Finding the Time

Where in the world can we ever find enough time? 

Time is the greatest Trickster I have ever encountered, and more often than not I find myself wondering how I can find a way to better manage my precious precious time. Never standing still time. Always moving time. Funny time. Quirky time. 

Almost just enough time.

I have the vague sense that I need to finish a 30 hour to-do list over the course of a 24 hour day. So today, instead of doing anything I had originally planned, I decided to start our family blog. 

Long overdue, and definitely about time.

I imported this from our old blog, Just 9 is Fine, it was one of my first entries there and obviously the content is still relevent. I am a clock watcher, and a time pincher. I constanly worry about time, about the "schedule" and about making sure we can 'fit' it all in even though most of the time we can't. Time is always lurking around the corner and I am always looking over my shoulder and trying to play catch-up before time runs out.

During the past few days I have been wondering if perhaps as this year winds down, it is time for me to start fresh and embrace the new year with a refreshed attitude towards time.  Learn how to live in the moment, and realign myself to keep a more natural pace with time. Perhaps time isn't the culprit I have imagined? Perhaps time and I could strike up some sort of neighborly compromise? Perhaps time and I could even become friends?

So I decided to take a positive approach and I began to realize that time doesn't always play the part of the evil villian, in fact time can also be our greatest hero if we let it. Some of the most wonderful moments of my life have taken very little time whatsoever, which lead to me to wonder just how MUCH time do I REALLY need? Imagine if you only had 10 seconds to make an impact, what could you really do in 10 seconds? (I thought 10 was an appropriate number given that there are 10 people in our family~I'm oh so theme oriented today, but bear with me this will be fun ;)

YOU ONLY NEED 10 SECONDS.....

To feel inspired

To grow a bubble beard

To share a laugh

To take the plunge

To get messy

To place a prank phone call

To clown

To make the most of it

To steal the show

To raise an eyebrow

To yell "TAH DAH!"

To gain the courage

   

To be brave

To wish

and wish

and wish some more

To make music

To dream

To grow a garden

To rake the leaves

To fold the laundry

To crack the code

To smush

To welcome second grade

To have a wonderful surprise

To delight

To realize you are in love

To be TRULY PRESENT

If we can accomplish all of these things in 10 seconds or less, then time is certainly on our side.

At least once and a while!

A Winter Puddle Land

Yesterday afternoon saw highs near the 40's, which is considered pretty warm here in Wisconsin. The sky was a bright sea of blue and the sun was out if full force. I began to wonder, 'when was the last time we actually went outside?'. No, not running from the backdoor to the van outside. OUTSIDE outside.

And for the life of me I couldn't remember, isn't that sad? Our poor babies have been stuck inside for weeks now and are beginning to catch a little cabin fever. So, I wrangled them, changed them, bundled them, wrangled them again and then strapped them into their new wagon (thank you Santa) and we hit the trials.

The babies were relieved for the change in scenery and the fresh air did us all a lot of good. 

Oscar was very serious about the entire affair,

I'm not sure if he blinked once the entire time, he didn't want to miss anything!

Nuala was a bit more laid back, and enjoyed riding through the puddles.

I was really hoping that we could do it all over again today, but unfortunately we are back down below freezing and our puddles have turned to ice once more. Guess we'll wait for another warm day.....

Mushy and Oh so Gushy...

Love is an amazing and wonderful gift. There are times when my heart is so full it literally feels as if it may burst and spill forth all of the love that embraces and surrounds our family. We are glowing with this love, because of this love, for this love.

Our love will continue to gain strength as we grow as people in mind and in spirit. Our love will continue gaining momentum as we welcome another sibling, daughter or son into the fold. I am amazed and inspired by the ways in which our love is able to endeavour and persevere, growing stronger all the while.

Car Jacked

This afternoon Nuala decided that she was ready to get behind the wheel and experience the joys of the open road....

 

Oscar, however, in light of recent events was not too keen on sharing....

 

And under no circumstances was he about to let his car get 'borrowed' again, especially by someone who just recently got her learner's permit.

This of course left Oscar feeling absolutely delighted.....

While Nuala on the other hand was absolutely enraged....

Flutter. Flutter. Flutter

For Christmas, Maija got a Flip video camera from me and Brendan. The same camera that I fell in love with a few weeks back when I was 'test-driving' it for her, working out all the kinks. Anyways, we thought the kids would enjoy having a mini camcorder around the house, to film all their various adventures and mishaps.

