Just a normal day.

Friday mornings are a little different around here. Monday-Thursday Aaneqa Heather and Rhys get on the bus at about 7:10 so I have to get them up at 6:30. On Fridays, Rhys doesn't have school, so I have to take the girls. I get them up after 7 am.

Last night, we had trick or treating. (YES it was a week early, I have no control over how our town runs Trick or Treating and we had a lot of fun!) The kids were very amped up about the fun they had last night. I was able to get them to bed pretty close to regular bed time so I was pretty proud of me.

This morning, pretty close to 7 am, I hear footsteps and then Heather comes in to close my door. I was trying to settle the baby down to go back to sleep but I knew that the temptation of candy was going to be too great for them. I jumped up, put the candy in a protected space and went back to the baby.

Naturally, the kids came in to wake the baby up since I wasn't letting them get candy. I decided to let them mess around while I read my morning Bible Study on my phone. Suddenly, I was smelling some odd odor. The room was still dark so I was pretty confused as to what the smell could be.

I finally discovered the Baby had gotten a bottle of cough medicine and poured it all over the floor and was trying to drink the dregs from the bottom of the bottle. AACCKK!!! (I had woken up coughing at 2 am and must not have put the lid back on well enough, at 2 am, I am not coherent enough to make good decisions it seems)

I had Heather turn on the light and I cleaned off the baby and the floor. This did NOT put me in a good mood.

I tried very hard to reign in my frustration but the baby spilled a mess of cereal on the floor and I stepped in the pee on the floor from last night when Rhys took off his costume but couldn't hold it any longer. I had forgotten about it last night and went to bed without cleaning it up.

I got a late start getting everyone ready and barely made it out the door in time to get the kids to school. I think they may have actually been a minute or two late. :(

On the way to school, I was constantly running the windshield wiper cleaner fluid because I neglected to get outside in time to start the car so it wasn't defrosted and the frost kept overtaking the windows.

When I was leaving the school, I realized, I never did manage to brush the girls' hair. Heather is fine because her hair somehow naturally falls into a nice arrangement most of the time. Aaneqa on the other hand has a loose ponytail with lots of little wisps of crazy hair floating around the top of her head. I feel so bad for her! :( She is already sensitive to people criticizing her without me "helping" her along.

I always feel so overwhelmed on mornings like this. They happen way to often.

Had I but put out clothes for today last night, and put the girls costumes in their backpacks last night for the parties today I would have had at least that much of my morning in order rather than being horribly frustrated by every little thing.

Since then, I have actually done more housework than I usually manage in a week. Unlike my usual modus operandi, I actually went after the cough medicine with some soapy water. I hope I managed to clean it well enough for Don to shampoo it up. (I really do not know how to use the shampooer) I then proceeded to go after a couple of other spots in the living room I have not bothered with for quite some time. I EVEN shock gasp remembered to go after that pee spot FINALLY.

I have seen a meme of a woman that says something similar to, I keep expecting the adults to show up! I have come to the conclusion I live my life as if the adults are about to show up at any moment and take care of all the things I keep falling behind on. It is a rough reality to realize that "I" am in fact THE adult. It is apparent I have rarely employed that aspect of my personality.

A morning in the life of me. Wracked with frustration and irritation.

Oh me of little faith.

 

You know as Moms. Well. Ok. "I" As a mom feel like I take superior care of my children. I micromanage their little lives and what they can and cannot do down to a "T". I have this house locked down pretty tight and even though my kids still get away with things it's usually hard for them to accomplish when MOM is on call. 

 Daddy on the other hand. Well. He's a little more lackadaisical. I don't always feel comfortable leaving the babies with Daddy because he's not ON TOP OF IT. Not to the obsessive level I am. AS A MOM. You know. Right?? 

Last Thursday, I fell UP the back stairs with the baby in my arms, he hit his head on the CONCRETE stairs. He was and still is perfectly fine. But because of the height. (I am almost 6 foot tall) and the DENT in his skull, they gave him a CT scan. (score 1 against MOMMA.. for today)

The next day, I noticed that my eldest child was about to make a very expensive mistake. I chased after her and in the process of loudly expressing my concern at her choices, I opened the door onto my face, my nose/upper lip area where there is a pretty large nerve bundle. Yea. My kids got a slightly new vocabulary in that moment. The baby was crawling behind me and while I was screaming inappropriate words and other things, he was sticking his head through the cat door behind me screaming as well because he was afraid. (score 2 against Momma opps) 

My wonderful Mom came to visit me yesterday and when she brought me a crock pot of food I decided to move it into the kitchen, she opened the door and I dropped the pot on the floor. It shattered into a million pieces. I managed to NOT get quite all of them picked up and Aaneqa almost stepped on one later. (score 3 against Momma)

Was at the Dr for a follow up appt with Zane this morning. I described how we fell, I described how the next day I had hit myself in the face with a door. She said, Well, what was the third thing?? These things usually happen in 3s!

I then went on to describe how I had dropped my Mom's crock pot and it shattered into a million pieces yesterday. Mom and I both got a little hysterical at the calamities I am surrounded by. The Dr had covered her face at least twice to laugh and then apologize. (I really really love my dr she is the very best pediatrician ever! She has to practice for at least 17 more years.)

I left the dr feeling pretty good, my 3 things had happened and I should be set yea?

Zane was messing around trying to get into stuff on his Daddy's desk. I had been hearing a buzzing like a fly and had been ignoring it. All the sudden, he was wringing his hands and crying and I had NO idea what had happened. I had this idea that maybe the buzzing had been a bee and he had grabbed it. I picked him up and looked at his hands and he just cried and cried. One of his hands had a sore looking finger but I was afraid that I wasn't seeing the injury because of my poor vision.   

I took him upstairs to Don and we examined his hands. Nothing.  He was laying back when I noticed the bump on his belly. On intuition I had Don check in his diaper. When Don uncovered that wasp, I THREW the baby at him. He caught him beautifully. I treated his wound and he is perfectly fine.

Don is a great Daddy. 

That is all. 

Simple Joy!

Some days it seems like the rainclouds of life are hovering over us and making life impossible to bear.

 

I know that at times I just want to curl up in a ball and give up the fight.

Simple joys can be easier to find than you imagine. 

Watching my children play in the rain has reminded me that pleasure can be completely free. It can be absolutely ridiculously easy to be filled with joy. 

Look at my children enjoying the freedom of playing in the storm! 

 Watching them play helped fill a part of me which had previously desired THINGS. I want to get them STUFF and things and go places.
They are having far more fun in our own back yard playing in a rain storm. Far more fun than when we go to a wonderful place filled with shops and toys that they cannot possibly possess. This simple joy fills me with an absolutely wonderful glee.

Things go south very quickly, 10 minutes later, the boy is whining and the girls are bickering, and yet, I have the memory of the fun playing in the rain to help me grab hold of an inner peace which is hard to grasp all to often.

Other simple joys we can enjoy at home when there isn't a handy rainstorm include things like

Making colorful cakes.

Rolling Gnocchi. (or just general cooking together)

Also in the absence of a rainstorm one can enjoy a beautiful sunrise or sunset every single day!!!

 And remember, after the storm, we are graced with the most wonderful promise of all.

Simple Joys. :) In the midst of a crazy life!