To the left, to the right

I feel that it is important for each generation to pass its knowledge down to the next, and it’s easiest to do in a natural and low-pressure setting. And that is why today in the car on the way to piano lessons, I taught my children the names and ages of the Hanson brothers at the time of MMMBop, and then later during Family Home Evening I taught them how to dance the Tootsee Roll. Not just the basic move mind you but they also learned to slide and dip. Just don’t pay too close attention to the lyrics.

Thanks for Ida

I missed several days in November (although not as many as last year!) so we’ll just keep the fun going for a little bit.

Ida is a joy and a light, and frankly she is also a machine. I don’t remember ever being a fraction as busy in high school as she is… but that’s because she is just interested in so many things, she always wants to learn and try and experience everything. I’m so thankful for her.

Thanks for Theo

Ah Theo, my firstborn son: most likely to make me laugh, most likely to make me cry, most likely to surprise me again and again.

Thanks for Polly

I mean… sheesh. What a dollface.

You may or may not have noticed that my posts don’t have photos lately, I blame Blogger/Google; anyway, if you read this blog you already know Polly is a dollface.

Something fun about Polly lately is that she loves to go to bed. You read that right, she really does! Ever since she got her own room with a queen-sized bed. 😂 She still wants me to put her to bed at night (versus her siblings who retreat to their corners of solitude), and I am more than happy to oblige.

Her teacher told me that Polly is exactly what you think of when you think of a third-grade girl, which is so true. Piles of friendship bracelets. Multicolored Tevas and a jean jacket. Messy hair. Nose stuck in a comic book/graphic novel. Doing flips on the monkey bars. Writing notes to her friends. 

I’m telling you. Dollface. So so thankful for her.

Cards: a love language

Mother’s Day 2023: my cup runneth over

Thanks for Polly

Last but obviously not least.

We’ve discovered that Polly is creating videos on her laptop. Just, talking to the camera about whatever is on her mind, and I’m telling you it’s viral-level content. 😂 This child. She is the snuggliest, dimpliest, goofiest, cartwheeliest little girl on the block and we’re so blessed to have her in our home.

(& now I’m all caught up on missing thankful posts!)

Thanks for Lars

I LOVE this persistent, curious, Tasmanian devil of a child. Matt said to me a while back, “Lars is going to be our wealthiest child and it’s not going to be close.” Just you wait. Check back in 20 years and I am 99% sure Matt’s prophecy will come to pass. He’s a hustler baby, he just wants you to know… it ain’t where he’s been; but where he’s ’bout to go

Thanks for Ida

Ida is responsible, intelligent, very funny, creative… and has the thickest skin of anyone I know. No for real, she doesn’t get cold. Like ever. Three times last week I observed her walking to the bus stop in 30-degree weather wearing shorts. She was born this way. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

I’m so thankful for Ida, my first girl, my running partner, our family’s walking encyclopedia, nose-in-a-book, smarty pants who also bakes a mean pumpkin pie.

Thanks for Theo

Ok guys I’m already behind THREE posts and that is why I am going to make up for it by squeezing in separate posts about my kids today. I am so thankful for each of them and their unique personalities, strengths, and gifts!

Theo 😍

I used to think that Theo was sent to this earth to try me. 😂 (honestly at any point you could say that any of my children were sent to this earth to try me 🙃) 

OBVIOUSLY my children were not sent to this earth to do anything for or against ME, they were sent here to learn and grow and do THEIR thing, but sometimes it FEELS like they are here strictly to torment me. 🫠

Theo is so funny, so observant, so vital to the S******r experience (that’s not a swear word, that’s our last name but I know my husband would be annoyed with me if I spelled it out 😂) so smart and dedicated and curious, and honestly, despite his arrogant teenager-ness, so ultimately humble. He is a wonderful person and I’m thankful to have him in my life, thankful to learn from him and grow with him.

