Oh Your Gosh.

This past week has been less than spectacular.

Both kids have been sick so I've spent the majority of my time wiping noses, running baths, administering Tylenol and snuggling muchkins on the couch.  We've watched Frozen and Cars, read countless books, and played sleepover in the big bed.

It's The Cold That Would Never End.

Ellie is finally starting to feel better but Topher is feverish again, and Nathan took yesterday off work because now he is sick.  I've managed to escape illness apart from a sore throat, but moms don't get sick days anyway, so I won't complain.

Weeks like this, it's easy to get tired.  It's easy to feel frustrated and grumpy and overwhelmed by my needy little dictators.   It's easy to dismiss the entire week as a write-off:  Everyone was sick, I didn't get anything done, my house is a mess, I'm up against the deadline for an important writing project that I have no idea when I'll be able to finish -

But instead of being stressed (which is SO the norm for me!) I'm trying something different.  I'm looking back at the past week and picking out some of my favourite moments to remember.

  • Ellie hates to be alone when she's not feeling well.  She wants all snuggles, all the time - to the extent that she will wrap her arm around mine and hold on so tightly that there is absolutely no way I can put her down.  When the going gets tough - hold on tighter.  
  • Topher started skating lessons last Saturday.  He was so proud of himself after his first lesson - not because he did anything particularly amazing, but because he went with his class all by himself.  (We've been having issues with drop off at Sunday School and preschool ...)  We bought him a cookie at Cookies By George as a reward for being brave, and now he expects a treat of some sort whenever he does something good.  He had two good days at preschool this week - and requested ice cream sundaes at the end of both.  It's a good thing he's so active!  "I was SO good, Mommy!" he told me when I picked him up on Thursday.  "My teacher didn't say I was good, but I was!"
  • We celebrated Ellie's half birthday with a half cake.  She was sick so barely ate any, but she seemed to enjoy what she did have.
  • Topher has started saying "OHMYGOSH!"  Ellie had a runny nose and Topher was watching as Nathan wiped all the yucky off.  "Oh my gosh!"  he exclaimed.  Then Nathan pulled Ellie's soother out.  "Oh YOUR gosh too!"
  • And one more laugh:  Topher was watching Cars and less than halfway through asked me to put Frozen in instead.  "Mommy, do you know why I like Frozen so much?"  "No, why?"  "Because there's more girls than cars."
  • We let Chloe sleep on our bed for a few nights earlier this week.  One night she had an accident on our bed, scared herself, ran into the wall, and fell off the bed.  It was 2:30 in the morning, Nathan and I were exhausted - but we had a good laugh as we changed the sheets.  I've never seen a dog look so embarrassed!  Needless to say, now she sleeps in her kennel.
  • And Ellie came up with a new use for all of the empty Kleenex boxes lying around the house:
ellieshoes.jpg

The past week wasn't a write-off:  I spent time with my family.  Our house isn't messy, it's lived in.   And writing will happen when writing happens, as it always does.   You can't rush brilliance anyway, right?  That's what I'm going to keep telling myself ...