Bitter sweet attitudes

 My kids are tired. 

We are at some weird impasse where no one is sleeping anymore. Seriously. Someone is always having a dream, a leg cramp, peeing the bed, wanting a deep middle of the night talk (yes, even Addie), just waking up and playing (no toys in their rooms), having to use the restroom, etc. Its been a bit exhausting. 

I have mentioned several times how grateful I am for the weather and ample family time this year; her is going r be what I choose to look back on 2020 and remember. 

Last weekend we took the kids out to Clear Lake and we walked around in the windy sunlight, ordered some gourmet cookies, our favorite lunch, and then drove to Mason to pick up Hot Chocolates and head home for a Christmas movie. After naps we even went to a friends house to build graham cracker houses and enjoy their company. 

We’ve been enjoying #Lighttheworld prompts, our ComeFollowMe topics and how they really correlate with everything that’s going on today; to me, it’s a reminder to me each day that Gods hands are in the smallest details of our life. Today I loved that we read about the North Star that came at Christ’s birth, and then tonight will be the first time in 800 years that the North Star has returned; such a touching gift from Heaven. 

I’ve been prepping for Christmas by wrapping everything early (a first for me!), and we’ve been enjoying our Christmas movies. We’ve saved most of our traditions until this week because my mom arrives tonight! Woohoo! So full on Christmas traditions begin today; which will be a nice change from the constant cleaning I’ve been doing each day. 

These girls are in the MoNsTeR sTaGeS right now! They must destroy/explore/touch/discover everything within their view. And their hands are always sticky, no matter what. And Addie is a Houdini of sorts and there is no lock, door, or height that can keep her out of what she wants. 

The other night I came home from picking Aaron up from baseball practice to find the girls running around with armfuls of these homemade chocolates ... that were not for us! They had been high in a shelf in my room because I was just supposed to deliver them to a friend, BUT while I was gone and travis had already tucked them into bed, the snuck in my room, pulled out my drawers, scaled the wall/shelves, and got the bucket. They then hid under my bed and ate said chocolates. And that was nothing compared to their next event. 

A few days later, they were uncontrollable and I needed to be able to take my eyes off of them for 5mins, so I put them in their room with toys so I could make their lunch. Within that short amount of time, they had barricaded their closet door and created a winter wonderland with a full bottle of baby powder! Ugh. And Avery was wearing most of the powder, I’m sure, thanks to her older sister. It was a mess that just wouldn’t stop. While getting the girls into the shower A wry snagged a hair brush and dunked it into the toilet. Ugh. And then Addie grabbed it while my back was turned and began brushing her hair. Ugh. So then I was cleaning their room, I just couldn’t get all the powder out of the air.... until I eventually took my glasses off and realized I’d over cleaned  everything except my lenses! Ugh. And as I got Avery out of the shower, she peed right on the rug and puked on my foot. Then the freezer puddled the kitchen floor. And as I was rushing out to prepare for after school pickup, Addie waddles out of her room and peed all in her footie pj’s and all over the floor! So the puddle and wet pj’s stayed, and we were late for pickup. 

Sigh.... it was quite a day. And I feel like many of our days keep going this way as the cold weather rolls in and the house, big and beautiful as it is, seems to be caging them and they are rebelling. And then as I mentioned, everyone is tired. So tired. So everyone is short tempered and cranky. I hope my kids don’t look back and just think, “man, mom was always stressed and snippy.” Because I swear.... I feel like we have a lot of family fun!!! 😂

And thank the high heavens, Gma Donna will spend the week with us! I might leave for my orthodontist apt tomorrow and come home next week! lol. Of it weren’t for my AMAZING husband, I’d be out. But thankfully this man is really there for me when I need it most. And it’s not the feeling of him coming home and helping me, but that he sees things around the house and with the kids as his to help manage and share in. That makes all the difference to me. 

And I love you for it Travis.