Want What You've Got

"It's not having what you want. It's wanting what you've got."

Yesterday as I drove with the children, Sheryl Crow's fun song, "Soak Up the Sun" played on the radio. I cranked up the volume, sang loudly to the children, and reflected on the line above. I think God was winking at me. We have a very little house, but it is a cozy home to our family of six. I think we are going to be in it for more than a few years ahead. My closest friend and neighbor gave me a shock last week when she said they plan to move. I'm quite heartbroken. Our families have grown together. I've walked with my friend for too many miles to count over the last six years. We've shared eggs and cans of tomatoes and baby equipment. More importantly, we've listened with our hearts and provided validation about the challenges of mothering. I just can't imagine making my little house "work" with my four children without my dear friend across the yard. Big bummer.

What I love...

I love that my children bundled up on this crisp morning to play outside. I loved looking out the window and spying their three little tushes side-by-side on a wooden stool made by my father. They were eating bananas. They looked adorable.

I love the crazy scale difference between baby Vivian's chubby thighs and her extra small feet. Olivia commented on it lovingly just this week.

I love that my kind neighbor made four matching crocheted hats for us girls before our photography session last weekend.

I love that Olivia, Evelyn, and their friend Grace call a male biker who we see on our way to school most mornings, "School Handsome." He is kind of handsome. He wears a postal service uniform, and he pedals really fast. We laugh each time we see him.

I love that I'm finished with my major Mothers of Young Children enrollment and directory project, and that I have my darling husband to thank for his contribution to improving the way it was made. He took over care of our children and dinner prep two weekends ago while I slaved away on the computer for hours on end all weekend long. He took part of his Friday afternoon off to print and copy my master set of directory pages so that they'd be ready for me to turn into a booklet in the church office. He's amazing, and he's the biggest blessing in my life. From our love we have our children, another incredible blessing of joy. I recently read Loving Frank about Mamah Cheney's relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright. She was married and left her children in order to seek her heart's true love. As I read I kept thinking that I was so fortunate to have married a man as good as Robbie. I want nothing to do with the trials Mamah experienced on her journey for love and happiness. That story ended horribly!

I love that Henry has pooped the last five consecutive times he has sat on the potty. I even love that this morning when he pooped his "baseball panties", stepped in the mess with his sock, fell over and rubbed his poop butt on my arm, then stepped on the rug, that I could laugh!!

I love that my family and friends supported the girls' magazine sale at school so that Ev could win a motion detector alarm that blares with a siren. A man's voice says, "Warning! Warning! Security Alert. You are entering a restricted area. Repeat. You are entering a restricted area. Touch nothing. Turn around and walk out. Please leave now. Repeat. Leave NOW! All your moves are being watched. The authorities have been notified." The best part is that Henry and Evelyn thought the guy was saying, "Good morning! Good morning!" Olivia and I laughed so hard about their misunderstanding. We could have used the alarm recently...

The other day as I made dinner I heard Robbie's voice go up as he said, "Henry, What are you doing!" Henry is obsessed with "Yaya's cleats". They are size 13, and he's 2 years old, so you can imagine the clown shoes look he sports when he clops around in them. Robbie found Henry with Olivia's top bunk bed ladder. He had moved it across the room, leaned it into the closet, and he had climbed to the top rung. He was reaching toward the top shelf to get the Nike box with the much coveted cleats. Robbie said the ladder was suspended by one hanger. God help Henry. He was on the top step. He is too busy.

The other night my son called to me seconds after I'd tucked him into his bed and said he had to go poopy. Mind you, he'd taken a potty break right before bedtime, and he only peed. We'd been through this the night before, and he did it at naptime too. Stalling. That's exactly what my smart son was doing. After I told him he'd already had his chance to potty, he began screaming. I complained to Olivia, and she said, "Well, Mommy. You know why he's doing that, don't you? You let him get out of bed once to try to poopy again, so now he thinks you'll do it again." Smarty pants. He also learned that M&Ms are the reward for potty success. However, now that he has mastered control in the pee pee area I have changed the reward for #2 alone. This made him mad. He called to me around 5 am last week. In the darkness he said, "I need to go pee pee." I took him. He then said, "I want MM." Naturally, I explained that M&Ms are only for poopy. He started screaming, "I want MM! I want MM!! I want MM!!!" I hope my consistency works in my favor when I don't yield to screaming youngsters making demands for chocolate in the wee hours of the morning.

I love that Evelyn made a book and wrote a story for her friend. The title was Anna Who Let Out the Peanut. The witching hour has become quite challenging, as if it weren't before. The baby was crying. Henry was into the cupboard pantry. Evelyn was calling out, "How do you spell Anna?" "How do you spell peanut?" "What does a p look like?"...and on and on for a whole book. I was trying to cook dinner, and Olivia was asking about her math homework. That was one of those top of the curve moments when I want to pull out my hair or take a mommy time out. Thank goodness life cycles, and we have plenty of lovely moments.

I love reading to my children curled up in our favorite chair. Their hair smells fresh and wonderful from bathtime, and I could just smother them with kisses. Henry will say to me, "You want to read with me?" Of course!

I think it is time for mama to get some fresh air and enjoy a long walk. Hopefully, Emily can join me.