Tag: peace and quiet

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

The Return of Quiet

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My boys finally(!) returned to school from their winter break this morning. They were home for nineteen straight days but who’s counting? The noise level in my house has decreased by about 1000%.  So this is what silence is.  Oh, how I’ve missed you!

At breakfast this morning, I asked the boys what they were looking forward to about their return to school. I took recess off the table as an option because that’s what T.Puzzle always chooses. I wasn’t going to let him off easy.

Full Speed said, “Math!”

Then, it was T.Puzzle’s moment to share,

“Lunch.”

Why didn’t I see that one coming a mile away?

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Ahoy Mateys!

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Yesterday afternoon was a ‘guys’ only situation. That means Mom was in heaven.

Mad Dog wanted to take them deep-sea diving?

Great.

How about ATV chicken fights on the beach?

Why not?

And, my personal fave, there was always the option of plundering the shores of Florida with pirates.

I say go for it.

All I asked was that no limbs were compromised and both boys were returned to me alive.

Ahoy Mateys!

gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood

Goodish Things Will Happen

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As I was getting little T.Puzzle dressed for the day, he is always curious to know what kind of character underpants he is going to wear. He is delighted when the characters are Thomas the Train related.

“Don’t peep or poop on Thomas!” he exclaims. I love that he says peep. It never fails to entertain me. I will be sad when he finally figures that one out.

Our day was action-packed as usual. We started at the sprinklers, headed out for pizza and then topped it off with Target. Mad Dog even had additional plans for our evening but I quickly nixed them. I told him I needed a break.

Desperately.

He then offered to take the boys to the grocery. This left me with some peace and quiet.

Finally.

When my trio of men returned, Full Speed was the first one through the door.

“What kind of report am I going to get from your Dad?” I asked referencing his and little T.Puzzle’s behavior at the store.

“Goodish and badish, Mom.”

It was goodish that he told the truth I guess.

children, gratitude, happiness, marital blissishness

Welcome Back!

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p9243341Grandma and Grandpa joined us for some Buckeye football. Well, it was more like Grandpa came for the football and Grandma came to spend time with the boys (I don’t blame her one bit!).

They brought chili in a crock-pot that Grandpa had made (spicy and good) and I willingly attempted to watch the game (I think I lasted a solid five minutes of actual game time) with Grandpa and Mad Dog.

The boys were invited to play with their cousin at a nearby park. Grandma jumped at the chance to escape football and enjoy the gorgeous day. This quickly evolved into an invite for them to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa’s.

This is the Holy Grail of parenthood; willing Grandparents who offer to take your children OVERNIGHT and who seem to genuinely enjoy the company of your children. I suppose in small doses, Full Speed and T.Puzzle are quite charming and endearing. Of course with this charm and endearment comes equal parts impulsivity and hyperactivity (like T.Puzzle biting a little girl at Grandma and Grandpa’s church day care; in a church of all things, where were the boy’s scruples??!!!).

Mad Dog and I were in heaven. I drank wine; Mad Dog ran to Publix and got me some cake (it’s vanilla and is essentially a glorified Twinkie) and some Haagen Dazs ice cream. We had an ‘Entourage’ marathon upstairs in the loft and slept in really, really late the next morning. This was all followed by Mad Dog making breakfast (he does a pretty mean scrambled egg) complemented with mimosas. After the breakfast dishes were cleared and cleaned (by Mad Dog, he deserves the recognition), we took the remainder of our mimosas, sat out on the lanai and read in peaceful silence.

I had forgotten that such a thing as peaceful silence exists. I suppose you have to lose something to truly recognize its absence and appreciate its return. Welcome back peace and quiet, oh, how we’ve missed you!