Our Days

The gentle snow coming down outside is slowly turning into rain.  This morning I beat even the earlier sunrise up, as usual.  My one precious cup of coffee is still piping hot, spiked with a good dollop of cream.  My whole family is quiet, asleep.  I love this time of day.  I love our mornings

Each one in the week is so incredibly full.  Yesterday Louise and I were able to squeeze in four errands while Ainsley played at school.  Today?   I get to spend my glorious hour and a half alone perusing my favorite thrift store for large buttons to finish off the girls Valentine's jumpers and vintage sheets and pillow cases to add to my stash for summer.

But these full mornings are surely starting to take their toll.  Newly pregnant this fall I began to worry about our new hustling routine.  Even without a large belly and aching groin is was difficult to get the girls to and fro all morning long.  Those little legs still need help up into the seats.  Those baby hands still need help buckling, of course on the OTHER side of the car, where mama's large belly has to stretch and pull to reach.  And just walked from the car into the building, a mere block or so?  Oh goodness does that dawdling and meandering try my patience.

Every morning I take a deep breath when Ian leaves at 7:50, knowing that the next half hour is going to be tough.  Getting dressed, brushing teeth, eating breakfast, packing backpacks, up and down up and down the stairs.  By the time we make it to the car I've nearly always had enough, already.  Deep breath.

But then when all is said and done and we're tightly packed back into our car by 11:30 I get to hear about their days.  Louise usually more chatty than Ainsley who is nearly always so plum tuckered out.  Somehow we make it out of the car and up into the house.  The girls play while I scrape lunch together.  Most days Ainsley's request of grilled cheese and tomato soup just sounds far too labor intensive.  But we eat.  We read.  We sleep.  Oh how I'm thankful for two girls who still nap for their exhausted mama.

And then?  the afternoon.  Every stay at home parent knows that can be the best, usually hardest time of the day.  But lately?  for us?  Oh goodness, still so tired, always so pregnant, our usually creative productive active post nap hours have calmed quite considerably.

At first it really bothered me.  That I couldn't make it back outside with the girls, that we weren't getting done as much as I'd hoped and planned.  Then I let it go.  Realized that this is the perfect time for just us, to play and enjoy each other and our home.

We pull out puzzles, felt boards, simple fun crafts.  I turn on the space heater in the basement where Ainsley pumps away on the swing while Louise counts her jumps on the trampoline (that girl is up to 34, she's quite the counter that one).  I sit on my jumbo exercise ball, the only seated position that's comfortable these days.  We turn on some Elizabeth Mitchel Pandora, or pop in our favorite Tumble Bee album.  I sew a bit.  We sing.

Around 5 we head upstairs and all make dinner together most nights.  Last night?  It was a red lentil and sweet potato stew with coconut rice.  Before that we'd prepped a double recipe of our favorite wild rice casserole to take to a friend with a new baby.  The girls scrubbed and chopped the mushrooms, dumped and stirred all of the ingredients.  Then two loaves of zucchini bread went into the oven.  The girls did a walnut versus pecan taste test.  They like both equally, even if the pecan was deemed a bit more nuttier.

I will probably continue to struggle with the fact that I'm not an on the go mom.  I can plan about one thing a day without getting totally flustered and feeling spread too thin.  But for right now growing this baby and being a mom to my two girls is all I have in me.  And for right now I am definitely totally ok with that.

So on to our day!  A good morning to you all.