Ya ever have one of those days?

No, I’m not talking about those days… I’m talking about a really good day.

Today was one of those days. Actually, we’ve had a few lately. I can honestly say yesterday was a great day. And Saturday was also an amazingly pleasant day.

So I guess the question should be, have you ever had one of those really, really good weekends?

The other question should definitely be WHY AM I JINXING IT? But that’s another blog post.

Today? We WIN at today.

We slept in until after 7. This almost never happens.
I cleaned for a couple of hours while the kids played happily. And together. Yep, I said hours.
I started a crock pot full of beef stew. AND it turned out to be a dreary day, so the stew was a great choice.
We ran errands. You may not realize how big this is. This single mom has been struggling lately just getting groceries. My, ahem, energetic children have been making it difficult. But today? Today we got groceries AND made it through Target and Walgreens. Whoa.
We ate lunch together at the table, chatting and enjoying turkey sandwiches and carrot sticks.
I folded and put away FOUR loads of laundry while the kids pretended to help by cleaning the living room.
Then, I cleaned the living room.
We went to the park.
And at the park? At the park the kids started playing hide-and-seek. Together. And I teared up because my children are not old enough to be the “big kids” playing hide-and-seek while others are being pushed by their mommies in the bucket baby swings.

But they are.
So then I played too.

After the park, we enjoyed The Smurfs Dance Party for the Wii that we rented yesterday. This game was another WIN.

And now the kids are in bed and I’m sipping on a beer. Thrilled with where we are and how we’ve grown, but reminding myself that blinking is simply not an option these days.

“Mommy, they’re all going to laugh at me!”

Sadder words have never been spoken.

Lilly is at the age where she cares. She cares what people think, especially her friends. And sometimes it stresses her out.

I’ll be honest, at first I dismissed this.

This comment came on a hectic morning last week, complete with Lilly asking me to straighten her gorgeous curls. So I did.

On the way to school, “Mommy, they’re all going to laugh at me!” Yep, about her hair. About her friends (specifically the BOYS), laughing at her straight hair.

Her beautiful, perfect-in-ever-way-because-she-is-MY-daughter-so-back-off-cuz-mama-bear-will-attack hair.

She hid behind me on the way in.

I thought, “how silly.” After all, she asked me to straighten it.

I’m glad I didn’t say that out loud.

She cares.

She cares what her friends think.

This? This blows my mind. Apparently she’s not a baby anymore. Not a toddler even. She is a moody teenager young girl who is beginning a lifelong journey. A journey of trying to find a happy medium between caring too much and caring not enough.

For the record, no one laughed at her.

Also, one of her best friends, who also has beautiful curls, showed up with straightened hair this morning.

Four seems so young to be caring about things like hair and peers. But they do.

As a mom, it’s my job to help her find that balance. That happy medium. Caring about these things is ok. Caring too much is not.

HOW does one explain THAT to a four year old?

Zac cares too. But, luckily, mostly he cares what I think, or what Lilly thinks. Specifically what we think about Diego, episode 25. You know, the one with the “choo choo train.” The one that we watch relentlessly as often as I’ll let him.

Why can’t they stay babies forever?