January 7

You guys. 

I am exhausted.

I am also angry. A lot. 

I think it has much to do with my body's fluctuating progesterone levels, but it is similar enough to how my postpartum depression started off that I am concerned. I'm hoping it will resolve itself in a few days, but in the meantime, things are kind of touchy around here. My fuse is short, and the kids are suffering. Mornings when we have to be somewhere are especially challenging. Like preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the new PE class on Wednesdays. But I am giving myself grace, acknowledging that it can only get better, and apologizing to the kids a lot. I'm hopeful this will pass.

Today was a MOPS and preschool day, so the morning was hectic. Eli was up at 5:30, and so he was ready for his morning nap by 7:30. That actually worked out well - he was rested and ready to go when it was time to leave at 8:45. The kids enjoyed MOPS, I enjoyed time to sit and chat with my friends, and Lily used the big potty and kept her pants dry away from home. So hooray! (Except for the part where she had an accident in her car seat while we were on the highway, driving home from MOPS. That was fun.Thank God I splurged on a waterproof car seat pad when Daisy was potty training!)

We got home from MOPS and Eli promptly went down for a 3+ hour nap. Once the girls were down, Caleb and I did some school. I took a fabulous picture of Caleb, but he asked me not to share it. He was pretty out of whack today, too: whiny, easily discouraged, generally unpleasant. I am ready for the weekend.

When Eli finally woke up from the nap, he just wanted to be held. Luckily, I was able to distract him with the drawer of kids' cups and dishes while I finished dinner.

See? Not happy.

Then I showed him the drawer.

"Hmmm....what is this? What can I grab? What treasures are these?"

(WHOA! LOOK AT MY BABY STANDING!!!)

 

Got it!

And then he was distracted.

Unrelated: Chris took Caleb to a free Lego mini-build last night at the Lego store, and Caleb came home with this polar bear. 

Today he tried to give me the polar bear, and I tried to tell him no. I mean, what do I need with one more thing cluttering everything? Especially a Lego thing, which we all know I love in theory and hate in reality.

But then I realized that he was trying to give me a gift, so I accepted the polar bear and gave it a story. His name is Po' the Polar Bear (or maybe Poe. Does spelling matter?) and he sits in my kitchen window and says encouraging things to me as I cook. Po' always likes my cooking, always thinks I'm beautiful, and laughs at all of my jokes. He also appreciates my dance moves and singing when I break it down to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" in the middle of the kitchen.

Po' also likes to say encouraging things to the children when they are clearly feeling frustrated. I think he will be a good addition to my kitchen clutter.