These flowers have been in my house the past few days, and I hope they never die. I have 15 sunflowers adorning my table, mantle and counter top. It's a treat. I never have fresh flowers, and now I might be hooked for good.
Y'all, I had two kids fed, happy and changed, redecorated my mantle, put in a load of laundry AND had dinner done by 9:45 A.M. Whaaaatttt?!?!
So, some days are better than others, and I feel like I might have some things together. Other days, not so much. But, I would like to share my top 5 things that have made mommyhood a little bit easier and more enjoyable lately...
1. THE CROCK POT. I can get supper started early in the day, and I have the rest of the day to do the pesky, never ending dishes. I have always thought, even with just one child, that the hours between about 5 and 8 are the most demanding for me. Preparing supper for Craig and I, and also for Annabelle. Then the clean up, bath time, book time, bed time... It is just BUSY around here in the evenings. Doing a Crock Pot meal makes my evenings SO much better.
2. Working out. Whether I get to take the kids to the park for a jog, or just stay at home and do a 20 minute workout in my living room, exercising makes me feel better physically and mentally. It took me a little while to get back "IN" to it after Carter, but to just make myself do something makes a lot of difference for me. I found THIS workout DVD, and it has 3 different 20 minute workouts. I like all 3 of them. Some days, I can only work in one. Other days, I can do two or even all of them. Getting out for jogs has always been my preference, but now with two kids and a busier schedule, it doesn't happen as often. BUT, when it does, it is awesome. The kids seem to love it almost as much as I do. On weekends, I get the privilege of going by myself while Craig watches the kiddos, which is seriously such a treat to me. It clears my mind. I don't bring music to listen to on my runs, and will go as long as my body lets me. Which isn't too far these days, but I'll take it!
3. COFFEE. Coffee in the morning, and some days even in the afternoon. Coffee makes me happy. For real. And helps me function like a person.
4. Getting OUT. I have started Annabelle in some classes, such as music and a Gymboree class. I would like to get her into dance and horse therapy, but that will be determined by finances and schedule. We have only been doing this for a couple weeks, but it's been awesome. Leaving the house is sometimes super duper stressful to me, but when we have very planned things to be doing, I will make it work. For all of our sakes. The classes are only 45 minutes each, but the whole process pretty much seems to take up most of our mornings. I look forward to these days during the week. It makes the days where we don't leave the house much more enjoyable.
5. Of course this is going to sound like a "Sunday School" thing to say, but, Jesus. James 1:17 says, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." I know that He cares about me and my everyday annoyances and joys. He cares about the small things, and because of HIM, we can enjoy life. He gives us little blessings and gifts all the time. I can not say that He has nothing to do with every detail. Because I believe He has something to do with EVERY detail. It's ME that messes things up, and ME that wrecks good blessings, not Him. He allows me to come to the end of myself as a mom, wife and just as a person, so that I will depend on Him. And, trust me, I have come to the end of myself MANY MANY times lately. Like, numerous times a day.
Some days I feel like such a failure in my two most important "jobs", Wife and Mommy. SUCH a failure. Some days are kind of terrible, and others are awesome. I asked Craig the other day to please pray that I find JOY in what I do every day. I find Joy in my children, and have a love for them that is so deep and inexpressible. But, I do not always have joy in picking pieces of cottage cheese out of Annabelle's hair, wiping the kitchen floor 15 times a day, picking up the TORNADO of toys and laundry in every room of the house, repeating myself to a toddler who sometimes thinks obeying is no fun, and being consistent with how we have chosen to discipline our children, etc.,etc.,etc.........
Annabelle is a really good imitator of things that I often do. Like a girl, she pretends to put makeup on when I do. She pretends to curl her hair with an unplugged curling iron. Last week, she was pretending to put makeup on when Aunt Rachel was over doing her makeup. Only, she wasn't pretending. She was really doing it....
