Oh, January.

I've come to realize that I really don't like January. January is the month of my mid-year crisis (not fiscal year, obviously, school year). Christmas is over, the New Year celebrating has come and gone, and there's nothing but dull, gray, cold winter for another 3 months (at the very least in Bozeman). Wah-wah (Debbie Downer music). The boys and I are mostly stuck inside and I am desperate for any activity/outing that will 1) keep their attention for 20 minutes, 2) exhaust them and 3) get us out of the house and/or out of our daily rut. The January doldrums.

In a very concentrated effort to keep spirits up, I am focusing on the many many wonderful everyday moments occurring in our realm. Ahem. Here goes...

• Last night, Mason grabbed the blankets off his bed, dragged them into the living room and spread them out over one of the couches. He told me it was his jobsite and that they were concrete blankets keeping concrete warm to cure. He was, obviously, very upset when his brother tried to disturb the blankets. He knows how terribly fussy wet concrete can be. I love how fiercely my boys love and want to be like their father. It's great having 4 "worker guys" under my roof.
  

• Waiting in our car at the coffee kiosk (we do this daily), I prompted the boys to look at the mountains and then expressed that God made such glorious mountains for us, His people, to enjoy. Smith thought about this for minute and then said, "Yep, God made them just for our dad to love them. Right, Mom?" I am amazed by my children and their perfect insight into concepts/ideas/truths that I think are beyond them.

• This week, we enjoyed many seasonally-appropriate meals from my two go-to websites: Mel's Kitchen Cafe and The Pioneer Woman . My favorites were Mel's chicken and dumpling soup and Italian roast beef sandwiches, found here and here, and PW's whiskey glazed carrots and caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza, found here and here. If you only try one of these recipes, you've got to try the whiskey glazed carrots - super yum. If there's one good thing about January, it's the food...hearty, satisfying, comfort food. And wine, of course.

• My lovely sister-in-law, Janelle, gifted me the soundtrack to the first season of Glee. The monkeys and I have been listening to the CD in the car as we run our various errands. The very second we get into the car and get buckled, Mason requests his favorite song/Smith requests his favorite song. Mason's favorite? The lively rendition of Kanye West's "Gold Digger". Ahem. Smith's favorite? The melodic rendition of REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling", which he calls the "Horton Song" because the characters on the movie "Horton Hears a Who" sing it at the end. It is just purely awesome.

• On the way to gymnastics, seemingly out of nowhere, Smith started to recount a day this summer when Matt taught he and Mason how to shoot a BB gun. This memory led to another memory regarding the ice cream truck that stopped at our house (this past summer) and provided a delicious ice cream treat. This led to a very serious question: "Why doesn't the ice cream truck drive by our house in the winter?" After a back and forth discussion between the 3.5 year-olds, Smith finally concluded that, "We don't eat ice cream from the ice cream truck in the winter, 'cause snow will get on our ice cream and make us cry. Right, Mom?" Exactly. Almost-four-year-olds have incredible reasoning skills.
  

• This morning, Matt took the older boys up to Bridger for their first ski adventure of the season. This time around they donned boots/skis and learned how to walk and maneuver. Matt held them between his legs and skied down the kiddie slope with each one alternately. They loved it. Positive experience = success! With M and S gone, it was just me and the Soybean. He played with a fork and the cheese grater for a long time. Then we went to the library where he said "hi" to most everyone, toddled about the kid's room inspecting the other children and their respective activities, and generally just reveled in his mama's undivided attention. This second-born, third boy of mine is full of personality and charm and it's a pleasure getting to know him. Did I mention he played with a fork and cheese grater? :)

These are just a few of the week's wonderful moments. It does me good to pause, remember, and savor these simple, extraordinary moments.

January Schmanuary.

Getting ready to go.

Hugs from Sawyer.

Modeling his ski pass.

Mason and his pass.

Headed out.Cheap, dangerous toys.