The "Coupon" gift.

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 180

     Matt and I have been giving coupons to each other for as long as I can remember. Coupons for things like, "one date night," "one back massage," "one night off from giving the kids a bath and putting them to bed." I love the coupon gift. It's a sweet gift because so much thought has to be put into it. You can't just give the same coupon over and over and over. Boring. I have collected many different coupons over the years. They never expire. :)

     Matt turned in two coupons today. But, I wasn't able to fulfill them because, the day was just too busy. And Matt loves me anyways. 

     Thankful for my sweet husband. Without him, my days would have a lot less laughter, and love, and smacks on my booty. 

The Pool

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 179

     Today was Tobin's first swim, ever. And it was the first swim of the season for Adelyn. I had been putting off going to the pool, because I was not yet ready to put on a bathing suit. And I'm still not ready. But, it's not about me, so I put on my bathing suit, and took my kids to the pool. Addy was so excited. She smiled the whole time, and kept saying over and over, "I'm having a really fun day!" Tobin wasn't too keen on the pool at first. He clung to me, with his head tucked into my neck. It was only about five minutes before we had to go that he finally started splashing around.

     Today, I was thankful for a fun time at the pool. It was another rough day, but our trip to the pool quieted  Tobin's cries, and allowed us all to have some sweet moments together. Thankful for firsts. Firsts are fun.

Adelyn, after our first pool trip of the summer. 

Tobin, after his first pool trip, ever!

Saw these guys hanging out in the woods today. 

The Art of Playing in the Rain

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 178

     "I want to go in it," was Adelyn's reply to the pouring rain. We were standing at the window watching it rain buckets. It must be innate. The notion that stepping outside into what can only be described as a monsoon would be enjoyable.

     Matt and I exchanged glances, and then he said, "go for it." So, I opened the door. Adelyn and I stepped out into the pouring rain. We were soaked instantly, but it felt amazing. It was so nice and cool. We stomped in puddles. We ran in the rain. We twirled in the rain. We sat in the rain. We gave kisses and hugs in the rain. It was a lovely, spontaneous, exhilarating afternoon of playing in the rain. And I have Addy to thank for it.

     Thankful for Adelyn. Thankful for her sense of wonder. Thankful that I got to be a part of another first for her. Thankful that the wonder and excitement of childhood knows no age limit. And it is never far away from any of us. All one has to do is simply say, yes. Yes. Let's play in the rain. Let's get muddy. Let's do something we've never done before. Thankful for my journey back to childhood today. Although, I surrounded by children all day long, I am always, "mother." Today, I got to be, "kid." And it was sweet.

Superman chasing girls at the playground.

Tobin boy swinging.

Sweet Sophia and her dada. 

Father and son. :)

Still chasing the girls. 

Still chasing. I love this picture, because you can see his cape waving in the breeze. 

It wasn't cold out, but I was wearing a white shirt. White shirts are NO GOOD for pouring rain. 

Dr. Adelyn

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 177

     I have a blister on the back of my heel, and it hurts like mad. I ran without socks the other day because, well, I was too lazy to go upstairs and get a pair before my run. I know, I know. Too lazy to go get socks. I'm ashamed to say it but, yes. I was. This resulted in a massive, and extremely painful blister. The kind so big that when I bend my foot the wrong way, what little healing had taken place, is no more.

     Adelyn noticed the blister when I was changing Tobin's diaper today. "Awww, poor baby. You have a boo-boo? Here, let me kiss you, and make you feel better." That was just the beginning. All day long today, any chance she got to doctor me, she took. At one point, I was laying on the floor playing with Tobin. She had been playing quietly with some dolls, and beads, and other pretty things, when she ran over to me. She brought her beads. Placing the beads on my blister, she exclaimed, "here, this will make it feel better." Of course, it didn't. It felt like pieces of gravel being pushed into my open wound. But, very gently, I said, "oh, sweetie, thank you so much, but that hurts."

