Everyday Monday (Odds and Ends)

What the heck!  I had TWO bad Mondays since I started this Everyday Monday thing on June 12.  I don't think that usually happens but I guess we'll find out.  Before the day slid down hill yesterday I was talking to a friend who is a grandma.  Her daughter and 3 grandchildren had visited and then gone back home leaving her to wonder how on earth we moms do it these days.  When someone asks me that question my typical response is to let them know it's not always pretty.  Last night was another one of those 'not so pretty' times.  Sigh.  It leaves me wondering how do we do it when our husbands work 55 hour weeks for weeks and weeks on end and we have small children.  We are constantly feeding our children, trying desperately to keep up with the laundry for a household of 6 and the toilets.  Oh the toilets!  And then there's my eight year old who since turning eight has had a few people see his behavior then look at me and say--"Yep, he's eight."  It's infuriating!  Not that they say that but that he behaves that way.  He mouthed off plenty yesterday; I went to bed last night feeling alone and like a failure.  With a husband whose work schedule is less than ideal right now, I do certainly feel like I'm parenting alone and it feels like I'm doing a miserable job.
If I did notice any everyday special moments yesterday, I forgot them during my meltdown last night so it's a good thing I sat down on Sunday to note some odds and ends that certainly do make me smile.

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As far as our Summer Bucket List goes, we've accomplished a lot so far and logged about 20 hours of pool time.  It certainly feels like it might be our best summer yet.

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Last Monday, Ella fell out of her crib.  There's a first time for everything and she's my first kid to do that.  Silly girl.  It was quite a shock to walk into her room thinking I would see her across the room standing and crying in her crib.  Nope, she was sitting by the door, blankie in hand sobbing.  She is also quite self motivated--last Monday while the boys were at baseball practice, she stood up all by herself with a bat in her hand.  She hasn't stopped there...she will take a few steps by herself after standing up, too.  My boys have started walking only after countless packages of fruit snacks opened and distributed as a reward for crossing the room on foot between Marc and me.  Nope, not her.  I bet she is walking for good in just a few weeks and we haven't even used a single fruit snack yet!  And what they say about girls talking well before boys--yep!  She says bebe for blanket and baby, mama and tetu for thank you.  Oh how having a little princess brings a smile to my face everyday.

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Speaking of talking, Christian is talking way more than my other boys did at two.  Among my favorites are the sweet way he says Tay-too every time I put some food in front of him or give him a sippy, when he says whoa if I take a corner too quickly or go over a bump in the car, when he says WYATT!! or OP IT! or shhh! (with his finger in front of his lips) to the boys when they are bothering him, or when he has boogers in his nose or on his finger he comes to find me and whines booder either pointing to his nose or holding his finger out to me.

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These boys of mine certainly do love each other.  Even if I don't see it very often, when I do, my heart swells.  Like last Tuesday when we were driving to Marc's work for lunch (before the fire came down our mountain) we had this conversation:

Anderson: There's a boy at the gym that's mean to me.

I asked him some details and found out that this boy approached Anderson saying he had the toy Anderson was playing with first.  When Anderson looked at him and told him that wasn't true, he lied to one of the child care workers and told him that Anderson had taken a toy away from him so Anderson was asked to give the toy back to the boy.  In Anderson's opinion, the boy was aggressive and that combined with the lie, he was miffed to say the least.  I explained to him that those things happen and to just stay away from that boy and other kids who behave that way to try to avoid those kinds of situations.  Carter listened to this and as the conversation closed I heard Carter say, if that happens again, come and get me.  I won't beat him up or anything but I won't let it happen. 

On Sunday, Christian was in meltdown mode all afternoon.  He went down for a nap right after church but woke up prematurely and never snapped out of his funk.  He cried and cried then stopped then cried some more.  It was horrible.  At one point in the afternoon he wasn't crying but I could tell he was feeling fragile.  He was laying on his blanket on the basement floor next to Anderson who I noticed was rubbing his back whispering sweet comforting words to him. 

I love little moments like those that keeps my hope alive that my boys will be best of friends someday.