celebrating balance

once again, pinterest made itself useful.  this time...with a simple hair idea.

the thing that i love about pinterest is that usually i can just look at the picture and figure it out.  i'm not one to do a lot of research.  i'm more of a "show me the picture and i'll figure it out myself" kind of girl.

i love having her long hair to play with.

yesterday was a good parenting day.  there are random times that i feel like i am wasting my days away...the precious moments with my children...the time that i could have spent cleaning the bathrooms or clearing out the closet while the babe was napping...or the minutes that i could have spent folding the laundry instead of lounging on the couch, watching ellen.  (ok.  well...ellen is never a waste of time because she makes me laugh...but you get the idea.)

there are some days that end up being mediocre, at best, because i just didn't fully take advantage of them.

instead...i stay in my pj's instead of taking a few extra minutes to get ready, or i let my mind wander to unimportant things or i waste minutes that i could be playing dolls with annslee or reading with aiden or talking to colt or examining frogs with chase by spending time on something that doesn't matter at all...like seeing how other people are spending their moments on the facebook homepage.  and often times, seeing how they are spending their moments make me feel bad about the way i am NOT  spending mine.

i've also learned that if i don't get ready...i don't accomplish near as much.

not that i'm suggesting that every day has to be jam packed and that i can't ever lay down and take a nap if i'm tired...but it shouldn't become the norm.  balance is always a good thing.  and i can get in a lazy rut like nobody's business.  like "who really cares if i don't sweep up the crumbs in the kitchen or if we are all stepping on litter in the bathroom today.  I'M TIRED OF THE SWEEPING AND I'M NOT DOING IT."  or..."i don't feel like playing with trout in the backyard after i put annslee down for a nap.  I WANT TO SLEEP."

ok.  i'm rambling.

the point is...the ebb flowed yesterday and i didn't just love my job...but i loved that i did a good job at it.  i didn't run out of steam, or drive, or passion.  and that felt good.

after all...no one can do their best work ALL the time.  but when we do...

it's freaking amazing, baby.

"A +"

"terrific work"

"here's a bonus with your paycheck"

i played football with the boys.

i made up chants...like

"orange and blue...

kick em with your shoe...

don't mind if i do...

score a touchdown or a few..."

and kept them laughing until it hurt.

i played spider monkey on the swing with her...

and lifted annslee to the slide more times than i can count.

and by the time it was math homework time...

i had hit my stride.

not every day is like this one.

but when these "home run," "A+," "YOU DESERVE A PROMOTION" days roll around...

it puts wind behind your parenting sails to last a couple of days.

****

and even though i won't get raises or bonus' for jobs well done...

i did receive payment of sorts.

last night...a friend knocked on the door and said, "i read your blog and i love it and i was at the store and these reminded me of you and i wanted you to have them."

and then she gave me these lovelies.

i'm thinking chocolate malts are in our near future.

it was the cherry on the sunday.

****

and last night...you can imagine, when i walked into my room at the end of the evening...knowing that my head was going to hit my pillow feeling good about my day as a mom...and i saw this sight...

all i could do was smile.

yep.

the days aren't all going to be great.  there will be days that i stay in my sweats and get nothing accomplished.  there will be the days that there are way more tantrums than bouts of belly laughs but there is comfort in knowing that the sun will rise again tomorrow, and our ebb will start to flow again...and balance is inevitably restored.

and that, sunshine...is worth celebrating.