Do you ever have days (or weeks) where it seems like nothing is going to go well, much less as planned?? My last couple of weeks has been like this. Setback on top of setback and then sick kids on top of bad weather. And then we go back to the setbacks. We just can’t win lately!
I will start on a good note though! A couple weeks ago, my husband and I were able to go to San Diego and visit a friend who lives there in the winter. It was amazing. We had such a relaxing time. It was just us. The kids stayed with Grandma while we were gone. I will probably make a post about the California trip soon. I need to get some of my pictures in order. But in the meantime, trust me, it was great!
Once we got home, things were calm for a few days. It was so nice. The kids weren’t trying to kill each other every three seconds and everyone was working as a team. I thought the vacation must have done everyone a lot of good! A few days later, I got the flu. Happy times. As many of you probably know, if Mom is sick, nothing gets done and everything falls apart. My poor husband tried his best to keep things running smoothly and in order, but the kids overwhelmed him. LOL.
As I was getting over being sick, the kids all started to get sick. One by one, everyone went down. Even the poor dog got sick! Let’s just say my house was a disaster! I think my husband summed it up the best when he came home from work one day. That day was our oldest daughter’s birthday, so he left work a little early and came home for dinner and birthday cake. As he walked in the door, his first comment was, “Oh, boy. It must have been a good day. It smells like dirty diapers, puke, and birthday cake.” You guys, I was so frustrated that day, but I couldn’t help but laugh! He was right! It was disgusting! I wanted so badly to open the windows and air out the house. The only problem with that is that it was -20 degrees outside. Not really the best time to be opening windows in Minnesota…
I think we finally got everyone healthy again. At least for now. I kind of just assume that someone will be sick in the near future. With five kids, I never really expect to have everyone healthy for real long!
The other kicker we have been dealing with is this horrible weather. It has been bitterly cold. We live in Minnesota, people. We kind of expect it to be below zero during the winter. It’s just part of living here. It’s pretty normal. You bundle up and deal with it. No big deal. But this week, it has been something else. Our school district rarely cancels school. I can’t remember the last time there was an actual cancellation. A late start here and there, yes. But actually cancelling school, it doesn’t happen often. We got a phone call on Monday afternoon stating that school was going to be canceled for Tuesday and Wednesday due to the dangerously cold temperatures. I was floored!! I was pretty excited that I wouldn’t have to get out in the cold for two whole days! I guess I didn’t completely realize how cold it was supposed to be though. I figured it would be bad since they cancelled school, but I’m starting to learn that I should probably watch the weather a little closer…
Yes, you are reading the temperatures on that map correctly. This was the forecasted temperatures for our area. On Wednesday morning we woke up to -36F with -62F wind chill. Today was even colder. We woke up to -42F with wind chill on top of that. Yes, school was also cancelled for today. It’s days like today that make me wonder why we still live in Minnesota! My husband asks me that question every time it starts to get to freezing temperatures!
So, as you can imagine, my house is, once again, a royal disaster. I’ve had five kids running around our 800 square foot house for three days. There are toys, dishes, and clothes EVERYWHERE. I don’t even know where they all came from! I’m pretty sure there are some toys and clothes I have never seen before. It’s horrible!
This morning was a little bit of a rocky start. The kids woke up and decided to get themselves breakfast. No big deal. That’s not completely unheard of, and I usually appreciate them doing that. It takes one task off my list in the morning. The only problem is that I had no clean dishes. Remember I said there were dishes everywhere? Well, the only place they weren’t located was clean in the cupboard. I was not about to do dishes right away in the morning. Nobody’s got time for that! Here you go, kids! Have some coffee mugs for your cereal! I even sunk low enough to give them plastic spoons. Yep. I sure did.
My house is a chaotic crazy mess, but I wouldn’t trade it. Ok, there are times when I say I just want to run away and be by myself for a while, but then I think about it. I wouldn’t know what to do without all my miniature humans. I love them to pieces even when they make me rip my hair out. They are my whole world. I am far from the perfect mom or wife. In all reality, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I love it. I can’t see my life any other way.
So, for all you parents out there who think you are failing at life because your house is a mess, your kids are puking everywhere, and you have no clean dishes, you’re doing great. Don’t let other people’s expectations weigh on you. Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t doing a good job or that you need to do better. Sometimes life isn’t what we plan. Sometimes we can’t get anything to go right. But, you know what? That’s ok. Sometimes life’s best memories come up when things go wrong on not as planned.
I’m very slowly learning that sometimes the unexpected things can be the biggest blessings. God isn’t trying to ruin us by not letting things work out. He’s helping us grow our resiliency. He’s helping us learn how to roll with the punches, you might say. God has us in His hand. He will take care of us and watch over us. I hope God finds me faithful in these little trials in life. If we are faithful in the little things, God will trust us with the bigger things. My prayer is that God does allow me to be faithful and to be able to be trusted with these little things sent our way. Only time will tell, I suppose! Here’s to trying again tomorrow! I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day and week. We are almost to Friday!!
P.S. That picture of the measuring cup at the top of the post?? That’s what I ate my cereal out of this morning. And guess what?? I still have not washed the dishes. I should probably get on that…
Imperfection At Its Finest 