Napping

I rarely get to nap.  The kids don't cooperate, I have too much to do, or my body just doesn't allow me.  Yesterday was the exception.  Devon left to go do some shopping.  I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and Isaac was already napping.  Devon had the brilliant idea to see if Avery would take a nap with me.

We went upstairs and she got ready and climbed into "Mama and Daddy's" bed.  She had two books with her.  She pulled up the covers while she waited for me.  I climbed into bed.  She mentioned the books.  I asked if she wanted to go to sleep.  It was about three minutes before we were both out.

I woke up almost two hours later.  Isaac was still sleeping.  Avery's foot was planted directly on my chest.  She was twisted around with the covers half off.  I pulled them up and let her sleep a little while longer.

The foot was fine where it was.

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Tea Party for Three

It was a combination tea and pizza party.  Avery was the host.  Isaac was helping.  I was invited.

Some nights, bedtime is fun.  Others, it's a chore.  This particular night felt a little more like a chore.  It was probably just my mood.  I was rushing through the process.  Pajamas, brush your teeth, let's go get a book.  Blah blah blah.  Then, Avery offered me pizza.

There are few things in the world I enjoy more than pizza.  Now, this was the plastic variety, but I've probably had worse.  It would be easy to just turn her down and say put the toys away.  But I decided it was worth a moment to sit down and eat pizza with the kids.

I got my pizza in a frying pan.  Avery and Isaac both ate theirs out of colanders.  I guess that means mine was probably greasier.  We drank out of tea cups, although I think it was actually coffee.  Avery did a few refills and talked about the pizza.  Isaac, seemingly oblivious got up and walked around, the way Isaac does.  I thought he had lost interest, before I realized he was returning with a bottle for each of us.  It was his contribution to the meal.  I think mine was a Coke.

I love pizza.  I love Coke.  And I'm a big fan of coffee.  Maybe they just knew it had been a long day, and I needed all three.

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Spicing Things Up

Last night my wife mentioned she likes cooking with me.  I didn't respond to her right away, mostly because I started thinking about how we used to do that more.  That, and I was really focused on my peppers at the time.

I love to cook with my wife too.  It's something we've done since the first time she came to my apartment.  One of the first meals was stir fry.  It was quite good.

We don't do it as much as we used to; the kids seem to get in the way of that one.  I hope we do it more.  It's probably the most peaceful and relaxing way I can think to spend my time.  And we're quite good at it too.

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The Little Things

Some of the little thing are hard to turn into long stories.  It doesn't make them any less important.

Watching CSI the other day Avery said, "He's dead.  Somebody killed him."  She's three.

This morning I walked into the kids' bedroom to Avery building our house with blocks, and Isaac yelling for Daddy to pick him up.  It was a perfect moment.

Devon suggested we make Jerk Turkey for Thanksgiving.  It reminded me, yet again, why I love her so much.  No, it's not just that we're both foodies.  She followed it up with a joke about jerking my meat.  But it's not just the sense of humor either.  She just fits perfectly with me.  That's the best way I can put it.

Isaac barely made a mess last night for dinner.  That's incredible.  He's growing up.  But not really.

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On the Floor

Every once in a while, I lay down on the living room floor.  It's not terribly comfortable, and sometimes I have to make room amongst the toys to find a spot.  Of course, there's one main reason I do this.  Climbing on Daddy is fun.

Yesterday, I laid down on the floor.  Isaac was busy playing with Mama, but Avery immediately came over and sat down on my back.  It didn't last long.  She explained that she was going to go get us pillows.  She came back with one pillow and a blanket.  I was told to raise my head so she could put the pillow down, then she immediately covered me up with the blanket.  She did the same for herself.  About this time, Isaac made his way over.  Ave immediately jumped up to make sure he got the same service.

Then, we all slept.

Okay, sleeping in our house isn't really sleeping (not in this context anyway).  It involves each of us making the sound "honk shoe" as though we're snoring.  This is what we did, for the next three minutes.  There are few things cuter than Isaac's newly discovered version of this phrase.  It's probably closer to an actual snore than any of the rest of us.

So, we slept.  It was the best sleep I had all week.

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Mean Daddy

I usually put the kids to bed.  It's not always a job I want and sometimes it's incredibly frustrating.  Last night was not one of those nights.  Both kids cooperated with brushing their teeth and we only had a minor mishap when Ave managed to spit her toothpaste a little short of the sink.  We cleaned it up and proceeded to our normal routine.

After the book and the tuck-in, the kids really didn't make a peep.  About two hours later, I went back upstairs feeling tired, sick, cold, and otherwise rather miserable.  I heard a bang coming from the kids' bedroom.  Then came another, followed by the unmistakable giggle of a certain little boy.  I opened the door to find Avery with about 8 books sitting in front of Isaac's crib.  He was standing and watching her as she was moving them from one stack to another.  She had also managed to manipulate the vaporizer and it was now going at full-steam.  

Of course, I had to be mean Daddy.  I told Avery that she couldn't touch the vaporizer.  I asked if she woke up Isaac and she admitted to it.  I told her she couldn't do that either.  I had to take the books away, in spite of her pleading and explained that it's now too late to read and she needed to get to sleep (this was almost midnight).

Isaac's smile only got bigger when I walked into the room.  It was really party time now.  But in perfect Isaac fashion, he went from the big smile to the fading eyes as soon as I laid him back down.

Another round of night-time music.  I exit to Avery's cries and go back in to give her one more hug.  It's all she really needed.  I couldn't really be upset.  They were both adorable.  But I played the part well.  And both kids went to sleep.

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Why Start This Blog?

I always talk about how busy my day is.  I'm a full-time father, husband, and employee.  I have my own small business and attend school part-time.  It's easy to get overwhelmed when the to-do list gets too long or the stress gets too high.  But life has a way of reminding me of what's really important.

Sometimes the moments hit in the middle of the night, when I wake up and have no one to talk to except in my own mind.  Sometimes the moments are subtle, and other times they slap me in the face.  Whatever causes them, they are the reason I do what I do, every day.  

This blog is all about those moments.  All about the moments when all the stress is worth it, and all I can think about is how much I never want to be anywhere but where I am, right now.  Why am I writing this blog?  I look at this picture, and it's all I need to have the answer to that question.

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