xoxo, the chapmans: chappy sibs

so i'm just sitting here listening to the Beatles "all you need is love" and online shopping and thinking about my day...which was filled with a whole lotta.....nothin, but a whole lotta love.

i think if i looked up what January's are for in some almanac somewhere (because people tottttallly use almanacs these days), it'd have some big explanation about resolutions and goals and motivation and self improvement. oh, and getting sick.

have your kids been sick too?

ugh, all three have dropped like flies with the most random sicknesses over the last week. Jack: double ear infection/cough/cold/100% irritableness. Alice: crazy coughing, turned into wheezing, turned into several breathing treatments on the nebulizer, turned into freaking mama out a bit, turned into more weird hack coughing. Ellie: cough cough cough, fever like her body was covered in fire, eventual double ear infection. = lots of pink medicine at our house = lots of ibuprofen = lots of sleepless nights = lots of Zombie mom going on = lots of Sesame Street + Jake & the Neverland Pirates.

ahhhhhHH!

guys! WHAT THE CRAP!?

anyway. last night we took Ellie to the Urgent Care. there's this new really awesome Urgent Care center by us. but when we walked in, Ellie grabbed onto my arm really tight, looked up at me with her worried eyes and said, "is this a hospital?" poor thing has a real fear of hospitals. i don't blame her. i don't especially love them myself. i assured her it wasn't - but the longer we were in there, the more and more this place resembled every hospital she's ever been in. she kept laying her head on my shoulder and i could tell she was getting increasingly nervous. finally, her name got called and we headed back to our room to wait some more. i looked over at Ellie, and my heart broke for her a little bit. i wished i could take her fear away - but it's pretty hard to erase experiences like she's had. i had a little prayer in my heart that she'd be ok and be comforted. finally, we got that little knock - and we got the best surprise ever: my good friend Candice was our pediatrician! Ellie knows Candice really well, as she has a daughter Ellie's age and we did Joy School with her. seriously, what are the chances?? immediately, the concern was wiped from her face, and she looked so calm. i felt like it was a little gift - an answer to this worried mama's prayer and her worried child's fear. what a simple way to feel God's love for me and my little family. God is so good.

and for the record: i highly recommend visiting a doctor friend when your kid is sick. it's such a pleasant experience compared the inevitable awkwardness that usually ensues with a random stranger doctor.

so today we stayed home and did nothing. and when i say nothing, i literally mean that i was in my sweats till 12:30 (when i decided to change into work-out clothes to make myself feel better), the girls were in random dress-ups all day, and we did not leave the house. not once. such a rarity for a weekday around here! the girls ran around giggling and making up random games all day, read books to Jack, and let him destroy all the little forts they built. Jack basically got into trouble all day long, including climbing the bathtub and nose-diving straight in, resulting in a pretty good shiner on his shnoz (and some pretty hefty tears). both girls came running to his side and kissed the heck out of those little cheeks, and then we all laid on the floor together and read our new Chatbook that came in the mail and just loved on each other. and then since we all were basically morning-wear anyway, we had breakfast for dinner, drank our pink cocktails, and everyone happily went to bed.

seriously. happily. in bed. with a lot of i love you's even.

my mom and her sisters have this thing where they always ask each other "are you winning?" when they are catching up. basically it's code for "are you above water? are you surviving? or is the enemy creeping in???" i love that phrase, and i ask myself it a lot, "am i winning?"

and so even though everyone has taken turns being as sick as can be in the last few weeks, and even though my to-do list is even longer than it was when i woke up this morning, my lil sweeties went to bed happy and full of love. so tonight i feel like i'm winning. and it feels good.

how were the beatles so smart?
all you really need is love. (ok, and the pink stuff).

xoxo

my favorite Christmas tradition: the Nutcracker by the San Francisco Ballet Company in SF! we went with our friends the Heymans (Kate, Macy & Jenny) this year and the girls had so much fun. they especially loved riding BART into the city. they were giggling and smiling the whole way in. so cute!

one of the best parts of going to the family performances of the Nutcracker is that they get little stuffed animals to keep/cuddle during the performances! the perfect little souvenir for a fun holiday night.

the other awesome part of going to the family performance is that they get to meet some of the ballerinas before the show! last year Alice was pretty freaked out of the Mouse soldier guy, but this year, she cuddled right up to the creepy dude! they love that they get to talk and be with real ballerinas-- and seriously talk about it for weeks after.

the actual performance felt pretty dang long this year. i think it may have had to do with the fact that Alice kept leaning over during the second act asking "how much longa??? is it ovah yet??? dis is tooooo lonnnggg"

until finally she zonked out...and i wondered....how the heck am i gonna carry this bag of flour to the BART station and on the way home???? it was a struggle, but we came out on top. and it was worth it. love the Nutcracker in the city with my girls and girlfriends!

a couple of nights later, the girls got to participate in one of my favorite little dance productions, "Nutcracker in a Day" put on by Heather Simmons and Jennie Smith. my girls love getting to wear all different costumes from the Ballet and learning parts to each of the routines. it is such a cute, fun little night!