Joy Post!

108)  A clean playroom!

I'd have to say that Erik is overall a really helpful kid.  He sets the table before meals, cleans up his room when asked, runs downstairs or upstairs to get things when I ask him to, and cleans up the playroom.  Lainey helps with the playroom too!  Tonight I was upstairs vacuuming and put Erik and Lainey in charge of cleaning up the playroom.  (Carson was with me or he destroys the room faster than they can possibly clean.  Thankfully, if we shut the light off when they are done he is afraid to go back in the room so it stays clean until morning.  Ha!)

Here's what I found when I came back downstairs....

Pretty impressive for a 3 and 5 year old! 

I can't wait until they are big enough to clean up the kitchen after dinner! :)

109)  Ending the day with peace, quiet, and peppermint ice cream.  Ahhh! 

Lest you think my life is perfect....

The only downside to the joy project is that I'm afraid you will think my life is always perfect and problem free.  I don't want to come across as this woman who has it put together 100% of the time.  I do not and my life is far from perfect (although certainly blessed).  

The last few minutes of the day were a good example of that.  I had sent Erik and Lainey upstairs to brush their teeth.  I followed them upstairs about 2 minutes later.  Were they brushing their teeth?  No!  Erik had found the ipad and was playing it under a pile of blankets.  This wasn't the first time he did this today (I found him at nap time doing the same thing.)  I had talked to him calmly earlier in the day about it, reminding him that he always needs to ask before using the ipad.  Given the fact that he'd been reminded of that rule and ignored it for a 2nd time in the same day made me quite mad.  I may have loudly and sternly suggested he get himself to bed NOW and that he'd lost book privileges for the night.  He scampered off to his room quickly.  After putting Carson to bed, I was much less irritated about it and went to have another quick discussion with him about it and tell him goodnight, only to find him fast asleep on the floor.  So cute!  

Another frequent annoyance recently is Lainey demanding things.  She seems to have forgotten the need to say Please, Thank you, and May I.  Instead I get, " I need water!"  "I need the music louder!" all day long.  Nothing like having a 3 year old dictator around you all day.  I have stopped correcting her and just don't respond to the dictator type requests.  She usually figures it out quickly and corrects herself.  She's really a sweet little thing just happens to be a little demanding at the moment.  

And if you recall I mentioned Carson's massive fit yesterday.  He had another, milder version, of that while getting dressed this morning.  It didn't last long but made getting dressed interesting.  

So you see, I love my life and feel infinitely blessed but things aren't, and won't ever be perfect.  Being able to see joy constantly throughout your day despite frequent irritations makes life seem life such a wonderful gift (it is!).