Unforseen Complication with Shepherd's Name

A conversation in the park

Me: Shepherd, look at that big dog.
Shepherd: What's its name?
Me: I don't know, but it is a German Shepherd.
Shepherd: No, I'm a German Shepherd.
Me: No, you're a Croatian Shepherd.
Shepherd: Oh, yay, Mom. That's right.

Spring

I love the first days of spring, the days when it seems perfectly reasonable to wear short in upper-50s weather. Today is on of those first days. BJ had to go out of town for a meeting, so the kids and I are spent a very typical spring morning at home. 

First, we waited out the early morning chill by racing cars down the hallway.

 

 Then, we headed outside in our shorts with light jackets.

 

At one point, Shepherd insisted I take a picture of the boo-boo on his knew.

Somewhere along the way, Shep got ahold of the camera.  Oh well.

 

Happy Spring, everyone!

Siblings

Shep and Lydi are starting to fight. They bicker. They pick on each other. Shep finds new and creative ways every day to irritate poor Lydi to her breaking point.

I do a fair amount of refereeing these days, but for the most part, I let them fight. I love seeing that their relationship is growing and deepening. Maybe I'm crazy, but I see the fighting as evidence of this. My brother and I fought all the time growing up. It was in that relationship that I learned how to get over being angry and move on.

Fortunately, they don't just fight. After Lydia's nap, Shepherd always wants to be the one to open her door and greet her. She bounces up and down in her bed excitedly every time. And when they reunite after one has been away running an errand or shopping with mom or dad, they hug. Before they go to bed, Shepherd has to kiss Lydia's cheek, and Lydia has to say "nigh-night" to Shep. There is plenty of evidence that there is no love lost between these two little warriors.

Post-Vacation Chaos

I love the anticipation part of trips. I like packing and planning and making list after list after list. I find the actual vacation part slightly less enjoyable (although I do LOVE being around family and friends). For a stay-at-home mom, leaving home is really just doing your job under less ideal conditions. We stay-at-home moms build sacred routines that keep our toddlers from being crazy. Trips tend to shatter those routines, thus making our jobs much more difficult.


However, nothing compares to the chaos of returning from a trip. I loath unpacking. I hate the disarray into which it plunges my house. I feel frazzled by my overly-exhausted, hyper-emotional offspring (and it takes a good two weeks for them to get anywhere close to back to normal).


Thankfully, all bags are officially unpacked and put away. The kids are almost back to normal. And my house is clean in parts, so I'll take it.  Maybe now, blog posts will start coming up with a little more regularity. But until then, here is a picture of Lydia demonstrating the way I've been feeling the past few weeks: like my world is flipped upside down.