Kitchen Time

Baking.

Cooking.

Preparing.

All of the food prep possible is happening in our house these days.

I'm doing even more than I usually do (I find comfort in preparing and having a few 'staples' around the house most weeks). And Maddux hops in and out of baking interest.

I love it when she does, especially because Ruby is usually more likely to join her in the kitchen (she gets tired of 'mixing' with Mommy sometimes).

Ruby usually goes back and forth between working with one of us and running over to her play kitchen and recreating what she just did.

I hope her desire to create food for people extends beyond the quarantine!

the best

i have probably blogged about it more than a dozen times, but every day you give me another reason to. maddux, you were born to be a sister, especially a big sister.

the way you dote on ruby, the way you play with her, the way you involve her in everything you do. she is so lucky to have you. the connection you two have is #siblinggoals.

i am so lucky to watch the two of you together. i hope i never stop noticing how amazing your relationship is.

generous

your heart is more than generous, it is open and giving and receiving. especially for her. there is not a day that goes by where you don't allow yourself to get sucked into whatever ruby is doing or wants to be doing. you will pretend to be a dog, or help her create a meal in her kitchen, or dress up and play hide-and-seek. and it's not just the fun stuff...you will take her to the bathroom or help her take a bath or clean up a mess. your love really knows no limits when it comes to your sister. no matter what you are doing, you will almost always ditch it to hang out with her instead.

you rush home from your game to help her get ready for a dance, you take a leave from a 'big kid' project and entertain/take care of her on a whim, you ask for things for her because you know you loved them when you were her age (movies, painted nails, experiences). you never scroll through my photos without stopping to 'oooh' and 'ahhh' at the ones with ruby in them. if you take 10 pictures or videos, more than half will contain her. when the two of you are in the backseat together, you're most often right up next to her instead sitting with a seat buffer.

her adoration for you is evidenced in the way she lights up when you enter the room. she always wants maddux, she always asks when you'll be home. what you have given her in the way of unconditional love allows her to know that you are a safe place and she can come to you for anything from entertainment to a scraped knee. you are the epitome of #bigsistergoals.

Christmas

It was the first year that it's been just us at our house in probably forever. It was quieter but still a lot of fun. We spent Christmas Eve making food and playing outside. Just before we left for church, we took a walk to drop off some of our baked goods at a friends house. The girls rode on the electric skateboard, which sounded like a great idea at the time. However, on the ride home, the board got going too fast for Maddux to control it, and they toppled. Ruby was such a trooper - no tears, just a pouty lip. Her face, however, tells a different story.

At church, Ruby fell asleep on Lehr's shoulder, which was probably his favorite part about the whole day. We stopped for sushi on the way home (our new Christmas Eve dinner), and then we went home to change for holiday light-seeing. The kids put on their matching PJ's and we made some hot cocoa and set out with my pre-made map/list. There were a few really cool houses, but the winner was the one that included a neighborhood full of ball-type light creations that were strung high in the trees. It was taken to the next level when one of the houses started lighting up sky lanterns just as we drove by. We pulled over and watched them light about a dozen before letting them loose in the sky. So pretty and fun to watch. The night finished with the kids opening their gifts to each other - their tradition.

Christmas Day started with our scavenger hunt to find Baby Jesus to put in the manger. (Of course, that included some arguing also, as it always does.) We opened some gifts, ate some breakfast and enjoyed just being. Just after noon, we gave the kids their 'big' gifts. We usually don't do a big Christmas, but each kid wanted something larger than usual this year, and we went for it. Maddux opened an iPod Touch (which she's begged for since forever), and Eli received a new guitar. They were psyched, to say the least.

After the gifts, we started our (new) annual Christm-olympics. It was a lot of fun, Ruby had a blast, and the big kids actually got along!

It was warm and sunny outside, so we got to do at least half of the events in the backyard. Maddux and Eli legitimately tied for first place, and in an unexpected twist, Eli said he did NOT want to do an extra game to determine the winner - he thought it was best that they tied.

