Today was a good day.  We went to bed last night and it was snowing.  We woke up this morning and it was still snowing.  Not too much…not too bad for driving…thankfully.  After going through the snowsuits and boots in the closet I knew that my little bird needed a pair of boots.  I foolishly thought I would be able to get through to Wednesday, without too much trouble, in order to take a drive to a town with more of a selection.  Not so much!  The snow was so wet, if it wasn’t white it would have been rain.  By the time I got the girls from the car to the front doors of school her fuzzy boots were caked with snow and sure to be soaked by the time she went out for first lunch.  Off I went to Walmart with the twins to find some decent looking, warm, water-proof boots and enough groceries to carry us through the week if it doesn’t stop snowing. lol  Luckily, our Walmart, at this end of town, has a much better selection than the one I went to on the weekend when I began the search for boots.  I found a pair that worked for both of us, but of course, couldn’t find the size I was looking for.  As I’m searching every, single pair, another mom asks me if the boots are definitely girls boots to which I answer yes, definitely and she says, but my son could wear them too.  I laughed because I got it.  Any mom of more than one kid can relate to that.  As we were chatting I told her about when I was buying my eldest daughter’s first pair of snow pants…thinking practically, I went with black.  I figured she could get them dirty and never ruin them and regardless of which sex my next kid turned out to be, they could be passed along.  So we’re laughing and agreeing, then we start telling each other the exact same story.  We both figure out our girls need boots, we both sent the girls to school in “fashion” boots to get them there in something, we both planned on going shopping on Wednesday, we both (after seeing the weather) thought, “I can get to Walmart, grab a pair of boots for her and have them back to her in time for first break”.  It was too funny!  It was great to talk to someone right out of the blue who happened to be having the exact same experience as me.  Still unable to find the size 12 I thought I needed I spied a stash all the way up on the top shelf.  Picking through them I found a size 12 and took a size 13 – just in case – good thing too! 🙂  My new friend was also having trouble finding her daughter’s size so I told her about the hidden treasure and continued on my way.  Wrapped up the shopping and drove back to school.  Boots delivered, correct size 13, along with a couple of fuzzy scarves for my big girls (my eldest came skipping down the hall to collect her loot) just in time for outdoor break.

Driving home from school planning out the next part of my day.  Home, unpack, bathe the twins, lunch, nap, work.  Hahahahahahaha – that so didn’t happen.  We get home and it’s pretty warm out, so I decide I’ll just shovel the porch and front steps and a little bit in front of the garage.  (The twins each had a shovel and took are of some of the front lawn.  So thoughtful!)  That all goes well enough.  Moving onto baths.  Here’s where we start to lose some time.  Into the bath go two little bums.  I’m bathing them together today to get back the time I spent outside.  No sooner is my littlest girl in the water and she looks at me with the saddest little face and says “doop mommy”….Mommy says, “don’t you dare poop in the tub!”  Instantly one soaking wet toddler gets plopped onto the toilet and she snaps.  We’re just going to start potty training….I know some would say it’s pretty late, I say whatever works for you.  I’ve never been real quick to get rid of the diapers.  Sticking to pattern with these guys. So she’s sitting there and we’re having a nice long, terrified hug.  I’m trying to reassure her that she will definitely not fall in the toilet and to relax enough so she can do her thing.  She’s not having it, so back into the tub she goes.  The poor kid!  She held it while her brother got the quickest bath of his life and then she hers.  We were in and out at least twice so by the time all was said and done, we’re about an hour in – or at least that’s how long it felt.  End of the day – she did it!  Her first doop in the toilet!  I kept telling her how well she had done and that she did it even though she was scared.  Good for her!  xoxo  Love her!

Lunch went well.  Ha!  They dragged it out as long as they could.  We’re now a good half hour late getting down for nap.  We’re also getting rid of soothers.  lol  I know there are parents who would read this and absolutely die at the thought of three year olds still having a soother for sleeping.  lol  Oh well, that’s your problem and these are my kids.  So I’m starting them off with taking the soothers away in the morning and giving them back for bedtime.  Ordinarily they would lose them when they wake up, but get them back for nap and bedtime.  My little monkey is getting the hang of it no problem.  She squawked for the first day and after that she just rolled over and took her nap.  Easy peasy.  Not so much for Mr. Huggable Snuggable – he’s my bear.  No, no.  This guy decided today that he wasn’t having it anymore.  He has had naps this past week without it, but they haven’t been long and they haven’t come easily.  Today, it was not happening.  Finally after about an hour and numerous warnings of going to the “naughty spot”, I took him out of the room and in he went and there he stayed for the next hour until we went to pick up the girls from school.  Think it bothered him?  Not in the least!  Sigh…lol

I’ve been really trying to cherish this last year with my babies.  I’ve spent a lot of my time home with the kids worrying about work and where my work is going to come from and the staying home part hasn’t been as enjoyable as I would have liked due to being so stressed out all the time.  I decided that I had to let that go a bit because if I didn’t I would essentially be pissing on the gift of time I’ve been given with them by not giving the experience my full attention.  I know how important it is for me to truly enjoy this time with them so we all get the most benefit from it.  Otherwise what was the point?  I could have put them in daycare and gotten a job. So here I was with a three year old and he’s not doing what I want him to do, like at all!, but I’m not as pissed as I would have once been.  It occurred to me the other day, as I was thinking about my turtle, that it would be ridiculous for me to get mad at my kids for not doing what I want them to do, because that would pretty much be the same as being mad at them for being themselves.  That just seemed kind of shitty to me.  How can I get mad at my kids for being themselves.  Obviously they’re not always going to do what I want.  They are people, not robots.  They have good days and bad days, not to mention their own wants, needs, desires, motivations, etc.  That helped me today.  It helped me keep it together and not throw my own grown up temper tantrum – because really, who does that help?   And we all got along beautifully the rest of the day!