January has almost always involved a little post-holiday letdown mixed with cabin fever and a struggle to return to the routines of real life. But it’s also always held the promise of a new year, a clean slate, a big thaw some time in the future.
As you can see in the pictures, much of January so far has
been spent in low light in our pajamas.
Hibernating. What these pictures
don’t show is the way a mama bear sometimes wants her child to stop whining and
just do as she says and lay still and be quiet and give her some peace. What these pictures don’t show is that once
the baby bears know mama will react when they irritate her, they make a game of
doing it over and over and over again.
And what these pictures don’t show is that if a mama bear growls when
her babies misbehave but only growls and never follows through with the things
she has threatened to do, the babies stop listening and think it’s just another
fun game.
Parenting constantly challenges
me to relax and be flexible and patient and accept that I have to let go of
control on some things but be firm with other things. I never knew how much I
liked to be in charge until suddenly I wasn't. The things we learn about
ourselves from our children
Mama Bear needs to do two things if we’re going to survive
the rest of the hibernation season: 1)
get some mama bear alone time, and 2) follow through with being a little more
firm with those baby bears.
They say Parenting is the hardest job you’ll ever love, but
to be honest, when it’s this hard, I don’t love it.
Homemade Ice Cream tastes good no matter how cold it is outside.
Not sure why I thought putting together a children's kitchen would be a fun family project.
The kids survived several mommy meltdowns, and Sam kept reminding me to do belly breaths..
Hex Bugs - building and bugs - two of Sam's favorite things in one toy.
Eva hangs with the "big" girls at a New Year's Eve party.
Happy New Year!
One of the few times I've seen Eva play with her babies.
A New Year's Hug (brought on by a fear of the puppy).
How we finally calmed the boys down on New Year's Eve
Sam is great at creating entertainment for Eva.
My little artists
Making quick pizzas with crescent roll dough.
Eva is all ready for the Wild Card Game.
Training the kids to make their own French toast in the hopes that some day I'll be able to sleep in.
4 comments:
Oh remember those times. It does get easier in some areas and harder in others. Mommy time is a must.
Happy New Year, and yes... my kids have made me breakfast in bed! It graduated to EGGS this year! There is hope!
Oh, I could have written this post! Thanks for sharing and letting me know that I'm not alone in loving and loathing being cooped up for a long winter's day with my children. Okay, maybe loathe is too strong a word but you get my drift...
Your kids' lives look like so much fun! I want to make french toast! I want to paint in the house!
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