We followed that up with homemade spaghetti and meatballs and an ice cream birthday cake for Jesus.

Onward

Today I came face to face with the reality that my bigs really are big. Eli and Maddux started school today, meaning they are both in Middle School.

Obviously I know this, and have known this, but seeing them both dressed in their chapel uniforms this morning, Eli with his newer haircut that makes him look like a cool teenager, and Maddux with her long legs and maturing face, it really hit me. Actually, it really hit me after school when they came in with their backpacks and laptops and cross country clothes, all sweaty from practice. They looked at least as grown up then, and they were so mature in their download of their respective days. Even better, they were getting along! It's like putting them in the same building actually helped their relationship, even if just for one day! They were totally talking and exchanging information about their day(s), respectfully and kindly. It's a first day of school miracle!!!

Maddux enjoyed her first day of 6th grade, meeting new friends and briefly connecting with a few she's met in the last week. Eli has lots of friends in all of his classes, which isn't a surprise as the small school allows you to know everyone (thus making them your friend). I was able to attend the first day convocation, which culminated in me getting to pray specifically over Eli before he started his day. That was awesome and something I hope he thinks was awesome too.

Absense Makes a Heart Grow Fonder

Not that it's possible for Ruby to be more fond of her siblings, especially Maddux, but two long stays away has made her miss them a lot.

Last week the big kids went to an overnight camp for the better part of a week. Ruby kept quite busy with her own camp at GiGi's, but was super excited to see them return for the weekend.

Unfortunately, this morning they left again, this time for a full week to see Grandma and Grandpa. We didn't talk about it too much beforehand, but apparently Ruby got it from the little mentions we'd made. They woke up, ate, and played fine, but when Maddux said, "OK, Ruby, I have to go now." Ruby burst into tears and sobbed in Maddux's arms.

She adores her big sister!

Deck Concert Series

After ten years of holding our breath every time someone leans on our deck railing, or even steps foot on it, we replaced the whole thing. The project finished last week and we could not be happier. In addition to the awesome stadium stairs, it's flat, open surface lends itself to shows, concerts, performance. This works well since we are a house filled with drama and noise.

Eli has been working on guitar skills for several months now, and this week he will perform in his school's Talent/Variety Show. In preparation for that, he gave us our first Concert on the Deck tonight. 

Ruby loves everything Eli and Maddux do, and that is true for music too. Last night she kept walking over to his pedal board and trying to step on the pedals like she sees him do. We reminded her over and over to look with her 'eyes, not hands'. At one point she walked to the pedal board again, looked at me and said, "No touch. Eyes. No hands?" When I nodded in agreement, she then pivoted at the waist and got her eyes right up next to the board to 'look with her eyes, not her hands.' (You can see some of this at the very beginning of the video.)

Eli gave us a few listens to his Jimi Hendrix version of The Star-Spangled Banner before he exited the stage. The evening ended with Eli giving a free lesson to one of his shorter groupies.

Another Year, Another Swim Season

This year was pretty uneventful for Eli and Maddux regarding swim team. They both still love it, but with each of them missing two meets and being on the young end of their respective groups, no records were set and no pressure was felt.

Eli's age group was the biggest change, that I could see. He was with the 11-12 group, but boys in that group are hitting some growth spurts which made height a real factor in the races! Eli is a pretty speedy swimmer, but he did not fare as well this season as the boys' body lengths were so different from his. He took it all in stride though and enjoyed himself.

Ruby LOVES the pool and she had a blast attending a few of the meets. She cheered on everyone, seriously everyone. And when someone she knew was swimming, she gave them personal cheers too.

Guest Reader

About a month ago, Maddux earned the privilege to read to another class. Her teacher had the incentive in place, intending for the 4th grader who earned it to read to a lower grade. However, Maddux's first choice was Ruby's (pre-k) class, of course. So she (Maddux) asked Ruby's teacher and got permission. This morning was the day; instead of going to PE, Maddux brought two books from home to read to Ruby and her classmates. When I picked Ruby up, she told me several times, "Maddux. Read." Obviously she loved it. (And Ruby's speech therapist snapped a photo for me!)

