Morning Musings

I have a few things I want to write down this morning.

First, last night we had such a great family home evening. Drew explained the story of the Resurrection to Darcy and why we celebrate Easter. He told that story so wonderfully and in a way Darcy could understand. She was completely focused on what he was saying. She listened so intently and asked some amazingly thoughtful questions for a three year old. I was also enthralled, and I felt the spirit in our home. I am so grateful for that experience and I am hoping I can find some ways to help us focus more on our Savior this Easter. Then we played musical chairs and did some really awesome dancing around those chairs, Drew included (or maybe especially). Some family home evenings we wonder why we bothered, but this one was oh so good.

This morning I was doing Darcy's hair. We have a little step stool with two steps that the kids stand on to get their hands washed, hair done, etc. Every time Darcy stands on it Ezra thinks he needs to be on there too, which is often a source of frustration for all of us. Today Darcy was standing on the top step and Ezra got on the bottom step and was trying to push his way to the top. To help pull himself up he grabbed onto the back of Darcy's pants (stretchy leggings). In the struggle he lost his footing and slipped off. I grabbed him enough that he didn't get hurt, but then Darcy and I ended up laughing so hard when we realized he hadn't lost his grip on her pants on his way down and had taken them down with him. Her cute little cheeks were playing a little peek-a-boo. We laughed on and on.

My favorite parenting blog ever, that I found a couple months ago is called 71toes. This woman is such an amazing mother and I love her ideas and have implemented a few of them. It turns out her parents are parenting guru's who have written lots of parenting books. Last week I got her mom's book, I Didn't Plan to be a Witch and have been loving this read. The main thing this book has done for me is help me realize that we all struggle somehow in our quest to be great mothers, and that I'm not alone...or crazy. :) She encourages mothers to always be writing down their experiences, because it will help us get through our struggles. So I am determined to start writing more. The good and the bad.

I hate bath time. So, so much. I had always imagined how cute my little ones would be playing happily in the bathtub, and that I would enjoy it just as much. Not so! It turns out I can't stand the water being splashed everywhere, being on my knees struggling to wash these wiggly bodies, or the wrestle to capture the slippery bodies and get them dried, lotioned, diapered, and dressed. It is craziness. This seems like such a silly parenting struggle, but it has been a real one for me. Since I have been reading my new book I have been trying to turn bath time around. I have tried to think through how I would handle it all before I got into the situation, and tried to see the situation through their eyes. I don't know that I will ever love bath time, but just this morning when I was starting to get frustrated I was able to take a couple breaths and think through what I needed to do, and make myself calm down. I was so excited that I could turn the situation around, so the kids and I all finished bath time with smiles still on our faces. Yippee!