To Sleep Perchance to Dream

It is no wonder to me that I chose to beg BJ 4 years ago for us to have another child, because a 3 year old is quite delightful.  I have hinted around on this blog and shared my deepest fear with a few close friends that I favored Anna Cate over Molly because I found Molly's behavior so difficult and I worried that her personality was as well. 

But it turns out, Molly is not a socio-path -- she was sleep deprived. 

At her three year check up when our fabulous pediatrician asked me if I had any concerns, I had a list of issues I thought were unrelated. I was concerned about her moral development, her difficult behavior and the fact that when she naps during the day that she will get out of bed every few minutes up until way too late (which caused a miserable morning for her). So, the doctor suggested 1 mg of melatonin and chamomile tea, 

and oh-my-goodness it has changed our life as well as her demeanor.

She's still her own little self, a little independent and self-sufficient, but the sweetness and fun-loving spirit has blossomed, outshining it all.  

So in love and so thankful for realizing she just needed sleep.

Molly is precious personified and she mixes cuddling and cutting humor with charm.  

And while I'm comforted by the constant kindness and thoughtfulness of Anna Cate, I'm so happy to be enjoying Molly in a new light of rest.  She comes into our room in the morning in the best mood making the me think the best part of my day is right now... Maybe the best of life is right now.

 To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.

~Joan Klempner

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Our little swimmer

Saturday marked the end of Anna Cate’s school year swim practice with a meet in Richmond. As the school year winds down, so does my tolerance for our busy schedule.  BJ and I both work out, we make the time to prepare and have available a clean meal plan for our family in the midst of having balance, but we know that health just isn’t about us, so Anna Cate swims twice a week, crossfits twice a week (once at the box and once for homework wods from coach Suzanne). Sometimes I feel guilty that my kids spend time at the gym or at RARE having to watch me work out, especially Molly, who turned 3 in March, but sometimes she gives me glimpses of the benefit of learning by example how we value our health. Molly has perfect toes to bar, will swipe a lacrosse ball and practice mobilization as well as do burpees for fun.  Anna Cate is learning that healthy bodies come in all shapes, sizes and ages.

 Today she found success in swimming, which she says is her passion.

She swam in four events and placed in all of them even though she just turned 7 competing in a 7-8 division.  She won her heat in free style and her relay team took first place since they were the only ones competing. She placed 3rd (of 13 swimmer) for back stroke and free-style and placed 2nd (of 13 swimmers) in butter fly.  I'm so proud of her hard work as well as her success. Today as she was finding such success in the water, I found myself looking forward to sharing her victories with my friend and her crossfit coach, Suzanne.  I think it is fair to say that Anna Cate has learned her stroke techniques and swimming from the awesome coaches above, but she's learned some other valuable lessons from crossfit as well. (And I'm sure crossfit has helped her swimming technique, too)

Like..

Enjoying being with your fellow athletes.

Cheering loudly for your friends.

Confidently approaching the event.

Pushing yourself.

And finding success.

I'm so thankful for the ways we as a family can commit ourselves to healthy activities and for these programs who help instill in Anna Cate the value of moving, working hard, camaraderie and confidence. I'd like to think it's not so bad that they have to go with us to the gym while we work out since modeling behavior is more important than preaching about good habits... at least that's what I tell msyelf when I'm ignoring my children for a good book or for a work out.

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. 
~Mahatma Gandhi 

02 12

Sentiments and Scenes of Spring Break, Seven

Well that was fun. Anna Cate's birthday, Spring Break.

Our break kicked off with Anna Cate's birthday, which fell on Good Friday,  and included Easter, time to chill out and a different type celebration this year. I struggled with how to celebrate Anna Cate's birthday on a couple fronts. First off, her birthday fell on good friday this year, and I was torn between being solemn the way my catholic-like mother raised me to be or celebrating my little girl and the day she came into our world.  Sacrelidge crossed my mind as I thought, we honor Jesus's death every year and have been for 2000 years but Anna Cate turns 7 once. But then as I sat in church on Good Friday evening and had my heart break with the story again, I knew that sitting in black in church was where I should have been on Good Friday, on the same day that I also honored my baby coming into the world.  So we celebrated her during the day with manicures/pedicures together with us girls and her best friend Leana, then we set out to honor the traditions of our faith.

Easter....

The Easter bunny came and brought his usual -- a bathing suit and chocolate, as well as pooping jelly beans on our front walkway.

The excitement on their sleepyhead faces was priceless.


On the spiritual front of the holiday...

After the beautiful, poignant, thoughtful and thought-provoking Good Friday service, we celebrated the story of resurrection with our church family amidst this beautiful display of spring and of life, both of which we celebrate on Easter Sunday.

Subsequently, I also enjoy celebrating new Easter dresses and the sweet faces on my girls.

My mom made those headbands!

New dresses are habits that start young and die hard. Anna Cate took some pictures of me in my easter dress. It wasn't the most flattering but I really wanted a pastel chevron dress, and upon finding one, I knew with the right pair of spanx, I would wear it.


It is hard for me to pose for pictures like this, but when I see her confidence, I find mine.

We enjoyed a small gathering our home for Easter traditions.

