today...

Wow.

So today has been one of those... Joseph woke up way early and fussed on and off from his crib for an hour before falling back asleep until about 7:30. I got to go for a six-mile run while Joe did breakfast duty. {This part was great. It was brisk this morning to say the least and the peace was nice.} Unfortunately breakfast, as so often happens lately, was miserable. Hannah was miserable (?). Joseph was miserable (teeth).

9:00 a.m.: Hannah got off to preschool, then Joe off to work, and it was just me and the little guy. He just wasn't happy, so I deemed a trip to Wal-Mart necessary. {Crazy as it sounds, going to the store can be as good of an experience as it can be bad, depending on the situation.} It went ok, but back in the car, he hit.the.wall. You know what I'm talking about. Inconsolable screaming, snot, tears, the whole nine yards. This time I found it necessary to pick up Hannah early so that I could get him home and in bed.

11:45: Hannah was happy for point two seconds and then proceeded to have a meltdown like you can only imagine...right there on the parking lot side of the playground fence. All watching. Let me paint you a picture: First she did the limp noodle as I tried to pick her up. She's not so light anymore when this happens. I carry the folder, backpack, and her by the armpits screaming to the car, all the while Joseph is at a fever pitch crying in his carseat with the windows down for all to hear. {The windows down is usually a smart move.} Hannah will not cooperate as I try to buckle her in. You know, she starts bucking like a horse and screaming at the same time, unbuckling the top buckle whenever I try to do the bottom. {Again, everyone is watching.} I - in a harsh grunt/whisper (the really mean voice) - tell her she will be still and let me buckle her in or she will get spanked. She cooperates for a millisecond, to thwart the spanking I guess. Finally I can shut the door. I walk around the car to get in and the teachers say something to me about going around the back of the church, honking the horn outside of Joe's office and yelling "You're turn!" It's tempting... Hannah and Joseph are still screaming, and the windows are still down as I drive away. I do call Joe so I can share a little bit of this bizarre drama. Am I the only one that does this?! It's so horrible I almost laugh.

Noon: I get back home, give Joseph a dose of ibuprofen and put him to bed without lunch. Trust me, he wasn't going to eat anyway. He was asleep in less than a minute. I make lunch for Hannah, then find her in the playroom having just had an accident, her and the floor a mess. So it's to the bathtub, the peanut-jelly sitting on the counter, the floor and clothes (and shoes) needing to be cleaned out. Are you there, God? It's me, Lindsey!!!

12:30 p.m.: Hannah finally eats lunch, a completely different child, as I unpack the load from Wal-Mart. By 1:15 she's asleep too.

2:00: I do a few things around the house then sit down to eat my sandwich and have my daily devotion time. Lo and behold, the Upper Room reading was Romans 12:9-13. "rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer" (v. 12). The prayer focus was young mothers and the devotional written by a woman with two young kids, under two years apart, and the challenges in everyday life. Um, hello God! I hear ya!! 

As I said...wow. I find it amazing how God speaks to me at just the right time. And He's always there, if I just look for Him. That's the ticket: I have to open my eyes. These quiet moments in my day are, without a doubt, necessary for me to go on functioning.

2:30: Both kids are still sleeping. Quick shower and maybe finish the ironing (if I could be so lucky) before they wake...

Post coming soon on yesterday (Joseph's first haircut!).