Slowing down the holiday hamster wheel

The Christmas season is often a blur to me. The period of time between Thanksgiving and New Years flies by seemingly before I can blink.
This year has been different.

This is what the truck looked like when it was half-way packed.

For Thanksgiving, instead of our traditional drive to East Texas to spend time with family, we went camping. We drove to Glen Rose State Park to see the dinosaur tracks. Adam's godparents brought their RV and we brought our tent and just about everything but the kitchen sink.  We packed long johns, extra socks, hats, coats, and gloves.  We said we were prepared for the cold.  I was not prepared for the cold. The first night the temperature got down below freezing and I was wearing everything I had in my sleeping bag under blankets in the tent and still cursing because I was so cold. The kids were sleeping peacefully. Claire was snoring soundly in her sleeping bag and Paul was enjoying sleeping in my part of the bed. (He was cold.)  I was absolutely miserable and considered leaving in the middle of the night. I didn't.
The next two nights we left our space heater on in the tent, so we were actually warm-ish. During the days we went hiking, sat by the fire, and enjoyed being away from everything.  Overall, it was enjoyable, and funny memories were made.
Two weeks later, we had the beginning of Icepocalypse. It seemed that the weathermen were being overly dramatic at first, but since it's been a full week since it began and we're still sliding on the ice, I guess there was some truth to their predictions.
Solid ice outside means that we've stayed inside.  We were home-bound for four days. This actually wasn't a bad thing.  I was able to take a breath, read a book, clean up clutter, and get Christmas cards ordered. I've been baking banana bread to cover my tuition at seminary this semester and got at least 30 loaves baked. The kids had uninterrupted play for days on end. Luckily, as cabin fever was starting to set in, the ice started clearing away.

Jumping on an ice trampoline.

The ice has humbled me. I have been forced to walk slowly and steadily. I have been forced to use what I have at home instead of running out to the store. For the most part, we kept the TV off and the kids played with toys they hadn't seen in months. During Christmas when I'm just running around with my to-do lists, it was nice to be forced to sit still.  I spent an entire day mostly sitting by the fire crocheting, reading, and getting up to bake or help a kid.  It was wonderful.
I've been listening to our hamster, Snouts Brownie, running in his hamster wheel. He doesn't do it all day, every day. Sometimes he gets off the wheel and explores his world. Both the ice and Snouts have been good reminders for me that sometimes it's okay to step off the hamster wheel of busy-ness and just be.

This Week

We've been very busy the past seven days. Friday afternoon, Adam loaded our truck Clampett-style and we went camping in San Marcos.



We went with a group from our church and we all had a fun, with the exception of Wesley Eugene. He was the only dog in the group, so he got constant attention. He's not fond of children to begin with, so this was a weekend of torture for him. Luckily he didn't snap or bite any of them.

Claire learned to use a port-a-potty. The first time she sat down on it she said, "Hmmm...This is interesting."



We all went tubing down the river, even Claire and Paul. The water was calm enough for even the littlest Boyette to enjoy it. Claire even took a nap while tubing with Adam.



Sunday we headed back home.

Monday morning, I took Claire and Paul to the zoo, for the special "Members Only" activities. Claire got to get up close and personal with a flamingo.



Tuesday morning, I took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda. It was a free showing, so I didn't feel bad taking a baby to a movie theater. We went with our friends, Alli, Emerson, and Declan, and Alli and I later kicked ourselves for that. Emerson and Claire might as well be sisters. They fight all the time and feed off of each other. About 20 minutes into the movie, Claire needed to go potty. As soon as we got back, Emerson needed to go.

About that time, a family arrived late and sat directly behind us. Our noses told us that. If you've ever been to the Fort Worth Zoo, you know it has a very distinctive smell, a mix of animal poop and stagnant water. Sometimes (and this has happened to me) you leave the zoo smelling like it. It's pretty bad.

So immediately when this family sat behind us, Alli and I looked to each other and verified it wasn't our kids smelling like that. I kept sniffing Paul to make sure he didn't have a dirty diaper. I guess that family had smelled like that all day and didn't notice it. (This has also happened to me, but the Adam has been gracious enough to let me know.)

At one point in the movie, the smell got a lot worse. The boy apparently pooped in the seat because soon after the smell worsened, he ran down the steps with a package of wipes in his hand. The rest of the family left soon after, and the smell remained. Apparently he pooped on the chair.

Alli and I had been very stressed out about our kids during the whole movie. Claire wouldn't sit down, Paul tried to crawl around the theater, Alli's kids were restless as well. But when the kid behind us, who had to be seven or eight, pooped in the seat, it made me grateful. It could always be worse. I could be fleeing from a darkened theater where my kid just pooped on the seat.

Tuesday night, Adam and I went on a hot date to see Twelfth Night at TCU. Wednesday we went to the library twice, once for story time and once to see clowns. We also had a pool playdate.

Last night, after all her friends had left, Claire asked me, "Do people have tails between their legs right here?" She made a gesture toward her privates. "No, silly," I said. "Why do you ask?" "Because Gabe and Paul do." Apparently Claire had walked in on her friend Gabe using the restroom, and she sees Paul naked all the time.

Claire is definitely getting to the questioning stage. She also asked me recently if Paul had peanuts. She definitely needs the information, but I'm not ready to give it to her, so I blew her off with "That's just their bottoms. They're boys, so it's a little bit different."

Claire's pretty smart, so I don't know how long my vague explanations of body parts will last. I want to teach her all the correct words, but I don't want her to shout at the library that boys have penises. (Yesterday, she yelled, "That boy is sooo black!" I don't even know where she got that, because I never talk about that.) I'm going to have to wait until she has developed a little discretion. Of course, that might be a mistake, too, because I know I am not her only source of information. Parenting is hard work.