Little Inspirations

When you have two young children running around that are just getting the whole idea of Christmas you really have no choice but to get into the Christmas Spirit. Last week we visited Stanley Park for the annual Bright Nights. On the drive down to the park all my 2 year old kept saying was, “Look Mommy, Christmas Lights. Look Daddy, More Christmas Lights.” My 5 year old on the other hand has moved up in vocabulary using words like “Sweet”, “Cool”, and “Awesome”. Very cute coming from a 5 year old. Although, I always wonder where he learns these worldly words. Stanley Park was fabulous and really got me into the spirit. The train ride was great and my 2 year old was in awe. They (Stanley Park) was decorated to the nines, not only where the train traveled but also a lot of the park area by the children’s petting zoo was decorated as well. On the train they played holiday music and the lights that we came upon seemed to all correspond with the music that was playing. It was so well laid out, I don’t know how they did it and with all the rain we had this November. All volunteers, I give them all a round of applause, Fantastic Work! To top off the night the firemen had one of the trucks parked out front. That was the new highlight of the night. Both my boys got to sit in the drivers seat and push the button that would make all the lights turn on. I believe that if there hadn’t been anyone beside our 2 year old he would have started the truck as he decided he needed to try every single button in sight. Since that night I have been hounded everyday to get the Christmas Decorations up.

The thought of bringing out all the decorations with a house full of toys that hadn’t been picked up yet made me cringe. So I told the boys that we needed to get the house cleaned up before we can decorate the house. My plan (if fully executed) was to start a fire, turn on the Christmas Music and starting cleaning up. I got as far as starting the fire when I found that my two children had decided that playing with the toys that are all over the place is much more exciting than actually picking them up. My plan was foiled again! So I decided to clean up some of the areas that also needed attention that didn’t require the expertise of my boys. Although, my two year old would check up on me to make sure I was doing a good job and for me to check the fire. He was very concerned about the fire and thought it was going to jump out of the fire place. So again tomorrow we will start again trying to clean up. Hopefully with seasonal music, a fire, and maybe even a little snow on the ground to help us get motivated.

The truth is Christmas is my favorite time of you. My parents and grandparents have all passed on and it’s so important to me to continue on the family traditions for my children. I loved every part of Christmas growing up, from presents on the tree to those special bacon rolls with Paxo stuffing that no one ever seems to know what I’m talking about to when my brothers and Grandmother would show up at the door. I loved listening to my grandmother play the piano and watching those Christmas specials on TV. Next weeks plan is to pull out the piano music and start practicing the Christmas songs and, oh yea, the baking.

So we have seven days left to get all the decorations up before we head to the Tree Farm to get our Christmas Tree (which is a whole different adventure on it’s own and sure to develop into a memorable story) for this year. We’ll come home and decorate the tree and prepare the hunker down for Christmas. I’m looking forward to a nice quite (well, that’s a figure of speech with a 2 year old and 5 year old) Christmas with just the 5 of us (my brother will be home for Christmas). Wishing for snow so that Santa can use his sleigh to get here.

I am wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas or Holiday Season. Take time to just breath, look around at the sights and sounds of the Holiday Season. Have some fun and go ‘people watch’ and watch how everyone scrambles around trying to find that last perfect gift or finalize their grocery list. Take a walk around your neighborhood and check out the Christmas light wars going on. It usually ends up being quite spectacular. And just admire the season, you have enough time during the rest of the year to stress out and to think about all the things you ‘Have’ to do.

Happy Holidays from my home to yours!

I would like to welcome everyone to my blog. It’s been a long time coming but we are finally here.

My name is Julie Hanna and I’m a Kindermusik Educator and the Director of Little Inspirations. I teach parents and their children, newborn to 7 years old, ‘whole child’ development through music and movement. Here you will find tons of information from upcoming classes, parenting tidbits, personal and classroom stories, contests and much more. I will update my blog frequently and I hope that you will bookmark my blog and make it a regular stop.

Here, I’ll talk about people I have met along the way who have some amazing connections to charities, children and music. People who are doing good things in the industry I play in (yes, play!). People who are passionate about the same things I am passionate about. People we bond with every day and some we just hear about that I’d like to share with you.

I think I have the best job in the world. My favorite moments are the reaction from the parents when their child does something for the first time or the reaction of the toddler that has a new found skill and can’t wait to show everyone. My favorite line is “Watch Me!” I’m so excited to say that we are coming up to the end of my first year of business. I’ve seen nothing but growth through the first year and I couldn’t be happier. I never expected this year to go as well as it has. I look forward to the New Year and many great years to follow.

There will be no shortage of passion in my blog. Sometimes you may agree with me, sometimes not. I want to hear from you. Anytime and all the time. I can’t wait for the conversations to start! What I do ask is that you respect my space. I ask that people be respectful with their comments. Constructive criticism is welcome, slander is not. Profanity is not. Basically, please don’t say something here that you wouldn’t say to someone face to face. I would appreciate that.

So, there you have it, my first blog post. If you have questions or comments, please ask. I’m listening.