Right now, our weekdays consist of (sometimes with my wonderful husband's help, sometimes not, depending on his work schedule): getting kids awake, potty time/diaper changed, dressed, slathered in sunblock, hair brushed, bags packed with cheerios and loveys, and then out the door all in less than a hour so they don't miss breakfast as school.
Mom! My sister gets a ponytail, not me! |
Then, I give kisses, hugs, more kisses, more hugs, hold back tears as they cry and peel myself away from the school so I can jump into the car, sit in rush hour traffic and hope, only hope, when I get to work that there isn't a crisis to deal with immediately. Of course, during this time, I am steadily drinking my decaf iced coffee and swallowing my breakfast faster than what should be humanly possible. By the time the workday is ending, I am rushing out the door, to sit in rush hour traffic and pray that there are no accidents on the highway and get to the school in time to pick up both kids before it closes (cue: unnamed daycare person giving me dirty looks at 5:55pm).
After that, I'm off (with Savy Daddy's help most nights) to make dinner, wash hands/faces, wash tables/chairs/floor, change diaper, invoke potty time, play with them for a limited amount of time, and then off to brush teeth, read books, give kisses and hugs, read more books, remind them how important sleep is, do proper tuck-ins with the right loveys/blankets/nightlights/sound machines. My day doesn't end there, but the rest is just monotonous house chores and wrapping up work online that will bore you to sleep. Really, it will (cue: nodding off on couch at 9:30pm)
As for today, well today Little A. woke up 2 hours early, crying for her pacifier. This led to daddy getting her out of bed and her demanding me. At first when she woke up and I was plucked from the precious slumber an hour early, I was irritated, but then I remembered "She will only be little and want to hug and cuddle with me for so long." So, we cuddled for that hour and honestly I would easily give it up again for that time with her. Her smile, sweet touches, pokes to the face and giggles in bed made my day just start happy.
And today, her brother, Big N., popped his cute little boy head and body into my bedroom with the biggest grin and said "Hey, what's she doing in here?!" After a brief explanation he hugged me and bounced downstairs to see his daddy. As with most mornings, Big N. doesn't exactly have the best attention or patience (cue: crying, screaming, kicking 3.5 year old because he doesn't "need" to go potty), but it passes and we get through our morning. This morning as I asked him for the 100th time to put on his underwear, I thought "Why can't he just listen to me the first time?!" with immediate frustration. Then, I stopped and thought "Someday I will wish we were here, at this point, and he was a cute little boy jumping around so excitedly at Mickey Mouse that he forgets what he is doing every 2 seconds."
One of their first photos together, almost 2 years ago. |
And this is where I am today....Deciding to not get frustrated with the things that my children do, but rather to enjoy this time with them. It's something we, as parents, don't always remember to do, but something worth doing.
Take a moment today and enjoy it, because tomorrow will come and they will likely sleep through the night again and put their underwear on the 99th time you ask!
What did you enjoy today?
love this post :) Today I enjoyed my little girl learning how to walk...at 9 months!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! Our Little A. walked at 9 months too! Just wait, she'll be running by 12 months :-)
Deletelove the picture of them together. reminds me of my niece and nephew. I enjoyed watching my daughter cuddle with her daddy on his day off today :)
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