Jazz Fest

Always my favorite time of year.

This year the kids rejoined us (last year, I gave Lehr the 40th birthday gift of a fest with just the two of us for the first time since they were born), and they couldn't have been happier. We drove in late Thursday night so we could attend all day Friday and Saturday and only have to miss one day of school.

Despite the fact that we arrived at the hotel at midnight, Ruby was up just before 6AM, ready to go. Lehr snuck her out and the two of them went for a mini tour of NOLA. They got some beignets, coffee, visited Breaux Mart...some of the staples. The kids and I were up at 8, ready to get some beignets also. (Yes, Ruby got to visit Morning Call twice that morning!)

After a quick meal, we went to the fairgrounds. We wanted to be there when gates opened at 11AM, which meant getting there by 10 to buy tickets and wait in the gate line. Even with all of that prep, we were still not the first ones on the line at the Acura Stage. We planned to set up camp there for the afternoon Revivalists show.

Because they are awesome, the Overlys joined us again this year. I say awesome because their boys were not with them, so they could have had a kid-free weekend, but they still chose to hang out with us for most of both days.

The kids ate, danced, and people-watched through the day. We stuck pretty close to that stage all day because of the great line-up. The weather was amazing...even a little cool to start with (which is why you'll see sweatshirts in some of our photos).

After our boys performed, we ended the day at another stage with another family we love. We didn't leave until the music was done and we had to shut it down. On the way back to the car, we stopped by many street performances for more music (because NOLA!).

Day two was more of the same. Ruby woke up early again, but not as early. We hopped out of bed quicker so we could get a bigger breakfast. And by bigger, the big kids each got a pancake that was the size of their large plate. Ridiculousness.

After stuffing ourselves, we were at the gates, ready to go before they opened. On this day, we hit almost every stage, taking in so much great music with amazing weather supporting the whole thing.

Ruby got to drum in the kids area, all of them danced in Economy Hall, mango freeze was flowing freely... Eli and Maddux got to see Big Freedia and Snoop Dogg (which Eli referred to as "The Snoop"), so we've officially earned the Parents of the Year award. I'd like to think we made up for it by ending the day with Rockin' Dopsie. Another day of shutting down the fairgrounds at 7PM, only to walk through the street musicians to our car.

While her early morning wake-up call frustrates me, she does wake up because she has to relieve herself (she rarely wakes up wet anymore). And she did an AMAZING job with bathroom habits over the weekend, communicating to us when she had to go and not having any accidents (quite the feat when the port-a-potties you have to use have a line or are far away).

 

Little Kicker

Well Ruby's soccer debut wasn't quite what we'd hoped or anticipated. But isn't that life, especially with kids? Your expectations get built up over time so much that there is no way they will be met with any degree of overlap?

For months, Ruby has been kicking the soccer ball around the front yard. For the last three weeks, Ruby has been kicking the soccer ball around the field during Maddux's practices and games.

Today she got to have her own soccer time, during an hour long program called "Little Kickers". Three year olds and their parents converged on the field and went through various drills and games with their own soccer ball, culminating in a group photo of all of the 'players'. Ruby was the opposite of participatory.

It shouldn't be hard to understand: Little Kickers has a time slot of death at 3:00PM. Any 3year olds that still nap (as Ruby does) are late nappers, so keeping them up for that slot is hard, and waking them up is the kiss of death. We opted for the latter, leaning on Lehr's magic nap skills (he falls asleep with her in the rocking chair) to get Ruby down right after lunch. We still had to pull her out of her crib 10 minutes before we left, however, and she was NOT happy about that. Groggy and grumpy, we got her team shirt and soccer ball before heading down to the practice area. Immediately it was obvious that Ruby's body was not up to the task. She sat down as much as possible, lead-legs seemingly the culprit. She mostly participated in the stretches, aided by Lehr, but often lay down or sat on the soccer ball.

