Making the Most of the Blizzard!

As many of you know, we're in the middle of a blizzard right now in Massachusetts. It started snowing last night and is still snowing right now at 3pm. I think we're up to about 30 inches. The kids are napping now, as I write this, but earlier today the snow was so deep and the plow hadn't come through at all, so playing outside was a bit difficult since the snow was almost as tall as they are! Darling Daddy is fortunately working from home, so he took them out on his lunch break. Am I the only mom who isn't the biggest fan of snow play during a blizzard? I hope not. I sure enjoyed the peace inside while they played. 

But we surely have been making the most of this blizzard. Getting things done and having fun!

Darling Daddy and I made the most of last night and primed the second half of the basement. The other half is already COMPLETELY painted! Hooray! Getting closer to being done! (And yes neighbors, you do spy a fire pit! Got it for Darling Daddy for Christmas! Fires here come spring!)

Decided to start learning about the letter F today. What better way to start than coloring some Frozen pictures in the letter F?! Curly Girl was excited! She's getting better at coloring too. Oh, and since it's a blizzard, I let her pick out her own clothes :)

And of course Ginger Boy's favorite winter character - Frosty the Snowman! I wish I could insert him saying that here. It's adorable. 

Then we made a flower garden and played with some fire trucks. Fun!

And built the letter F out of Legos!

Took Mommy's phone to make some funny faces...

Daddy took a quick break and we took some fun family pictures.

Made some dairy-free ice cream out of snow, almond milk, sugar, salt & vanilla. Yum! We can all enjoy it without pain! And we've got plenty of snow to make more!

And Darling Daddy the hero took the kids out to play. Hooray!

All in all, it's been a great day and we'll have more fun when the kids wake up from naps and more priming in the basement tonight! 

A Great Girl, My Gums and God's Grace

This past week has been a bit rough here with the Red 3 + Me. I feel like sometimes, we just have those difficult weeks, you know? Life with a 1.5 year old and 3.5 year old is just so unpredictable. I'm learning more and more as time and life goes on with little ones, that life isn't always going to go according to a plan. Not my plan, not any plan. Tough lessons for this type-A planner and doer. But life does go according to God's plan and we've got to just hop on for the ride. He's got this, we just need to trust Him and rely on Him. He will see us through the difficult and unchartered territory in life. Sometimes, this picture below is life. And I'm feeling more and more at peace with it as time goes on.

Curly Girl has been acting out and testing the boundaries a lot lately. I'm not sure if it's an almost-4-year-old thing, or her strong-willed personality. She wants to be the boss, she wants to be in control and she wants to have the last word. All the time. She's going to make a fantastic CEO someday, but right now, we're having to teach her that we are the authorities over her and that God is our ultimate authority. I think I'm learning as much as she is through all of this. Life lessons being learned the challenging (difficult?) way for both Mommy and Curly Girl. We'll get through this phase, just like we always do!

Huge thanks to Kara Lynn Bird Photography for using the kids are her models!

But despite her difficult-to-deal-with personality, she is really great. Like really, really great. She can be so tender and caring with Ginger Boy and attends to his needs so sensitively. She also can be so thoughtful, like wanting to make cards and draw pictures for friends and family all the time. And she sure does love her Mommy. She tells me she misses me when I'm away from her. We're talking being away for an hour or so at a time when I take a bootcamp class and a shower at the YMCA or go out to tutor for an hour in the evenings. Super cute. I wish and hope that she'll always miss me in these ways, but I know that they'll come to an end all too soon. I thank and praise God every day for the great girl she is and the girl she will become someday.

Huge thanks to Kara Lynn Bird Photography for using the kids are her models!

Another thing that's been going on here is that I had gum grafting surgery in a third location in my mouth a few days ago. Unfortunately, I was not as well-prepared as I could have been for the surgery. It's like I had other things demanding my attention, or something? I had two other locations done 7 years ago - Pre husband and Pre kids. I was able to recover a bit more easily than this time around. Icing could happen more frequently, as well as laying on the couch for hours on end. Not really the case this time. And I didn't prepare enough with stocking up on soft foods. Actually, I didn't get any soft foods at all. We always have yogurts, so I've had that, and I've made a couple of fruit and veggie smoothies, but besides that, I got nothing. My bad. And there's more swelling this time, like chipmunk cheek swelling. I don't remember being this swollen last time, but it was in a different location, so that could be why. I don't know. Just hoping for some major healing in the next couple of days! There's only so much TV and movies I can let the kids watch because I don't have the energy or pain tolerance to do anything else with them... :)

