Week 3: Simplicity

This past week our family has experienced several little milestones.  I noticed the first milestone when we decided to play games as a family.  In the past, this has been a challenge because of the 5 year age gap between our girls.  Their attention span, interests and abilities haven't been remotely "even" until now.  Yaya loves playing Beat the Parents.  It's a game where the kids take on the parents in a battle of wits.  Both times we played the girls this week THEY WON!  I am sad (and a little embarrassed I mean proud) to admit we didn't let them win.  The fact that we are finally able to play a family game which entertains everyone is amazing and it certainly simplifies our life.  In the past we always had to play multiple games to ensure everyone felt included and challenged at their own level.    

Yaya recently began showing interest in cooking.  As a result, I'm asking her to plan one meal a week and help me prepare it.  This includes cutting vegetables, cooking over the stove and setting the table.  She's learning about units of measure in school so this should really help solidify what they are learning.  So far we've made a homemade chicken pot pie, vegetable fondue, lentil soup and Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff with ground turkey.  We are really enjoying our time in the kitchen together and I hope it will be a way for us to continue bonding and sharing throughout her life.  Having her as my meal planner and "little helper" certainly is simplifying my meal planning and cooking time.  Little Bird has always sat on the counter as my little sidekick watching and often sampling as I prepared our meals.  Now, she too is helping in the kitchen by helping to set the table.  This isn't an easy job for her.  Our table is very tall and putting silverwear at each place requires her to climb up each person's chair.  She loves every second of being helpful.  Seeing the pride in both of their eyes when we're done with a meal is priceless. 

We were able to stretch our legs this week between rain storms and that meant Little Bird got to break in her new rain boots and take her Leapfrog Lily for a walk with Pappy, Nana and I.  She was OVER THE MOON happy to jump in every puddle she could find.  Some of the puddles she jumped in were so deep the water spilled into her boots.  This is simply childhood at it's best. 

 

Bird has been chomping at the bit to go to the ocean.  It's our happy place and after a month of sickness and pure craziness in our home it was long overdue.  As soon as he saw a break from rain in the forecast he made reservations at a hotel in Monterey.  We drove through horrible rain to get to the coast.  As we pulled up to our hotel on the beach you could almost hear the stress from all of our bodies leave in a WHOOSH.  We are all completely at peace when we're at the beach.  The kids get to be kids and explore to their hearts content. We take no toys.  Life on the beach is as simplified as it gets.  We get to use our imaginations and explore every nook and cranny of the beach together. 

We also got to spend some time at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  We all loved learning about the ocean and the animals who call it home.  This was our first trip without diapers, pull ups or a stroller.  Happy Dance! Happy Dance!  I call that SIMPLICITY for sure.

Yaya is learning about the California Missions and we thought it would be fun for her to experience one while she was studying them.  While visiting the Carmel Mission, she was a little sponge soaking up every detail of her surroundings.  She loved asking questions about Father Serra and things she found along the way.  Father Serra was a Franciscan Priest who devoted his life to spreading God's word.  To say he lived simply would be an understatement.  He is said to have lived a life of sacrifice and self denial just as Saint Francis of Assisi before him.

I'm trying desperately to hold on to each and every moment we share as these are the moments we waited an eternity for.  I love nothing more than to see the looks on their faces when they learn something new about the world around them or find a new confidence in themselves.  These are "Simple" Golden Moments in my eyes.