My Carson "Snuggler" and Family Traditions

So, first I have to tell you about my snuggler, Carson. Thru the last couple of weeks, with the snow and croup, Carson and I have spent a lot time snuggling together on our green rocker in the family room. Carson just loves it! Mommy, will you hold me, he says? Sure...so off we go to the rocker. We usually end up watching a video or something while Logan runs around dancing in front of us (that boy cannot sit still, unless of course it is with fod in front of him!). Well, this weekend the boys were up awfully early and mom wasn't ready to get up yet. I hear Carson in his room singing at the top of his lungs, then of course, Logan has to start chiming from across the hall. Then I hear Carson shouting, "no Logan, it's my turn to sing!" So, I yelled for Carson to come to my room (I sure wasn't getting out of bed for this) and he comes in. I asked him if he would like to come snuggle with me...and he was all over that! So, up comes Carson to snuggle with me. He gets under the covers and has to put both arms around me (so they connect in back of me)...he was so proud of himself. So, we lay there...I asked him a number of questions and he just went on and on about lots of things...mostly about his "work" and his "imaginary friends," Charly and Tommy. We were quiet for a bit and he says "mom, let's talk some more!" OK, I said! So he went on and on some more about other things...it was really very precious. By then, about 20 minutes had gone by, Logan AND Carson had stopped making so much noise...and I was awake! Carson looks at me and says "mom, I like snuggling with you!"

So, now Carson thinks this morning snuggling thing is a ritual! Before he goes to bed that night, he asks if he can come into my bed the next morning. I said "sure!" So, at 3:45am, Carson is standing at our door whining to come inside. I said it was way too early to get up, but if he wants to sleep with us, he can. I knew dad had to get up at 4am, so it wasn't a big deal to him. So, Carson is just in heaven. You should have heard him as he crawls in under the blankets and puts his arms around me! AWWW...and off to sleep he goes. So, then he wakes up and pokes at me a bit and says "mom, I wanna talk!" OK...what do you wanna talk about. Don't know he says. So, I start rubbin his back and nibbling on his ears. OK...this is where the family tradition comes into play.

From the moment I can remember, my mom always nibbled on our ears. It was a sign of affection and her way of saying that she loves us. Since that is what I know, of course I start doing the same thing to my two boys...gotta pass along the family traditions, you know. They just love it! I do it to them and they do it back to me...it's a huge game. Good thing someone is playing the game with me...Kelly hates it when I attack his ears!

Awww...family traditions!

Have a great week!

Kari

Back to our Routines

Well...another week has gone by. Fortunately, the snow is almost gone at our house! We are all very tired of the snow and have major cabin fever. I think we are all very tired of each other as well.

Most of our Christmas plans were cancelled this year. We had planned a trip to Lincoln City to spend time with the Mitchell side of the family. Mom and dad have been in the area since Thanksgiving waiting for Christmas. Little did we know that the snow would change everything! Stan and Sheila were not able to fly in from CA, fearful that they wouldn't be able to leave the Portland airport to continue flying onto Puerto Rico. So, we thought we'd just take the boys down to Portland and stay with my sister and her family (and my mom and dad) for a few days. The roads had melted a bit and froze nicely that night. On top of that, Kelly's tummy wasn't feeling too good and he was making frequent jaunts to the bathroom. Needless to say, those plans were cancelled. Defeated and ready to go back to CA, my parents left Portland today to try to make it back to their home. How sad...all this way, all those plans...and no Christmas!

On top of it all, I don't do well being confined to home 24/7. By Saturday, I was completely losing it! If one more child, person or animal demands my attention (or whines)...I'm going to lose it! I needed out of the house...so off to Fred Meyer we went, thankful for the breath of fresh air.

I'm glad it's Monday...the start of a new week and the start of our usual routines (yeah...even moms need them). Hope you all have a great week and a safe New Year! Kari

Home Again...

Arghh...after getting about 8 inches of snow this weekend, we are housebound once again. Daycare is closed, so mommy had to cancel her lofty plans to work. We had a very lazy morning, with lots of snuggles and watching lots of TV and videos. For about 1 1/2 hours, Carson, Logan and I laid on the couch...Carson in my arms and Logan at my feet. Logan fell asleep for about 45 minutes (as did I) and Carson joyfully watched episodes of Handy Manny, The Ants Movie, etc., We were in complete heaven. We ate some lunch, then ventured outside to build another snowman (since the last one has been knocked down). Carson was all over this idea, Logan had better ideas and decided to play with daddy's tools in the garage. We did venture over to the neighbor's abandoned house next door to do some "step sledding"...Carson was in complete heaven!! On our way back home, Carson said "that was fun mom!"



We decided to come inside and play with our new crash pad mom made this morning. We filled a full sheet (folded in half) with all the pillows we could find in the house and the boys ran and jumped off the stairs into the playroom. They thought it was a great idea and of course, lots of fun! A great sensory activity as well...lots of input into those joints does a body good!

Hope you are keeping yourselves safe and enjoying this holiday week!