But through all of these difficult things this week (forgot to mention our epic grocery shopping trip, spilling hot coffee all over my leg and into my crotch while driving a few days ago, as well as the chore and effort of getting to the mall with two little ones only to have the ONE store I needed to go to be closed for inventory...) like I was saying, through all of these things, I've realized that there is always God's grace. And His mercies. No matter how many difficult things I go through, or how many times I feel like I've messed up as a mom, He is always there. And when I ask, He will forgive me and help me through these difficult days. He'll be there as long as I ask. I think the reason he leads me through so many trials is to teach me to depend on him more. And to show me that things get better when He's included as part of my daily life. 

To end, I'm going to share the lyrics of a song that I've been listening to A LOT lately. Like listening on repeat in the car and during my gum grafting surgery. It often brings me to tears, but it is a great reminder of the greatness that is our God.

Never Once

by Matt Redman

Standing on this mountaintop

Looking just how far we've come

Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You've done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much Youve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore well be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

What Christmas Looks Like in Our World

I love Christmas. It is definitely one of my most favorite times of the year. I also feel very fortunate that I can fully enjoy the entire Christmas season because my line of work allows for it. We take full advantage and soak it all in every day. As opposed to my college years when I felt I could only really enjoy it once final exams were over. Don't miss those days! 

As much as I love this season and its True meaning, it surely has changed in the past few years for me. The activities and decorations leading up to Christmas day are a bit different, but enjoyable in their own, new joy-filled childish ways. 

Here are some of the things we did both inside and outside our home this year to prepare for and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

First are the Christmas outfits and perfectly lit tree and happy, smiling (& adorable!) children. This is most important, right? We got tons of pictures like this. Ok, I'm lying. This was the only good one. And it was pretty much a miracle. Hence why it's first ;)

Next comes our Fisher Price nativity set. Notice that one of the three wisemen is missing. No idea where he is. He must have gotten lost somewhere on the journey to Bethlehem. I'm taking it as a sign of a well-played-with set. I'll just tell myself that. He was here at the start of the Christmas season! But we do love this and play with it often. 

Our advent calendars and kindness elf. Every morning (ok, almost every morning - I slacked a few times) our kindness elf, Pepper, has a note under her arm telling us what we're going to do that day. Some things we did included making different crafts and ornaments, going on a shopping trip to buy our Giving Tree gifts, picking out some old toys we no longer use to donate, baking cookies, mailing & delivering Christmas cards, playing/visiting with family or friends, seeing Christmas lights or watching a Christmas movie. Then there's the advent calendars. The one on the wall has different Bible verses to read each day, as well as two M&Ms in each pocket. We figured out pretty quickly that the M&Ms had to be the reward for sitting still and listening to the reading of the Bible verses :)  There's also the family advent calendar that we weren't as good at using. The kids are still a bit young for a lot of it. We'll save that for the future.

Window decorations. The nativity gets rearranged daily in various formations. We did make the "stained glass" nativity though and that has remained in place. I've learned to just let things go and let them be involved rather than have perfect looking decorations. I just end up driving myself crazy trying to fight that fight!

Christmas sticker countdown. This has been wonderful. Peel off a sticker and stick it on the tree each day and also know how many days until Christmas remain. Will definitely have to do this again next year as it easily avoided the "how many days until Christmas?" question.

Visiting Fatima Shrine to look at the lights. We did this at least three times. This visit pictured was with some of our friends was especially fun! The best things about this place are that its free, the lights are great and my energizer bunny of a daughter expends some energy before bed.

And of course making sure we focus on the true meaning of Christmas while there. 

We also did some activities that were fun, but also caused a bit more stress and anxiety than I had anticipated. Two kitchen helpers is just twice the fun! We made memories though and I know it will get easier in years to come. Here we are making cinnamon applesauce ornaments and cookies.

One day I surprised the kids with a long-overdue visit to see some of our most beloved friends who moved over an hour away. The girls had a great time decorating Christmas cookies, playing dress up and doing crafts while the littles played together and biggest brother was at school. And even more important was that the moms got some time to reconnect and catch up.

Touching and rearranging the ornaments on the tree. Multiple times a day. This wasn't exactly a planned or organized activity, but it happened. We didn't have a perfectly pretty Christmas tree this year, it just wasn't going to happen. I let that go and just let their little hands and hearts have fun. And also let pine needles find their way around the entire house. That is not so fun.

