The unfortunate drive by

I broke our camera last weekend. As in put it on the back of our car and drove off with it. Not a good time of year to break a camera. Kevin is taking his time researching the next camera we will buy so for now no pics. I can't stand having a delay on the camera, we get the boys to cooperate for a picture, then it takes the camera a few seconds to cue up and by then the boys are gone. So one of my requirements is a quick shoot camera.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for the boys and myself before break begins. It is also the boy's last day at their current preschool. Come January they will start at the Montessori program at my school. On Friday they met their new teachers. They seemed excited and interested in their new class environment. A little shell shocked to see that there were no toys, but also a little curious about the materials the teachers had out. They had some baskets filled with pine cones, nuts and bolts and other various materials. They seemed comfortable talking with them and when they left they said they had "a really fun time".

Over the weekend I attended Grant's Karate banquet. Grant received his junior black belt after four years of studying Karate. There were only four students receiving one and he was the youngest. He and the three others put on a show of sorts to showcase their skills. I was very impressed. He won several awards and my sister and brother in law, won parents of the year for the dojo. It was a great night for the McBrides.

Grant's sensei is an admirable person, he held a board breaking event at the dojo in Grant's honor and helped our JDRF team raise thousands of dollars for juvenile diabetes. After attending the banquet and seeing what a valuable experience it is for all the children that are involved, Kevin and I are going to find out about enrolling the boys in the little dragons program. The minimum age is four, so they can now participate after the new year.

I'm so excited to celebrate the holidays with the boys. I just can't wait to see those little faces on Christmas morning. I tend to get caught up with the work involved to host, bake and clean, but I'm trying really hard to stay in the moment with them. It seems like after every b-day party and some holidays too, I sit down and reflect how things went and feel like I wasn't a part of the celebration. I was too busy prepping, serving, cleaning, sorting and putting away to enjoy any of it. I HATE that. I'll never get that time back, it's gone and I lost it. In fact my New Year's resolution is to be more "present" in our everyday lives. Taking the time to enjoy the time I spend with the boys and less focused on housework and whatever else that needs to get done. I'm organized to a fault and I'm fighting my instincts tooth and nail to change that.