Friends and Dance

Headed out to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhoods!
My awesome little helper, preparing Lasagna Al Forno for some friends of mine who just had babies.
After a fun Zumba class- Sheldon playing in the box his new toy came in.
Opening a present early so we can spread out the fun!
lSheldon's new blanket and dog!


So, my friend Tara invited me to go to a class at the Rec Center called Zumba. I had seen the "Zumba people" come into the studio as I was leaving various classes and I was always skeptical. Dance lessons? Latin dance? I am a terrible dancer and it takes me a long time to learn steps, so I never imagined I'd try it. Until Tara asked me about 4 times and told me how much fun it was. Finally, I hesitantly put on my tennis shoes and went to my one, free trial class with Tara. I was feeling nervous, self conscious, and positive I'd only go once.

Boy, was I wrong. How much fun! I got lost in learning the "routine" for each up beat, fun, latin song. I smiled and laughed the entire time. I completely avoided looking at my ridiculous self in the mirror and just watched this wonderful dancer in front of me and pretended I looked that awesome! The instructor was fun and positive and Tara is the perfect friend to go with. She's one of those people that "brings a party" with her wherever she is. She's has not perfected her dance moves (although she's far better than I am), but she is not timid or self occupied. She just shakes it! I came home Wed. evening all sweaty, and all smiles. Ryan commented that he had not seen me that bubbly or happy in a long time. But, I sadly said that I didn't think I'd go anymore because the drop in rate for the class is $12!

Well, my mom and Ryan both picked up on how much fun this class was and how much I wanted to keep going, so they got me punch cards for the class. Now I have 14 more times to go and lose myself in the rhythm and dance!

So, why am I writing on my momma blog about a dance class? Well, because it makes such a difference to have things to do- just for me, that don't involve kids or worrying about kids and their schedules and naps, sleeping, eating, behavior, etc. Zumba takes me back to a time where I was passionate about Spanish, latino cultures, traveling to Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Honduras, etc. It takes me back to High School dances where I'd be out on the center of the dance floor the entire dance, just having a blast and being a goof. (Admittedly, I wish I had taken this class in HS! I would have looked SO COOL out there with some real dance moves, instead of the sprinkler or the shopping cart moves we busted! ;-)). It is so fun to have a chance to laugh at yourself while learning some provocative hip hop moves, simply in the name of a good work out and a good time! Tara is also a Spanish enthusiast and mother of two- her eldest proving to be quite an energetic and challenging kiddo- just like mine. So, for a few hours a week, we can forget all of our mom responsibilities and immerse ourselves in something a bit Latin, and utterly carefree and fun!

Alright- so as not to sound as if I am being paid to advertise Zumba, I'll stop there. I promise, my next post will be more related to my kids, or Christmas, or something relevant. Until then- have a great week!

Joyful Joyful

Can I just say, in the past month or so, I have had the chance to actually get to know my son, and he is awesome. Some of you are probably wondering what on earth I mean- isn't he 8 months old? Yes, yes he is. But for the previous months, there was so much time and frustration related to Sheldon's sleeping, eating, nursing, formula, waking from naps, waking at night, etc., that I didn't really get much time to just PLAY with him. And now that the kid can suck down a bottle in a matter of minutes and he eats baby food like a champ, we get to play a lot. And he is SO much fun. He is such a smiley, silly, fun little guy and I love his frequent belly laughs and giggles. I love that he rolls everywhere instead of crawling. He loves banging things and dropping things. When he hears or sees clapping, he claps too. He is hilarious in the bath, splashing and growling and laughing like crazy. He has been sleeping through the night (8pm-6am) and it is glorious! He has also been sharing his silly self with the nice child care workers at church, MOPs and the Rec Center. I am being called out less and less and am enjoying the few hours away here and there! I cannot wait to see what kind of kid he becomes and I am excited to see his personality come out more and more.

We are also learning about how Coranelle ticks and when she is the happiest. She cannot be rushed. If she feels you stressed out about getting things done or getting out the door, she acts out. So, I have really worked on allowing more time and warnings for her to get ready to go someplace. And, we have been doing less (out and about), and playing at home more. This seems to be good for all of us and it has been fun to see my kids playing together and Coranelle's imagination run wild. She is truly incredible- spunky, smart, and so intuitive! She is loving counting down the days to Christmas with our online and paper Advent calendars as well as a paper chain we made. She soaks up Christmas stories and is memorizing them. I can read her books like the "Polar Express" and stop mid sentence anywhere in the story and she can finish the sentence. Her memory astounds me!

Shopping this year was so fun because our families have taken the pressure off of buying for all siblings and parents and focused more on the kids. So, I have had a great time finding fun toys for each kid and I cannot wait to see them play with their new gifts! Another joyful thing we have found this season is looking at Christmas lights. In the evenings, we often bundle up and walk with the kids around the neighborhoods to see all the Christmas lights and decorations.

This is a very random and disconnected post, but I hadn't blogged in a while for lack of something to blog about. I thought I should just share some of the little joys we've been experiencing in our home recently. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying this season without being sucked into being over committed and stressed out!