A Perfect Day

Yesterday was just about the perfect day.

Matthew and I were up at 6:00 am. While he showered, I went downstairs to peel carrots and fill bags of chips in preparation for his lunches this week.

Hyrum came down just before Matthew left at 6:30 and was able to have morning prayer with us. Then he and I read in the Book of Mormon about Nephi and his brothers trying to get the brass plates from Laban. Hyrum was so intrigued by the story that he asked to read another chapter so he could find out what happened. He asked questions and we discussed what different words and phrases meant.

Hyrum then did his piano practice while I got breakfast ready for the kids. He was able to get in a full half hour before the younger two came down and broke the quiet morning stillness.

The kids enjoyed eating together, then Hyrum and Abraham had time to play an Air-bender game they made up for a few minutes before Hyrum left for school. 

I then blogged for quite a while. Abraham and Mercy went back and forth between coloring and playing a chasing game with Mercy's "friends", aka her myriad of stuffed animals.

I was able to get several loads of laundry going and played around with the kids for a while before taking Abraham to school. 

Mercy and I ate some lunch then she played quietly with her friends on the floor near my feet while I practiced piano for an hour and a half. She and I switched out some laundry and picked up a little before leaving to collect her brother. There was a bit of a melt down because I told her she could only bring along one stuffed friend and she really wanted to bring three. I stood my ground through the tantrum without yelling or giving in, something I am really trying to work on, and eventually she settled on Mama Mini.

The half hour or so that it takes to pick up Abraham is probably the most stressful 30 minutes of my day. I hate dealing with the traffic, and am often impatient with Mercy's slow pace. I'm trying really hard though to leave with a little extra time to allow her to explore and enjoy our walk from the car to the classroom, and I find that if I dawdle just a bit and am one of the last ones to sign Abraham out, the majority of the kids and cars have cleared and I'm not as stressed by the chaos. 

Abraham behaved well in the morning and did all that I asked him to, so I allowed him an hour of video gaming while I folded laundry. When his hour was up, however, he started throwing a fit. Again, I am working hard to stand up to the temper tantrums and whining. I'm sure I've trained them to some degree to pester me with perpetual high pitched, high volume cries. They almost always wear me down and eventually get what they want, but no more. Resilient children should not sound like animals the moment things aren't going their way. So I stood my ground with Abraham and he gave up the fight with a scowl and some stomping. He tried playing in the back yard for a bit, but it was too cold, so he and Mercy ended up on the trampoline, their favorite go-to past time.

Hyrum got home at 4:00. He had a rough day and sat in my lap and told me all about the mean thing his friend said and his difficult math quiz. In the past he's been very quiet about what happens at school, but as I've made a conscience effort to spend his first half hour home focused entirely on him, he's started opening up to me more and telling me things. We worked on his homework with a remarkable amount of focus and since he'd already practiced piano, Hyrum was free to play his video game while I made dinner.

We had spinach salad with chicken, apple slices, and cream scones, which everyone devoured. 

For Family Night we said a prayer, sang a song, had a short lesson, ate ice cream, and watched Matthew practice piano. Hyrum wanted to play some more when he found out I had practiced during the day and was now a lesson ahead of him, so he got back on the piano. Matthew rested in a chair, and I snuggled with Abraham and Mercy on the couch, tickling their toes and making them giggle. It was how I picture love at home.

After the kids were in bed and the dishes were done, I rode my bike and Matthew worked on building soccer nets for Cub Scouts. I showered, did some primary work, chatted with Matthew for a bit, then went to bed exhausted at 10:00 pm. It takes so much more energy to be a kind, patient, engaged parent in addition to keeping on top of everyday tasks and trying to meet personal improvement goals. It's certainly worth the effort though. I'm grateful for the Spirit I felt today as I spent moment after moment trying to be more Christlike.