Today

Today (well this whole week for that matter) was one of those days where I felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and falling short in my job as Mommy. The family schedule this week has been hectic. Two kids and myself are on antibiotics. The pain in my head and face from this sinus infection is relentless, but how do I explain this to Calvin who insists on playing dentist with his power drill on my face several times a day (I endure because he is so darn cute!)  The cleaning that needs to be done seems insurmountable (please no one look at the upstairs bathroom!), the boys' bedroom is driving me crazy with its disorganization, there are piles of laundry, toys on every surface of the house, a tree that needs to be re-decorated (yes, I said "re-" because it was knocked over last Sunday by a twirling 5 year old)... the list goes on... a 15 month old addicted to eating crayons (at least twice today I caught her with a mouth full of crayola), and a whiny sick 3 year old who I'm convinced has forgotten how to speak normally. And then there's Jack who moves from one room to the next instilling chaos on everything he touches (art projects in the dining room, a fort in the playroom, and science experiments in the bathroom sink). At one point today I sat down (shocking!) on the couch, cranked the Christmas music up a notch (to drown out the dumping sound of toy bins from the playroom-ugh!), and breathed. I gave myself a pep talk to remind myself to appreciate this time when they are small.  Mary Lee came over, crawled into my lap and put her head down on my shoulder. She must have sensed I needed that.  It was a rare moment of peace penetrated only by Angels We Have Heard on High. The moment lasted just that, a moment, and then Mary Lee started pulling my hair and pinching my face. Lovely. It was then that I noticed green (marker?) all over her fingers and mouth. She was holding a plastic cockroach (more on that in a second) that Jack had covered in dry erase marker (to make it smell stinky). The plastic cockroaches were a Halloween gift from someone and they have become a little boy (and Daddy) favorite - hide the cockroach and scare, OK terrify, Mommy. It seriously gets me every time, well the first time at least, that they hide it. I've had it in my food, on the dishtowel, under a dish on the counter, in the bathroom, on the toilet seat, you name it.

Surprisingly only a few of my Grandmother's ornaments were broken. And thankfully no one was hurt.

Sometimes on this blog, I only capture the happy because goodness there is lots of that, but the other parts I want to remember too because they will give us all a good laugh some day!

-Mommy/Amy