If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say

I've been feeling pretty negative lately, so I haven't written anything. Although I do love a good venting session, I'd hate for this to turn into one long catalog of things that piss me off. So here are a few things that have made me happy the last two weeks:

N's Garden
This has turned out to be not only a great way to teach her about responsibility, it's also a great bribe to get her to take a nap. "If you don't take a nap, you can't water your babies!" Her cucumber seeds sprouted pretty early on and they're a few inches tall already. The peppers and squash have yet to poke their heads out of the dirt. I hope that at least a few of each sprout. It's been about two weeks, but I'm not giving up on them yet. She was SO excited when she first saw her babies "growing up."

The very first sprouts!

They're getting so big!

Warm Weather on the Horizon

I'm so stoked for the weather to get nice and STAY that way! We went to the park last weekend while it was sunny and warm. N loved running around and D had a blast playing in the mulch and going down the slides. I want to get motivated to spring clean and pack away all the winter clothes. Coats, hats, mittens and boots take up a ton of room when there's four people in the house! Of course, it's supposed to snow tomorrow, so I'll have to wait on that one.

Sleep

Sleeping in makes me so happy it's a little ridiculous. I don't get to do it too often, so when it happens it makes my day.

Naps

Related to previous post, but actually referring to my girls. I am insanely grateful that my girls nap. It's the middle of the afternoon right now and BOTH of my girls are sleeping, and will most likely stay that way until 4pm. I absolutely love that, and the fact that they nap keeps me sane. I realize that I'm very lucky that my girls nap so well. I attribute it to genetics (see previous item on list!) and the fact that we were sleep nazis when they were babies. The whole napping thing definitely limits my options when I want to get out of the house, but the flip side of the coin is certainly a peaceful one. I'm willing to take the trade-off because they won't be little forever. One day, the naps will come to an end.

I wish that these things stayed foremost in my head all the time, but the fact is that I often get overwhelmed with everything else. The "everything else" being temper tantrums, dishes, laundry, temper tantrums, waking up too early, sick pets, temper tantrums, D's poo issues, temper tantrums and ummm... oh yeah, temper tantrums. N is getting a little out of hand. I sincerely try to stay calm and rational but her hissy fits drive me to the brink. I can see her just about exploding with frustration before she lets one loose and I try to talk to her, but it never works. It could be over something silly, like she can't fit a square peg into a round hole, or something far more serious (in her eyes) like D taking a toy or not getting to watch TV. I do see her handling them a little better now than she did a year ago. For instance, I've seen her think about hitting D and then choosing not to. Instead, she hits herself or seeks out a bin of toys to dump out and throw around. Thanks. I can only hope that she learns some self control soon, because she is about driving me nuts!!

Often, I often feel like the complaints outnumber the nice things to say, and I hate feeling that way. Hopefully the beautiful spring weather that is just around the corner will help thaw my patience out.