I must say I really love this new tradition of coming together at my sister's for the Holidays. I really enjoy getting to spend time with my sister and her family of course, but also with Jordan's side of the family, with people I would not otherwise see. My husband works offshore in the oil business, so we celebrate earlier on in the month. This leaves the holiday open for me to visit for as long as they'll tolerate me;) For this household, the holidays are relaxed. The time is savored, the mundane celebrated. Christmas Day was spent curled up on the sun room carpet, recovering with a glass of bubbly after all the gifts were unwrapped, the kids down for naps, our heads nestled in the dog's fur, laughing and talking as the daylight hours slowly dwindled.
We've enjoy singing and playing songs for the kiddies in the tub, or on the piano while others busy themselves preparing a bountiful breakfast. The kids, especially Gabriel, are busy, busy, busy, more on that later, but they are all snuggles after naps. They are quite entertaining, I must say that. Maggie is a voracious eater. Meals are messy business, and she is charming and bashful, but she sure knows how to roll her sleeves up and chow down. I think she likes my cooking.
"Finding Bobo" is a favorite with Gabriel, inspiration is thanks to the monkey Rachael and Derek gifted to Maggie. It's my special twist on hide-and-seek. I hide and make monkey noises that become more excitable the closer he gets to finding me. Animal noises are a skill I learned from my father who would have the monkeys all in a stir after visiting the Cherrybrook zoo, which we frequented year after year while traveling to mother's hometown.
Today I babysat the kids. I realized one thing, It's about priorities. I could just clean all day and never get anything else done, never mind just taking in the moment and enjoying playing with the kids. I felt like a pop-up figure from a Dr. Seuss storybook. There was a moment today when I had that exact thought. It was after lunch, chicken and rice EVERYWHERE. Gabriel was running laps through the house with a spool of red thread, creating a maze through which I maneuvered, "Matrix" style, rice stuck to my socks, while avoiding neck-breaking toys strewn about. The dog was barking at the door, frothing at the mouth for table scraps. Suddenly, Gabriel was nowhere to found. Hmmm. I found him a minute later, up to no good. Meanwhile Maggie was elbows deep in a compost bin, which I'd pulled out to shovel the leftover table scraps into. It was back and forth disaster mitigation. Diaper one...Gabriel...check...pull Maggie from flour bin...check...diaper two...Maggie...check...oh forgot socks on Gabe..check..pull Maggie from recycling...check.
I really enjoyed it, I did. I kind of basked in the chaos and found it quite humorous actually. It's a very special time for me with the kids. I have hopes and dreams for our relationship in the years to come. Meanwhile I am taking all the snuggles I can get while they are still young and give them out freely.
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