Kind. Happy. Productive.

I was at a mom's group a couple years ago and the speaker floated the suggestion of having a family motto. She had a board posted in her front entryway which was very Pinterest-y in effect and somewhat generic along the lines of "Live, laugh, love" but it got me thinking, nonetheless. I really did like the idea. Instead of house rules and can do's and don't do's, wouldn't it just be simpler to have a family motto and - in a way - it could address all the gray areas of life that don't necessarily fit into rules. 

The first thing that popped in my head was a quote from Conan O'Brien which was something along the lines of "Nobody in life gets everything they want, but if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen." I also really dig the whole strength and simplicity behind the triad of "Kind. Happy. Productive." I was ready to post these things subtly somewhere in my home, but I will wait for my partner in crime to return home and confirm our family motto before I use it as a basis moving forward with the boys. 

I've always felt a pull towards a more simple and kind and generous life, but the tide is definitely pulling me in more than ever before. And it makes me think of my mom. She was smart and she was kind and she wasn't easily influenced by bullshit trends - she was just a great human being. I have an opportunity as a mom to present these ideals - or any others - to my sons on a daily basis: how fucking cool is that? 

1985

Tour de Grumpy Pants

I could post just the first photo and tell you about the glorious moment in which both my boys were able to ride alongside each other on the trail, allowing mom a joyful brisk walk or slight jog to keep up. 

But this is real life. 

About a quarter mile in, Anders decided he didn't want to ride his bike anymore and he wanted me to carry it. And oh yeah, carry my helmet, too, Ma. And despite Mommy acquiescing to his pint-sized demands, he still was a grump the rest of the way, compounded by the stark contrast of a good-mood brother joyfully riding his bike 20 yards and then turning around to check in and then taking off again. Rinse and repeat.

I'm not discouraged, though. We will try again another day. Perhaps the sunshine and the balmy 50 degree winter weather was too delightful.

Quotes

[Scene: I'm looking in the rear view mirror while driving and catch Landon slowly transfer a finger from his nose to mouth.]

Me: "Landon, duuuude, no picking boogies and we especially do not eat boogies. Eww, gross."

L: "Well mom, I was just painting the boogers on like lipstick."

Batman Breakfast

Day three in which Batman must reside over Anders' breakfast plate. Not lunch. Not dinner. Just breakfast, on the left hand side.

Also: I don't recommend teaching your kids the "Nananananananana, Batman!!!" song unless you want a guaranteed headache.

Christmas 2014

Ho ho ho, off to the East Coast we go. Well, we went, rather. We packed our bags for a three week stay and headed on a jet plane to spend time with family for Christmas and New Years. Overall assessment: great success. Even when we were on the plane for 7.5 hours straight (!) for the flight back to Seattle, nothing fell apart spectacularly. It's still not ideal to live so far from family, but boy oh boy travel does get easier each time now that the boys are getting older and me likey. Me likey a lot.

So apologies for the photo dump; I intended to make a short montage but, well, you know how all those "good intentions" work out sometimes.

Let the presents madness begin.

Grandpa Jim :)

Transforming some transformers with Uncle James.

Setting a scene.

Some matching pajamas cousin love.

Staying busy on the flight. [Obviously this photo is out of sequence but I'm too lazy to fix it.]

Landon was such a big help - my little man was perfect at carrying bags and helping mommy!

Super excited that Cookie the Elf got our directions we left on how to fly to Grandma's house.

Exploring some of daddy's old Legos.

Lego and train museum with Papa Dude!

It's tough work darting back and forth from Maryland to Pennsylvania every few days.

Christmas at Aunt Jill's and Uncle Bob's :)

Playing late night Scrabble with Grandpa Jim.

Brothers!

Baking cookies for Santa with Grandma!

Forcing Grandma to watch The Lego Movie for the 27th time.

Night out with close family friends :)

Daddy doll was around for all the action.

Cute snowman toes.

Reading books with Aunt Ingrid and Papa Dude.

Three cheers for Christmas morning!

They turned into present monsters. *Mom sigh*

Anders sneaking some cookie foot.

Erik sure loves his ham!

Lunch dates with Grandma at work

Hooray! A night out with Becca :)

Landon being silly at the Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore.

Uncle James car sandwich.

Playing near the creek at Grandpa's house. Making sure all black walnuts are now in the water.

Selfie break with my littlest cutie :)

Sorting through all of daddy's old toys. Trip down memory lane for mommy, too :)

It snows on the morning of our departure! 

Sitting on the tarmac for an hour and watching them de-ice the wings helped tucker them out. Woohoo!