Turkey Trotting

Happy Thanksgiving friends and family,

The 4 Webbs are DONE with Christmas decorations before turkey day.  We busted our humps for the past three days to decorate inside and outside like never before.  Our December will be packed full of parties for church, friends, and Kendra's Arbonne business.  How about that for being on the ball this holiday season?

Inside we added a real tree for the first time in many years.  driving to the mountains to cut down a fresh one is a novel idea that I hope to do sometime.  This is not that day.  We drove to Lowe's and bought the first tree they sold this year.

Kendra grabbed the six-wheel cart to haul the tree.  Easton and Layla hopped on and hung on for a ride.  We did exactly what the warning label says not to do.  Although I teach them respect for the law and rules I also have some flexibility now and then.  Was this a safe thing to do?  probably not, but the penalty for failure was low enough I didn't even consider being a party pooper for this free thrill ride.

Kendra picked a winner within a few minutes of assessing the dozens of trees to choose from.  We tossed it onto the top of the battle wagon, strapped it down with a single strap and took the short drive home.

Easton did a goofy dance to celebrate the tree standing upright for the first time.  I would have done the dance with him if I weren't taking a picture of him.

If you search the internet long enough you can find an article to support any idea or belief.  I'm a hard-lined sleep Nazi when it comes to getting the twins in bed by 7:00 each night.  I came across this article titled, "Why I put my kids to bed at 7".  I wasn't even looking for support of my beliefs, but the article references a sleep recommendation chart from Parents.com:

http://www.yourmodernfamily.com/put-kids-bed-7/

Easton and Layla get to sleep by 7:30PM and wake up at 6:30AM. that puts them right on track for 11 hours each night.  I can't imagine any good coming from a kid going to sleep at midnight and getting 7 hours of sleep.  There is flexibility for occasions like the Walking with Dinosaurs event where they were alseep by 9:00.  I'm proud of myself for not making a big deal out of that, but I cringe when I see a 3 year old kid running around Walmart at 11:00PM on a school night.

OK, that's my soap box for the week...  Now I get to brag a bit.  After church I went to pick up the twins from kids church and saw Easton and Zander voluntarily putting the benches away.  Their act of service warranted a high-five and verbal reinforcement.  I am happy to see Easton catching the servants heart Kendra and I have.  It is not working FOR God, but working from God. It makes a difference.

The twins' school held a turkey trot.  I had never experienced one before. The parents stand in the middle of the playground while the kids run around the perimeter.  I coached the twins on the way to school that morning by reinforcing the old adage, "slow and steady wins the race".  Layla took my advice and lapped most of the students by the fourth time around.  She was barely winded while a couple of her classmates puked.  We cheered and clapped like a rock concert each time they went by.

Easton ran the first few laps, but then did a walk/run social thing for the last lap.  He may have taken my "slow and steady" advice a little too far.

They were happy we took time to watch them race.  I skipped out on a meeting at work and one at church because there are at least two things that are more important than work and church:  Easton and Layla.

The twins are loving their new outdoor scooters, but are continuing to ride their indoor scooters every day through the house.  I'm getting to the place where my focus in parenting is letting them succeed and fail with a safety net.  I allow them to have bumps and bruises in my own household from choices and consequences.  The alternative is to fix or prevent every problem.  Doing that will lead to them making their own choices for the first time after they leave my house.  How does that method normally work out for parents?  Yeah, exactly.

They rode the scooter together down the hallway without breaking anything or anyone.  They stopped right in front of me as I sat on the couch.  I could tell they were wanting to see my reaction and determine if the double riding was allowed.  I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "let me take a picture?  Nana will love this one".

See you after the tryptophan induced coma from eating turkey all day!