The McClelland Family

The Nothing Days.

Sometimes the more there is to blog about, the less I blog.  I’m not sure why…I feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the task?  So much is going on that I don’t have time to write about it?  Or (and this is my leading theory)…sometimes, a blog post feels more like a required assignment than something I’m choosing to do just because I enjoy it.  That would explain the Christmas 2011 posts that have yet to be composed, or the Halloween post I threw together in December.

I find that I’m the most inspired to blog when there’s not much of anything to blog about.  Maybe it’s because the less there is to do, the more I relax and live in the moment.  Magic seems to happen in the moment.  Take yesterday.  Yesterday was my last day of vacation (I had a week off for mid-winter break) and we had no plans.  You might call it a “nothing day.”  A segment about ballet on Sesame Street resulted in Mary and Lila getting dressed up in ballerina clothes.  Kevin put on some Chopin and the girls danced around the house.  That evolved into a lively game of “freeze” (I play the piano while Mary and Lila run laps around the family room, and whenever I stop playing they have to freeze).  Something about wearing leotards and tutus turned regular snack time into a ballerina tea party on mommy and daddy’s bed, which then led to jumping on the bed.  Finally the rain/snow flurries stopped and the sun came out so we all walked to our neighborhood cafe for coffee & crepes for the grownups and cookies & milk for the girls.  I like these kinds of days…the days when nothing unfurls into something.  Something small, yet wonderful and authentic.  Magic created in the moment.

Then there’s the Big Things.  Christmas, birthday parties, pumpkin patches, Father’s Day…of course they happen.  We celebrate and participate and decorate and commemorate to the fullest (and then recuperate).  The Big Things are exciting and memorable and special.  We create traditions and I take tons of photos and want to write down all the things to remember forever.  But sometimes the whole “writing it down to remember forever” part becomes too daunting of a task and I procrastinate.  I am a master procrastinator, by the way.

It’s the Nothing Days where I find my inspiration.  The days that lack celebration or grandeur, the days with no schedule or timeline, the days without a gathering of family or friends to witness our adventures, the days that require no planning or foresight…these are the nothing days.  And it’s these real, everyday, insignificant Nothing Days that I think I want to remember the most.

My Valentines

A parent brought 20 helium balloons to my 3rd grade class Valentine’s Day party today and didn’t want to take them back home with her.  Luckily I know a few girls who l.o.v.e balloons!

We played with balloons this afternoon, then made pizza (Mary put on the cheese and “macaroni”…aka pepperoni and Lila did the green peppers and olives).  After dinner we gave the girls their gifts.  They each got a bag with some M&Ms, stickers, a new box of crayons, and a new Disney DVD (Cinderella for Mary, The Little Mermaid for Lila).  Then we went out for ice cream at Baskin Robbins.  Mary and Lila have talked about this plan for two days and all along Mary was going to order strawberry ice cream and Lila wanted vanilla.  That’s what they got, but I guess Lila’s vanilla looked really good to Mary because about 1/4 of the way through her cone she said she was sad and wanted vanilla.  And Lila, being the sweet sister she is, said, “Okay, my stister can have my ice cream and I can have hers.”  And with that, they traded.  And ate.  And then about 5 minutes after that, Lila wanted to trade back but of course Mary didn’t…so Lila let out a loud scream, which convinced Mary she meant business.  So they traded back again.  Talk about learning to share!  When we got home we all snuggled on the couch and watched Cinderella.  Mary and Lila loved the mice and the birds, and they didn’t understand (and were very sad!) when the evil stepsisters ripped apart Cinderella’s dress.  Lila particularly loved the Fairy Godmother and has been saying, “Boppity boopity bip!”  (backwards, but cute).

So, Valentine’s Day has definitely evolved to be a family day for us.  Someday Kevin and I will be able to go out for a romantic dinner, but for now home is where it’s at.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

♥

The early bird gets the worm, so they’re asking a few days ahead of time… (since Valentines Day is on a Tuesday and the likelihood of mommy getting a blog post done that day when we’re already planning to make our own pizzas, go out for ice cream, and watch Cinderella is slim to none).

Faux Spring

The past 3 days have been beautifully sunny and warm (high 50s, which is pretty warm for Seattle in early February!).  I was home from work on Friday because Lila was sick on Thursday night and our dishwasher broke down so I needed to be here for the repair man.  For a day with a pretty dubious start, it turned out to be wonderful.  Lila seemed better mid-morning, the repair man arrived on the early end of the estimated 8am-noon time slot assigned to us by Sears, and the long-lost sun made an appearance.  I took the girls for a long walk through the neighborhood and we didn’t even have to wear jackets!  They were mesmerized by their shadows, which I guess they haven’t seen for awhile.  The good weather lasted all weekend and we got out every day to enjoy it.  We also took the girls to a fun birthday party on Saturday at a bouncy house…always a crowd pleaser!

It’s so bizarre that we went from 6 inches of snow in our yard 2 1/2 weeks ago to 60 degrees and dry this Saturday afternoon.  I loved our faux-spring weekend…and now I can’t wait for the real deal.