Playing Together

Never once have I felt motivated to talk to anyone about the love my children have for each other. You see, 9.9 times out of 10 they are fighting. It started from the moment Isla could crawl and work her way over to Connor's toys. And it has only gotten worse with time. Connor loves to push Isla's buttons and it makes him so happy when he gets a rise out of her. And, Isla has learned these ways and started doing the same to Connor. Like I said, no loving siblings, best brother/best sister stuff around here.

But, there is something happening. I have caught them PLAYING TOGETHER a few times lately!!!! You guys, this is like breaking news over here because unless you count physical fighting, my kids don't play together. So every time I actually catch them playing and not fighting, my heart literally explodes...then I back quietly away from the scene and hope it will last longer than 3 minutes. Just being real folks. But seriously, they are playing together. There is light at the end of a very loooong tunnel...because lets be honest, if they are anything like my brothers and I, this fighting will last for years longer.

Oh, and don't mind the disaster that is Connor's room. I would like to say it isn't normally like this, but seriously, it always looks like a lego bomb went off in there...even 5 minutes after it was cleaned. But he has fun in there, so that is all that really matters.

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What Month is it?

^^This picture has nothing to do with this post...well I guess unless you want to count that this pink polkadot princess dress has been in my life 24/7 ever since Isla got it...so the dress has been steady while I seem to be all over the place.  

Everyone seems to be filling my instagram/blog/facebook feed with pictures of advent and I seem to be over at my house, sitting on the couch thinking, "Yea, I made it through another day with all of us fed and alive!!!" Seriously, I don't know what it is this year. Christmas has always been my favorite. But it seems to have snuck up on me. And for some reason, I am just having a hard time getting into the swing of things. We did get our tree up this weekend and that has helped. Plus, the weather is slightly cooler, and that helps too. I kind of think that is the problem. The weather has been too warm. I know, it sucks being stuck with warm weather in December (sense the sarcasm). But it's messing with my head, I tell you. I am going to power through. I will. I will. And before you know it, I too will be fully in the Christmas spirit...and then Christmas will be over and I will be having a little pity party because I feel like it is the middle of December. Oh Jessica, get a grip.

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Angel Breakfast

This past Saturday we went to the Angel Breakfast at the church where the kids go to preschool. Connor had heard about it at school and was talking about it so much, I decided to bite the bullet and drag myself out of bed early on a Saturday morning to make my little man happy. And he totally enjoyed it. So did Isla. And so did I.

Like the name suggests, we were served breakfast by angels. There was also a live nativity, along with a petting zoo, a family craft, then a story time. The highlight of the morning was definitely the animals. Connor said his favorite thing was "petting the little pig". And Isla was perfectly content petting every furry little rabbit in sight.

^^ I asked Isla to color the cow for our nativity craft and she instantly drew a face on it. I totally loved it! It doesn't take much to please me ;) 

^^ Us with the finished product. And I swear the kids had fun and weren't being tortured...well, they did act like they were being tortured when I made them take a picture with me, but they were having fun both before and after the picture. 

^^ Connor and teacher Cindy 

At the end of the morning, they had all the kids get on stage and a lady told the Christmas story to them. Of course, my kids, sitting next to each other, started fighting. It wasn't long before Isla joined us in the audience. And it wasn't much longer after that that Connor started getting really fidgety and crawling around. It was about then that one of Connor's teachers invited him to sit by her in the front row and he jumped at the chance. You would think with all that went down, the story lasted hours, but I really think it was only around five minutes. My kids just can't sit still!!!

It was a great morning and I am glad we went. It makes me happy to do things that make my kids so happy. That sounds so cheesy, but it is so incredibly true. I'm a mom, what can I say?!

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49/52

Connor: I sort of hope I see this face come Christmas morning when Connor is opening his presents. But, presents aside, this kid is so full of life and can be so incredibly animated at times.

Isla: This girl is obsessed with princess dresses and never wants to be out of one. It isn't often that I force her to take one off, as I don't care if she wears them in public, but when I have to, it is DRAMA! It was not a pretty sight when I refused to allow her to wear her princess dress for our family photos.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

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Growing Up Online

Even though I don't mean to, I sort of internally pay attention to how many pictures I take and post of each of my kids. I almost feel guilty when I have a long string of pictures posted of one child (clears throat...Isla) and none of the other. But, more and more, I find there being a shift as Connor ages. One I am sure will happen with Isla eventually too...then I will have to take to posting selfies and talking about myself all the time...NOT.

