Just what the doctor ordered

Last weekend started out with my husband bringing me home this gorgeous bouquet. I had spent the day packing and cleaning in preparation for heading down to visit his parents and my mother. My daughter wanted to bring them with, saying that she would gladly hold them, but it was really nice to come home to a clean house and red roses on the table after the weekend.

Traveling is quite an ordeal with three small children and since we don't go often, I try to make it memorable. I pack travel toys and food up to gazoo. The children are "helping" me pack all day and are waiting in the vehicle 1/2 hour before we are going to leave, asking for their containers of fish crackers.

We made it to our destination on Friday evening and my husband did the daunting task of unpacking. He was so gracious to just laugh at me bringing a tote of boots, snow pants, hats and mittens in addition to everything else. There was a dusting of snow at our place before we left and I thought, "Well, just in case there's snow this weekend and the children want to play outside..."

Keith stayed with his parents on Saturday to help them with some projects while I took the children to the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul and met my mother. Keith calls it a 5-floor indoor playground and it kind of is. Yet, there are tons of educational exhibits there. If the public schools can bring students there for field trips during the school year, I can count it as a school day as well. They learned about occupations, machines, turtles, literature/play acting, cultural diversity, etc. Very educational. I was grateful for the opportunity to see my mother and also appreciated her help as three children going in three different directions can be challenging. A good day was had by all and my 22 month old was sleeping before we left the parking ramp.

On the way home, I stopped at S.R. Harris, a huge discount fabric warehouse that was overflowing with people. Try to picture floor to 20 foot ceiling bolts of material and then wanting the one on the bottom of the heap. What I was thinking in bringing three tired children there I'm not sure, but they behaved fairly well considering. I was able to find some fun pieces of material and thankfully I was able to nab a young kid employee to fish out the desired bolts. I would have given up trying if it was left to me. I want to try using a "baby wrap" when this new one is born in January. Another attempt at trying to figure out how to do multiple things at once... If the wrapping concept doesn't work for me, I have material for a couple dresses. A win-win situation.

It was a good weekend, but I was tired and the children were apparently tired afterward. This week has been tough so far. I was at wits end yesterday, feeling like a complete failure as a mother. There are parenting styles out there that I don't want to emulate, but I could see those poor coping skills coming out of me over and over. Very frustrating.

So today I get this email from a special friend, "Want to come over for chicken, corn, noodle soup today?" We talked as we dealt with children and I came home very refreshed. The children all took a nap and I went in my room, lit a candle, started some relaxing music and sewed...in the quiet.

I feel like a new person. It was just what the Doctor of all doctors ordered, and I was blessed.