     The day went on, and so did her attempts to doctor me and my blister. She placed baby doll clothes on top of it. More beads. A pretend band-aid from her doctor kit. I mean, how do you explain to a two-year old that touching an open wound is #1-gross, and #2-painful. You can't. Especially when she was trying so very hard to take good care of me. How could I discourage that? So, whenever she touched my blister, I would say, "oh, thank you Dr. Addy! Let's go wash your hands!"

     Thankful for my caring girl.

Mama said there'd be days like these...

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 176

     I can't lie. The past couple of days have been some of the hardest I've had around here since Tobin was born. He's sick. And he is male. So, true to form, as it has been in my experience, when a man is sick, their world stops turning. Let me tell you: Tobin is no exception. He cries. All. Day. Long. And it is quite exhausting. Especially when he's cried all night long as well. He won't eat much. He only wants to nurse. And he only wants me to hold him. With short spurts of wanting to play on the floor in between. This morning at breakfast, he was crying, and Addy was crying. And I kind of wanted to rip my hair out.

     But, I didn't. And we made it through this very rough day. And after I put my kids to bed, I laid down. Feeling like I could just sob. Because at that point, I still had to pick up all the toys in the basement, in the living room, clean up the art corner, clean the kitchen, and write this blog post. Instead of sobbing, I starting going through pictures on my phone. Sweet pictures of Tobin and Adelyn. Pictures of Tobin as a young baby. Pictures of us smiling together. And I started to remember that no matter how hard this day was, and no matter how hard the days to come might be, this is where I want to be. Right here. At home. In the thick of things. Listening to every bout of crying from my children. Wiping their snotty noses. Picking up the same toys, night after night.

     Thankful for Tobin. Thankful for Adelyn. Thankful for the way just looking at pictures of their sweet faces can renew my spirit. Thankful for the way they love me. Thankful for days like these. Even though they're hard, they're worth it.

My little fashionable girl. 

Like yesterday, the only picture I could get of Tobin today, was this blurry one. Because every time I tried to get some pics of him, he would cry, and I would have to hold him. 

I was just thinking that I never get to hold Tobin anymore...

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 175

     Tobin is growing fast. Too fast. He no longer is content to just sit in my lap. He wants to play. He wants to move. He's trying oh so hard to crawl. He's almost there. He's trying to pull himself up on things to stand. He dances to music now. He's using sign language. It's unbelievable how fast he's becoming more like a toddler, and less like a baby. The other day, I was watching him play on the floor, and I got kind of sad because I never just get to sit and hold him anymore. Except when I'm nursing him.

     Then he got sick. My poor guy has a terrible cold. And he's been up for the past three nights in a row telling me all about it. He can't sleep because he's so uncomfortable, and he doesn't want to be alone. He just wants me to hold him. And I do. And even though I'm tired, I could never tire of looking into his sweet eyes. I could never tire of him reaching up and touching my face. Playing with my hair, and my necklace. I'm tired, but I get to hold my boy. And that makes me happy.

     Thankful for extra cuddles from my guy these past couple of days. I've missed holding him for hours at time. I remember when I first had him, I don't think Matt held him for more than five minutes for the first month. I was so selfish with him. I didn't mean to be. I just, couldn't put him down. Thankful for my sweet Tobin boy. Thankful for his love.

The only picture I could get of Tobin today. I was too busy holding him all day to get a  picture of him.  :)

Peaceful sleep when it's stormy out.

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 174

     It's very rare, but when it happens, it is the most peaceful sleep. Family nap time. Adelyn very rarely naps anymore. She still has a "quiet" time, but even that isn't really quiet, or peaceful. It basically consists of me telling her to take a rest in her bed, and then going and getting her about twenty minutes later, because she's singing and talking at the top of her lungs, and I don't want Tobin to wake up.

     However, today was one of those rare days when everything worked out perfectly for everyone in the house to nap at the same time. Everyone slept today. And when I woke up, everyone else was still sleeping, and it was raining outside. I laid and listened to the sound of the rain for a bit, and marveled at how the feeling of peace was so thick and so heavy in our home, I feel like I could have touched it.

     Thankful for peaceful, rainy, afternoon, family nap times. I wish I could bottle that peaceful feeling, and take a swig or two whenever I'm feeling anxious.