Thanks for the sports

I wouldn’t call us a super sporty family but we’ve tried out our share of sports. When the big kids were little they tried soccer, baseball, dance, gymnastics, and wrestling. As they got older (and we added more kids) we settled into cross-country, track, and swim. And a basketball league at church in the winter (volleyball last year). Sometimes I feel a little bit guilty for not diversifying more. Other times I feel pretty proud of myself for managing to enroll them all in sports where all of them practice and compete at the same time in the same place. 

Would I recommend track meets for efficiency… no. Those are long. 😂 especially if you have a wide age range and a wide range of events… BUT, overall it’s still pretty efficient when you consider the weekly to daily practices all being in one spot at one time. (High school is separate from the youth club, but that’s also easy… at school, right after school.) I still think running and swimming are pretty great sports for them to carry into the rest of their lives. They’re all very flexible in terms of what amount of time and effort you want to put in, you can set your own goals and hit your own PRs, and there’s usually room for everyone who wants to participate. And last but not at all least, I love love love the coaches (including the teen coaches for the littlest kids and the coaching opportunities for my own teens) and the communities that come with these particular sports. ❤️

Thanks for my motherhood

I’m just really thankful to be a mom. I always thought I would be one, and I’m very grateful that turned out to be a path that was available to me. I love my kids, and I love helping them figure out who they are. I get frustrated or teary or confused or angry sometimes, and we’ve had some tough parenting struggles, but I can confidently say that every day of their lives, no matter what I have still felt joy in being their mom. And I’m so thankful to have them here in my house with me, every day! Almost 16 years of kids in the house so far, and really only about 10 years left… assuming they all move out when they finish high school. Phew does that mean we’re over the hill? That’s a little bit frightening. Look, I’ve done my best, kids. lol 

Thanks for Theo

Oh, Theo. 😍 Sometimes being Theo’s mom is really really hard. Sometimes it is hilarious. Sometimes it is rewarding. Sometimes it is baffling. Sometimes it is… impossible to put into words. I am so proud of him and I love him so much and I am always always thankful for him.

It’s the time of the season for loving

This little one is exhausted every night. She’s been working hard learning to swim, and watching her joyful little body wiggle through the water is the best payoff for all the tears that preceded swim lessons.

She climbed into bed with me this morning and, after snuggling for a while, promptly fell back asleep. Summer is still my number one, if you were wondering. Sunscreen and swim practice and late nights and long days and road trips and fire pit s’mores. I feel nothing but gratitude for being a mom of young kids in the summer.

It's you I like

It's been awhile. For a few months now, I have been keeping myself ridiculously occupied with work and volunteer stuff. Maybe I'll write about it sometime. My therapist suggested that maybe I go on these jags to try to ward off depression. Which I think is absolutely true. Like, it's better for me to be this busy, and to jump out of bed in the morning to attack my to-do list, than to struggle to get out of bed in the morning because no one will suffer if I stay in bed for just one/two/three more hours.

Switching gears. Several years ago I tore this page out of the Friend magazine, laminated it, and hung it on the front of my fridge. It's the only thing on the front of my fridge, and it's been there for... 7 years. (Just checked the date on the page.) (Don't mind the terrible quality photo, I was lazy and just used my laptop camera. Peekaboo, side of my hair.)

"I love everything about you," it says. What in the world... EVERYTHING about you?? I'm OK with that statement. Maybe I don't literally love everything but pretty darn close... because the hard stuff, the really really tough stuff, in the weeds and the dirt and the mud, is worth it in the end. Well, it has been so far.

A few months into the pandemic, Holly Yarbrough's version of the Mr. Rogers classic "It's You I Like" came up on Spotify. I cried. I sing parts of that song to at least one of my kids almost every day. I have this overwhelming sense of gratitude for the privilege during this pandemic year to discover that I like my kids. (and my husband.) I really like them!! They're so annoying sometimes, but honestly not that much more annoying than I can be when I try.

And I really like my siblings and my parents and my in-laws and I miss them all.

Want to know something funny? Ida came in crying just now as I was typing about how much I like my kids, and proceeded to recite all the horrible things Lars and the boys had been doing to her and the girls. Bah.

It's you I like. It's not the things you wear. It's not the way you do your hair, but it's you I like.

