{I originally wrote this post 03/10/2015 and just now published it!}
Each phase, good and bad, is short lived. I have been in a mommy rut phase. Today, I have decided to push aside my dreams of getting a full time job to "escape" to adult conversations and stain free clothes. I chose to instead look at the moments I have taken for granted with the blessing I've been given, that is being their stay at home mama.
The current top 10 moments that are all just phases and boy am I glad I have not missed out on truly experiencing them! While it is a top 10 countdown, I truly can't rank these as I love each one equally!
10. The temper tantrums! Yes, I am thankful for them. The stories I will be able to tell at their wedding.... :-) And they happen, often. Just today Little Sister threw the biggest tantrum yet in public. Embarrassing? Absolutely. Life? You betcha! Will it happen again? I'm not lucky enough of a person to say no. The girls have their individual styles of tantrums but none the less they both throw them. Little Miss' is more for independence and it is a reminder that she does deserve more. Little Sister's is more for me not taking the time to understand her. She doesn't communicate with words as much as actions so I really have to watch her. Literally.
9. Holding their little hands. Little Miss doesn't want to hold our hands as much anymore. She's definitely in the midst of the Miss Independent stage. Little Sister though, that's how she shows us what she wants. She takes our hands and takes us to sit on the bed and read her books, to the kitchen and points to the fridge/pantry for food, or to Princess Fiona to walk her. Their little hands in mine fit just perfectly. I love it.
8. Speaking of books, they both LOVE to read books. I love when the three of us are curled up together reading book after book after book. Little Sister has memorized several so she "reads" with me while Little Sister squeals at each picture as if she has seen it for the first time, every time. I hope they will forever find a love in reading books.
7. Music, especially the Frozen soundtrack. It has a pretty high success rate of stopping a tantrum mid tracks during a car ride the moment it is started. The way they sing their hearts outs, literally. The way they dance with every ounce of their souls. May their love for music, of all types, continue to grow. I am thankful they are currently at the stage that although mama can't carry a tune in a bucket, they love it when I sing to them. I know without a doubt, this is short lived so I savor the times I am asked to sing the same song on repeat.
6. Their love for animals. Dogs. Cats. Rabbits. Goats. Cows. Horses. Lizards. Birds. Squirrels. Monkeys. Elephants. Kangaroos. Alligators. You name it, when they see it we must learn more about it. Thank God for YouTube! Just today, a farm family I follow on Instagram posted a video of their newborn baby goats. The girls squealed and kept asking to see more! So we did! And we incorporated some age appropriate education into it too. :-)
5. The way they insist on helping, with everything. In our tiny apartment galley kitchen, their are more often than not two kitchen table chairs aligned right next to me so they can help with everything from cleaning to cooking! Then in front of the washer in the middle of the hallway, you will find two step stools that they stand on to help me load/unload the washing machine. Little Miss' "job" is to clean out the lint trap while Little Sister hands me clothes to fold. It is our system and I love it.
4. The way they want to be with me every second of every day. The moments mama-needs-to-pee-alone-for-once and instantly little fingers are seen under the bathroom door. Or when eating any meal, I always have one kid on each side of me. So our four seat oval table suddenly has three chairs on one side which means we could theoretically seat 8. I love it. I want them to always want me around.
3. The way Little Miss says, "Mommy, can I tell you something?" Yes baby, anything! Right now, these are usually things like "I know you want me to wear a closed toe shoe with socks but I want to wear my new pretty sandals Nana got me even though it is raining outside". One day, they will turn into more serious topics. I want her to never have a time in her life where I wasn't willing and able to listen to what she has to say.
2. The way they hold their arms out to me. The instinctive, arms out and mama picks up. No words needed. Be it in the midst of a temper tantrum and Little Sister can't find the words to say "hold you" or Little Miss is so upset she can't find the words to ask to be held, the universal arms up means mama holds you. I don't care if Little Miss is 37 pounds, I still carry her and will for as long as she wants me to or my back breaks. Whichever happens first. One day, she suddenly won't want to be carried anymore. One day, mama's arms won't be their "safe place" anymore.
1. The mutterings of "I wuv you" in their own glorious ways to the slobbery kisses to the chubby arm hugs wrapped tightly around my neck. To those that say they don't know what "I love you" truly means, I'll disagree. They know, by example. When they make a bad decision to throw toys, they are reminded that I love them despite their actions. When mama is having a bad day and is a grump, they instinctively cover my face in slobbery kisses and give me extra long hugs while chanting "I wuv you".
They are great teachers of forgiveness. I was asked to wash a specific article of clothing. I forgot to wash the purple sweater with rhinestones. Oh no! Life as we know it has ended! Although Little Miss is crushed, she forgives me and we find another sweater with rhinestones. Trivial to us adults but life shattering to a 4 year old who had her heart set on wearing it. We can truly learn so much from watching our kids. The Lord is the ultimate teacher of forgiveness though. He forgives us and washes our sins away with His blood so we can be white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18) I am so thankful and humbled that the Lord uses a 4 and 1 year old to reach me, a 30 year old.
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