On Toys and Imagination

I was so excited when we moved into our beautiful new home because of the playroom located directly adjacent to our kitchen. I am so fortunate to have this room where my kids can play while I go about my business in my home office (also known as the kitchen). Our playroom is packed with toys, puzzles, books, a play kitchen, art supplies, barbies, dolls, stuffed animals and more. You name it, we have it. Our playroom is so packed that I frequently reduce our inventory by taking things to the basement or to Goodwill. The fact is, I should pretty much reduce our inventory to a very small list of select items because my kids barely play with any of their toys. They prefer items that are not necessarily found at Toys R Us, and so I am currently compiling a list of items my children will receive from Santa Claus next Christmas. The following items provide more hours of enjoyment to my kids than any blinking, singing, peeing doll or over-priced video game system:

1. Umbrellas
2. Flashlights
3. Shovels
4. Dirt
5. Water/hose/lawn sprinkler
6. Buckets
7. My old clothes/shoes
8. Cardboard boxes of various sizes
9. Sleeping bags
10. Sticks
11. Mouthwash
12. Toothbrushes
13. Any travel size product
14. Squirt bottles
15. Magnets
16. Brooms
17. Mops
18. The apples that fall from the trees in our backyard
19. Rope
20. Time with Mom and Dad

I am so thankful and proud of my children's imaginations. They have various scenarios and scripts that they play out on a daily basis. They often invent new themes and story lines, and I love to listen to them "act out" their dreams and realities through their play. They often mimic our family life and I love to see them play Mom or Dad and treat eachother respectfully and lovingly. Of course, they have also "played" Mommy when she was having a bad day. That is when I learn from their play; when their job impacts mine, and I become a bit more aware of my actions.

Sawyer Learns Her Letters (and then eats them)

Each morning after breakfast, I attempt to teach Sawyer a letter of the alphabet. We start by gluing the letter to a piece of paper and coloring the letter. While gluing and coloring, we look at and touch the letter of the day (we have puzzle pieces, magnets, etc of all the letters). We talk about things that start with the letter of the day. We eat food that starts with the letter of the day. Madeline is my assistant teacher and is much more in tune with this whole process, having been through it very recently herself. Generally, the food is Sawyer's main focus. As you can see by the picture above, Sawyer could not care any less than she does about learning her letters. Ironically, she is munching on the letter "C" just like Cookie Monster. She can identify the letters only if bribed with sugary food.

The Mini and Me

Several months ago, I decided that the only way that I was going to get out of this house without at least one child (must take one if you leave, DeWitt house rules) was to take up a hobby/extracurricular activity that COULD NOT involve children. So, I decided that I would start running. At the time, I had about five pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and I figured I could make use of running in two ways: get out of the house sans children and tone up a bit. I fell in love with running the very first day. I have been continually shocked by the profound affect it has had on me; both mentally and physically. My mind is sharper, I sleep better, my digestion has improved, I am more patient and energetic. I feel good.

After a couple weeks of this new regimen, I mentioned that I had begun running to my friend Amy, also a runner. She invited me to join her for a run and we have been getting together regularly for runs ever since. She started training for the Mini-Marathon in February and I joined her for some of her shorter runs. One week before the Mini, she asked if I would like to run by assuming the identity of a 38-year old man named Tom Bailey, a friend of hers who had injured himself and could therefore not run. Having only run a maximum of eight miles, I was a bit nervous. But, why not? Again, this would involve several hours of Katie time and I would walk if I had to.

After various minor obstacles, Amy and I completed the Mini yesterday in 2:26. This was Amy's 5th half-marathon and of course, my first. We ran the whole time. It was such an invigorating experience. I'm ready for the next half-marathon....as soon as my legs stop aching.

Yes, You Can Touch

In my constant efforts to be a more fun Mommy, I am trying to let my kids touch and do in most circumstances. Gone are the days of cringing when my kids get dirty, come into contact with germs, make a ton of ridiculous noise for no reason, or do a "kid friendly" job of "helping. " So, "yes Sawyer, you may splash in that puddle while wearing your good shoes." "Yes Madeline, playing in the dirt is totally acceptable in that new shirt." Yes kids, you can frost the cake your way and I will do my best to let go of the need for constant control over everything. I surrender. My kids are now allowed to veer from their strict bath schedule and be a bit dirty from time to time. If all meals do not include the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid, oh well. Three children has been an eye opener; it has pushed me to the limits as I try to do it all. I have come to the conclusion that I cannot do it all. And that is ok. So this is a little bit blog post and a little bit self-induced therapy.

Recently, I have been embracing the fact that kids need to touch, feel, splash, get dirty, be loud, wear mismatched outfits, brush their own teeth (before I finish the job, I married a dentist), help with tasks that they are less than proficient at completing, smell everything, inspect every leaf and rock while walking, open and close an umbrella 100 times per day, use a flashlight when completely unnecessary and so on. It is all part of it. Yes, everything I do with my kids takes 45 minutes longer than it should but my kids are enjoying the experience. And I am enjoying watching them. The extra 45 minutes that I build into each task is probably the reason regular bath time has gone out the window. (ie.."hey Jas- do you remember when Eamon had a bath last?)

The kids "made" me a cake for my 34th birthday. It was all I could do not to "fix" their decorations. I took deep breaths and repeated my mantra, "kids learn by doing, kids learn by doing...."