Cuddles, Jammies, and Ramblings

This morning the kids left for school. I was planning on exercising but couldn't resist doting on Hazel. She had a fever when she woke up this morning so she was cuddly and just last night I noted how the cuddles are becoming more rare. So I seized the opportunity and we laid on my bed and snuggled for two hours. She slept for awhile then I joined her. It was the perfect morning. I managed to get in the shower before picking up Maggie from school.

Maggie just started school in January. She is "scared" and "sad" about going to school and throws a fit about putting real clothes on, but she is always happy when I pick her up. She tells me, "I was sad at school. Then I happy at school." She proceeds to tell me about the snack she ate or the letter she learned. Today she started singing songs she's learning at school. We talk about her day while we drive over to Henry's preschool to pick him up.

Henry loves school and is making a lot of friends. It's fun to hear what he remembers learning, singing, and eating.

While I was cuddling with Hazel this morning, I read old posts on my blog from my early motherhood days when it was just me and baby Henry. I don't miss those days but I really enjoyed reading about our slow-paced life. Our days now have a little bit of structure but aren't completely dictated by school. It's a perfect balance and we are busy when we want to be and hang out in our jammies the rest of the time.

All I wanted to do today was hold my sick baby. While she napped I called my mom and sister, then I painted Maggie's fingernails and toenails. Henry was busy playing with a friend all afternoon. We love having friends over to babysit my kids for me play with. It was even warm enough for the kids to play in the backyard.

I am loving this life of mine. The busy days help me appreciate the lazy days and vice versa. We have a lot of freedom with our time and Dad's schedule is really good right now. (All seems right in the world when he's around more.) I will say the hours from four to eight PM are pretty ridiculous with a lot of whining and complaining, filled with, "I'm hungry!" and, "I don't like dinner!" (which led me to apologize to my mom for every time she placed a meal in front of me and I said the same thing) and singing Daniel the Tiger's song, "You gotta try new food cause it might taste good," and, "Let's see who can get their jammies on first," and, "Sit and listen to scriptures or go to bed--those are your choices..." and on and on. But amidst the chaos and battling there is a beautiful life of family and learning to love unconditionally and making mistakes and trying harder and being kind.

There is a life with joy. Yesterday Henry was ecstatic about surprising Dad with a letter in the mailbox. Dad came home as we were writing our letter. Henry whispered to me, "Don't show Dad," so we did a good job of hiding it behind my back. Wink, wink. Henry whispered, "Write 'Dear Daddy, I love Henry.'" After writing the note Dad watched as we put the letter in the mailbox. Henry came in and jumped up and down as he said to Dad, "Go look in the mailbox. There's a surprise for you!" They ran to get the letter together and Henry jumped up and down again as he explained he wrote a letter for Dad. His face was beaming with joy. I love moments like these. They are not every day moments, but it filled my heart watching Henry's excitement as he did something nice for his dad.

Tomorrow I'll try to wake up before the kids for a little bit of quiet time before we start our day. I'll do my home video workout while the kids talk to me, cheer me on, or tell me I'm not doing it right. We'll eat our breakfast and mosey around. Maggie and Henry will play in the basement playroom and I'll cuddle with Hazel or decide to shower. We'll play, take naps, and then I get to go on a date with Brendon. We'll come home, get the kids in bed and start all over the next day.