I slipped into bed around midnight last night. Tim had misplaced his phone and we had spent a few hours tearing apart the house until at long last we figured out where it was. I set the alarm for 6:30, knowing I would be dreadfully tired when it went off. I, however, was not prepared for the five (count that, five) times I was woken up in the middle of the night. First Big E had problems with his blanket. Then C had an issue that I can’t even remember. Then Big E again. Then Baby E fell out of his bed. And then Molly kitty barged into our room. By the time alarm went off I had gotten precious little sleep. And so began my day.

I remember those early days of motherhood, when I lived off of no more than 2-3 hours of sleep in a row, going to work in such a tired stupor and doing it all again the next day. Except for the occasional all night sickness, our children have been sleeping quite well for the better part of a year. I had forgotten how draining those early days were until I crawled out of bed this morning and had to function!

This evening I was texting my sister in law when I had a momentary panic that I couldn’t find my phone. Yup, I’m that tired. Thankfully it was MOPS night, though, so I got a nice respite and a chance to see some of my wonderful mom friends. And surprisingly, my children were charming when I picked them up, brought them home, and got them to bed! And now I am heading there too!

C had a Daddy-daughter event with her American Heritage Girls Troop this evening. After she woke up from her nap, we spent some time picking out the perfect dress, doing her hair, finding some jewelry, and getting her ready for her date with her daddy. She couldn’t wait to show off her new dress to him. While we were waiting, we went outside and took a few photos. When he opened the door and saw her, his reaction was perfect and her response was priceless. She couldn’t wait for their evening to begin.

After they were gone, I decided to take the boys on a date as well. They wanted to go to the beach, so the beach it was!

What a wonderful day with so much sunshine and no sick kids! I’ve been waiting for months for this! 🙂

This is my tribe… well, part of it. These are the women that are journeying with me through the crazy and somewhat uncertain trenches of motherhood and beyond. Some of them are outgoing and some of them are quiet. Some have lots of kids, others only one or two. Some of them work outside their homes, some of them don’t. Some of them are my sisters-in-law, while some of them are not. But we share a common bond of Christ and motherhood- and that’s enough, because those two topics transcend any of our earthly differences. These are among the women I love, the women I pray for, and the women I try to encourage, and in turn they do the same for me.

My dear sister in law will be having her fourth child in a few short weeks, so we decided to take her out, to celebrate her and enjoy her company before a newborn baby consumes much of her time. It was good to laugh, good to smile, good to just be. There is great comfort in friendship, knowing these women are all traveling the same road, making some of the same mistakes, and rejoicing in the same victories. It’s good to know we aren’t alone.

As we were getting ready for bed this evening both of my older children, at different times, stopped me to tell me how hungry they were. They weren’t just hungry, they were STARVING!! This is a pretty standard tactic in our house, a means to somehow prolong the bedtime routine. And, I confess, I used to fall for it. After all, I can’t let me dear, sweet children go to bed with a grumbling in their bellies. And tonight it crossed my mind, “perhaps I should get them something small.”

But wait? Didn’t we just have dinner? As in- less than an hour ago?!? Yes, I remember, I made dinner this evening. But did they eat it? Not really. After three bites Big E told me he was full (i.e. he lied, so he wouldn’t have to eat anymore.) And C nibbled on her meal, but scarfed down some bread. But now it’s bedtime and apparently they are starving… 

I may be a lot of things; a wife, a mom, a video editor, etc. But there is one thing that I am not… a short order cook. If it was up to them, Big E would eat his weight in PBJ, C would be packing away buttered bread and Baby E would eat sausage for every meal.

I’m sorry, kids. I don’t have the time, nor any particular desire, to bow to your picky palate preferences. It’s my job to make sure that your health needs are met, and that means feeding you (as often as possible) a well balanced meal. So I’m sorry you didn’t like the meal I cooked, but it’s twenty minutes past bedtime and you had your chance to eat. Before you complain I’m being harsh… I didn’t offer you liver and onions, it was actually a meal you have eaten countless times before and enjoyed, you just didn’t want it this evening. And sweet ones, sometimes having an empty belly isn’t such a bad thing. It reminds us of how blessed we are to live in a country and community where food is incredibly abundant, where we don’t have to worry about actual starvation. No, it’s important we graciously accept what is offered to us, no matter what it is. So if you wake up in the middle of the night and your tummy is rumbling and grumbling, get yourself a glass of water and remind yourself that maybe tomorrow you should just eat your dinner. 🙂 Love you!

PS- if my children look at you with “For only $1 a day you could save this child” kind of looks and try to convince you I don’t feed them, remind them that I feed them plenty. It’s just that they choose not to eat it!

I was running an errand this evening after I dropped the big kids off at church. Baby E was sitting in the back seat talking to himself and to me at regular intervals. After a little while I noticed that he had started singing two lines…

He died me. He died you. 

In a sing song fashion he repeated this phrase over and over again, becoming clearer and clearer each time.

“Did he die for you?” I asked him.

“Yes!! He died me. He died you!!!” He shouted.

“Did Jesus die for you?” I responded.

