Little Blessings...

Today was crazy. I showered last night, thank goodness because I haven't a clue where the time went today.

First of all, I'm going to have to make a confession. I have a lady and her husband come and clean my home every other week. They are very nice, very affordable, incredibly understanding about my constant mess, but most of all ~ they love my children. So, here I am in my pj's running around trying to get the boys fed and the house cleaned before G&A arrive.

I've already changed diapers, got all three of the boys dressed and taken Ashley to the restaurant where she gets picked up for the remainder of her commute to school. I'm wondering how my house gets so cluttered and messy? What the heck? We just had Bible Group at our house last night and it was straightened then? Do little gnomes come in during the night? What is the deal?

Searching for the next home to mess up!

And yet I digress.. Moving along. So, the boys and I head off to the park with our gear in tow: wagon, monster truck, diaper bag, blankie, water bottles (that I had to stop and buy because I left ours at home!), stroller, lunch box, kick ball, and baby toys.

As we pull into the local quick stop place for our h2o hydration, it dawns on me that I haven't washed the truck in about 2 months. Hmm... let's do it now. With a freshly, yet poorly washed truck (the dirt was seriously caked on) we finally made it to the park. We played and played. Grandpa, Grandma Betty, Katie, and Gage were able to stop by for a little while as well.

By the time we made it home ~ we were all exhausted. All three of the boys slept at the same time. This has only happened twice before. There wasn't a single child crying, whining, pouting, or shouting. It felt so calm and peaceful. Then I looked at the clock and thought - yikes! I need to leave now to make it to Ashley's volleyball game on time. (She played out of town again today.) But... the house was peaceful, and the angels were singing, and the boys were all asleep at the same time! What is a mom to do? Well, this mom sat down and opened a book. What the heck - they were worn out and needed to sleep.

Don't worry - I did go to Ashley's game. Through a comedy of errors (I was lost) ~ I paid my $ and walked in the door to find both teams shaking hands. Our girls had won both volleyball games in 34 minutes. What the heck did I pay my money for? No reason to whine ~ laugh it off and go eat! Ironically, all three boys, Ashley, and I had a great dinner ~ and we were not eating at home! Monumental. Eating out with 9 month old twins, and a 2 year old is always a challenge. Usually one I don't want to deal with. I would rather go home and cook. That way no one can comment on what messy eaters the twins are. Do all babies make such a mess on the floor? I wish we could take a dog with us. That way the floor stays clean ~ works that way in our house...

I love their orange chicken.

After dinner, Ashley wanted to run into the Christian bookstore. Why not? We don't get to town very often and she has never been to this store. She spent FOREVER wandering the isles. I was ready to shoot her. But then... she took the babies to load them into the truck and I paid for her purchases. I didn't question anything she got - in fact, I didn't even look. I just told the lady that I was here to pay for the items that the princess left. (I'm the peon.)

I got into the truck with 2 screaming babies and a stressed out 14 year old. That always is a fun thing to do - try it. I'll loan you mine. The 2 year old was remarkably good. (Could be because he not only ate his Panda Express Kids Meal, but he ate what the babies didn't eat, and mine! Oh SNAP! That means a growing spurt is coming on. Hello new wardrobe.) Anyway, Ashley turns to me and says, "Did you see the shirt I got?" "No," I replied. "I just paid for them, I didn't look at the stuff." "Well good," said Ashley. "I bought something for you for Christmas." (cha-ching! Is my girl good or what?) Then, she melted my heart. She told me that she bought the shirt for Stephan. Wow!! She was thinking of her 2 year old little brother that she usually tries to ignore. AAHH... big sigh of relief. All of the stress of the day suddenly dropped from my shoulders. Thank you Lord.