The Sunny Side

I was totally going to write a post about how sick I am of sickness around here (*A*'s been sick/under medical care of some form or another for the past month and our car has been in and out of the shop almost equally as long) but after a really relaxing day home (b/c we had no car to go anywhere and b/c of *A*'s cough and ear infection), I am focusing on the positive. The kids played AMAZINGLY well today. I was able to get so much done (which is good because this coming weekend is prospective student weekend at the seminary and we're hosting a dinner), and we had some long overdue quality time together.

As much as I love how much there is to do up here, it gets a little overwhelming and over-busy and it's nice to just take a day off of all responsibilities. It was about this time last year that I was having similar thoughts, and I decided to drop choir to put a little freedom back in our schedule. I'm considering doing that again actually. Must be something about February.

We're trying to make conscious choices about what we do with what little time we have here. It's great to fill our days with fun and friends but lately we've forgotten what it's like to be just a family. Monday nights are our new family night. We're going to try our best not to schedule anything on these nights because it's the only night during the week we're all home together. This weekend, we made a conscious decision not to do Little League. *A* wasn't really all that into it and we decided our schedule is pretty full already without trying to fit in a night for practice and then games every Saturday. Perhaps next year when both kids can play.

It feels good to be able to say "no". To step back and just be. I think the kids appreciate it too. Today they were kind and agreeable, friendly and silly. We only had one minor spat and it was because (H) hurt *A*'s feelings when he was frustrated and used his words too loudly.

Anyway, I'm kind of struck at how positive this post turned out after the past few weeks of yuckiness, and I am struck at how calm and peaceful I feel after a day of being home alone with the kids with very little interaction from the outside world. I know after days of this we'd not be so positive, but it's something to remember when everything is so busy and spinning out of control. I leave you with a glimpse into our play-filled day:

**As I'm loading the dishwasher and making dinner, *A* comes into the kitchen with her apron on, pad and pencil in hand.**
A: "Can I take your order please?"
Me: "Um, Yes, I'll have a grilled cheese."
A: "We don't have that."
Me: "Ok, I'll have a hot dog."
A: "We don't have that either, we only have soup. It's very good."
Me: "Ok, I'll have the soup."
A: "And what would you like to drink?"
Me: "Orange juice please."
A: "We don't have that."
Me: "Ok, what do you have?"
A: "We have Coca-cola. You like that."
Me: "Ok, that sounds good, thank you."
A: "You're welcome, your order will be right out."
I just love that she's pretending to feed me and cook for me while I'm in the process of doing the same for her. I especially love that this time of day which is normally the craziest part (kids cranky and hungry and underfoot next to a hot oven) was probably my favorite part of today because of our little conversation. Thank you sweet girl.