O let the sun shine on me!

I have realized something about myself today...I am a better mom when the sun is shining outside and we can go outside and play!

There were a few days last week when I thought I was the worst mother...no tolerance or patience for my kids, they were watching tv all day, turning into zombies that wanted to snack all day long and never leave me alone, constantly asking me for drinks, making the house a mess...meanwhile I was also a walking zombie that didn't want to do anything with my house, cook, clean or talk to my children! By the end of the day while putting them all to bed and threatening them yet again to do what I ask the first time or else...I realized how crappy the day had gone and how the bonding between us was not positive or fulfilling. Does anybody else have days like that?

Today was a brand new day though...it was +10 outside, the sun was shining all day and as tired as I am feeling right now, I feel 100% fulfilled with the bonding the kids and I experienced today and the fun things we did together (minus Dad).

-breakfast together with smiles on our faces
-noon-gymnastics for the boys while I toted Taylor along to Walmart (bad decision day before Easter Sunday) for last minute Easter basket things. On a side note to that, I remember going to walmart a couple of months ago and there were 5 aisles of Easter goodies to buy...of course I passed on by and figured I would do it closer to Easter. Yes, the day before...that's me! Anyway, it was as if the City was told that there would be a famine of chocolate for the next year and everybody was in the remaining 1 aisle looking for Easter junk! I've never moved so fast in my entire life! With Taylor in tow I excused myself through the aisle nudging past people grabbing anything and everything left on the shelves...no looking people..what is there to decide? There was nothing left but a few broken misshapen chocolate bunnies! I did get some chocolate that was intact thankfully and probably pissed off a few people while doing so! This experience made me think long and hard about getting my food storage underway!
-pick the boys up and get Mcdonalds and eat in the car
-Drop off Easter baskets for less active primary kids
-Get Tay home to nap
-Play outside all afternoon with the boys while they ride bikes and Drew and I toss a football. Drew has a killer spiral throw...a natural like his Daddy!
-Start nesting and decide to go inside and take down Taylor's crib (while she is still sleeping) and the queen bed and frame in the adjoining room to switch-a-roo for the new baby.
-Kill my back and body while doing so
-Move crib into new nursery and put back together while kids yell up to me that they're starving
-Assure them I'm almost done and start putting queen bed back together in Tay's room
-Have Drew help me push/pull the queen mattress into Tay's room (groin now hurting)
-Make her new bed and move the last few things out of her room (minus the huge dresser...I smartened up and decided to have Sean do that one for me!)
-Finally come down and make yummy homemade pizzas for dinner
-Drag the kids back upstairs for bed as they all zonk immediately...exactly what I want to do.

The great end to this story is two fold:

1. I was so happy looking at my boys faces tonight while putting them to bed because we had done so much together today and had fun doing it...lots of patience, hardly any yelling! Their smiles back to me made me feel like a million buckaroos!

2. Taylor went to bed in her new bed like a doll and hasn't moved since I closed her door!

Now I have to put together Easter baskets, prepare some food for dinner tomorrow and start thinking about my sharing time! AH...I'm exhausted and miss my husband wishing he was here to do all of the above for me! I know he hasn't done his sermon for tomorrow yet so he probably wouldn't be helping me anyway. I love Easter but can't wait for it to be over!

L