Shiny, Happy Blog

 As I write about my experiences as a SAHM it is my intent to be candid, but I have been told that I often sound pessimistic as I rant and rave about the craziness that is my life.  Pessimism is certainly not my intent (though I must admit it's easier than optimism)--I am merely trying to be realistic. 

I dislike the idea of writing only about the good while pretending the bad never happened.  Life can be hard, yet awesome at the same time.  In fact, it's the hard that makes life good, and this applies to motherhood in a very real way.  If it wasn't hard, it wouldn't be worth doing.   I don't recall hearing anyone tell me as a youth that being a grown-up was hard, though maybe they did and I just chose not to hear it.  When I read back over my blog in years to come I don't want to see only the shiny, happy moments.  I want to remember it all--the good times and the difficult times together.  But, that being said, perhaps in my efforts to avoid writing an overly happy blog I focus more on the hard than I do on the good.

So, to atone for my oversight and occasional pessimism, the rest of this post is going to focus only on the sublime.  Here are my top ten shiny, happy moments from this week:


10.  I loved watching Mellow and Bright come up with an ad campaign for a new series of books they are co-authoring.  They made several flyers and advertisements for their books, with amazingly drawn pictures and persuasive wording.  And my favorite part was the disclaimer they included at the bottom of every flyer:  "Sorry, books are not done yet, but they will be soon."  We now have advertisements inviting us to come check the books out (when they are done, of course) posted all over our house.

9.  Seeing Plucky's beautiful smile when she walks in the door after school.  As a preschooler, she has yet to feel the burden of having homework waiting for her when she gets home after a long day.  She is therefore always in a great mood when she gets home.  Her happiness is infectious and I am (and have been for awhile now) quite envious of her cute dimples.

8.  Hearing Caboose say the word "ball" over and over again in various shrill registers and at differing levels of excitement that seem to be directly proportionate to how large of a ball he has found.  He discovers them all over the place--whether it is an errant marble that has rolled under the fridge just for him to find, a soccer ball one of the kids has left out, or even the massive red stone 'balls' cemented to the ground outside of our local Target, he is quick to point them out whenever he sees one.

7.  Sitting down to teach my children piano lessons and being blown away, yet again, at how good they are getting.  They have put in a lot of time practicing over the years, of course, but still I think to myself every time, "I did that".  If I was not putting in the effort of sitting down to teach them a lesson every week and reminding/requesting/cajoling them to practice, then they would not be where they are today.

6.  Watching little Caboose playing in the bathtub.  It's his favorite time of day and seeing his uninhibited joy while playing in the tub makes it one of my favorite times of day as well.  Plus, he's so darn cute in his birthday suit!

5.  Seeing Plucky and Caboose finally connecting in a way that doesn't involve Caboose getting hurt, as they discovered today that playing together is more fun than fighting.

4.  Snuggling with each of my kids as I tuck them into bed every night.  It is at this time of day that the walls are down and they let me see into their souls.  Though I am often tired and eager to get to the tasks that have been waiting all day for a quiet moment, I still relish the chance to receive their sincere hugs and expressions of love.

3.  Watching Caboose inadvertently push a button or bump a toy that suddenly bursts into song, at which point he halts, drops whatever he is doing, and starts bouncing and bobbing his head to the music.  And while we are on the subject of dancing, I love watching all of my kids dance.  Impromptu dance parties in the kitchen are one of my favorite family activities--the more the merrier!

2.  Sneaking into my baby's bedroom late at night and taking him out of his crib to rock him while he is sleeping.  I seem to be getting bolder as the years fly by because when my other children were babies, I never would have risked taking them out of their cribs late at night for fear they would wake up.  But I understand now that I won't have a baby in the house forever, and though babies make my daytime hours exceedingly difficult in many ways, there is still something special about having one around.  And kissing a sleeping baby who is cradled in your arms is the best thing ever.

1.  Witnessing Energy, Mellow, Bright and Plucky all dancing around the kitchen cheering that "mom's the best" when they tasted the fudge I made.  After dessert was over they called a secret kid meeting and disappeared, taking Caboose with them.  Several minutes later, they came marching into the kitchen chanting that they wanted more fudge.  Though loud, it was a very organized protest complete with signs and a cute baby meant to sway me.  I had to laugh at their initiative and I rather enjoyed being the hero of the day for making some seriously awesome Christmas fudge!  Being a mom rocks!