Meeting the Grinch. This was HUGE. He came to our local library one morning and did a meet and greet. For those that don't know, Curly Girl has quite the obsession with the Grinch, along with other green guys like Gumby and Yoda. She was pretty much in heaven. And Ginger boy surprised us all by getting right up on his lap. (But if we are anywhere even near a Santa, he insists on me holding him while he nervously quivers). Glad we got to do this!

This may become our new Christmas Eve tradition - watching Rudolph together in the morning before heading out for the day's activities.

And last, but not least, my favorite thing leading up to Christmas is the Christmas Eve service at my hometown church that I grew up in and we got married in. (First Congregational Church of North Brookfield, MA) They do a children's Christmas pageant and then we sing songs by candlelight. And if I'm being perfectly honest, this year brought a little more anxiety than years past because we sat in the balcony with our little busy bodies (and my 3 year old nephew) and they aren't ever really still and have to work pretty hard at staying quiet. So there's the height thing, and then the fire thing with the candles. Just a little anxious. But we made it through the service and all enjoyed it. And I think everyone in the church knew we were there... And best of all, the true meaning of Christmas rang throughout the service. 

From the Red 3 + Me we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May you feel and experience His love in this coming year.

A Parrot & A Sponge

Life here is fun lately. Definitely still a challenge, but fun. Curly Girl and Ginger Boy are playing together more and more every day. I love hearing their giggles and squeals as they play together. Oh, and the screams and wails. There are definitely those too. I can see their love and friendship developing and it truly warms my heart. I hope and pray that they will continue to grow in this love and friendship throughout the rest of their lives. 

I've started referring to Ginger Boy as my little parrot. He will try to repeat pretty much anything anyone says to him. It's ridiculously cute to hear it come out of him. I can't even count the number of words and phrases he's saying these days. This past week he started stringing together five, six and seven word phrases. It's like he's really becoming a little person. He's thinking and learning and loving and growing. He can stop that growing thing though. Seriously. The more he parrots back, the more I realize that my baby is no longer a baby. That makes me a little sad. Ok, a lot sad. Which is why I still hold him and snuggle him before naps and bedtime. And also why he just stopped nursing two weeks ago. Almost twenty-one months of nursing. Go ahead and judge away! 

A few of my favorite phrases that have come out of him lately are:

"No! Stay away Curly Girl!" (of course he used her real name)

"Dada done workin in da basement"

"My bawoon bwo (blow) away! Curly Girl bawoon POP!"

"Choo choo go fast! Weally loud!"

"I go a Maine. See papa n gaga."

"Ride papa trackuhr (tractor). Turn a wheel. Take turns."

"Go mama! Go mama! Wun!" (as I ran the half marathon!)

Then there's a few that aren't exactly my favorites, but they're coming:

"Bite a Curly Girl"

"Kick a mama" (as I change him on the changing table)

"Hit a Emmy" (the cat)

We're working on those. Though I have to say we are a bit relieved to see the testosterone coming through all of the tutus, necklaces and headbands that he always wants to wear like Curly Girl. 

And now, about that Curly Girl. Wow. She has quite a strong personality! And strong vocals to go with that personality! She is about as assertive as they come. A characteristic that will serve her so well later in life. A challenge for us right now though. One good thing is that we never, ever wonder what she needs or wants or wonder how she's feeling. She lets us know all the time. So that's a bonus! Also an added bonus is that we never have a dull or quiet moment in our house. (But is that really a bonus?!) At least she still naps almost every day. And goes to bed at night with no fight at all. Definitely blessed by that. 

Despite her bold personality, she is super sweet, smart as a whip, and is always asking amazing questions and rambling off new things that she learned from church or her Community Bible school class or from Super Why. She is like a little sponge! Just soaking up all of the information she's obtaining from the world around her and using it to ask questions and learn even more. It's good and bad. I have to watch every single thing that I say these days. She will pick up on anything and think about it and then either repeat it or ask a great question about it. Fortunately we haven't had anything bad come out yet.

Some of the amazing things she's come out with lately are:

"I was thinking about it and using my imagination and I think that when we go to Heaven, Jesus will carry us there. I don't think we have to take stairs. They would be really high stairs."

"Some day, I'm going to marry a nice man who loves Jesus. Then I can be a mommy. Right now I'm a mommy to my baby dolls."

