~~WATER UNDER THE FRIDGE~~: Motherhood

Showing posts with label Motherhood. Show all posts

A Quick Shout Out, for Scout.

For some reason, baby Scout always breaks into a smile when I yell. (Usually I’m just calling up/down the stairs to my husband or son, but sometimes I may raise my voice for EMPHASIS!!!!!!) No matter the reason: anytime I up the decibels, Little Scout flashes me a delighted grin. Perhaps the sound of Mommy shouting is soothing to her because she heard it so often in the womb.

Aaand it's February!

Sorry, I must've dozed off there for a...month...or so.

Actually, we had a pretty busy January-- too busy to stop and blog about it, evidently. The highlight of the month was that my mom and sisters came for a fantastic girls’ weekend! It was so much fun to hang out with them!! I’m really lucky to have those amazing women in my life!

Right now, we're making our way through the obligatory sick days of winter. Everyone else is pretty well through their bouts with this bug, and much more cheerful today. I was the last to get it and I'm trudging on as best I can. Today was also a snow day so no preschool for Hurry. We've already hit the board games, coloring books, storybooks, Legos, and a few Netflix streaming TV selections. Then H had to clean his room and the living room, and "help" Baby pick up toys in her room, and now I'm letting him play a video game. Trying not to fall down the slippery slope of letting him do that for hours on end, so I need to come up with another activity. Thinking I'll probably break out the papercraft supplies and have him make some Valentines. This is one of those days where you wish someone else could temporarily be the mom. But this is a full-time gig and I do all my own stunt work, so wish me luck for the rest of today!

Letting Go and Holding On

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. ~ HENRY ELLIS

So, this morning I was washing my cereal down with swigs of Dr. Pepper to somehow catapult myself through the day. ...Also, there was no milk in the house. I haven’t slept much the last few nights thanks to my adorable children. They’ve instituted a strict regime of crying out exactly every half hour, like sentries on a night watch.

Today, my almost four-year-old son--The Hurricane--used the shower curtain to channel all his shower water onto the bathroom floor. I was folding laundry in the room directly across, but it was several minutes before I noticed the subtle difference between the sound of normal shower and the sound of water pattering onto the linoleum. (I knew we should’ve re-caulked in there before it was too late!! ) The good news is that the bathroom floor is really clean now. The bad news is that the elliptical machine in the room right below also got a good rinse down. I might just get electroshock therapy along with my workout now.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that quote above, about letting go and holding on. There are a lot of things in my day-to-day life that I just have to leave by the wayside. Life can be hectic and frustrating. Milk spills. Chickens you already counted don't hatch. Appliances break. Sometimes on their own, and sometimes because your son tried using the dishwasher door as a trampoline. Let it go. (Well--discipline your kid, and then let it go.)

But other things I have to hold onto for all I’m worth. There are so many beautiful moments and so many blessings. I want to be paying attention so I don’t miss them. My baby girl's face lighting up anytime I'm near. Hearing her happy cooing and chattering. Being here to see all her little milestones. Watching Hurry learn new things each day and hearing all his imaginative theories about life. The fact that he says "yoodles" instead of noodles. A husband who is unfailingly kind. Tonight I tucked Hurry into bed, and as I was walking out of his room he said, “Mom?” I walked back. He looked at me with big, sincere eyes. “You are my mom. Forever and ever, okay?” Okay.