Christmas Anderson Style

It's November and that means....CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!!!!!! I was almost hesitant to put the tree up early because we don't have room for it, but we rearranged our living room and I literally was jumping up and down with excitement at the site of our wonderful Christmas tree! Am I five? Yes. Today, I am.

Claire loves it. 

Jared stares at it.

We are happy!

Motherhood

Oh parenthood...sigh. The sleepless nights of parenthood. No, no, that is wrong isn't it. It's the sleepless nights of motherhood. Fatherhood is filled with an incredible ability to sleep through every crazy scream and sound. Motherhood. Yes, that's the ticket to a life of puffy dark circles and insanity lurking around every corner. Just putting them to bed is a whole different story in itself. I've even gotten so lazy the last few nights because it's so much work for me to do it, that I've just waited until their eyes start to glaze over.

As you know, my kids aren't great sleepers. If I could just turn back time to when Claire was 5 days old. Oh, then I could get a solid 10 hours in and wouldn't that be bliss....but I can't. Claire wakes up a few times per night crying for a drink which inevitably wakes her brother up. I shouldn't get the milk, should I? You tell that to 3:30 am me who will do anything just to crawl back into bed! Then, I have to crawl back into bed with a little boy next to me, who really just wants to snuggle and not eat. He doesn't wake up 2 hours later, but I do because my entire right side of my body has gone to sleep in an unconscious effort not to wake the sleeping child, so I haven't (literally) moved a muscle in hours and my right....ahem....butt cheek is screaming for some much needed stretching. The child is returned to his bed after I've been semi-consciously swaying side to side down the hall and then I stumble back to bed, praying that they make it at least until 6. Usually the son returns around 6 am for some more snuggling and I make Brian get that last "late night" milk run to the fridge around seven.

For heaven sakes...even if they don't wake up at all, I DO! I do at 4:30 to make sure everyone is alive because I haven't been summoned and that is a weird thing.

The other day Claire took a nap....she never naps...and it was a long one! So long, in fact, that I started to go in and check on her breathing. Jared was so exhausted, but refused to fall asleep, but alas, after a while he finally succumbed. I stared at them both asleep in their beds and smiled not only because it was finally quiet and I needed to get some cleaning done, but because they are so indescribably adorable and beautiful. I left the room, started sweeping, and I thought, "Isn't it funny that you crave nap time so badly, but when they're sleeping all you want to do is go in and hug their guts out. Oh....but if they woke up at this very moment.... Oh, I would be so mad! Definitely no hugs!"

Cue Claire...."Mommy!"

I think she heard my thoughts. She ran out of her room terrified. We were having our roof re-shingled and the loud noises were scaring the poor thing. I sat on the couch with her and she fell back asleep on my chest. I contemplated putting her back to bed, but decided that my filthy, unswept floors could wait. We snuggled on the couch. I don't get to snuggle with her very often because, well, she's 2. She moves too much and is too preoccupied with poking weird parts of my face when she is close to me. It was lovely. I watched her sweet little eyes open and close, then she'd rub her nose on my shoulder and start to snore. She is beautiful.

Some day I'll forget what it was like to snuggle with her tiny two year old body just like I've forgotten what it was like when she was 6 months old. Some day I'll forget that Jared wakes up just to curl up his little arms and snuggle into my bed with me. He'll pat me on the face now and then to make sure I'm there and completely relax when he knows that I am. It's really a wonderful thing to be a mother, even if you don't get much sleep. I get to see the little parts of the day that Brian doesn't get to. I get to see the quiet times and stare at them while their dreaming, wondering what they're dreaming about. I get to see their little mouths eat in their sleep and watch them smile or laugh at something only they can see. I get to be the one they scream for when they're having a bad dream or when they need a little snuggling. I get to love them all the hours of the day, and I do.

Someday I'll forget, so right now I'll remember how beautiful life is.

Halloween Fun

We have been working really hard around here and I just want to pull a Jared and fall asleep whenever and wherever I want to. We carved pumpkins on Tuesday night and I have forgotten how much work pumpkin carving is. Actually, I probably never knew because my mom would do the clean up when we were done. I wanted to do more than just a face this year, so we got little patterns and boy....I'm not very good at them. Very time consuming. I did one fancy shmancy one and two normal faces. They were much easier. 

Claire didn't really want to participate other than pointing out the fact that we had "punkins" in our house. She was grossed out by the innards.

Jared was up to no good getting into my make-up.

Claire is the orneriest Princess Aurora you ever did meet! My goodness! She HATES having clothes on these days and it's pretty ridiculous when we do try. To get this dress on involved kicking, screaming, throwing things, pulling, pinching, you name it. We threw it on her and ran outside to get the trick-or-treating on just to get her mind off of how many clothes she was wearing. As soon as she was trick-or-treating and realized that she got candy, she was golden. "Wick-o-weet" and "datu" (thank you). 

 You probably can't tell, but I'm Leslie Knope and Brian is Ron Swanson. If you don't know them, then get to know them. 

Sleeping beauty after the partying.

Who's the cutest dragon?????

A new friend! He's a fun one!

Claire was all tuckered out, but Jared's night was just getting better and better. I think he likes it when she goes to sleep first because that means he has free reign over the toys without getting beat up.