Life has been rough lately. I blame the weather. Maybe also the culture shock of the move and the demanded adjustments. I am finding that everyday it is really important to take the good - even if it is a tiny victory.
Tonight we had one of my favorite meals: White Rice (cooked in GF chicken broth added for taste), Broccoli (simply steamed - though my man has been thwarting my attempts at health by adding cheese to the tops) and Salmon (broiled – my current oven can actually broil – super stoked).
Family meal time is a huge constant at our house. This is the one place where Beezus can ask her philosophical or theological questions – never ending as they are and Ramona can crack jokes and tell us about her mischief. It is the place we discuss God, the universe, molecules, germs, nutrition and what we did that day. I really feel it is where we can all be heard and connect.
This is not me bragging, because this does not necessarily mean that the mechanics of dinner go well. Often the kids dance in their seats. I have never understood why I have to remind my kids to sit all the way in their chairs. It is a little bizarre how often Ramona literally falls out of her chair. Spills happen too often and what one kids will eat, the other often will not. Beezus has an annoying habit of spitting out her food in protest. And the climatic end to the evening, no matter what great conversation we have, is one tired mom with a lot of dishes to do!
Well, tonight was different. My entire family (my man included – who does not like salmon) cleaned their plates. There was no fighting at the dinner table between children. No complaining. No spills! Everyone was entirely in their seats - no falling ove.! Really with two kiddos, two years apart, this is huge accomplishment. I decided, though we don't normally have desserts after dinner, that tonight is an ice cream night! I am also very against fast food (unless we are traveling). I loosened up. There happens to be a DQ near by and the DQ does have some GF options. So I sent my man to grab some ice cream for our family.
My man loves doing all errands as a family. In the past, when he worked at home, this was convenient. Doing errand together meant never having to combat two tiny children at Costco alone. It also meant my man could grab more costco food court pizza - he never seems to get sick of that. However, this time when my man started to pouted a bit about flying solo to get dessert the part of me that is now alone with our delightful children more often (or perhaps the part of me that played single parent for a couple months) had a different take on our old customs. I couldn't help but get my fiery, mischievous side going. I announced to the kids that Daddy needed some company to go get dessert. What wonderful volunteers! Thus, I scored myself about 20 minutes to post a blog in private.
Tally is in my favor tonight.
Scored an awesome dinner, 20 minutes peace AND a dessert for a well done evening. Did not even mind doing the dishes.
Really, it is the small victories that make me smile lately.
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