Day to Day

Things around here have been rough.  Which makes me not want to sit down and blog at the end of the day. I've been trying to at least cover the big stuff, but in doing so, I realized I'm missing so much of what life is like these days.  It's hard for me in this stage of life to get complete satisfaction with the big picture of what I'm doing (although in my head, I obviously know being a good mother is noble and praiseworthy), so I rely on small daily successes to feel a sense of accomplishment.

At the beginning of each day (or the night before) I write a list of "to-do's" on the calendar.  Then I can look back on my day knowing I've at least done something.  Ever have one of those days where your husband asks you "So what did you do today?" And you can't think of a single thing?  Now at least I can say, "I went to Target!  I picked up a prescription!  We filled up the baby pool!  I made an appointment!"  Someday I'm sure my life will be busy.  But it's not today.  I literally rack my brain every day trying to think of things to do, because when 3 pm rolls around and the kids are bored and there's a long time until bedtime, I go crazy.  That's a regular occurrence around here.

I'm going to try to write more at the end of each day, for my own record keeping.  I want to be able to look back and remember what this stage of life was like, and not just block the chaos from my memory all together.  (The past year is one big crazy blur in my mind.)

So... today, we went to Costco!  The shopping cart situation there is ideal: I can fit two kids in the front of the cart, and I put one kid in our "buggy bench" in the back of the cart, and there's still plenty of room for groceries (and toilet paper, and diapers, and paper towels, etc.)  Target has a double-cart, but it's about 50' long, so kind of ridiculous to push through the store.  Whenever we're at Costco, about a dozen people comment on our '3rd seat'.... about how neat it is, multiple people have said they wish they existed 20 years ago, etc. What can I say? It's great.

[This is our second seat in action, on a different occasion]

Tiago recently has discovered his imagination.  Today he was having a great time with a mini Buzz Lightyear figurine and his red London bus.  They ate lunch with him, and Buzz ended up covered in Nutella.  I think the only thing Tiago ate today was bread and Nutella.  He is always on one extreme end of the spectrum: so cute I can't handle it (hearing him repeat "buzz lightyear" while playing, or so frustrating I want to lock him in the bathroom (he never wants to leave the house, then never wants to return. Cue tantrums.)  One of my favorite things he does lately is say, "Thanks Mom!"  Or "Good job, Mom!  You did it!"  I get a big reaction by doing something small, like turning up the volume on the TV.  Sometimes toddlers make you feel like the best person in the world, and other times they make you feel like the worst parent ever.

And the girls look like little jack-o-lanterns.  They both have the bottom two teeth, and a top tooth (not center).  Mila has had two more teeth break through, and I see some more white under both of their gums.  That translates to miserable children.  I've gone through a whole bottle of tylenol in the last week.  Why can't they come in quicker??

One more accomplishment for the day: I mopped my floor.  That was a feat because there's no one around to even appreciate it.  Hyrum's at a training in California.  And my kids don't care. In fact, they seem to prefer messy floors if their meal-time behavior is any indication.  So I did my hair for me, and mopped for me, and even cooked a whole pork roast, just for me.

The end.