Today, as I was unloading her videos, I came across a couple of hilarious clips, and I couldn't resist posting this one. Ruari's hair is priceless.

The nature of things

Last night when we were getting the babies ready for bed, Oscar had no problem playing the part of the happy go lucky lighthearted comedian.

Nuala on the other hand seemed to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. Or maybe she was simply challenging me to a staring contest?

When you have 2 people, who are the exact same age, developing and growing right before your eyes, it is nearly impossible not to notice the differences between them. I have heard from many twin moms who warn against this, the dreaded trap of comparison, and I understand their reasoning, but I also realize that the differences ARE what make Nuala and Oscar such special and unique individuals. The tricky part is being able to find a way to honor both their similarities and differences without turning it into a competition or placing higher values on certain attributes. I also want to steer clear of any long term 'typecasting', as I don't think that would be fair to either one of them, and they have shown us from a very early age that they are quite adept at hat swapping, and both can be mild or ferocious depending on the weather.  

I find that having twins is really quite fascinating and I feel honored to have been given an opportunity to experience them.

Frazzled and exhausted, but honored all the same!

Of All the Charlie Brown's....

You're the Charlie Browniest....

On the day after Thanksgiving I mentioned to Brendan that we should go and get a Christmas tree, but we both balked at the idea almost immediately. Since we hosted Thanksgiving dinner, the house was a wreck and we were both reasonably exhausted, so instead of heading out with bungee cords, we had some left over pie, ran another load of dishes and took a nap.

Over the next few weeks our plans and good intentions for purchasing the perfect tree were met with resistance, most of which was weather related, although I must admit that some of it was indeed due to procrastination. The kids began to inquire about the lack of seasonal ambiance, and whisper about it to one another. I think they worried that we were going to skip a tree altogether, can you imagine? Where would all the presents go?

Finally, on Christmas eve, with no time left we rolled into Stein's and saved some poor sapling's soul from certain and imminent death by incineration. We were on our way to Peg's for our big family get together, and I told Brendan to get back on the freeway, he voiced some concern over this and eyeballed the roof of the car nervously. 

"Oh, come on, what's gonna happen? The tree will be just fine, I'll take full responsibility if it falls off" I argued. Sure enough not 60 seconds onto the freeway, the tree all but fell off the top of the car, and of course in my typical way, all I could think was that Brendan must not have attached the poor thing properly.

So there you have it, our Charlie Brown Christmas tree, and the dangerous lengths we went to acquire it. My favorite part of the whole thing is that when the kids came downstairs on Christmas morning, more than one of them had to ask "where is the tree?.......Oh, I didn't even notice it over there".

Next year we are buying the biggest most beautiful tree on the lot, and we are getting it the day after Thanksgiving!

 

Just What We Needed

Another car to insure. 

With the economy in shambles, Santa decided to bring Oscar a brand new car for Christmas, which sure helps us out since we certainly cannot afford another car payment at the moment....BUT who's going to pick up the insurance??? 

Unfortunately for Oscar, the car seems to have disappeared at some point last night, because when he went to take it for a drive this morning, it was no where to be found. Don't worry, we have a few good leads. One of which involves an enthusiastic Obama supporter on a cross country road trip to the Inaugural Parade. 

I wonder what the gas mileage is on this thing???

*Oh, and at least we now know that the babies will be getting years and years of use outta this little dune buggy, perhaps it's worth paying full coverage for!*

Takes a Village

SO we finally set up our Christmas village, a long running tradition in our household, and even though we have yet to hang the stockings or trim the tree, the village seems to be enough to appease the masses......for now.

What I truly love about the Christmas village is that all of our kids can still find some magic in it, and they all enjoy playing with it.

Today when I walked past, early in the morning, I was startled to find all the villagers laid out across the snow. I shrugged it off and hoped that they were simply sleeping and had not fallen victim to some catastrophic natural disaster....

By lunch time I noticed the carolers had gathered together in the town square, and was relieved to see that all was well once more in Christmas town.

Sometimes, the strangest things can bring a smile to my face

Shutter-bugs

If anyone knows how to photograph 7 children at once please send help!!!!

These were our 2 "best" shots, and this was even after I stooped to candy cane bribery....

By the very end of this torturous event, Nuala made it known to all that she was in fact DONE....

Oscar wasn't quite so shy when declaring his displeasure...

Anyone know how to photoshop a family?