Wrapped in comfort

Bath time is just about my favorite time of day. Sometimes I'm so exhausted I can hardly get everyone bathed without falling asleep, but I know in a few minutes we'll read books, say prayers, and they'll be safely tucked in bed. I take huge solace in those very facts at the end of a long day.

Thursdays are known as "crazy day," around here. Here's our Thursday schedule and maybe some of you will know why you can't reach me:

8:00 am- Alex is on the bus

8:35 am-Meredith and I leave for her Mom's Day Out Program, on the other side of Carmel

9:30-11:15 am-I'm in Alex's classroom volunteering, and secretly spying on his classmates, determining which one could potentially corrupt him.

11:45 am-I drop off Alex at Kindergarten Connection (his enrichment program)

12:00-2:00pm-My two hours a week alone...I try to meet a friend for lunch and run any errands I'm afraid to run with two kids in tow.

2:20 pm-I pick up Meredith

2:30-Alex is picked up by Grandpa, and we meet them at their house, which usually results in a 30 minute visit and 45 minutes of me trying to load them into the van

4:15-We're finally home and everyone's crabby, hungry, and tired.

So, the bath tub is a welcome sight. It signals we've survived another Thursday. It reminds me to slow down and listen to them sing sweet songs and tell funny stories. It seems to calm everyone down, and they are fully contained.

There is no better reward than having a clean kiddo sit on your lap and excitedly talk about the book we're reading or what our plans are for the next day. I love to smell their clean hair and I still marvel at how impossibly soft their skin is, even without lotion.

I get to hang out with this kind of cuteness AND she smells like watermelon shampoo!

Tonight was really fun because Alex and Merdi both have new robes. Santa brought Meredith a princess robe and Alex has registered his annoyance since. Believe it or not, it's hard to find a robe for a little guy. So, today I came across one at the Old Navy clearance sale. We're not telling him it's actually a girls' robe, and he didn't seem to notice the pockets are in the shape of hearts. It's blue, and to him "blue means it's for boys." He was thrilled with it, and for $5 I made his day. Alex was so thrilled, he even agreed to let me take a few shots of him, which almost never happens! So, indulge me for a minute...

This cracks me up because even when he's goofing around, he still takes it seriously. You can see the look of determination on his face to make the perfect fish face.