december

The kids are all on Christmas Break. Bella and Claire have both shed tears that they have no school...I am absolutely serious about this. Claire even demanded today that I take her to preschool. Brennan thinks the girls are a little "?" to be wanting school. The fact that this is only the beginning of their break is a little concerning to me. I hope Santa brings some crafts and things to keep these busy, little girls occupied. Brennan and Claire and Bella were all making lists for Santa today. I told them "good luck" since it is only a couple of days before Christmas...pretty sure Santa is done making toys.

To do my part in keeping the kids from "dying of boredom", we are cleaning things out and doing some work around the house. This morning we cleaned the car out. I think by the end of break even Brennan will be ready for school. He said today that he can not believe how much constant work little children can be. I recently taught Brennan how to change a diaper. I realized that by his age I was babysitting kids all the time.

It seems that many modern day childhoods are filled with constant entertainment and a sense of entitlement. Video games, movies, ipods, sports, music, and on and on. Not that any of these things are bad in and of themselves. It's more of a balance thing. So lately I have been teaching the kids to do more work around the house. Brennan vacuums, Bella is awesome at cleaning up the little girls' rooms with them. They both clean out the dishwasher. Even Claire loves to wipe off the kitchen table and counters.

So as we get ready for Christmas and the start of a new year, I find myself thinking of our theme for last year and pondering what next years theme should be. I have lots of ideas. I think for sure we will pick a theme each year for our family. The kids sure enjoyed having a family motto. I am surprised by how significant this theme of KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON was for our family this past year. It seemed that we had one challenge after another and I for one am learning to be a little more calm. This is not in my nature. I will always remember one day when I was about 13 and I was home babysitting and my brother, Jonny, went to play street roller-blade hockey with his friends. He came in the house with his hands over his eye and he kept telling his friend Gabe, "Just make sure Brianne doesn't see and freak out." He was more concerned with my reaction than the fact that his eye was gushing blood. Maybe my memory of that event is a little off, but I am pretty sure that Jonny's first concern was my reaction. I am not known for staying calm.

I found a quote book (one of my favorite things ever) entitled KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. It has some fabulous quotes. Here are a few...

We make a living by what we get,

But we make a life by what we give.

~Winston Churchill

Beware the barrenness of a Busy Life.

~Socrates

Money often costs too much

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Foolish man seeks happiness in the distance,

The Wise grows it under his feet.

~James Oppenheim

Always be kind,

For everyone is fighting a

Hard battle

~Plato

The best portion of a good man's life--

His little, nameless, unremembered

Acts of kindness.

~William Wordsworth

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap,

But by the seeds that you plant.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

The best way out is always through.

~Robert Frost

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes,

and Adversity is not without comforts and hopes.

~Francis Bacon

Our life is frittered away by detail.

Simplify, Simplify.

~Henry David Thoreau