Another Day

 "What do you do all day?"

"Oh, mostly sit around and do Facebook and give myself pedicures and read romance novels and stuff."

Right.

(Sarcasm, you know. I'm fluent.)

It's more likely that I feed the children.

Namely, the one-year-old who cries until there is oatmeal in her tummy.

We get dressed every morning, except Sundays.

Sundays are "Jammy breakfast day". 

(Because parents don't want to deal with oatmeal spilled on the nice dress for church...)

And I cuddle baby,

and read books,

and work on sounding out words with the 4-year-old.

I revel in the moments of peaceful play.

(not pictured: arguing)

 Sometimes they watch a show.

Educational, right?

 

We have two snacks a day.

Skip a snack, and it's regretted for hours.

We all love baby Seeley.

However, Lucy particularly adores him.

 "Mommy, I wish he was my baby."

 Lunch, the pivotal meal of the day. 

Exibit A: What happens when I'm out of fresh vegetables

Mine is pitas with turkey, sauteed mushrooms, fresh spinach, and homemade guacamole.

I spend a lot of afternoons with this one. 

He is so sweet!

My day revolves around children. 

Someone always needs attention, diversion, discipline, teaching, help, 

encouragement, instruction, or comfort.

It's a constant emotional pull, and I always find that my reliance on God for strength 

determines the flow of the day.

This particular day happened to be the Daddy's birthday.

We were very excited to celebrate!

 

It was a very thrilling day!

Bedtime takes about 30 minutes.

Brushing teeth, final bathroom stop, pajamas,

singing songs, praying, kisses, cuddles, 

and finally they are ready to settle!

That's basically what I do, with the Littles, anyway.

After they're in bed I do the dishes, clean the kitchen, fold laundry (or put it away),

clean a room, or just sit and relax with tea and a snack.

Sometimes I even relax with Mr. Wonderful and we just talk or do projects together. 

Pretty exciting, right? 

I love it, every day, even when it's stressful.

As one woman wisely said, "You picked this job, so enjoy it!"

The Life We Live

We play games.

Ava is very good at winning.

 We do school. Ava is somewhere between preschool and kindergarten.

She can write the alphabet, knows letter sounds, 

does simple math, reads simple words, and can skip count by 2 if she thinks about it.

She helped make sandwiches one day, too!

 

 

 Olivia got a new high chair for her birth

 

Ten Randoms

I'm one of those people who love to know weird things about others.
Like, if your favorite color happens to be citron.
Or if your favorite food is mushroom-artichoke stew. (Is that actually real food?)

In the spirit of this, and as a way to break up winter doldrums (because snow, snow, snow, sleet, blizzard, snow, random warm day, sleet, blizzard, SNOW gets a little old...), I thought I'd give you a peek into my brain.

Read on, if you dare. (It's not THAT bad...)

Ten Things you may (not) know about me:

1: I Love Food. So, maybe this isn't so weird, but seriously. I adore food. I love variety, flavor, concept. I obsess over recipes and new things, and I'm almost desperate in my quest to get my children to eat new foods.
For my one-year-old's birthday party, I briefly considered appetizers that combined herb leaves, fruits, and cheeses. Right. In reality, we're probably going to eat pigs-in-blankets.

2: My Favorite Color is Pink. What's so strange about that? Well, I love pink. Everything pink. But, if you walk into my house, there's very little pink to be seen. I decorate in neutrals, and I usually wear neutrals. I love using blues and greens, because they're soothing to me. So, I may love pink, but it's rarely found on my person. (Okay, fine. I wear blush frequently.)
Oh, and maybe I feel out of place with all the mature women whose favorite colors are things like burgundy, mauve, navy blue, or green.

3: I'm pretty good at bluffing my way through social situations. Often, when I'm in charge of something, I sort of bluff my way through it. However, I like thinking on my feet and problem solving, so most of the time I manage without offending too many people with my complete ignorance of what's going on.

4: I like to eat equal portions on each side of my mouth. It bothers me to chew with only the left or right side. Seriously, bothers me. Not joking. Tiny portions that I can't split make me twitchy.

5: I don't have a favorite food. For all the different things I eat and enjoy, I tend to go with what I want. Comfort food, dessert, savory meat dishes, complicated flavor pairings...it changes with my mood.
Although, if you're having me to dinner, it's always safe to serve me a giant burger with lots of toppings.

6: I usually run narratives of things in my head. Sometimes I'm a secret agent, undercover in a restaurant (as I do the dishes). I've done this as long as I know, and it's so much fun to play pretend in my own little world.

7: I'm very opinionated. I also avoid confrontation 98.2% of the time. So, in a normal conversation, you may not get a whole opinion from me. I definitely want to know that someone really wants my honest opinion before I give it. And then, you still will get the really really nice version. I hate making people upset.

8: I'm a sucker for gorgeous packaging. The cheaper looking an item, the more I inadvertently dislike it. Case in point, I bought a box of tea that was not the cheapest, but was the prettiest.
Although, a heartfelt gift means more to me than any modern packaging on earth.

9: I like cleaning bathrooms. I don't know why. There's something about it that is satisfying. And I've cleaned some nasty bathrooms, so I know what I'm talking about.

10: My favorite smell is the back of a baby's neck. I'm completely serious. Hold a tiny baby and smell their neck. It's incredible.

Congratulations, you now know these 10 random things about me! I'm sure your life is now complete, right?
(Kidding, guys, kidding.)

Number 11 could be a bonus: I'm a very sarcastic person. I have to check it, and when people don't get sarcasm I get soooo flustered.

Favorite Things {January Photo Dump}

The amazing husband and daddy I love and adore:

 (Parts of movies get intense, you all.)

 Church friends! Look how cute those kiddos are helping out...

Concerts:

When Lucy is a butterfly:

Any dress up, ever:

Big sister, little sister:

Reasons I can't walk like a normal person:

Life skills education:

 Laughter:

 Fingerprints on my windows:

This:

And my newest little daycare addition:

 (Lucy looooves him. Olivia does too, but mostly because she thinks he's a live baby doll.)

 The adorable Seeley Christopher has joined our weekly life.

He's so sweet!

I've been watching Riley for 2.5 years, now. 

We have some very crazy days around here, but I love it!

The reason I have food on my floor, smudged windows, and toys everywhere.

I wouldn't change it for anything!

 It's so sweet having babies around.

Speaking of, these chubby little hands are fast approaching a year old.

 

I'm so blessed to be a mommy!!!

Here we are, flying through the year already! Hard to believe it.

As you enjoy each day, remember, God created it-

thank Him.