"Ginger Boy, you have to go to sleep! I'm tired and I need my sleep!" (said through tears as he whined at bedtime)

"I don't want to die. I want to stay here forever. Am I going to die on a cross?"

Needless to say, I've got a lot coming at me each and every day. A lot of questions to answer and a lot of conversations to have. We are never ever bored. Ever. Always on the move and asking questions. Love this life I'm living and wouldn't trade it for the world. And yes, as soon as my head hits the pillow each night, I'm asleep :) 

Training Truths

So I'm signed up to run my first half marathon in a little over a month. For those of you who aren't really sure if that distance, it's 13.1 miles. Thirteen long miles. The more I train, the longer the race seems. I'm not sure if that is how this training thing is supposed to work... But here I am a little less than 5 weeks out from the half marathon and I am totally unmotivated to run. And I mean totally. I've been fighting this feeling for a few weeks now. Running is such a mental sport and I'm being challenged mentally for sure right now.

As part of this half marathon training, I go out every Saturday morning for a long run, which gets increasingly longer each week. On these runs I have a lot of time to think. Sometimes I think, sometimes my mind is just blank and focused on what I'm doing and sometimes I'm singing along with my iPod.

I figured I should share some of the truths I've thought about on these long runs, in case any other crazy person out there is looking to me for inspiration in running one someday.

+ Part of my incentive in training for a half marathon was that it would help me get rid of the last 10 or so pounds of baby weight. And even if it didn't help me lose the weight, it would at least make it look better on me. Maybe. Well, it's done a pretty good job with that. So now I should just be done, right?

+ Why am I really doing this? To prove to myself that I can run for a really long time? Well, I've realized that I can. So maybe I should just call it quits now. 

+ There are so many other things I could be doing in these 2+ hours on a Saturday morning. Like sleeping? Sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee?

+ I can't run that same long route again. I just can't. Even in reverse. There are only so many neighborhoods I can add on to this route to make it longer and I'm just not interested in seeing more gigantic houses. And speaking of those gigantic houses, we're talking like mini mansions, what do all of these people do for work? And do they ever get to spend any time in the house they work so hard for? There are just so many big houses! I'm curious!

+ I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller... Oh wait, that's just my iPod playing :)

+ I don't even want to go out running during the week most of the time because it's not sporadic anymore. It's planned and scheduled. I've got to do so many miles on certain days. It takes the fun out of running! No spontaneity. 

+ But I do go out for my weekly runs. And I take the kids in the stroller most of the time. And they're pretty good about it. As long as we stop to visit the horses and get some ice from Cumberland Farms.

+ Changing up my long run route IS helpful and has made the latest long runs more bearable. Less hills and heat might help too.

+ I am so much more disciplined about exercising than I ever have been while having kids, which is a good thing!

+ I'm also getting less sleep because of this exercise discipline and having to wake up extra early to accomplish other things around the house because I'll be running later. 

+ Overall, I'm glad that I'm training for this half marathon and I know I'll be so proud of myself when I cross that finish line. Because I WILL get there! 

I think I can officially say it's Fall

We went to one of my [our] favorite places today. And we wore sweatshirts. Matching ones if you must know. I've been going to this place pretty much my entire life. My mom often tells the story about when I was young and playing at the playground while a field trip was there. I said, "What are all of these kids doing on MY playground?" I guess I was used to having the whole joint to myself. What place am I talking about? Brookfield Orchards. Open year round and home of the happy apple. Do I sound like an advertisement? Well, I did spend every weekend during harvest season there for both my sophomore and junior years of high school. I just love the place!

Anyways, we went and played, got a couple of pieces of [what used to be] penny candy, and of course picked some apples. It was a perfect fall day! Crisp air, cloudless blue sky and an abundance of apples to be picked. So glad we did it. Here's a little glimpse at our day.

A welcoming sight to enter into. Penny candy, here we come! [Did I mention I was the penny candy girl  one year? Yep, I was. Countless hours of counting candy...]

Ginger Boy spent a lot of time on the "sings"

Apple loving cousins posing the best they can for the picture. Guest appearance by a non-Ginger!

Picking apples at their respective heights

Mom's asking us to pose for a picture? Ok, I'll put an apple on your head instead

This field is currently laying fallow. All of my growing up years I remember this being full of apple trees. I wonder if my son will ever see trees in this field?

Perfect day. Abundance of apples. So glad we made the trip today.