So often I find myself rushing through the day, watching the clock and counting down minutes until my husband comes home from work. It isn't that my life is dull by any means...each day I wake up to a new adventure. I never know what will happen with two very active little boys. Yesterday I was fishing all kinds of stuff out of the toilet, today I found out in a very painful way that my 2 year old likes to bite. There are many adventures that drain my energy and leave me longing for the nearest Starbucks. But each day I find joy in the little things. My two year old, who had a rough start with many, many months of crying and sicknesses, is starting to finally come around. Minor conflicts that used to cause huge meltdowns are now starting points for a lesson learned and a great big hug. No one appreciates this more than I. Today when I went upstairs to get my son up from his nap, he shot me the biggest grin from his crib and scooped up all his crib essentials ---his stuffed animals and his blankets (which he carries around the house all day) and he let me hold him for about 30 seconds. Half a minute is all, but for him to sit still that long was worthy of me noting it in his little history book. He hugged me like a baby chimp holds his mommy---I could have let go and he would have still been in the same place, clinging to me. I squeezed him as much as I could without causing him discomfort and inside I just melted. I gave him a kiss on his cheek which was still warm from cuddling on his mattress with all his blankies. I sniffed the sweet smell of his oatmeal baby wash that was still fragrant on his skin from his morning bath. I carried him and his 2 blankets, his stuffed doggie, stuffed elephant, and his book down the stairs...taking my time of course. I knew that the moment he saw his brother playing with toys, or the train track that he was busy playing with before naptime, I would lose that moment. And I need to enjoy it while it lasts. In the matter of days he will be done with his crib, he will protest when I call him "my little baby" and his diaper that I love to pat as we walk will be replaced with big boy underwear. He will be too heavy for me to carry and, just as his brother did, he will say "I like to walk, I don't want to be carried." Just as the days are getting shorter with less of that beautiful sunshine, my days of having a baby are coming to an end. Each phase brings with it more joys, but I know that these times are to be treasured---I know they will be missed.

Fall Photo Ambitions

I recently attended a seminar by a very accomplished photographer and remember her saying that she loves taking pictures...but hates taking pictures of her own children. I thought of her today as I dressed my two sons in nice fall shirts and prepped them for thier fall photos outdoors. Ryan, my oldest doddled around the house, obviously not too excited about the upcoming event. Joshua, my two year old didn't understand, or perhaps he did and simply didn't care. We eventually got outside and I reminded Ryan about his reward (bribe) of a penny for each good smile. Well....Ryan loves pennies, he loves to put them in his bank but I think he is starting to catch on that a penny isn't a super big deal. Come on, mom...how about some folding money?!? So he flashed his fake smile while his eyes were looking somewhere else and I snapped the cheesiest pictures ever. "You get your penny when you smile and look at the camera," I repeated. I ended up with a few good ones but within minutes, his patience was up and I had two orange-shirted boys throwing a tantrum in the grass. Overtired from preschool, Ryan had had enough. The cries and tantrums coming from my yard had me guessing which neighbor was going to be the first to call the Supernanny on my children's terrible behavior. I wondered what in the world I was thinking, trying to do the boys' photos while my husband was out of town and not here to help. I ended up carrying my youngest in kicking and screaming while the other was crying and stomping. My quest for good photos became a quest to get the kids in bed and maintain my hearing in the process. While I was tending to Ryan, my youngest who is a very michevious little boy, got into some of my Burt's Bees lotions, and found the most strong-smelling stuff he could find, the Almond Milk hand creme. I smelled it from the other room and when I walked into my bedroom and saw him with shiny, spikey, goopy, and offensively smelly hair along with that naughty little grin, I knew I had arrived a few seconds too late. As I ran for a wet towel to rub some of the excess out of his hair, he had already rolled like a dog all over my new non-washable comforter. After a long day, I felt like screaming but a laugh came out. Some day soon I will think of these days and laugh, so why not start now? After all, this is just another day in paradise.

Ahhh.....refreshed.

My children are so awesome, but sometimes you don't know how awesome they are until you take a day or two away and you start to realize how sweet they are. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa my husband and I were able to get away yesterday and within two hours we both looked at each other and said "I miss them!" But what a blessing it is to get away. I feel so refreshed and ready to face the upcoming week. When we arrived home, one of our boys ran to me with open arms and gave me the longest hug I have ever received from him. The other hardly noticed I came home. But that is ok, what is important is that absence does in fact make the heart grow fonder and my heart is sure fond of my boys! When Grandma and Grandpa left, the tantrums began and there was a lot of naptime resistance. But after two days of sipping grande mochas at Biggby, good talks, and reading the newspaper---actually more than two sentences like I normally do, I was ready to face it with new energy....caffinated energy, no less.