Friday, March 12, 2010

spring...and other bits....

remember how i told you about my dead camera battery...and my complete lack of pictures from the weekend...well, these sweet and beautiful friends have blogged here and here (there are actually several posts there...and will surely be even more...with even more photos...see, i told you her photography was unbelievable!)...with pictures and beautiful, perfect words...you should check them out...

as for me...i'm getting back into the swing of things.

tuesday and wednesday were painful...seriously painful. as in i really truly forgot what it looks like to be mommy to three girls...to keep up with the house (and i mean that in the barest sense...i'm not striving for heroic measures of cleanliness or organization here!)...to put food on the table...to have patience...to discipline and train...to remember to change the laundry loads...to come up with creative projects and resist the lure of the movies and shows...to reserve some energy for when daddy comes home...to cultivate peace in the home...

it is coming back to me slowly but surely. i actually did conquer the heaps of laundry (although i must admit, they aren't put away yet...i wouldn't want to be an overacheiver after all!). i even managed to clean a toilet last night. my downstairs is cleaned to the point that i can put my feet up for a few moments during nap/rest time (and victory of all victories i'm actually awake during naptime...i've fallen dead asleep every other day this week).

wednesday i managed to see past the "to do" list and savor some time outside...soaking in the first vestiges of spring...teaching kate to pedal her big girl bike (which she quickly traded in for her good ol' red tricycle)...savoring elizabeth's delight in taking off down the sidewalk for the first time of the season...drawing hopscotch squares (and then drawing separate squares for kate who (much to elizabeth's irritation) just wanted to fill them with colorful chalk rather than jumping in them...realizing that the housework will wait. i don't do nearly as good a job at that as i would like. i watched the girls zoom down the slide and catapult themselves into the air while swinging on their tummies. it was delightful to have a tiny taste of what is coming...freedom...open windows...new life. i love that about this time of year. and now it smells like worms...which is truly a beautiful smell in march in indiana...the smell of worms means spring rains...which means green grass and sprouting flowers. bring it on! even better...i feel spring in my heart...and that is a beautiful thing.

this bike riding stuff takes a lot of concentration!

what's that? oh, you were wondering what kate is wearing...yep...she did dress herself that morning...and yes, those are orange legwarmers with pink dots...and a camo skirt...precious, isn't it! and oh.so.kate....really...

the view from behind....

the sun came out in the afternoon...and jilly woke up and joined us outside

hopscotch

this sweet girl covered...and i mean covered...herself in chalk dust

but my favorite part of the day...my favorite-ist part of all...being outside, playing in the driveway when daddy's car rounded the corner...one of my favorite parts of spring and summer...being able to greet him in the driveway!

4 comments:

Rebecca said...

i love these kinds of days!
keeping up with everything cna be so hard. i'm glad you're getting more caught up and also enjoying time with your girlies!

Nikki said...

Such a sweet post!! Aren't the first hints of spring the most tantalizing and beautiful moments? I know exactly what you mean about not taking time to savor them...I don't even have kids, and it's hard for me to pull myself away from my "to do" list. I must admit, though, it's rather shocking to hear you say that you enjoy the smell of worms. WORMS! I didn't even know they smelled! I am definitely going to be sniffing the next time I see one...as long as no one else is around to see me....

Amanda said...

nikki...i have to clarify...i only like the smell of worms because they mean the beginning of spring. but oh how i would like to be there to watch you smell some. but in indiana there is definitely a "wormy" smell when it really rains outside...maybe its just indiana though...i haven't lived anywhere else to know! :)

Chelle said...

I heart this post Amanda, very much. And I especially loved the ending. And then I'd have to say that I had a good chuckle over Nikki's comments and yours back to her. I know where you can go to smell worms Nikki, my Mom's garden after a rainy day, is the perfect place and you'll just have to trust us, they do, as crazy as it sounds, smell amazing.