Marching Again

Or maybe "still" would be the appropriate title?  I'm also quibbling with the word "marching" because we actually didn't make it to the real marching--we listened to a few speeches and then walked about half a block.  Then the kiddos were ready to go home for a snack, so we did.

My uncertainty about the title of this post matches up with my uncertainty about protest marches in general, I think.  Getting it out there and getting it right feels important to me, but I'm still not naturally comfortable at it.

Which is part of why I took the kids to the women's march in Lawrence this year.  Because I want them to understand that it's something that you do.  When you're upset with your government or your society or at the way people are being treated where you live--you say something.  I want that to be more natural for them than it is for me.

So we talked about it for a few days beforehand.  About girls still not having all the same opportunities that boys do.  About what I think is wrong about the way our president treats women and people with different colored skin.  About how it's important to help people who are sick or need a hand.

The Kid is getting old enough that it's sometimes hard to answer his questions in an age appropriate manner, but I stumble through.  And while I sometimes have to say, "I can't really answer that question right now", when it comes down to it, it's usually not that hard to put it in terms he can understand.  He knows that it's not OK to touch someone who doesn't want to be touched or to treat someone badly because they're different from you.

And Little Miss.  She has this awesome RBG shirt that she's (sadly) outgrowing, and it's funny to me how surprised people are when they ask her who is on her shirt and she proudly lisps back "Ruth Bader Ginsburg".  Absolutely no shade intended here, but if your kid knows the names of all twenty Disney princesses, she can easily remember a Supreme Court justice or a few notable women from history, I promise you.  You just have to make it a good story.  (We like these books, if you're looking for a place to start.)

To the broader point, though, even at three, Little Miss can grasp the idea of girls being smart and strong and brave.  Lord knows she's going to need all of those qualities, so it's better to start talking about them and praising them and living them right now.

So we talked a lot, made some signs--their words, my bad bubble lettering...and spelling, OMG, I just realized I left out an "L" *facepalm*--and then we were there, at the Women's March in Lawrence.  Was it again? Still? Marching? Clumsily shoving a stroller through a crowd and trying not to run over anyone's toes?  I'm not sure.  I don't think we'll ever get this all perfect, but we're going to keep at it just the same.

SLEDDING DAY!

We are at just the right latitude to reliably get one great SLEDDING DAY a year.  Sometimes it's more--and one year there was no snow at all--but we can pretty much count on one.

Which, of course, means that when it's SLEDDING DAY, there's no time to waste--we must go! 

This year we needed two sleds for the first time.

The Kid--who has been riding solo for several years now--ran up and down the hill on his new saucer sled until he was so exhausted that he laid down at the bottom and I had to coax him--with promises of hot chocolate--back up to get into the car.

Little Miss started out on laps, but quickly decided that she was ready to fly solo.

Correction: She wanted to go solo and head first.  But the grown-ups decided that solo was good enough for Little-Miss-Fearless today.

I was thinking that we might go do a few more things after sledding, but...well, I think a cozy dinner, a hot bath, and an early-to-bed might be as important of a part of SLEDDING DAY as the sleds and snow.

Some Winter Knitting

We are having a surprise "ice day" today.  One of those where I thought we were just in for a few flurries, and, so, was caught completely off-guard last night when I got the text alert that school had been cancelled.  With all previous plans for the day likewise called-off, my new goal is to spend most of the day puttering around in my pajamas.  And write a little about some winter knitting.

Up top, a tiny hat of my own invention for a co-worker's baby who was just born a few days ago. 

(And now we have an ice storm for him to wear it in.  I don't want to say I made the ice storm happen with my knitting, but...well, I knitted and then the ice came, so you be the judge!)

And then a new hat for Miss Lucy. 

Lucy was delivered by Santa for Little Miss, along with a small collection of matching outfits.  While I *thought* Little Miss would be tickled by the idea of matching clothes, her actual enthusiasm for the idea has exceeded my wildest dreams.

I had the forethought to get Lucy a winter coat and boots similar to Little Miss's, but--as was quickly pointed out to me--her ears would obviously be much too cold without a matching hat.

Handwarmers galore!  Aside from a few cowls for the Kid's teachers, I hadn't planned much Christmas knitting.  But then it hit mid-December and got a little cold and my fingers started twitching to knit.  I'm not even sure how many of these I eventually made--they were slipping off the needles and out the door pretty easy-come, easy-go there in the middle of it all, and actually there was puppy sweater that got mixed in there, too, I think--but this is a pretty sample.

And last, but not least, another little Taiga Hilliard dress.  I've made several of her dresses now, and I think this pattern is my favorite.  While her more complicated lace dresses are so lovely, the level of concentration they require is just not for me at this stage of my life.  This one is still pretty, but simple enough to make--particularly in tiny newborn size--without a hundred lifelines and/or curse words.

(Although, I think one of my next one or two projects is going to be this Taiga Hilliard dress for Little Miss.  I've never made a knitted dress that big before.  Wish me luck!)

New Year's Eve Ice Skating

We spent New Year's Eve proper at the party our friends always host, but, before that, we braved the cold for just a few minutes to try our feet at ice skating.

Once every few years, when it's projected to be really freaking cold for so many days in a row (technical term), the city floods a low-lying area in one of our parks to make an ice skating rink.  I don't think it's happened since the Kid was born, or at least since he's been old enough to do more than toddle, so I was excited to take him out to have a go.

Aside from some snarking about being required to wear a scarf and a hat, he thought it was pretty great. We didn't have skates, but I think that was actually better.  He was able to slide around much more confidently in his snow boots.

Little Miss?  Wanted none of it.  She was cold and her hair was static-y and the ground was slippery and....well, I think her face says it all--she was not amused.

Truthfully, my fingers and toes were not happy either, so it was a pretty short excursion.  I promised the Kid we'd try again--with thicker socks and mittens, in addition to our hats and scarves--before the arctic weather moves on.

A Nice Little Christmas

We had such a nice little Christmas this year. 

I took a few days off beforehand to hang out and nest with the kids while they didn't have school.  We watched a lot of movies and did a few last minute errands, but I also let them drag me to the park one night to play in the Christmas lights.  I never want to get outside as much as I should when it's cold, but--in this case--it was definitely worth the subsequent warming up period.

I was snuggled up in bed with the Kid the next morning--on Christmas Eve--when Sweet Husband came in.  "Look out the window," he said, with a smile and significant raised eyebrow.

"Don't mess with me.  Did it really snow?" I shot back, as I tried to disentangle from my warm child.

And it had!  Unexpectedly and perfectly, it had!

After breakfast and some snow shoveling-and-tromping with Sweet Husband, the kids and I went home for a little more nesting--a nap, a game of chess, another movie--while Sweet Husband went to work for a few hours.

As has become our tradition, we joined him for the little party that the store he works at always has at closing time on Christmas Eve.  Then, we headed home for a few presents and our Christmas Eve meal--crab legs, stuffing, and "Christmas salad".

Our early riser was up at about six on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought.

This little lady slept in a bit more, but Santa was kind to her, too.

And even the mama and papa bears had a few delightful gifts under the tree.

We had a lazy Christmas morning, but packed it all up around noon to drive back to our hometown to see our extended family--and have more celebrations--for the next few days.

Sweet Husband and I had to head back for work on the 27th, but the kids stayed the week with their Grammie.  We'll retrieve them for the weekend, and hopefully have a few slower, more hibernate-y days as we get ready to say goodbye to 2017.  (Look at us, we made it!)

Hope you had a happy Christmas and are looking forward to doing just what it is that you like to for New Year's!