Follies In Motherhood: Month One: DONE!

January started with two big events; of course, New Years Day followed up by Blair's third birthday! I was sure to put some decorations on her door the night before so she was surprised when she woke up. She got a second surprise when it finally snowed a measurable amount! Ever since, when it snows, she will say "It's snowing mom, like on my birthday!"

The kids finally went back to school on January 4th/5th and everyone was ready. It has made daily life so much easier and happier for everyone now that we have a schedule. I've been so pleased with how their schools have handled COVID and it has given me great peace of mind.

This month, we took a trip to the beach. Beach? In winter?! Yes, and it was awesome. We hiked through some forest for about a mile, then came out onto sand dunes and walked down onto the beach. The kids had a blast, and it was a gorgeous day at a gorgeous park.

We have some of Colin's preschool friends at Elementary, so we have been staying to play outside with them pretty consistently after pickup. It is a plus for everyone; kids get some energy out and the moms get to chat and commiserate.

If I could sum up this month for you, it would be playdoh, baking and sledding, sprinkled with Blair hikes (which usually ended up with me pulling her in a sled or giving her piggy-back rides to the car) and peppered with normal outside fun. Nothing is opened up for inside play just yet so we have to play outside. But that is fine for us because we are trying the 1000 hours outside challenge for 2021!

Playdoh - I am so thankful I found a homemade recipe for the best playdoh because Blair would have made a significant dent in our budget if I had to buy it. She's very creative and loves to make cookies for people, but she hardly puts the playdoh back when she's done, and is quick to put her scrap pieces onto the floor to dry out. But, it keeps her busy for hours so I accept the trade-off.

Baking - Blair loves to bake! She can tell you certain ingredients and will share helpful tips ("Now we need to stir so we don't have any lumps). We tried lots of new recipes this month, in addition to our usual one for just playdoh.

Sledding - These kids have gone sledding more days than they haven't. I try to take them as often as I can to actual sledding hills, and then there is a little hill at Colin's school that we stay to play at after school. Slowly but surely Blair is learning to get up and move to the side (50% of the time she picks up the sled too) but she is quite the freeloader. If there is room, she's jumping on your sled - it means she doesn't have to carry one up herself. And if you're pulling a sled up the hill and you suddenly feel it get heavier? Yeah, that's Blair hopping on for a free ride.

Hikes - Blair has really been loving to go on hikes on the mornings she doesn't have school, and I am happy to oblige. However, she is literally a slug in a beautiful child's clothing. Blair is the SLOWEST walker - ever. She really just doddles along and has to look at everything. Then if there's snow, she will walk through it and fall down in it every 5ft or so. This all sounds cute and funny to someone reading this that does not have to do it every time. I have succumbed to bringing sleds with us so we can go faster than 1 mile per hour (literally, it took us an hour to go .89mi. I tracked). But she's outside, and happy, so I'll call it a win.

I spend so much more time with Blair now that Colin is in school and because she still needs help every now and then, that as I look back on this blog I see there isn't much about Colin and that makes me sad! One of my favorite parts of the day is opening his school bag to see what work he brought home because it gives me a glimpse into what he did for the day. I know it is a part of life, the kids growing up and away, but it is hard to see in instances like this, where I can see the difference in how many pictures or stories I have of each kid.

Colin is doing great work with his sight words, and his printing is getting better and better too. His teacher is having them sound out words to tell stories, like this one about the polar bears. I know he will love to read when he's older! His teacher also commented how well he's doing with math and identifying more/less (without counting).

But his artwork - let me tell you. It is my favorite thing that he does. The creativity and detail is hilarious and warms my heart. I hope he never stops drawing!