5

Oh, man. I have a 5-year-old. I don't quite know how this happened. 

Things I do know: Harry is sweet, funny, and smart; he rides his bike too fast; he loves video games, chicken nuggets, and his baby sister; and he is growing up too fast.

The Kindness of Strangers

So, I'm on my own this week with the kids while Kevin is skiing in New Mexico. It's kind of daunting to know that reinforcements will not be arriving at dinnertime, and that not only am I going to be putting both kids to bed, but I am also the one who will be washing dishes and folding laundry once they're asleep. The bathroom could use a good cleaning too, but I am only one woman.A complete stranger did me a solid today, though, relieving some of this temporary-single-parent burden. Harry and I had just gone outside, shovels in hands after putting Harper down for a nap, tasked with clearing four inches of new snow off of the driveway. This very nice man was clearing the drive of the older woman across the street, and when he saw me and Harry shoveling, he waved. I waved back. When he was done with her drive, he stopped in front of my house and said, "Would you mind if I gave you a hand?"My emphatic answer: Of course not!I just wanted to share that, the kindness of strangers, which is something I've been trying to impress upon Harry. Yes, there are bad, scary strangers in the world, and anyone who tries to hurt him or take him away is a bad stranger, but there are also nice strangers in the world: kind, helpful, friendly people whose names we just don't happen to know. I'm hoping today's experience was not lost on him.
And because you may be forgetting what my babies look like since I post so infrequently. . . 

Solid food! So far Harper has eaten (and enjoyed!) oatmeal, acorn squash, bananas, and peas.

Harry, pretending to be a tree.

Harper, with dramatic lighting.

The Night Before Christmas

Harry has picked out four cookies for Santa, and we will pour a glass of milk before sending Harry off to bed. We scattered reindeer food on the front lawn, which has the barest covering of snow. Kevin is playing "Mele Kalikimaka" on his ukulele. 

I am off to work in a few hours and will be home just in time to put on my pajamas and open presents in the morning.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Sometimes I Forget

I was having one of those mornings where essentially every single thing my children did was getting on my nerves. Harper spitting up on my last clean pair of jeans? Annoying. Harry yelling at me from the basement for help with a video game while I was nursing Harper? Aggravating. Harry telling me wasn't hungry, then asking me to make his lunch two seconds after I sat down to eat my own lunch? Frustrating. Harper waking up while I was making Harry's lunch while my own lunch grew cold? The end of my rope. 

And then we went to Target. After putting the kids in the car, I climbed in, buckled up, and said to Harry, "I'm going to use this car ride to put myself in a better mood," and he said, "Me too, Mom." So we spent five minutes quietly in the car, then shared a pretzel as we strolled through Target and Harper napped. Thirty minutes later, everyone felt much better.

And once my mood had improved, I was able to remember how adorable and bright and fun these kids are, and how lucky I am to have them in my life and in my family.

She always looks this happy after spitting up. I guess it's therapeutic.

Looking pensive. Before the mood-improving pretzel, obviously.

Cheap and Easy Holiday Gift

Harry has four teachers in his room at daycare, and I was faced with the challenge of a small, inexpensive holiday gift that would be appropriate for three women, ages 20 to 45, and a man in his early 20s. I was kind of stalled out until Harry came home with these little holiday boxes that he apparently fell in love with while on a trip to the big box hardware store with Grandma, and she was nice enough to send them home with him. A few days later Harry picked up some $1 ornaments from Target and a package of Hershey bars.

The total cost per box was about $4 dollars, and everyone can use a few ornaments and a piece of chocolate. 

Thankful

On the list of the many, many things for which I am grateful, these two precious bits of wonderful are at the top. Harry has been and continues to be the most amazing big brother to Harper, and Harper is such an easy, happy baby. They make being their mother a joy. 

It's hard to leave these two kids at bedtime to go work, but I am also thankful that I have a job that I love, and a wonderful husband who takes such good care of them while I'm at work.

We have one more day of work this week, then off to spend Thanksgiving with family. I hope you have safe travels, Dear Reader, and a thankful heart.

Prepare to Resume Non-Mom Activities in 3, 2, 1. . .

Let's just get this out of the way: Obama! Re-elected! Woo-hoo!

Moving on. . .

Forty-eight hours from now I will be helping my kiddos wind down for the night. Forty-nine hours from now I will be frantically getting ready to go to work. . . for the first time since Harper was born. . . and I will be gone for 12 hours. . . while Kevin is alone. . . with two children. I am way more nervous about this than anyone else (cough, cough, Kevin) is. I know he'll be fine, but I have discovered that I am a bit of a control freak where our kids are concerned.

I am also nervous to go back to work. My third-shift cohorts assure me that not too much has changed, but I feel like quite a few little lab nuggets may have escaped my brain over the last 10 weeks. Even though I have home stress and going-back-to-work stress, I really am looking forward to Friday night. The people I work with are awesome and hilarious and some of my best friends, and on slow nights we tell inappropriate jokes and listen to iHeartRadio and quote The Big Lebowski, and on busy nights we pull together and literally help save some lives: either way leaves me feeling pretty good.

I am telling myself that everything will be alright. And it will. Right?