Contests, contests, contests...

So lately I've been having a great time reading other blogs, and entering every kind of contest like it was my job. Having a whopping two followers of my blog, it's amazing to me that I haven't actually been contacted yet to host one of these contests. Or write a review of a product, whatever. I'd be up for it.

Anyway, the latest one I've read asked how you get creative with your kids. I had to stop and wonder about this. With 17 month old twin boys and, shall we say, a rather needy four year old daughter, do we get creative? Or is it just a feat of creativity to get through the day around here? I mean really.

But then I thought about my expressive girl and her amazing ability to tell stories. Whatever books we read or movie she sees, she seems to internalize some portion of that story line and then weave it into her own story later on. She has an amazing cast of stuffed animals, really the only toy she wants to play with, and she could tell stories with them for hours. She can often be heard for hours after the lights have been turned out telling her stories.

Now, as a former teacher I had all kinds of great plans for creativity when she was younger. Arts and crafts ideas like some crazy pumped up Martha Stewart on steroids... but that girl. She was having none of it. She cried when I first introduced her to finger paints. To this day drawing or coloring is a chore that she'd rather not be bothered with. Building things? Nah. She'll tell her stories, thank you.

Her other interesting creative expression is to actually be the animal that she's interested in. We had a long period of time in which she was a baby reindeer. Strange, but true. And man was that reindeer cheeky. This game can, at times, be embarrassing. She can't seem to escape the role playing and will at times bark at people at inappropriate times. Once she was being a cheetah and using it as an excuse to be a little too rough with her baby brothers. (You know, the old cheetah behaviors- scratching, roaring,etc.) When I told her she needed to be a nice cheetah, a happy cheetah she replied, "Mom, I am happy. I'm happy that I found some meat." Oh- easy enough then.

So we play together. Tonight I was a snake and she was a lion. An interesting matchup, no doubt. And funny because she can relive the same scenario over and over and over. But I guess that's how I encourage her creativity. Play. Give her opportunity to express herself in whatever way she needs to. Keep offering her stories to learn and grow from. And offer up her little brothers as meat if necessary.

Well, looky there. It's December. Slacker! (I say this in a tongue and cheek way- anyone who sees the absolute madness of my daily laugh, feel free to laugh with me.)

I was just addressing Christmas cards and realized that I didn't order enough. I feel like the list has grown exponentially over the last few years. And I guess that makes me glad. I'm also pleased the my stepmother suggested to me keeping all the addresses from my wedding invitation list in a type of file for reference. It was kind of a trip down memory lane addressing those cards. Going through that list of people who came to our wedding, who now receive pictures of our children, made me feel proud of the connections I've made with people over time. Of course there are the aunts and uncles, but also the people who come and go in your life in the most amazing ways. There's Clara, who took care of me each summer of my childhood while I stayed at Grandma Bert's house. A loyal soul, Clara stayed with Grandma Bert all these years, and nursed her until her death in 2007. Clara just lost her husband of 50 plus years to cancer this Fall and it felt good to write to her. To tell her that we still think about her and appreciate the way she's touched our lives. Let her know that she's not alone this Christmas.

So it's almost Christmas. I'm starting to feel like my life is finally making sense again after a few topsy-turvy years here. The boys are so cute- learning new things everyday and making me laugh every moment. Well. Not every moment. Fiona is growing up- we just put in her application for Kindergarten. Whoa! Easy girl, slow down....

Needless to say, change is in the air for 2010 and I'm kind of excited about that.