Some V-Day Love

After a long week, this might just be the best Valentine's Day ever.

 Michael suffered five long days of high fevers and a sore throat.  We hunkered down and practiced our care-taking, and the boys pretended they were sick right along with him.  Luckily no one else caught the bug, but with the bad attitudes going around I might've preferred some low grade fevers instead.

This is William's "grumper face."  He does it anytime he doesn't get his way, and then starts laughing shortly after because he can't keep a straight face.  Not a bad way to diffuse a negative attitude...  carry on, grumper face.  I'll miss you when you go away. 

I knew Michael was feeling better when he made up the maze game for William.  Now he's back to work and I'm the one who has to make lego mazes for William to drive through.  Thank you, big boy, for keeping my brain sharp.  I hope you never realize how much of a stretch it is for me to keep designing you new mazes :)

With lowered fevers and clear skies we headed outside for some outdoor time.  I have dreams about what our backyard will look like someday.  Let's just say, it's not like this:

But for now, we embrace the mud pit.  Its sloppy, gloppy goodness keeps the boys entertained for long stretches as I sit and enjoy the latest Martha Stewart Living, paying extra attention to her article on the essentials for my spring cleaning arsenal.  Muddy handprints on the wall are a sure part of my future.
 
 After five long days of illness and tantrums and mud, we finally arrive at Valentine's Day, and it couldn't be sweeter.  We have no cards, no presents, no flowers and no candy - just the gift of a healthy family, a sanitized house (thank you Martha), and lots of family love.  I could never ask for anything more.

William made out the best of anyone, with twenty Valentines from his preschool class.  They brought back memories from my own childhood days with school parties and Lisa Frank Valentines, and I know those three hours he had away from me this morning were something special. 

Thomas had his own celebration with frozen berries - I don't think anything could have made him happier.  Food is the way to his heart and I'm glad a bag of blueberries make him feel loved.  I'm not up to much more these days. Feast on, little boy!

Hope your St. Valentine's Day is as filled with love as ours is!

Ebb and Flow

January was a good month for us.  It's always therapeutic to clean and purge and organize after Christmas, and even more so before a new baby comes.  Forty-eight days until my due date, forty-eight-ish days until our present calm is rocked into something different, something unpredictable.

33 weeks

For now, we're enjoying the ebb and flow of life at home.  The chaos, sweetness, and volume in our home wash in and out, but always with a strong undercurrent of love underneath it all.

I remember this season of life from past pregnancies, always having had Spring babies.  The days are longer, gaining light a little bit at at time, but I move more slowly, literally and figuratively.  More frequent breaks mean sitting to enjoy the moment, taking extra time to instruct the boys how to apply awesome bubble beards instead of rushing to just get them clean.



Less energy means they get away with more, like planking in the bathtub.  But right now, that's a good thing.

This is the life we'll continue for the next month or so.  One with a simple rhythm and beauty that maybe only a mother could appreciate.  This easy living can be so hard, to find the blessings among the mundane, but it's cleansing just like the sudsy water in the bathtub, and prepares all of us for what will be a joyful but mighty change that will come when baby sister is born.