We have kids. Two of them actually.

They cry, scream or fight 98% of the time.

It’s usually Caitlyn with the crying. It could be any number of things. You took her shoe off perhaps, or she can’t buckle something herself. Maybe she just needs to play with the knife in your hand or take the cap off your too-full bottle of water. It always starts the same- her face gets red, her eyes well up, and she shrieks until she finally dissolves in to hysterical sobs. Ed and I sometimes catch each others eye, and I know the same thought goes through our minds. The words I spoke not long after she was born. “What the hell were we thinking?” Then, as quick as it started, it stops and she moves on to something else. She inevitably gives me her 3-tooth jack-o-lantern smile, and I fall in love with her all over again.

The screaming is all Eddie. It’s his sole form of expressing displeasure. Sometimes it’s a low grunt, like maybe you offended him by asking how his day was (not good apparently) or asked him to please take his peanut buttered bread off of the couch. Other times it’s a long drawn out scream, and for good reason. “No TV tonight Eddie.” , “You have to take a bath tonight Eddie.” He always succeeds in winning me over later though, no matter how bad our day was. He always gives me 5 kisses and hugs for bedtime and tells me “I love you very very very very very MUCH!” (Much, appropriately, is a high pitched shriek)

There are things about each of them that I love so much. The wonderfully perfect shape of Caitlyn’s mouth and the way that when she smiles she does it with her whole face. The curve of Eddie’s nose, and how sweet and caring he is toward his little sister. I’ve heard parents say my whole life how their kids being cute saves them sometimes. What saves them from punishment, or the wrath of Mom though is pure unadulterated love. For all of the stress, and screaming and fighting, what it comes down to is that I love these kids so much. And I want them to be happy.

In my mind, today is still the weekend. It’s still the weekend even though I’m at work (on a bank holiday) and am getting slammed. In my mind, I haven’t gorged myself on doughnuts or drunk almost half of a “Box O’Joe”. I’m home and toasty with my kids, admiring the near foot of snow in our yard. Maybe even playing in the snow again today like we did for an entire 30 minutes yesterday.

I am actually at work though. Our call volumes have been horrendous, so we’ve been open for the past 2 holidays. There’s actually a lull in activity right now, and I need a minute away from it all. It’s been crazy.

We had a wonderful weekend, Saturday being a lazy day where nothing got done. The kids both have colds, again, and weren’t feeling so well. Ed worked and the three of us laid around. The kids (and I actually) stayed in their jammies all day. Ed came home just in time for their nap, and he and I napped as well. The kids slept almost 3 hours and Ed got up at some point, but I passed out cold, and slept until Caitlyn woke up. Eddie slept so soundly that he peed in his pants (“I’m soaked and wet Mommy” …not soaking wet.  ) I was actually out of it the rest of the night, being thrown off from sleeping. Ed went back to work and I didn’t make it up much longer than the kids.

Yesterday, we played in the snow. We were out for all of half an hour, but it seemed like an eternity. The kids had a really good time, and once again, Eddie took a really long nap. Caitlyn, not so much, but I didn’t sleep so it was ok. I actually finally took care of my salt and pepper roots, that I don’t think a 28-year-old should have. But anyway… I clipped coupons and cleaned up around the house a bit. We ordered chicken for dinner and watched NASCAR. Ed left for work again around 6:30. I bathed the kids, and got them in bed. Caitlyn threw a huge temper tantrum. That girl, I’m telling you. She begs me to sit on the potty, but then won’t sit on it. Then she screams when I put her diaper on. She’s started slapping my arm when she doesn’t like something. She’s trying my patience. I didn’t get Eddie in bed until 9:00 and I watched Desperate Housewives. After feeding the cats and shutting down the house, I went in to check on them both. Caitlyn was sound asleep, but Eddie rolled over to look at me. I asked him if he was ok. “Yes”, he said, “But my feelings hurt.” Of course, I brought him in to bed with me. He just melts my heart sometimes.

So, overall, it was a very ordinary weekend. Here are some of our snowy…and not so snowy pictures.

My Darling Boy

Eddie fell last night. He wasn’t even screwing around which I think makes it worse. I had gone in to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and he was leaning over the arm of the couch to see what I was doing. In less than a second, he was on the floor. Screaming hysterically, “My head! My arm!”

I picked him up and immediately looked at his teeth. I have a major paranoia about my kids knocking their teeth out. All the teeth are there and the mouth isn’t bloody. He buried his head in my shoulder and I took him in to the kitchen where the light is better and where he was farther away from his sleeping sister. I asked him to show me his teeth again and that’s when I saw it. The larger-than-a-golf-ball goose egg on the right hand side of his forehead.

I really caught me by surprise.

I screamed.

“Oh my god!!”

This worked wonders for his level of hysterics.

“What?!?!” he screamed back in an alarming sob.

Yeah, I wasn’t as cool and calm as I should have been at the beginning. I explained that he had a bump on his head. He told me that he landed on Caitlyn’s buggy (which on a side note, she pushes around looking for her baby saying “beeebeeee, are you??” in the cutest sing-songy type voice) I called the dr’s answering service. I called Ed. My Father-In-Law came out of his room to stand around and keep saying “Wow! Shit! I never seen anything swell up dat fast”

Eddie calmed down pretty quickly and we played “count mommy’s fingers” and “what color is…” and “ok, just one more time, make big eyes for Mommy” for about 30 minutes. He wouldn’t let me ice it, but he did accept M&M’s and milk. When I asked him what his name was, he told me “Eddie” and proceeded to spell his full last name for me. (I don’t know he could do that prior to suspecting that he had a concussion) I was pretty sure he was fine.

The Dr. called back and assured me that unless he was googley eyed and barfing that he was probably fine. He told me in his think Indian accent that “this was all part of a little boy growing up” (but for some reason I think Cait will be worse…)

Eddie was in fact fine, and took some Motrin for his headache. He then milked his booboo situation in to being able to sleep on the couch until I went to bed, and then eventually coming to bed with Ed and me.

He was fine this morning and enjoyed telling EVERYONE at daycare how he fell off the couch. (His teacher also told me that Eddie broke their toilet seat yesterday, but that’s a story for another day) Hopefully, CPS won’t be at my door this evening.

Raising kids and being a mommy through thick and thin is the hardest job I’ve ever had. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.