A year or two ago, things in my life seemed much more Connor centered than Isla. He was the one always saying cute things before she could even talk. He would ham it up for the camera and was always doing something silly. He had all the adorable preschool art and parties while Isla was still at home hanging with her 'ole mom. Then something happened. Connor began to become more and more of his own person, more and more of a grown person. He doesn't love the camera like he used to. And often times I even find myself protecting his privacy. There are things he does or says that are hysterical, but aren't appropriate to share with the world...like super funny. The stuff that comes out of five year olds mouths is amazing. I know, you thought I shared everything, but I don't. You see, even if I stop blogging someday, this blog will live on in the internet. And high schoolers can be mean...heck, five year olds are mean! I would never ever want to post something that Connor's friends (or enemies) could find and use to make fun of him. So, more and more, the really crazy, absurd, hysterical things he says and does becomes things I share with people in person, not something I put out for the whole world to see.

So while I sit around and try to figure out how to make sure both my kids get enough love on social media (yep, I'm crazy), just know it's my love and respect for my growing children, Connor specifically right now, that keeps me from posting about him as much.

I'm curious, how do you handle posting (on facebook, instagram, blog, etc.) about your kids as they age? Have you waited until your kids asked you to stop? Or did you naturally find yourself stopping out of respect for your child?

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Hip, Hip Hooray for Rain

It's no secret that I love rain. The problem is, with the drought in California, there hasn't been much of it the past couple years. And, well, that kind of kills me. Thankfully, we are having a good few days of rain here. Like good rain. The kind you can hear when you wake up in the morning. Aww, there is nothing like being cuddled up in bed listening to the rain. The kind where you can see the drops plopping in the puddles from your window. I just love it. I love it so much.

With it being a chill out around the house kind of day yesterday, I was practically begging the kids to go out in the rain and play. Ok, I wasn't practically begging, I was legitimately begging. What can I say...I love an excuse to run around in the rain! My kid who is always up for playing in the rain downright refused to play in the rain. Finally I drug both kids out to sit on the patio with me and watch the rain. It took all of 10 seconds for Isla to be out playing in the rain. You know that made this mama a happy gal.

And play Isla did. She was having so much fun jumping in the water, kicking it around and getting all sorts of wet. Isls was so wet that I could hear the water sloshing around IN her boots when she would walk. After about half an hour, and being completely soaked through, I finally made Isla come in. By made, I mean I picked her up kicking and screaming. But the girl was completely soaking wet, down to her underwear. It literally looked like she had showered fully dressed. But she had fun and I had fun...because, you know, RAIN!

Here's to hoping we get more rain this year than last because I could really get used to this whole waking up to the sound of rain thing...and playing in it, always the playing in it.

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Family

The older I get, the more important I find my family connections to be. Also, the more important I find taking pictures with family. I try to make sure to capture special moments of Connor and Isla interacting with various family members because I realize that some day those pictures will mean so much to them. They may hear stories about family traditions, of uncles being silly with them, of people reading to them, but I want them to also have pictures to be able to see those moments. I actually wrote about this another time.

For thanksgiving, eight of us (my little family of four, plus my parents and older brother and his girlfriend) piled into one vehicle and drove the 3.5 hour trek to my grandma's house. I honestly don't remember the last time we have gathered as family like this. My aunt and her family were there as well as my uncle and his wife. It really was great to see family I rarely see and just enjoy the day. I also took the opportunity to take some pictures with my grandma in them. The most special one to me is the one with my grandma, mom, me and Isla. I had the privilege of my great grandma being alive for all of my childhood. I remember her and have fond memories of her. I feel privileged that my kids get to know their great grandma, my mom's mom, and know that one day Isla will appreciate having this picture, this piece of family history, to look at.

And now that I think about it, what I really should have done is taken pictures of the eight of us crammed into one vehicle because I am pretty sure that is a memory that none of adults will soon forget...and one we probably will never repeat!

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