Gratitude post 3: 1st Anniversary

A year ago today,
                         we were scared.


A year ago today,
                        we were overwhelmed with confusion.


A year ago today,
                        our lives as we knew it, changed.


A year ago today,
                        modern medicine saved her life:



 

Today, we are still overwhelmed with confusion at times,
                                                                             but we are no longer scared.

And that change in our life, is now our new normal.

And today,
              we are so incredibly grateful and forever thankful for that modern medicine that is now
                                             her life support:

Thankful post 2: You all know what I am talking about, right?

I love a good shower.
A good, hot shower is the best way to start the day... or to end it.

Unfortunately as a mom, a good shower is hard to come by.

Why? (honestly is there anyone who doesn't know why? Just in case...)

Because a good shower is an uninterrupted one.
           I don't think I have taken more than a handful of uninterrupted showers in over a decade. I think when a mom steps in the shower some kind of internal signal blinks inside my children. It signals to them that now is the best time to ask mom what her favorite color is or when they can go to the zoo next or tell her a funny thing that happened in school. I spend half of my shower sticking my head out, nodding or asking them if I can talk to them in a minute.

But if I do have an uninterrupted shower, that doesn't necessarily mean a good shower. Because scary things happen when children are left unattended.
When I step in the shower,
Things get spilled,
Unauthorized food gets consumed,
Boxes of wipes get opened and wipes are spread on the floor like a blanket.,
Books get wiped off the shelves in the library,
Toilets become a play place...

and that's just in the space of fifteen minutes.

But sometimes there is a rare occasion when Brian is home, and I beg him to watch the monsters children while I take a hot, uninterrupted, and extremely long shower.

I am thankful for those days.
I am also hopeful that it will start happening more than like twice a year.

Thankful post 1: Am I the only One?

It all started because I left the dinner dishes undone. I hate it when I do that. I was in a rush that night to move on to other things so I put them off.
Then it took forever to get the kids in bed.
Then there were meal plans to make and carbs to add and bills to pay and a husband to talk to.
Then Conan came on. And everybody knows Conan comes before dishes.
Then I fell asleep. Right there on the couch like a tired idiot.
 When I woke up and made the trek upstairs I passed the kitchen and made the decision to leave it until the morning.
Only tomorrow brings breakfast for and it's dishes.
And lunch packing and the mess it leaves.
Then there is (hopefully) a shower and dressing small children and running errands and preschool.
When caleb and I got home he announced he would like chocolate milk. I went into the kitchen with the intentions of getting that chocolate milk.
But I forgot.
Because their were dishes in the sink,
Cereal boxes to be put away,
Counters to be wiped,
Little milk rings on the table left from cereal bowls,
a floor to be swept....
I set to work.
A while later, Caleb came in. He sighed and tugged on my shirt until I crouched down to his level.
He said with disappointment heavy in his tone,
"Mom, something is stuck in your brain."
Then, speaking slowly as if communicating with an elderly woman who is half deaf,
"I. Wanted. Chocolate. Milk."

I unstuck my brain, got him his milk, and smiled. I am so thankful for a little 4 year old that keeps me in line EVERY SINGLE DAY.

When you have children...

You have files and files full of pictures of them in weird places

Doing weird things

 

And you find yourself thinking that these are some of the best pictures in the world.

Parenthood really does make you crazy.

a day of rest

Sundays are my favorite day of the week.
But yesterday I found myself wondering why that is.
I woke up at 6:30 to get myself and four children up, fed, dressed and ready to go through 3 hours of church. (my husband is on his own.)
I packed the church bag. The church bag is easily the largest bag you have ever seen. It's like packing a 72 hour kit each week for a family of six. Extensive.
Once we got to church, (on time, whew!) the work started.
I braved the weekly fight over who gets to sit by me. (Caleb always wins one side.)
When church started, the volume goes down.. for most everyone except for the Swanson row.
Caleb usually does something strange the entire first hour at full volume.
This week his shoe laces were having a conversation that quickly escalated to an argument that ended in a fierce battle.
Hailey and Jonas were having poking wars and throwing dirty looks at each other as punishment for breathing too loud or looking too long or reaching for the same hymnal.
Brian was bouncing his legs like a maniac with restless leg syndrome. (can someone say sugar high?)
Then there was Porter.
Porter has a tendency to yell AMEN during any pause in the speakers talk. He uses "Amen" like a 60 year old baptist woman at a tent revival.
After the sacrament I began shelling out sippie cups and baggies of food and pencils and crayons and notebooks and magnets and Kleenex and apologies to every family unfortunate enough to sit in close proximity to us.
I "shooshed" so much, I think after a while I was contributing to the chaos by a constant low shooshing tone being like the violent undercurrent of distraction.
But we made it.
On my way out of the chapel, someone caught me and said she loves watching my family every Sunday.
[insert awkward laugh here]
Then she said, "I love watching you with your kids. You do such a good job."

Then I checked her forehead for fever and asked her if she had taken any narcotics on the way into church this morning.
She said no, but I don't believe her.

Even with all the chaos stacked against me, I still maintain Sunday as the high light of the week. I just feel like that highlight starts the second my children head of to their Sunday school classes.