The way you are right now, way down deep inside you.

Not the things that hide you. Not your toys: they're just beside you.

It's you I like: every part of you. Your skin, your eyes, your feelings, whether old or new.

I hope that you remember, even when you're feeling blue,

That it's you I like, it's you yourself, it's you: it's you I like.

 

Thanks for Polly

Gosh, I love my little caboose. She is hilarious and kind and generous and loud and silly and smart and brave. I LOVE having her near me every single day. I think I would have had a hard time having any of my other kindergarteners at home all day, in part because I always had a baby. 

Despite our constant proximity, I still worry a little sometimes that I’m neglecting her and that she’s growing up too fast: case in point, we rented out a movie theater for our family right before Thanksgiving (a fun treat, and only $100) to watch Guardians of the Galaxy. Why did we think that movie was appropriate for a 5-year-old? It’s totally not. Within a few minutes Polly was on my lap covering her eyes, and within a few minutes after that, she was watching Hannah Montana (?!) on my phone wearing Matt’s earbuds and probably destroying her eardrums. So many things wrong with that situation. Who even am I??

But regardless of any missteps, I think that’s just unwelcome mom guilt. Polly will be fine. (Right?? 😂) I am so so so thankful for her.

Thanks for Lars

Gosh, Lars is so great. He’s the easiest kid, so funny, a bundle of energy, constantly trying new things and falling down or hitting his head or running into something and and yelling “I’M FINE!” Having my little adventurer around more often (Covid has forced him to stay home more than he would choose to) has been SUCH a gift. 

Thanks for Ida

(Ida showing off her magic. 🌱)

How do I love her? Let me count the ways. Her patience with Polly. Her eagerness to try new things. Her willingness to do unpleasant chores. Her pride in riding her bike with no hands (uphill, mind you). Her desire to climb anything climbable. Her sweet tooth. Her adorable 12-year-old way of collapsing on the floor into theatrical giggles. Her super-smart brain. Her sensitivity. Her strength. Her persistence.

I love my Intrepid Ida.

Thanks for Theo

I really need to take more pictures of Theo. This is the most recent pic I have of just him. 😂

I mean here’s a screenshot of a video I took of him on Saturday! You can see a tiny bit more of his face. 😆 He decided to try playing the organ, and he is a natural. I’m pretty excited about it.

Theo is funny, insightful, unique, conscientious, smart, persistent, and very sweet. I’m so thankful for him.

Thanks for the growth.

Ok I confess... the growth is actually hurting a tiny bit. Some days more than others. But it’s gratifying too because I know it’s right and good. My baby is learning so much so fast. She loves kindergarten (such as it is). She loves her teacher. She loves her little friends. She loves FaceTime, Zoom, and Marco Polo and is proficient in all three. Her drawing, reading, writing, math skills are flourishing.

The other kids are growing and learning quickly too. I mean I assume they are, since their grades seem fine! 😆 And they’re certainly getting too big for their clothes! I just did a big turnover of seasonal clothes and had to get out more hand-me-downs from the next sizes up than I’d expected. They’re all so independent and curious and smart and it amazes me to see their daily growth.

Thanks for the proximity.

Having everyone home all day every day is challenging and chaotic, even and especially when Matt and I are working and the kids are all doing virtual school, but at the same time it is also such a silver lining to pandemic life for us. 

I have been feeling this lately. A swell of gratitude when I poke my head in to ask Matt a quick question and he greets me smiling. A physical feeling of peace when Polly sidles up to me during her break and asks to learn how to use the iron. A suppressed giggle when I overhear Ida playing the trumpet for her band teacher on Google Meet. A wave of affection when Lars comes running in smelling like fresh air and dirt, chattering nonstop about whatever he saw at the playground during lunch. A sense of pride when Theo starts to tease or get angry and then visibly changes his mind, making a good and cooperative choice. A snug satisfaction when I go to turn out the last light and I see that everyone is asleep for the night (finally... at 11 pm...) after they’ve all spent the evening together in one of their bedrooms joking and quoting movie lines to each other. Yes I’ll take all the silver linings.