Keeping up with the Kiddos

Aah, the challenges and joys of motherhood. In reference to trying to clean up after toddlers, I heard someone say it's like shoveling snow during a blizard. Do I hear any amens out there? I'm a bit frazzled as I try to get my work done, enjoy time with the kids, teach them all that stuff they're supposed to know so that kindergarten is obsolete, and the list continues. But such is life. And the simple joys bring me back to a moment of clarity enough that I don't self-destruct in a whirlwind of Glass-plus and crayon bits. Here are a few simple joys recently:

I swear I didn't do this to them. They were only quiet a few minutes. At first, I didn't notice and continued doing dishes. Then I remembered the truth that all mothers learn early on: although intuition would dictate screaming or crying as a bad thing, silence is really far worse! The result of this silent spell didn't require much clean up. In fact, I didn't "clean up" this mess for a little while.

Ben crawls and climbs all over everything. Sam can't wait for Ben to actually play with him. I found them like this with Ben laughing like crazy! Anytime he gets attention from the big kids, he loves it. I love it, too.

And a little early for Thanksgiving, but always something we love to hear, a little video with some words of grattitude from Sam, Lucy, and cousin Luke. And yes, it's November, but it's still swimsuit weather (kind of).