Egg Dying

Both Laurie and I are Southern girls who don't live near our family so it is so nice to make new traditions together with our children, who love each other.

She brought the idea to have an egg-on-a-spoon-in-your-mouth relay at dusk.

Turns out running with a spoon between your teeth while balancing an egg is one of BJ's talents.

Molly just wanted to run so she held the spoon in one hand and the egg in the other.

We celebrated spring, the story of life conquering death and good friends, making special Easter memories which kicked off a week of spring break.  I did housework sprinkled with quality but simple specialties with the girls including picnics for breakfast, a long trip to the park and a lunch with Molly on top of our play set.

Molly had her three year checkup and I was charmed as she answered all the doctor's questions and listened intently as I shared my thoughts and concerns. Molly Mae gets life.


 Spring break sort of began and ended with celebrating Anna Cate's birthday. Instead of a party, she opted for a special day with her best friend Leana on her actual birthday. A week later, we enjoyed an overnight stay in downtown Fredericksburg with Leana, her mom Norah and our dear friends from Kentucky, Whitney and Kate. On Saturday we enjoyed tea with close friends, and it was a great way to celebrate Anna Cate's turning 7. Goodness knows, I love planning a party but I really liked the intimacy and ease of a small getaway. When I think about Anna Cate moving into the stage of her life where she is making memories and friends, I can not think of a better introduction than a small get together with dear friends, both hers and mine.  

More than fancy parties or all the gifts in the world, I hope my precious little girl finds fulfilling relationships with girlfriends of all ages. I've been so unbelievably blessed and two of those blessings are pictured above, Norah and Whitney.  

I created a video of Anna Cate's birthday and our celebration below.

AnnaCate'sBirthdayCelebration 1 from Sarah King on Vimeo.


 Last week, I received this email from babycenter.com and I smiled at the relatable notion of how much I'm loving this age with Anna Cate.


In the same vein that I find myself sad that my girls are growing and changing, I'm finding truth in the message that it can be "the most rewarding phase."  Both my girls have deep souls, charming personalities and loving smiles. Anna Cate charms me with her kindness and thoughtfulness, and Molly amazes me with her wit and understanding.  In many ways as I reflect on our spring break, I found pure pleasure in their presence.  So for spring, for Easter and for my big girl getting bigger, I'm grateful and content in the ways we celebrate.

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. - Guillaume Apollinaire


02 12

The Lion and The Lamb

I love the way words can represent thoughts and feelings, the way metaphors can relate experiences and descriptions.

 "In Like A Lion, Out Like A Lamb, March roars in like a lion so fierce, the wind so cold, it seems to pierce. 
The month rolls on and Spring draws near, and March goes out like a lamb so dear. 
~Lorie Hill

March.  Molly's birthday is the 2nd and Anna Cate's is the 29th, the whole lion and lamb reference sort of fits their personalities as well as their birth month.

Last week, we enjoyed both the lion and the lamb within a few days.


The lion...

The snow, not the child. 

We enjoyed a big March snow and three extra days together as schools were cancelled.

A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep. Vernon Howard 

The Child.

And in a matter of days, all the snow was gone and we galavanted to DC to spend the day with my dear friend Dorinda and her sweet dogs. The lamb, the weather.

We visited memorials of Lincoln and MLK, both of whom Anna Cate has learned about in school. Now that I'm thinking about it, they fit nicely in my lion/lamb metaphor. 

I love this scene at the MLK memorial,  reminding me how important words are and how important it is to teach my children of their value. 

Martin Luther King, a lamb. 

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.~Martin Luther King, Jr. 

 I think it is fair to call Lincoln a lion.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. --Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 Gettysburg Address

-----

A little story about the girls and this metaphor. There is a girl in Anna Cate's class who isn't always very nice. Let's call her Betty. Several weeks ago, I told Anna Cate to ignore her (to be polite but not too eager to be her friend) and lo and behold, Betty started being nice again, yet when Anna Cate went back to her congenial self, Betty was back to her not-so-nice self.  So we had a conversation about it, "Molly said, I want to beat Betty up," to which Anna Cate responded, "violence is not the answer. Martin Luther King's house was bombed and he still was peaceful." 

The interchange and window to their personalities amused me, and I have to admit I do sort of see value in both. I cherish Anna Cate's sweet spirit but am sort of proud that Molly would stand up to anyone who is hurting her big sister. 

I think about the fun on the snow days and the joy of a sunny day, my sweet and spirited girls and the contributions of a war leader and pacifist on our country. 

In other pre-spring activities, the girls enjoyed a day at home with Nana when she visited for Molly's party.


Anna Cate ran her first race with her crossfit kid buddies and fabulous coach, Suzanne.

It was nice that Nana was still in town from Molly's birthday party the day before.

Anna Cate and Leana said their goal this year was to run a race. They did it!




Molly was a good cheerleader.

She insisted on taking her twin baby dolls in her new stroller from Baba.


In honor of the girls' March birthdays there were flowers in church given in their honor from "friends of their Grammy's." 
They were from Patti and Carolyn.

During the service, after reading the blurb in the bulletin, Anna Cate wrote this note.

Dear Grammy, thank you for those flowers you gave me and Molly. We love you so much.

"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!" ~ Sitting Bull (A lion and a lamb)

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