Day -13

Today was a good day.  It was a day without TV or tantrums.  Any day like that is a win in my book.  I am such a better mother when I've had enough sleep and there are no major meltdowns.  The children get more smiles and giggles, better things to eat, and more "yes" than "not now".  Too bad they don't see it quite like that.

Anyway, I want to step back from school things for tonight because as the blog title suggests, I'm in the weeds on this.  Hyper-focused, maybe.  Ask my husband.  So today I'm just going to remind myself of all the good things about staying at home with my kids and all the great things about having time to enjoy a little life with them.  The days without worry and work and endless chores and illness and finances and milestones and discipline.  Just being us.

Our day:
My daughter wakes first, nursing herself awake in the early morning light.  I hear my husband leave and I share smiles and giggles with the baby before I get up for coffee.  We are playing in her room when I hear my son's heavy feet on the stairs (how is 30 pounds so noisy?) and he sleepily greets his sister with a half grin and kiss.  She returns the smile.  We talk about the day.  There will be friends over to swim and we'll have to pick up the house before they arrive.  We'll still have time to read stories.  But first we'll need to visit the grocery store to get food for the week!

They both ride in the cart but he wants to hop out and help me choose when we arrive in the produce department.  He carefully selects as much sweet corn as I'm willing to shuck for him, a sweet red pepper, and handfuls of green beans.  Grapes and bananas are thrown in.  He wants some butternut squash too but they are out of season now and not as good.

He helps me unload the groceries and he picks up his toys and things around the house.  I find everything tucked into his toy box, whether it goes there or not and decide against fixing it.  He's so proud of himself.  The baby is down for a nap so we read 2 or 3 books.

When friends arrive there are NO fights and the moms are left to play with the babies.

There is swimming and lunch and more playing.  Pretend cookies are baked and eaten.  Evil wizards are vanquished.  Then we are invited to swim again at the waterpark and we do.  When we get home there is laundry to do and dinner to make but no problem, mom, we'll play nicely together.

Dinner is served and all he wants to eat is sweet corn.  There are worse things.  We finish dinner and the little girl has banana in her hair so we all take a bath.  A bubble bath.  More smiles and giggles when Daddy gets home and then I have time for dishes and more laundry and at long last, time in bed to sort photos and videos and write something.

On days like today, I think I could manage a lot more children.  I suddenly remember why we do it all.  These days are few, it seems, but you don't need many of them to get by.  Maybe these kids will turn out ok after all.