another baby, we know that right now isn't the best time to start trying. Luke falling asleep in my arms showed me that I can wait a little while longer, he is still my "baby" and still needs me as much as he did when he was born, just in a different way.

Ivy's 1st Slumber Party

As most of you know Ivy turned 8 at the beginning of September. I decided to have her first slumber party as we have always invited a bunch of kids but barely any show up because it is the first week of school and pretty hectic. I figured a slumber party was a good way to keep it small and inexpensive but still fun for the girls and special for Ivy. I started looking for ideas on-line and found two great sites, http://www.amazingmoms.com/ and http://www.birthdayinabox.com/ , that gave me tons of ideas on how to run a slumber party without it getting out of control but still having a great time. I took a few ideas from those sites and came up with a few of my own and the party was a huge success. We had 8 girls total and thankfully Tiff came to help me otherwise I might not have made it through. Thanks to $5 pizzas from Little Caesar's and a delivery from Ben we had dinner and moved straight to dessert. I had made cupcakes early in the day and gave the girls everything they needed to decorate their own, frosting, a few kinds of sprinkles, plastic knives. They thought it was so cool. And when it came time to sing "Happy Birthday" I put a candle in each girls cupcake. It was all a little messy but well worth the fun. The rest of the night went just as smoothly. I had decided to do a new game or activity once every hour and it worked out really well. The girls played freeze dance, simon says, and sleeping beauty. We made door hangers and I did every one's makeup. At 10 we finally all sprawled out in our sleeping bags on the floor and watched movies. I think Ivy fell asleep first, she was so tired. In the morning as a last little special thing I made heart-shaped waffles for all the girls with whipped cream and chocolate chips. It really ended the whole party perfectly. What I thought was going to be a night of crazy stress for me turned in to a great time to get to know Ivy's friends and give her a party she wont forget.

Kindergarten At Last!!!

Well I started this blog and then never wrote again. I guess you could say Lorisa and Avery inspired me to start again. And what better way to start than Luke's first day of Kindergarten. While it has been 1 month now and he is doing great, I thought posting the pictures of his first day would be good. He went in just fine, wasn't nervous at all. It was so bittersweet. While I know he needed, was ready, to go to school; it was still hard seeing my baby go. Luke and Ivy have become such their own little people. And the differences in them is really funny to see. What surprises me the most is how close they remain. They look out for each other, take care of each other. Growing up like an only child I never knew the closeness of siblings until I was a teenager and could relate to my own sister. But they have a relationship unlike any other. They hate being apart. They still sleep in the same room on the weekends and actually miss each other on weeknights when we force them to sleep in their own rooms. When Luke is upset he goes to Ivy and sometimes even crawls in her lap while she comforts him. They are constant playmates and rarely ever get tired of each other. I pray every day that they remain that way. I think they will. I can't believe how time has flown by. People always tell you it will but you never believe it until it happens...

And we begin...

Well I have to start somewhere so here goes. My kids are hilarious and I have always known that but it's about time I start to share it. You can't even begin to imagine what goes on in their heads. To watch them learn new things every day is amazing. Ivy is such a little princess. Everything is pink and frilly and dresses and sometimes it's too much. I can barely get the girl to wear pants, it's skirts or dresses for her. She is constantly making up songs and dances. She loves to paint and is actually really good. So creative, just comes up with pictures in her head and translates it on to paper, it's amazing. Clumsy should be her middle name. It's hilarious. She trips and falls all the time. Her knees are constantly bruised or scraped up. And she's got the drama to go along with it. Everything is the end of the world for that girl. It is so funny. She has always been like that though, so girly, so dramatic. She is such a joy, such my girl.

And then there is Luke. Oh where do I even begin? He is almost 5 and ALL boy. Loud and destructive. Loves anything with wheels. He just started BMX and he is learning to ride a skateboard too. He is fearless, crazy, and all attitude. He cracks me up all the time. And you should see the boy dance. It's the funniest thing. He acts like a breakdancer only he's 4 and white and it's awesome. He's just started getting interested in video games and sports. He is rough and tumble for sure. If you even start wrestling with him it's all over. And then there is this other side of him that is so sweet and loving. He will crawl up in my lap and cuddle while he sucks his thumb, the only reminder that he is still my baby.

So there it is. I intend to use this to document their behavior, the funny things they say and do, and how we grow, them as children, me as a mom, and us as a family. The blog has begun.