Little Perfects

The kids are all tucked in and beautifully sleeping right now.  Today was like any other, but it went well and floated by without too too much chaos.  We did our normal routine & were able to play outside a bunch too.  I cleaned up the yard and the kids played.  Our yard is teeny tiny, but it's usable.  :)

As I sit here tonight, I realize there there are little bits of perfection in the normal mundane: little perfects.

Tonight I crouched down on my hands and knees, washing the kitchen floor.  Elizabeth perched behind me and touched my exposed heel.  "You have dirty feeties, Mommy" she said.  She won't say "feeties" forever.  Her little voice won't be as small and cute.  Her words won't have that toddler pronunciation where C's are H's and L's are W's.  In that moment, her 2 year old "ness" was undeniable and so very cute.  I did indeed have dirty feeties. :)

Earlier in the afternoon, Emily played at her toy for the longest time.  She is becoming a regular family member and is comfortable just hanging out with the rest of us.  Another little perfect moment from Emily was when I put her down for her afternoon nap.  She had nursed a few minutes earlier so I didn't sit and rock her, I just laid her in her bed with the pacifier in mouth and blankie in hand.  She was content for a few minutes, but started squawking (I really need to record her squawk!).  After I got Josh and Eliz down for nap, I went in and scooped her up.  I sat in the recliner and rocked with her cuddled into my chest.  Within 15 seconds her little eyes fluttered shut.  She just needed me, for a moment, before she could settle and drift off to sleep.  I only had to rock with her for such a short time -not even a minute-, but that small amoutn of time made me feel so very important.  She just needed me.  She didn't need me in a demanding way, she just needed my presence as the final piece before she could go off into slumber.

These are the things that happen every day and get buried in the chaos of the bigger moments.

I've covered Elizabeth and Emily, now let me see what the boys did....

June has been hugging me again when he gets off the bus.  I love it. He runs off and right to me.  He told me as soon as he got off the bus that I wasn't allowed to look in his backpack because there was a Mother's Day gift inside.  I agreed.  About 2 hours later he said that he "felt bad" for me because I wasn't allowed in his backpack, so he wanted to give me my Mother's Day gift now.  In reality, I could see that he was bursting at the seams to present me with what he has been working on.

(I'll add a photo here)

He has such a sweet heart and kind spirit.  I love his Mother's Day gift, even if it's not Mother's Day for another two days.  :)  June also took time this afternoon to write the ABC's out on our back flower bed bricks. He used 3 colors of chalk and it looked awesome.  It's raining now so my best guess is that tomorrow morning, it will be gone, but it looked amazing.  He loves getting lost in a project like that and the finished product is usually fairly impressive.

Josh... Josh rode a 2-wheel bike with training wheels for the first time.  I introduced it to him a week or so ago, but it scared him.  I didn't push.  I've learned that with kids, mine at least, they will come around and do things when they are ready.  You have to give them support and encouragement but ultimately let them come to things on their own time frame.  June, Josh, and I were out front and at one point I looked up and Josh was riding the bike... by himself.  Successfully.  He can do it and that's awesome. He's growing a bit more every day.  He is still sensitive and whiny, but he's gentle hearted and meek as well.  He means well and he is a loving boy.  Josh just needs to be reinforced and loved and kept close.  He's not the crazy nut that people think and given his own time, he will succeed just like everyone else.

These moments helped shape today, but I'm sure moments like these are within every.single.day.  There were still moments where I yelled.  There were still times that things got crazy and children were loud and uncontrolled.  Schedules changed and Jim, trying to come home "early," had to log back into work as soon as he got home.  Dinner got on the table late and the children lost their trip to ice cream for bad behavior, but there were so many good things today too.  Every day is like that, but I'm glad I could see the good in today.  It's wonderful to think about the tiny perfect moments that today held.

Jim handled bedtime for the 3 oldest and I was able to run to the food store.  I got pizza on my way home and the 2 of us sat down and ate dinner at 9pm.  Now here I sit, half of the groceries still waiting to be unpacked and the house needing the last bit of tidying.  I will eventually make my way upstairs and say Hail Mary's over sleepy heads.  I'll sink into bed only to have Emily stir 10 minutes later.  I'll feed her and revel in her sleepy cuddles and I'll (God willing) get to bed myself afterward.  Tomorrow starts another day... with it's own batch of chaos and little perfects.