Around Here
ANNA
Listening | Pitch Perfect soundtrack and Taylor Swift's 1989
Reading | READING. It's like magic. Seriously the coolest thing to witness and encourage and nurture. She's determined and not easily frustrated, which in and of itself is a gift.
Planning | Her birthday party. We're doing a delayed party this year not just because she was sick but because at least four other girls in her grade at school have birthdays this month and every weekend has included a birthday party already. Next year there's talk of a joint kids party.
Playing | Barbies and fairies and princesses - in all kinds of awesome scenarios. I love the imaginative play all over the house. Two of her favorite places are the spot seen in the photo above and in the bathtub in my bathroom.
Practicing | Gymnastics twice a week. Love how much she is loving it. Love that she is making friends with the other girls in her class - none of which go to the same school as her.
SIMON
Reading | Totally into murder mysteries. I think it started with the Clue movie that he has been obsessing about recently - including typing out the entire script by watching it via subtitles (it ended up being 52 or so pages - I call that awesome typing practice). Last week he checked out two different books at the library after searching "murder mysteries." One of the things that is awesome about this is that he's often most interested in books where he has seen the movie first.
Listening | He's been building his own playlist on Spotify recently and it's so awesome because it is so him. I'm planning a separate post to document that list soon.
Entertaining | He had his first friend sleepover last weekend and it went really well. Movies and video games for the win.
Joining | He's all signed up for some horseback riding lessons with a local group called RideAble. We've heard great things from other families who have taken their kids there so I'm hoping it will be something for him to look forward to and enjoy. It's something he's expressed an interest in before but the timing wasn't quite right. Making it happen this spring.
Choosing | Short sleeves when the sun is out. Those of you who have been around a long time know that's a pretty big deal.
ALI
Planning | We booked a RV for Spring Break and Aaron and I are brainstorming RV-adventure-with-5-kids strategies.
Obsessing | Currently consumed with the new workshops I'll be teaching this weekend at the Crop & Create event outside Toronto. Obsessing means working really hard (creating, journaling, photographing, writing), thinking about it way too much, and then procrastinating on the handouts and samples by cleaning. I'm excited and nervous and hoping I remember how to do this in-person stuff again.
Making Space | For kids activities. For quiet. For looking them in the eye. For hugs and silliness and hanging out together without my list being so long and so loud.
Listening | To his stories and questions (usually about Scooby Doo, Clue, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc). To her stories and questions (usually about the ups and downs of girls and boys in kindergarten). To NPR. To the hum of the dishwasher and the washer and dryer (sounds of comfort).
Remembering | I don't have to have it all figured out.
