(Oh, if you haven't read the previous post you may want to do that in order to understand this one a bit better.)
As for my "to do" list - I was able to get my three bathrooms clean. Yay! The floor is swept. I started a bit more laundry. And, the babies were extremely excited to help me unload the dishwasher, so I was able to get the kitchen pretty clean too. They took care of all their dishes (which mostly go in a very low drawer) and then handed me stuff to put on the higher shelves. Surprisingly, this was actually a pretty efficient system. Note to self *remember to ask small children for help more often.*
Other things - We played out on the deck for a bit and I attempted to capture some moments in the sun using the short tutorial my neighbor gave me on my camera yesterday.
After some pictures I left my french doors open and tried to get a few more house chores done. Remember I said I expected interruptions? I was not too happy when they came in the form of 3 nasty splinters. Jacks had two which actually weren't that bad. Taylor, on the other hand, had a nasty little one that was only extracted after many tears and lots of switching back and forth between needle and tweezers. Poor Baby. :( Charlotte and Jacks were so sweet through the whole ordeal. They held her hand and tried to distract her with things to look at. They wiped her tears and stroked her hair and told her it would be okay. My children astound me. Yes, they are very close together and admittedly that makes it crazy sometimes. But, I wouldn't change a thing about it. I love how they love each other. *sigh*
I digress... The stupid splinter was so deep it took about 20 minutes to get it out of my squirmy, miserable 4 year old. But, we finally had success and all was fixed with a Phineas and Ferb band aid and some cuddles with mama. She was very proud to show her daddy her little bandaged toe when we took him lunch later.
The rest of the day is a bit jumbled and blurry to me. Pregnancy brain I guess. Grilled cheese sandwiches with the yummy dark wheat bread for lunch, more playing outside, a nap for Jacks to help him through the ridiculous growth spurt he is having. Scott's mom stopped by and made all the babies happy. (They miss having grandma next door.) Chili and corn bread for dinner. Followed by a chat with my lovely sister on the phone.
Then, Scott built a fire in the fire pit outside and we spent the rest of the evening hanging out down there.
Unfortunately I freaked out a bit when my calm day ended with 2 girls and a mud pit. Boots and children had to be hosed off and showered and I had more than a little bad attitude about it. I think I expected my day to end on a... cleaner note.
After they were all in bed and I kissed their little faces I wished I hadn't been so fussy over a little mud. I astound myself with my ability to get "me" centered that fast, especially on days like today. All I could think of was mud, and how I had another new mess at the end of the day. When they were all in bed is when I remembered the radio program I heard on the fringes of our afternoon today. It was about the slums of India. I remembered how mothers there train their precious babies to beg while I feed mine around a comfortable table. I look at my beautiful little girls sleeping safe in their beds and I'm astonished that we live here - where chances of them being thrown into the world of human trafficking are slim. The everyday over there is so incredibly poor compared to my everyday that it's sometimes hard to believe we are all on the same planet. And, on top of it I know I didn't do anything to deserve the "here" that I have. Tonight I tucked my babies in hoping that with a bit of perspective, I will learn to stop complaining about my little hiccups and unmet expectations. That I will be thankful. And, even that maybe there is something I can do to change a bit of that very far away place.
So that's it. The day is over and I feel full. I am very thankful for what I have, a little more in love with my sweet babies, stirred by the issues of social injustice in the world, disappointed at my humanity, excited about tomorrow, and tired from a day of work and splinters and sun. No, it was not everything I expected. Yes, it was good.
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