The Stoeckers Tackle Medical School

This week..

-- we have been reflecting on how difficult but wonderful this stage of parenting has been. The good moments are great! The kids playing together in the living room making up the rules of the game as they go. Cal sharing lying on the floor of the church pew and then popping up and saying with a dramatic sigh "you said one ONE more song!".  Catching Cal at the top of the stairs wrapped in a blanket asking for a push because he thinks his fleece blanket will help him slide. Elle's stash of her tablet, snacks, and craft paper in a bathroom drawer where she has taken up residence to escape her brother. Elle's first spelling test - where she got all of the words correct and "didn't flip my G!" She demonstrated how she held up her left thumb as she started the test to make sure she wouldn't flip it. Elle explaining that "Why?" is one of her favorite questions and sometimes she daydreams about "what if they named ____ something totally different?! What is beyond our galaxy? How do the planets stay where they are?" However, some of these moments are also so incredibly taxing. There is less "Mom! Mom! Mom!" but the whines and them screaming each others names on repeat are like nails on a chalkboard. The clutter around the house and the bigger-than-ever messes when they get creative. 

-- we took the kids to a hockey game. Cal had read about Hockey in our weekly library book haul and asked if we could go to a game. We bought tickets on the glass and the kids were awestruck.. well, once Cal woke up. He slept through half of the first period after falling asleep during the drive. Elle cheered on our team and stressed every second the puck was on the other half of the ice. Cal was observant and asked about why the goalie had his stick in his right hand? Why do they wear those pads? Why do they take a drink and spit it onto the ice? Both kids were equally thrilled and bothered by the body checks into the glass in front of us.

-- T and I are both feeling the year-end crunch at work. We are taking the kids to Disney World after Thanksgiving so this end of the year sprint is especially pressured. We are all excited to escape the day-to-day grind to enter a total dopamine shower of Christmas Cheer. The countdown is on!

xo,

Krista