Joy in Motherhood

I woke up this morning feeling so happy and content with my life.  I had a great day with my two little ladies yesterday.  We didn't do anything special.  We did a lot of the usual, mundane things.  But there was something really great about Wednesday.

I was woken up by Scarlett coming in to our room, climbing in to our bed, and asking for my phone.  Just like every other morning.  We snuggled, I drifted, Scarlett watched videos of her and Sydney, and flipped through pictures, until we heard Sydney talking to herself in her crib.  We let her talk for about 20 minutes before getting her up.  I read my scriptures, said my prayer, and prayed with the girls.  I fed Sydney a bottle after making Scarlett some toast.  I gave the girls their bath.  I laid Sydney down for her morning nap.  I showered.  Sydney woke up, and we headed to the park.  We met up with some friends, played for an hour, then loaded back in the car.  Scarlett told me she was "starving.  I starving for pizza, Mom."  After debating for several minutes, trying to ignore the pleas, I called my Dad to see if he would meet us.  I knew I would have to feed Sydney while we were at the restaurant, and Scarlett is not the best at sitting still.  I was a little nervous to go out to lunch alone.  Dad couldn't come.  Mom was out of town.  So I braved it.  Warning Scarlett that if she didn't stay at the table with me while I fed Sydney we would not go out for pizza again.  We ordered our pizza, found our table, I fed Sydney her bottle, and Scarlett was an angel.  We ate our pizza, while my girls were admired by the elderly couples seated all around us.  Sydney was perfect.  She had fun sitting in my lap while I ate, and playing with her carseat toys when I needed to put her down.  Scarlett even stayed out of the game room like I asked.  She earned $.50 for being so good during lunch, so she got to play one game before we left.  We then hit the grocery store.  Halfway through, Scarlett informed me that she needed to pee.  I asked if she could hold it, she picked up the cabbage I had just put in the cart and said "sure, Mom.  I can hold this".  And never mentioned needing to go pee again.  We were stopped by a man who worked in the store who wanted to admire my little beauties.  An elderly woman then pulled her cart up to mine and told Scarlett she had the most beautiful blue eyes.  She then looked at Sydney and said, "oh, and baby brother has pretty blue eyes, too".  I kindly let her know it was baby sister, to which she smiled and said, of course, I see all the pink now, and Scarlett also kindly corrected the woman, saying, "My sissy not have blue eyes.  They green." (We're not sure yet what color they will be).  We finished our shopping, loaded everything in to the car, and then headed out to Silverado Trail to buy some fresh strawberries straight from the field.  Scarlett eats them like candy.  Sydney was asleep.  Scarlett was singing to the radio (she loves "Moves like Jagger").  We went home, unloaded the car, accidentally woke Sydney up, and put the groceries away.  While I fed Sydney, Scarlett had her rest time in her room.

 {Photos from Sunday, March 18)

When Scarlett was finished resting (about 15 minutes later), I created, with some of my fresh strawberries, a strawberry vinaigrette for the salad we would be having with dinner.  It was delicious.  I am a little bit proud that I made it up myself.  We then went downstairs to watch a show and relax for a bit.  Sydney fell asleep on my lap, I put her to bed, then spent some time looking at flights for our trip to Utah this summer.  I also postponed jury duty, and folded laundry.  Rob was working late in his Corte Madera office, so my Mom was coming over to watch the girls so I could go to my 6:45 boot camp class at the gym.  I prepared the salad, and got the tilapia in the oven so it would all be ready when Mom arrived.  I got my butt kicked at boot camp, loved every single minute of it, and on my drive home reflected on what a great day I had had with my girls.  I got home, kissed my husband, thanked my Mom, took a shower, warmed up some dinner and ate it on the couch with my family while we got caught up on one another's day.  We put the kids to bed, watched a few of our DVR'ed shows, and then hit the sack.  I fell asleep thinking about how much I enjoyed even the mundane things of that day.

I can honestly say I don't always enjoy the mundane things.  The things that I do just because they have to get done.  One night when I was still pregnant with Sydney, I was making dinner, and it hit me, I will do this almost every day for the rest of my entire life.  It kind of bothered me.  Some days, when my kids aren't being so perfect, I think I want to get a job that pays just enough to pay for the nanny I am leaving my kids with.  Just to get away. 

But for the most part, I love every minute of every chore, because it means I am at home with my babies, where I feel I belong.  I was meant to be a mother, and I truly find joy in what I do.