Oh How they Grow...

My oh my. It's hard to imagine that Christopher is going to be 5 soon and Anneli is 2 1/2 years old already. It seems like yesterday that it was just Shaun and I. It feels that every second of my day I am running with one of them to gymnastics, swimming, Kids-R-Size, toddle time, playgroup, getting Christopher on the bus, helping with homework, refereeing sibling arguments, volunteering for something, reading them a story, dancing around the house, or making them breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack!! As I am running around and playing with the kids, some things get neglected like the house. The house isn't that bad, but you'd surely be able to tell that kids live here! The toys, decorations, alphabet and drawings are all around--very kid friendly I guess. It can get a bit depressing at times for both Shaun and I, but I came across a cute poem awhile back that I really like.

Excuse This Home

Some homes try to hide the fact
That children shelter there.

Ours boasts of it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the door.

I should apologize I guess,
For the toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with the children;
We played and laughed and read.

And if the doorbell doesn’t shine,
Their eyes will shine instead

For when at times I’m forced to choose
The one job or the other.

I want to be a homemaker
But first I’ll be a mother.

It is true though. The kids will remember the time that I spend with them and I am lucky to be able to be home with them, teaching them, playing with them and making special memories with them. There is a quote I also like by Jaqueline Kennedy Onasis that I think is true--"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."