Spring!

A few days ago I noticed this in my front flower bed:



A blossom! I was excited enough to run and grab my camera and capture the moment. I love spring. For me it's a time of renewal. A time of excitement for what's to come. It certainly means being outside more....in the warm sunshine. It's just a feel good time of year.

Tonight, I was going through some VHS tapes while cleaning out an entertainment center. I came across a few tapes with no titles on the tapes. So I popped them in the VCR to see if they were keepers or if they needed to be tossed. What a delight to watch my sons C and J when they were 2 and 1 years old respectively. I giggled to watch J bouncing in delight to Elmo's World and watched C gulping out of a sippy cup. Then I listened closely to their words "ba ba" and "dada" and "ye-wo", "gween", "bwue". And I just shook my head in amazement at how they've grown and changed in the 7 years since that video was taken. I remembered how difficult those days were. Those two children were only 15 months apart. They were busy, exhausting times. And then I reflected on the kind of boys that they are becoming, and I felt filled with a deep sense of pride. Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the daily rigamarole (is that a word? I seriously feel like I make things up!). The business of the daily routine....get them up, fed, off to school, clean while they're gone, run errands, they're back....snacks, homework, chores, dinner, baths and back into bed. And then you start all over again. But tonight I think I realized that Oliver & I are doing an okay job. I feel renewed. I feel like....spring!

You know you're a tired mom if you've....

Meredith has sent me many emails that are titled "You Know You're a Redneck If"..." and then the email would show a picture or tell a story of some completely hilarious action.

So yesterday, I woke up exhausted (big surprise). From the minute I rolled out of bed until the minute I got back in, I felt like I wasn't sure if I could make it one more step.

I figured I would take a few shortcuts (which would normally be a total no-no in my house) to help me through the day.

I started out by getting my kids dressed. I knew (because I could see the clean ones still sitting in the clean pile) that neither one of the two younger ones had changed their underwear but I pretended not to notice so I wouldn't have to battle with them.

During breakfast (again the two younger ones) they dumped their cereal down the sink without really touching it and I again pretended not to notice (once again, avoiding a battle).

Before we left the house, the oldest hit the youngest and I hid in the bathroom (with the lights out) until the crying stopped.

My mother in law watched the kids while I was at work (they were out of school yesterday) and when I was done with work, she said they could stay for a while. I went to a young women's meeting and then went home for a nap. When it was time to pick up the kids, I pretended like I wasn't feeling good so my husband would go pick them up. He knew what I was up to but let me play it out anyway.

And when it was time to clean up the kitchen for the night, I wiped everything off the bar onto the floor and invited the dog in for a cleanup party.

So for today, I feel totally rested, the kids have been bathed, teeth vigorously cleaned, the floor in the kitchen cleaned (over and over) and I am trying to let my husband rest (not really working with the kids around) to make up for my slacking yesterday and I thought of that phrase "You know you're a redneck if you've" and I thought "You know you're a tired mom if you've..." which I have. I admit it.

What about you? Have you ever?