oatmeal carmelita crumbs

I want to be famous for saying yes, for mixing butter and sugar a million different ways that taste like home.  I want the boys to forget the times I cried in a heap over spilled greek yogurt and pomegranate seeds across the slate floor, and to remember the times I let them lick the carmelita pan.

so much happens while Tuck is at school...

Tollie is constantly talking about Santa’s grandma: pretty sure he means Mrs. Claus.

Mom, did you know that clams can clean the ocean? Maybe we should get a clam so it can clean our dust. 

Mom, I lost my helicopter in the Mount of Ever Rest. Meaning it's somewhere in the pile of clean towels by the dryer.  Or meaning I may never actually get to rest between loads...

Telling a story from the backseat:  One time before we were a family yet and me and Tucker had our own house for a minute, it was a cabin, and I could see the Reds win from there because we had a television. We also had a kitchen and a toilet and bunk beds and a table with all the things to make cinnamon rolls. 
*Reds = Buckeyes, because they have red uniforms… 

When I reminded him that he promised to do something today: No, I meant the tomorrow after that. 

I know what two Os and one Z spell!  Zoo!

In his bedroom: You know what the air smells like in here?  It smells like airplane wings.

When his pediatrician asked, at his four year well-visit, what ways he exercises, I thought he'd mention riding his bike or swimming or the playground, but instead said he used those hexagon things with the line that connects the hexagons so you can pick it up and down.  Lifting weights.  Which he is not allowed to do unsupervised, but does occasionally request.

The doctor had also asked, several minutes prior, whether he knew at least three basic shapes.  Confirmation.

Is it another day yet? he wonders, usually mid-morning, always in reference to his Hot Wheels advent calendar. When will it be another day?  Will there be another day after tomorrow?  

Pointing at my belly: Hey, is the baby naked in there or is he wearing some clothes? 

As I stood from the couch:  Is it okay if I take your warm spot?

weekends win

The best part of the holidays may be the social aspects, spending time with family and friends, making room to appreciate all the magnificent things that are and will be.

Instagrams

1.  a good reminder that I don't really need six more cups of coffee or eleven million dollars

2.  Carmen in Cayman via @daytonerwife

3.  #notohio

4.  Ohiowa forever

5.  triple date via @daytonerwife

6.  home again

7.  junior Lego League

8.  Tolliver recognized himself immediately: I have red hair and a green shirt and a mad face

9.  cousins at Thanksgiving

10.  unsolicited yard help is the best

11.  tailgate birthday songs, times three

12.  sprinkle cake and more cousins

13.  November birthday buddies

14.  four 

 15.  if you did the right thing and you'd do it again

16.  Grandpa and the Grinch

17.  because December tries to steal the light

18.  all the parts of my heart

19.  the image that pretty much won the internet this week via @mollyholstein

20.  our newest family member #johndamon #chelseysdream

in the kitchen

In the beginning he was a beginner, because that’s what we all are when we start something new.

Now Tolliver can crack an egg, snap asparagus at just the right spot, slice hot pizza and butter his own bread.

He is still really just a beginner in the kitchen though.
Despite that, I love the way that even as he is learning, he sees himself as a strong contender in the next Top Chef of Tupperware Heights.

His help slows everything down and doubles the mess, but we value immersion in the bigger world, the humbling nature of being a beginner, the unabashed courage it takes to try something entirely new.

eye guzzling another chapter

nonpareils and pine needles

This week there've been rainbow birthday sprinkles on the butcher block and fresh tree trimmings on the dining room floor.
The Buckeyes beat Michigan and Tolliver got a new guitar.
Thanksgiving turkey leftovers were turned into sandwiches and soup and there are Hot Wheels stunt tracks snaking across the living room rug.
We filled free days with chapter books and Happy Meals, holiday decorations and dinner at the neighbors', but have since resumed before and after school routines.
And now although December tends to feel full, tries to steal the light from the city, there's plenty of magic in the air.  There are presents to wrap and parties to plan and the floors really need to be swiffered, but we still plan to sit by the fire and sing Christmas carols and carve out a fair amount of cozy down time here.