Holiday calmness

About a week ago I had one of those nights where I couldn't fall asleep because my mind was buzzing with "to do" lists and plans and stress over all the things going on this month -- gifts to buy, gifts to make, SinterKlaas, Molly's birthday party, how to fit all our stuff in the car when we travel, appointments to schedule, volunteer work, events at Molly's school. The next morning I decided it has to stop. Nothing on that list is worth losing sleep over. So I'm trying to simplify and calm down. There was a parents' coffee at Molly's school yesterday where her teacher talked about taking care of yourself, sleep, eating well, ways to keep the kids from provoking you, etc. I'm feeling pretty calm right now, thanks to that. I hope it lasts.

One thing I really have to do is spend less time on the computer. I don't spend much, but the computer has a way of making me ignore bedtime and that's just not good. So here are all the photos I meant to put on the blog this week but didn't because I was trying not to get sucked in.

I found Molly some matchy raccoon PJ's while I was out Christmas shopping. I decided not to wait.

SinterKlaas visited our house Monday night.

Molly puts hay and carrots in her wooden shoes

Here she is the next morning with her fruit, animal crackers and bean bags

Kate got bean bags and her favorite thing -- an apple!

There was a brief moment the other day when both kids were occupying themselves while I was in the kitchen. I noticed the quiet and found them both engaged in rather silly activities. Molly had strapped a head rest from Kate's high chair around her neck. Kate was inside a laundry basket.

What else? We went to the holiday fair at Molly's school on Sunday. It was chaotic but Molly had a good time. They have craft projects for the kids set up in the classrooms and here she is displaying what she made.

Umm ... the other day I figured out how to use a wrap to put Kate on my back (pardon the terrible flash-in-the-mirror photo). We do this in the morning now in that hectic time right before school when I need both hands to help Molly make her lunch and Kate is ready for a nap and doesn't want to be set down.

Molly put Baby Doll in her shirt -- a beautiful hand-me-down white blouse that she has decided is her "chef shirt" for getting messy in the kitchen -- and made us some bread.

This is from some day last week when Molly was so exhausted she decided to have a quiet time. She was so quiet, in fact, that I finally went down the hall to investigate and found her in Kate's bedroom asleep in a bean bag chair with a stuffed animal behind her back. Wow. It was time for Kate's nap, too, so I nursed her down and stepped around Molly to put her in her crib -- I figured it wouldn't be so bad for a little noise to keep Molly from sleeping for two hours. No luck. Kate took a full nap (that's a whole 40 minutes there), cried when she woke up and still Molly slept. When she finally did wake up she was pretty confused and unhappy. Poor kiddo is still not quite right in the sleep department. If only she could sleep past 5 a.m.!

Two girls napping in the same room.

And here's Kate doing what she likes best lately -- standing up on anything and everything, stable or not. If she pulls herself up on something low she also likes to climb over it, especially Molly's new foot stool from Beppe (which Molly now guards obsessively. It's their most fought-over object).

This evening she climbed over the corner of the open dishwasher door. She landed on her face and couldn't get herself tipped over. Poor baby.

Now everybody's in bed and I'm off to do something other than getting sucked into the computer. Right after I google a few more things....