Life and Love

From the minute he woke up this morning, Little Mister was in full-on toddler mode, and he kept it up all. day. long. I couldn't seem to figure out what he wanted at all, and nothing I did was the “right” thing in his mind. Tonight, at supper, we had pizza. He was excited about this! He loves “peepah”! Waiting for it to cool down was torture. “Peepah! Peepah!” I gave him two tiny slices. “Peepah! Peepah!” Yes, Mister, you have pizza. “Peepah! Peepah! Peepah!” Yes. That's pizza. Eat your pizza, buddy. “Peepah!” (Insert tone of growing desperation, as mommy obviously doesn't understand what the problem is.) I stared at his plate. Hmm. I usually cut his pizza into small pieces, not slices. Could that be the issue? I took his plate and started cutting it up. His tone changed to one of excitement again: “Peepah! Peepah!” Yes. Got it. I hand him the plate. It took him all of 3.2 milliseconds to determine that this particular pizza was “bleh”. Apparently, tortilla crust is not an adequate substitute for real pizza dough. So much for my supper shortcut. He didn't eat any of it.

And while this toddler drama is playing out, I am listening to my older two kiddos. Biker Dude is telling me that he wants to be a grandpa when he grows up. “Why?”, I ask. Well, it's so he can tell his grandkids all about sea creatures (we're on a bit of an Octonauts kick here of late). Mountain Girl wants to be a grandma when she grows up. But, “I don't want to have a woice (voice) like you, mom. I want to keep my same woice. I like my woice. Your woice sounds like a boy. Say something. Mom, say something.” Me: “Something.” “Oh, you don't sound like a boy. You sound like a dirl (girl).” Well that's a relief. :)

And the new girl was sleeping soundly in her swing.

They're all asleep in their beds now. The wind is howling outside, blowing in a storm I'd guess. The floor looks like there was a windstorm inside, too. Toys are everywhere. There are dirty dishes in my sink and crumbs on the floor. Someone left the lights on downstairs. The dryer is full of clean clothes, ready to be folded. And it's all okay. :) Yes, the mess bugs me. Mostly because I know that after I deal with it tomorrow morning, my house has a 9 in 10 chance of looking the same way it does now by late afternoon. But for tonight I will dismiss the mess and relabel it as “the signs of life” and I will sit and relax for a few.

Life with little kids... It's messy, and it's glorious. It's both tiring and energizing at the same time. It'll drive you crazy... and yet, you'll wonder what you ever did without them. Yup. It's love.

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him."

- Psalm 127: 3 (NLT)