Balance?

I guess one could say that if you have time to photograph your to do list then it really can't be too bad... So here it is! Though one thing (pruning) can be crossed off after Jason's work day today. It seems of late I've been thinking once again about balance and how to not only find it for brief moments in time but how to find ways to sustain it in our lives. Right now it seems that balance is hard to maintain consistently and that I'm easily knocked off balance. And it seems that our to do list grows much faster than it shrinks right now. Jason and I both feel a tad bit nervous that most nights we crawl into bed rather exhausted AND the growing season has not even started yet (other than a few seedlings Jason is tending).

That being said, there is much in life to celebrate and we are incorporating a lot of good routines and rhythms in our household. Family nights have been great - the three we have had since making the decision to have them regularly - with the most recent including making soft pretzels together.

And Alida and Kali continue to delight and amaze us, with the littlest gal growing up way too fast! She has most recently learned to climb stairs and has quite the sense of humor and her shrieks make my ears ring. She also seems to be starting to consider life as a night owl like her big sister - something her mother is not too excited about as that will assure that she is outnumbered in this family as one who enjoys an early bedtime! Though tonight Alida sacked out early (hence the ability to write this post and share a new cute video with whoever happens upon this). Here is how Alida gets cleaned up after eating her dinner:



One final note - we gave Kali a coupon for Christmas for a sleeping bag. It was in part due to our desire to rid ourselves of a hand-me-down Dora the Explorer sleeping bag that supposedly was inflatable but the device was clunky and not so easy to use, took a long time, and by morning there was no air left inside. So it had seen better days and Kali was ready to part with it if she had an alternative. She has not been so excited in a long time as she was when the box arrived this week with her purple sleeping bag. She has slept in it the last two nights!