DAY 2

Today started with a fight. Zachary decided he needed to wake up Hannah at 6:30am. Naturally, she was not happy so she got mad at him, then he turned their (very bright) light on and left the room to come wake mommy and daddy up. So I had him snuggle with me until 7:00. I never went back to sleep but it was nice to stay under the warm covers.

Homeschool was hectic this morning because Hannah was grumpy/tired. But it turned out to go really well. At lunch baby Jackson decided that he needed to shampoo his hair in banana and then he proceeded to rub it all over his face. Then on top of that he rubbed a carrot. Cute. Needless, to say after lunch Jackson got his face and hair washed. Then I used the blow dryer on his bottom for his first ever diaper rash. Poor thing.

Then I did my favorite thing - I vacuumed. You see we got a dog about a year ago. her name is Penny and Brian named her that because she did not cost a penny. Well, that is what we thought... Then we found out she had parvo and needed a hospital stay and then special food and then vaccines... It was never ending dog bills in a failing economy, while I was pregnant. Then on top of that like 6 months later she decided to eat a corn cob which got stuck and hundreds of dollars and a surgery later she was repaired. She is part lab and part pyrenees which makes a great dog, really. But, I just never realized how much work a dog would be with kids. I have had too work many, many hours to train her. I had to because she would try to jump all over me when I was pregnant and my husband was traveling. She literally would get so excited at visitors that one day while very pregnant she pulled me across the deck in a chair. All of the things my husband and I were going to do like walk her, clean her dog lot, vacuum all of the hair, and mop all of the slobber have become my chores. She is around 100lbs and I am constantly cleaning after her. She can get a drink and spread water in a 15 ft trail. It drives me crazy that my floor in the whole main living area is constantly filled with dog hair and slobber and it makes me feel like I have to work all the time. She is a great dog. I am just having a hard time with all the work that I have to do to take care of her.

In the afternoon the cousins came to play and they had a great time. Afterward it looked like a tornado went through the house. It is absolutely amazing how quickly the toys get spread everywhere. Reluctantly, the kids helped clean up. Jackson took a very brief nap while Hannah and Zachary rested before dinner.

Then we had a nice quiet dinner and afterwards I made hot chocolate. Zachary is spelling his first words - hat, cat, pat, mat. Hannah is reading so good. And Jackson is just enjoying doing all of his firsts - new foods, new books, new everything and he seems to love it all.

I love my family so full of life, energy. Our children supply us with an abundant amount of love, laughter, and joy. Being a mom is hard, hard work but so rewarding and so worth it.

Give yourselves a pat on the back moms. You're doing a great job.


“Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love.” -Mildred B. Vermont