A day in the life of

Daily it seems I look at those two amazing little babes and I'm blown away that J and I created them.

They're so charismatic and brave and intelligent and courageous and optimistic. And beautiful. Oh, so beautiful.

They make me laugh like no one else quite can.

Today as I was gathering laundry from my bedroom they sat on the floor, B's shirt lifted in the back while H examined his spine.

H said to him, "Why do you have a spine back here?"

B replied in his oh-so frequent, matter-of-fact, "'Cause!"

H dragged her finger up his spine. "It's like you're like a dinosaur!"

"Yep!" B smiled.

"It's cool. I really love it!"

"Why thank you!" B replied in his high, squeaky voice.

And this is just a sample of the constant conversations between them each day. They're a non-stop riot and I love it!

Today H wanted to match B, who was adorned in a shirt with a monster on it.

Unable to find a monster shirt that wasn't way too tiny for her, I came up with some leftover fabric from having made B a romper last winter. "I could make you a shirt out of this," I offered H.

"A dress," H declared. "A dress will work just fine. It's all I've ever wanted, just a monster dress."

And taking a break from my to-do list to make a quick and simple monster dress for her was worth every second as she beamed from ear to ear when she finally put it on, squealing, "You are the best momma ever! I love it! I love you!"

Most days the kiddos are only allowed one episode of TV - Daniel Tiger. There are exceptions of course - rainy days and teething days we typically watch a bit more or splurge and watch a movie. Today, as it rain/sleet/snowed outside, we opted to also watch an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. After the shows were over they looked at me in those oh-so terrific, melt-my-heart smiles and asked to go to the bakery.

At that point it was only lightly snowing, so I agreed. It's too close to drive being a block and half away, so the weather needed to be decent enough to walk. The kids' put on their winter ware which made me all to aware of the fact that somehow all their one million and seven winter hats and gloves are missing in our house that has zero storage, so now I must buy more...

So off the bakery we went, where we all chose a chocolate donut with raspberry icing. And then H and B decided they needed another and chose a regular donut with chocolate icing and sprinkles.

I seriously love this bakery. Not that we should be eating donuts everyday, but it makes me happy that they're not fried and they're made out of non-questionable ingredients. Of course, we pay a sweet dime for that peace of mind. Go figure.

 

Then of course, they wanted to play Ms. PacMan. They totally knew what they were doing when they put this arcade game in. My kids on the other hand, they have no clue what they're doing. But they like to try anyway.

Then Miss H had her first ice skating lesson this evening. I was so proud of her it actually brought tears to my eyes, as hokey as it is to admit. She was just so fearless. She fell down, she got right back up with a smile on her face. She was so determined, and she actually did awesome, despite being on ice and having to balance like that for the first time.

She was so proud of herself when she came off the ice. "Mommy, did you see that? I was so awesome! It made me so happy to do that! Can I do it again on a different day?"

Melt my heart, girl-o. Melt my heart.

 

 

During H's lesson I sat on a bench watching her, nursing B. An older lady was there, sitting next to me, watching her granddaughters on the ice. She struck up a conversation with me, asking which kiddo on the ice was mine. She peeked over and asked if B was sleeping and I chuckled and said, "Nope, just nursing."

 

"Oh, I'm so sorry to do that!" She said, having tried to see him buried beneath my coat.

 

"It's totally fine," I told her. "If I had a problem with someone seeing me feed my son in public, I wouldn't do it in public."

 

"You're such a strong young lady," she said to me. "If more people nursed in public, it wouldn't be taboo."

 

I smiled and agreed.

 

"I didn't breastfeed my babies," she told me. "It was a different time and we just didn't know. But you guys know so much more than we did back in my day about kids. You're a more conscientious and kind generation."

 

"I hope so," I said. "I hope that becomes the norm. I know the next generation will probably even be better."

 

"They'll know more," she agreed.

 

Then her little granddaughters were done and we bid adieu. Some times, there are little angels like that lady who help reinforce my faith in the human race. That it is kind. That it is capable of recognizing mistakes and working to fix them.

 

Of course, after the ice skating lessons we drove through McDonalds so the kids could have cheeseburgers for dinner as it was all ready their bedtime (see, we do eat crap. I just don't buy it at the grocery store, ha!).

 

While I tucked B into bed that evening. H told J all about her ice skating adventure while they played "server" together.

 

And I watched for a few minutes before whisking her away to bed as well.

Sometimes I get glued to watching the scenes play out in front of me - especially when it is J with our children. Because the way he is such an incredible and involved papa never ceases to make me giddy. And of course, I pat myself on the back for doing so well - I picked such an amazing man to be my husband and the father to my children.

Goodness, I love my family.

And I love spending every single second with them. Even when they're just "boring, ordinary days."