“Yes! Jesus died me. Jesus died you!”

It was cute to hear the words coming from his mouth, even though he doesn’t understand the full immensity of them.

We got the paperwork for the C’s first grade field trip weeks ago… a trip to the zoo. It has been a main topic of conversation ever since. There were not really space limitations, so each child was allowed to bring one person with them. After discussing it, we decided that Tim should go with her. I’ve been silently praying for weeks that she wouldn’t be sick, because I desperately wanted her and Tim to get this time together.

The weather was so beautiful today, I met Tim and the kids at the beach after work. It was the first time since last year that Baby E has walked barefoot in the sand and at first he was none to sure about it. Within a few minutes, though, he was splashing through the extremely cold water and having a blast. We ended the evening going out to a local pizza place before heading home and putting everyone to bed.

After what seemed like an interminable commute this morning, I got to work after an hour and a half in the car. I got out, went around the van and opened the passenger side door. I remembered that I didn’t have my set of keys (that’s an entirely different story!), but rather Tim’s. The automatic lock clicker stopped working on his a few months ago, so I have to lock the car manually, which normally is not a big deal. Thinking about this, I went ahead and locked the door so I wouldn’t forget when I walked away. I picked up my cup of iced coffee I had gotten from Dunkin Donuts on my way in and promptly noticed that it was dripping down my dress… a lot. Thankfully I had a roll of paper towels in the van and I grabbed a handful to sop up the mess. As I was patting down my dress, somehow the paper towels caught hold of the little brace I wear on my recovering finger and I felt it slip off and saw it fly through the air towards the parking lot. Then I couldn’t find it. I looked frantically on the ground, near the tire, under the car- everywhere! But no luck. The van door was blocking my view so I closed the door to see better.

And the moment it closed I realized my mistake. Oops. My keys were still in the car. So was my phone, my lunch, and my coffee. Thankfully I was at work when it happened because I was able to go inside and look up information on our department of transportation. They offer motorist assistance and I was able to call them to come over and unlock my car. Within a few minutes the guy showed up and used a few tools to get it opened. My day perked up after such a ridiculous morning!

The absolute highlight of my day was having Baby E back at home. They got back right before bedtime, but I got to enjoy some wonderful snuggles and giggles. He is spending his first night in a big boy bed, so here’s hoping he doesn’t fall out! We still have to disassemble the crib, so the toddler bed is just sitting in the middle of the room, but he was extremely excited to crawl into it this evening and he fell quickly to sleep!

Welcome Home, Baby E! We sure did miss you! (Eight days is a long time.)

When I heard the noise it pulled me from a deep sleep; a long, loud blast that I could feel resonate through my body. As I came to I wondered why the train passing was so loud. In my stupor I knew that didn’t seem right. We live by the sea, with no trains near twenty miles at least. I wondered if it had all been a dream, but it wasn’t the first night I had heard it. It had happened earlier in the week as well. Tim texted me from downstairs to ask me if I had heard it, so I knew I hadn’t made it up. When he came up a few minutes later he confirmed that it sounded like a train to him as well. It didn’t happen again, but I wonder what it was… A passing ship, perhaps? Strange to have never heard it before and then for it to happen twice in one week. It made falling asleep again very difficult.

Today, however, was splendid. Big E spent the day with his grandparents for a post-birthday celebration. They went to lunch with some of the cousins and went and picked out their birthday present. Big E chose a dress up knight armor kit.

Baby E is still with my parents, so Tim and I got a rare day with just our girl. We took her out to lunch and then spent some time on the beach. Despite the chill in the air and the frigid temperatures of the water, she took off her shoes and ran through the sand. She brought toys and played. She walked on the rocks. She jumped in the small waves as they lapped onto the beach. She smiled so very much.

Today was a good day… a peaceful day. This time tomorrow we will all be under the same roof. I can’t wait!

Today was clean up day for C’s American Heritage Girls troop. They spent the morning beautifying the grounds of the church where their meetings are held. While my kids are still a little young to be actually helpful, it was a good experience for them to work along side other kids and adults and give back to their local community. They washed windows, pulled weeds, and laid and spread mulch. There was a little grumbling when they decided they were bored and they begged to go somewhere special once we were done. I took them aside and explained to them that we would not be going anyplace special on account of them working this morning. I want them to understand the concept that helping others doesn’t equate getting something for ourselves in return. We were going to work, not because we would have a fun activity to look forward to, but rather the work was the activity. As they started to get comfortable around more of the kids, they definitely started to be more productive and helpful. We ended the clean up day with hot dogs and chips. The grounds looked lovely and the kids got the chance to think about others before themselves.

We came home for a much needed nap and then spent the afternoon going for a walk and then spent some time on the local beach. We are looking forward to the warmer weather and the chance to go and play on the beach more often. The kids enjoy it very much!

Baby E is still having fun at his grandparents’ house and will likely return Monday evening.

We get a ton of papers back from C’s school. There are a lot of projects she works on in class and plenty of artwork comes home. But my absolute favorite pieces are the spontaneous ones that C creates at home when boredom pushes her into creativity.