Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We've been living at hockey rinks, but that is ok! We are having a blast.

My favorite christmas ornament 

Super fun stage we are in right now.

Our beautiful house before all of the snow

Oh christmas tree oh christmas tree

I spy Frosty Thomas Clark

What doesn't belong

I bought this felt tree this year. It's been a huge hit, until Leo comes stomping by and pulls everything off. 

A Lockdown Scare

It was a Thursday morning. I was cleaning the house playing music on the tv. Leo was playing sweetly with his toys minding his own business. Finn was at preschool. My phone rang and it was my neighbor, she never calls me. I quick muted the music. She asked me if I had heard anything from the school. Immediately, my heart sank. Did something happen with their bus, I thought. It had just snowed a ton the day before. She said the school was in lockdown. Apparently someone claimed they saw someone enter the building with a gun. Cue gut wrenching feeling in stomach and tears welling up in my eyes. My neighbor said her friend was inside the school with her kid while this was going on and texted my neighbor. So my neighbor decided to drive up to the school. Figuring, if it were a drill there would be no police. Sure enough the school parking lot was filled with police cars and ambulances. My neighbor waited there with other parents. Finally, the lockdown was lifted and school resumed as usual. Apparently what the person saw was an armored truck service worker who handles money transfers. The school was in lockdown for forty minutes. FORTY minutes is a LONG time! So by the time ny neighbor called me everything was in the clear. Thank God, because I don't know what I would have done. I would have for sure gone up to the school. The crazy thing is I had just driven by the school right before the police got there after dropping Finn off at school. If I would have seen all of those police cars and ambulances I would have for sure stopped over there. My heart sank for my Jack. I knew deep down he probably had no idea what was really going on, but I just kept picturing him in his cute little kindergarten room hiding under the tables or something. I was actually more scared for the older kids who would be able to comprehend the seriousness of this. I guess the teachers were pretty scared as well, obviously. I guess Jack actually had a substitute that day too. His teacher got stuck in her driveway that morning and by the time she got to school, she was locked out.

I was very pleased with how Jack's school handled this situation. I hope whoever reported this person doesn't feel dumb or like they did anything wrong either. I'm thankful for that person, looking out for our children and teachers. It just makes me extremely angry and upset that we as parents or teachers or kids for that matter even have to be concerned about these situations in the first place. It's really such a shame. I hope and pray that my kids never have to experience another lockdown again and I am thankful that this situation resulted in no danger.

I forget...

I forget how fast the time goes. Leo is cutting his last two eye teeth (then only 2 year old molars left!!) and has been waking in the middle of the night. The other night I could not get him to fall back asleep. Usually it's just a pop of the nuk and he's back snoozing. Or maybe a squirt of ibuprofen. But not this night. So I scooped him up and rocked him. As I was rocking him I started crying. I remember when Jack was this little and how I was so sad how fast he was growing. How he would soon be an older brother. I wanted time to stop. And now Jack is almost six years old. I said a little prayer thanking God for letting me have this time with Leo to just soak him up. It's so hard during the days to embrace him and be truly thankful for him, because let's face it - he's climbing on the table. Constantly whining. Holding onto my legs. In the hustle and bustle I forget at how precious he is. But when he is holding me, breathing heavy, and just loving on me I am reminded of how truly blessed I am.

Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision to be an at home mom. I feel like I have so much more potential than just cleaning the house and yelling at my children. I could be someone's boss. I could actually get raises, or paid for my time. What? But then I look at Jack. And Finn. And Leo. And realize that 5 years of being with them for 24/7 is nothing in the great span of time. This is such a short season of my kids lives and it's hard to remember that, being that I am in the middle of it right now.

I bought myself a piece of wall art the other day that says "Good moms have sticky floors, dirty ovens and happy kids" not because I want to feel good about having a messy house. I'd like to think I keep my house kept up fairly well actually. In fact I think I spend TOO much time organizing and cleaning. And so this wall art is to remind me (in the kitchen, where I spend 95% of my time) to slow down. The cleaning can wait. The kids will not be kids forever and they won't always be asking me a million times to watch them. So sometimes the cleaning cannot wait, but sometimes it can.

I forget that in a blink of an eye I forgot what it felt like to have my babies inside of me. Or how their heads felt all curled up under my chin. Or how they'd sleep on my belly in the middle of the night.

And I'm also trying to remind myself that someday I will forget that Leo climbed on all of the furniture. Whined all day long. And never sat still. Hello 17 months. This too shall pass and this is the last of my babies. I will never be going through this stage ever again. But oh how easily we do forget.