A Week in the Life: Wednesday Photos

And now the rest of us are sick.

I wasn’t sick enough to lie around all day, doing nothing. Just sick enough to feel really grouchy.

Apparently Kaylia takes after me. She was a total grump when she woke up this morning.

Fortunately, Anika was able to cheer her up a bit.

And then they were ready for breakfast.

And I was ready for my smoothie.

I had to go without one the day before, which made this one even more enjoyable.

After that, things were slightly less enjoyable.

It was one of “those days” – the kind where nothing goes right, my sick grumpiness is making me rather unpleasant, I fold half a basket of laundry only to realize it was still dirty, and start thinking it might have been better to spend the day in bed.

But there were some good parts scattered throughout the day. I’m glad my camera forced me to see them!

Things like morning sunshine while doing school work.

And my new Norwex mop.

More laundry conquered.

More muffins baked. (For Anika’s Christmas program practice.)

And a delicious yam for lunch.

In the afternoon, I delivered Anika and our five dozen muffins to church, and then came home to cook my spaghetti sauce…

…and read stories to Kaylia.

When Ben and Anika got home, we ate supper, cleaned up, got the girls in the tub, and into bed.

And then I was ready to go to bed myself. Fortunately, Anika recovered very quickly from her little bout with the flu, so Ben and I are anticipating an equally fast recovery.

Notice how most of my pictures are from earlier in the day? I guess as things deteriorated, I picked up my camera less and less…

Here’s hoping Thursday is a healthy, photogenic kind of day!

Remembering How “The Basics” Can Make Such a Difference

I read a fantastic blog post a few days ago, and now I can’t find it again anywhere, but it’s stayed on my mind constantly ever since. It was about how we as parents can have more patience with our kids. Five steps to becoming a better parent. I read it very eagerly. And guess what – most of them had nothing to do with the kids.

Most of them had to do with getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, eating well, exercising.

I was expecting great new parenting strategies. It was an excellent reminder that if  you’re not taking care of the basics, nothing else will go very well.

I’m painfully aware of that this morning. A friend was over last night until midnight, and while the conversation was inspiring, I knew I would feel it in the morning. And feel it I did. Anika and Kaylia felt it, too, I’m pretty sure.

It’s very hard to be patient when you’re tired.

So I could beat myself up for being a crumby parent today, or I could realize that I need some sleep, and we’ll try everything again after a nap. I’m trying to be realistic about limitations and expectations. Naps are a wonderful thing.