Not trying to make every post heavy, but this was hard on Mommy's heart. I was so excited to have her join a 'regular' team sport, because at this age I thought we'd be safe to assume she could participate at mostly the same level as her peers. While she was not the only non-participator, you know my radar was on her, especially when I saw kids who were like Eli and Maddux at that age, running by us, kicking with gusto. It was a low-blow in a space that I thought we would be in the clear.

Eli felt this too, which made it hard in a different way. He was all but dragging Ruby by her arms around the field, trying to get her to participate the way we've seen her do so many times before. He was emotional, the way he gets when he is frustrated with his circumstances at home. Mercifully, Ruby gave us a few moments here and there where she really got into it. Eli turned himself around, and we left in a better place.

Here's to next week.

She's A Gem

Maddux's heart.

Seriously.

She's always been Eli's biggest fan, but as they've gotten older, she's definitely started giving back a little of the 'less nice' attitude he gives her all of the time. What remains at the core of it though...she adores him with her every fiber.

Eli has his first cotillion night tomorrow and was trying on his suit tonight in preparation. Maddux commented on how great he looked and tried to grab him to dance. He shrugged it off saying something about her not being 'fancy' and he was. Undeterred, she disappears, returning three minutes later, dressed in a nice black dress and holiday socks.

"Now we can dance!"

If Eli had not obliged her, I might have made him sleep out in the cold tonight.

Christmas

We hoped and hoped that Ruby would be home for Christmas, and we got our wish. It was so nice to have all of us together for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Ruby's counts were too low for her to go to church on Christmas Eve, but we still drove around and looked at lights together and celebrated in all of our other traditional ways.

Eli and Maddux got to sing in the Christmas Eve service, so they got all dressed up. Had to take some pictures, because they looked so fabulous and way too old. After we got sushi take-out (might be a new tradition!) and looked at lights, the kids got dressed in their PJ's (matching ones from Grandma Cathie, their favorite tradition) and they opened their gifts to each other.

The morning of was fun: seeing Ruby come down and find what Santa left was a treat. She got a crawl-thru tunnel and two hands-on toys. She (and Eli and Maddux) dove right into the tunnel.

I set up a Jesus scavenger hunt the night before, so after they got Santa gifts, we steered them towards putting Jesus in the manger (which we typically do before anything else). When they went to the drawer to get Him, I had our "Keep Calm And Find Jesus" ornament in there with the first clue. They had to work together to find the next clue based on the card (sometimes it was a verse or something that rhymed or whatever worked for me at the moment of me writing them out :). The hunt had some ups and downs, but in the end they got it and it was something we will hopefully do each year.

We had our traditional breakfast of dutch babies....the kids insisted. Presents and playing ensued. As far as gifts, Ruby loved the tearing into presents, but she had no real care for anything inside. It was so fun to hear her yelling in excitement as she ripped the paper, only to drop the box once she'd unwrapped it.

The only 'big' gift was ours to Maddux: she and I will see the Nutcracker at the Fox Theater tomorrow. She's been asking for about a year to go to the Fox (she's been once for one other gift), and this month she's been hitting hard with the request to see the Nutcracker. She was super excited when she opened that gift.

When Ruby went down for a nap, we all played "Clue"; it was the big kids' first time. They loved it and it was about an hour of fun and family....perfection.

My favorite memory from today was making dinner. Our 'tradiitional' Christmas dinner is homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Lehr and I made the meatballs yesterday morning, but the pasta itself is saved for the afternoon of, and the kids usually help.

Maddux was very into it, as expected, and Ruby participated as well. But her part was more of a 'grab and go' style: she would walk over to Maddux at the control center and look up at her with wide eyes. Maddux would give her a strand or two of (uncooked) pasta and Ruby would take off as she stuffed it into her mouth until she got to the back porch or it was gone, whichever came first.

Rinse and repeat.

We ended the day with a birthday cake for Jesus, something the kids have always had on this day. They asked for chocolate cake this year, which seemed to go over well with the rest of the clan.