Friday, August 29, 2008

Living

Today is one of those days where I feel like I need to write. It is 1:09 AM and I should be in bed considering our morning started at 4:30 AM when Gavin decided to wake up! We decided to watch Karate Kid for our movie night. The 80's movie formula is so great! I still loving watching 80's movies.. Why? The movies today are better, but I rarely want to watch them again, even the good ones.. The 80's and early 90's movies I can watch over and over!

In a conversation this week with friends, I heard a phrase that really got me thinking. She talked about how some parents "live for their kids" and others just "survive them". I have felt very frustrated with my boys lately and I guess I feel like I have just been surviving them. I want to live for them, not just survive them.

Today, I decided that I was really going to focus on the kids. It was great day, because I remembered why I am staying at home with the boys and I remembered that my boys are fun, sweet, and charming. Gavin has been extremely whiny lately and today, even though he woke up at 4:30, he was not whiny. He has been on a cleaning kick lately. I told him we were going to be leaving soon for a walk and he went in his room and shut the door. At first I was trying to discover what he was doing, but then he kept coming out to bring me dirty clothes. He was cleaning his room "all by himself." He was so proud and I was so excited that he had taken the initiative. During Eli's morning nap, I decided to just play with Gavin and not worry about the messy house. We had so much fun putting together puzzles and counting pasta shells.

Eli is walking everywhere now and is constantly on the move, but every once in while he'll find me and put is head on my back or my leg and give me a hug. It is so sweet. He loves Gavin and when he hears his voice, he lights up. He doesn't say the words exactly, but he has a baby version of "what's that or who's that?" Gavin and Eli play together.. They fight together, but they are getting better at working it out..

We ended our evening in the park on a picnic with friends. It was a beautiful night..

I Love you Gavin and Eli.

3 comments:

mysomedaylist said...

so sweet. thanks for the reminder of why i am a mom. sometimes i get so lost in making sure that my house is clean and that i'm doing stuf for me. i am staying home for them and i do need to live for them. thanks for the reminder and your example.

Unknown said...

Oh Em, you are such a good mom and so sweet. I love that you played with Gavin and remembered why it you stay home with them--sometimes it is hard to break the monotony of being a mom and deal with the tantrums or whatever. You have a great family and they have an absolutely fabulous mom!!!

Young Family said...

Hey Em!! Love your blog, it's so cute to see your family! You'll probably think I'm crazy for saying this, but I believe that having two little ones is much harder than my five. My life is so crazy hectic that I'm kept more busy. But I remember when I just had my two oldest, and at times, it was really rough. I know there were times I felt it was all I could do to survive, especially when I was pregnant! (which I feel like I've been pregnant non-stop for the past 7 years!) But you guys look so happy! It's great to be in touch with you again!!