What a surprise we had with the snow this weekend! I was hoping to hang around the house with the boys this weekend, so when I heard we would have snow, I hunkered down and prepared for everything a cozy, laid back weekend contains: the first fire of the season, homemade spaghetti sauce, baking, and plenty of tea and coffee. I always get so excited for fireplace season — I just wasn’t expecting it this early! It doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving is still on the horizon, frankly, it feels like Christmas.
On Saturday morning, all three boys and I bundled up and raked leaves our leaves into the street in anticipation of the snow. I was so impressed by their hard work. Oliver, when he sets his mind to it, is the hardest worker! He was out there for hours, hell bent on getting every single last leaf into the street. Emil too! Milo was our apple collector — his job was to pick up all the frozen fallen apples which we kept stepping onto and rolling around nearly falling, like a bunch of giant green marbles were underfoot.
We finished the job just in time; the first flakes started falling, but soon stopped, waiting for Sunday to really let loose. Still, it was cozy, so we enjoyed the fire.
Late Sunday afternoon we had all the fun, just in time for Andrew to join us in a snowball fight… like father, like son. Oliver helped me bake a pumpkin pie, and Milo read 1,209,999 books.
The boys destroyed the house several times over with their crazy games, but they cleaned it all up each time. We also had our very first “family meeting,” on Sunday evening! We discussed the past week, parent teacher conferences, set goals (just individual responsibilities for the upcoming week), and talked about what we are looking forward to in the coming months. Milo impressed us by his insight and taking full responsibility for a few things he’s been struggling with lately, and saying it out loud seemed to be really good for him. We actually had a group hug afterward and I must say, it was kind of amazing! We are going to try very hard to have these meetings every Sunday (especially after reading this). As the boys get older, I think it is so important that they understand their place in and contributions to this family, and what our family stands for and believes in. Perhaps it will help us remain close even as we face their adolescence. Yep, I’m already thinking about that.
But for now, Mr. Fantastic (he was playing dead).
Have a great Monday.
sounds like a fun weekend! i like your family meeting idea, that’s something that would benefit everyone 🙂
Seeing your little people curled up in front of the fire reading ans watching the flames and crackle takes me instantly back to my childhood. What wonderful memories! Such magic you’re giving them.
Your family meeting idea is fantastic! One we may steal. I’d be interested in how you structured the meeting so the boys were receptive to it. How you brought it up to them and what they were expected to contribute to the meeting. This is also excellent prep for work life – frankly – and very little about school and home seem to prepare us for heading out into a professional environment. Brava!
I enjoy your blog so much. The pictures are great. I have 2 girls, 16 and 12, and we started Family Meetings last year after I read Bruce Feiler’s book. It’s a great idea, although I’ll admit to having shied away from the more touchy-feely aspects of it because the older gal was rolling her eyes so much. But we meet, and that is there, and I think it’s a great tradition to start young. I blogged about it, but I don’t remember the link – and I won’t bother you with it.
Maggie,
We talked it up a lot beforehand, saying things like, “We should bring that up at the family meeting this Sunday!” and also said we would have it in front of the fireplace, and we would be able to have a special snack during it.
We kept it very short and casual for the first time around to hold everyone’s attention. Structured as four topic points: mom and pop talking about the past week, specifically teacher’s kind words during parent-teacher conferences, then asked what the boys thought they could work on to make our home experiences go a little smoother. We took turns, asking each one’s input, before moving on to goals to improve. We asked for each one to volunteer for one or two chores around the house for the coming week (Emil offered to feed our dog every day), then we talked about the upcoming holidays and what we were grateful for/looking forward to. It was nice and short but they were excited to contribute because it felt more formal. It was really sweet, actually!
I have a thing for food that photographs really well and egg yolks & purple potatoes are at the very top of that list. Loving all the Pokemon cards – gotta catch ’em all!
Snow! It’s been so much fun to see everyone pummeled by snow and for once have more mild weather. Not for long 😉
I love that you guys are doing family meetings. I never had them growing up, because it was just my mom and I, so you know… but my best friend (and next door neighbor) was the youngest of three girls, and I often got an honorary spot sitting in on their family meetings. I think they were monthly, her sisters were tweens and usually voiced some gripes, it was always fun to watch! I remember envying being a part of this larger and more structured family. In hindsight, there were advantages to both.