3 kids, 1 dog....and a whole lot of chaos.

Today was one of those days as a parent where you can't find the words to even describe what happened in your life. Between temper tantrums of a three year old and the curiosity and constant roaming 1 year old I had to remind myself that not every day I am a good parent! Today began with that garbage truck I loath so much that wakes my peacefully sleeping 3 year old from his much needed slumber at 5:45 in the morning. Him peacefully drifting back to sleep after making it to my bed is a fantasy, especially since I was just up from 4:45 with the 1 year old who refuses to wean, barely having crawled back into my own bed before little man comes swinging through my bedroom door. I spent the morning trying to divert from a terrible mood from both kids with counting, tracing letters, stacking blocks, building towers, having a dance party and snacks. We took a long walk, explored nature, listened to the birds, and swung high in swings.... Just hoping that by the time we got back home it would at least be nap time. Yup, it was one of those days. The day where nap time can't come soon enough, doesn't last long enough, the time doesn't seem to change every time you look at the clock... The tip of the iceberg today though, was while my 3 year old was trying to do his bath room business and my 1 year old was busy playing in the living room and all I needed was about 2 minutes to switch the laundry over, making the parenting mistake thinking both kids were occupied enough to have the luxury of switching the laundry over, I hear, "no baby Sam, don't eat my poop". REALLY!?!?! Thankfully, she was in the bathroom yes, but had no traces of fecal matter anywhere on her. My son on the other hand had decided to "play" with his poop. I did not react the way the "parenting experts" would probably recommend, but really.....GROSS! I am so thankful my kids have not gone through the "take my diaper off and smear my poop every where" stage. I am not sure I would have survived that stage without wine! But at the end of the day, and the end of the day does come even though in the thick of it it feels like it never will, how thankful I am for this crazy life. Seeing my daughter asleep in her crib, and hearing my little man smashing his cars together while laying in his bed, I know that if my house were silent, if I were to loose the beautiful precious children the chaos is something I would miss. Not every day am I going to be the "perfect" parent, heck some days I am simply not a good parent...but these are the memories we carry with us, that we grow from, that we learn from, and that makes us our own unique family.