Mischief and Messes

It's about time for another post on all the creative messes we have been making lately. For some reason, there is something empowering about showing off the messes my kids make. Maybe it is because, no matter how bad the mess looks at the time, it always gets cleaned up before the end of the day. Some days I feel like I am conquering the world--one mess at a time. Throwing dirt from the garden all over the sidewalk must have seemed like a good idea to Grace and her two cousins. While I was away (most likely cleaning up another mess they just made), they had a ball flinging dirt at each other. However, it turned out to be just as much fun for them to help me sweep it all up.

Don't worry: he is wearing a diaper. This cupboard underneath the kitchen sink is one of Kade's favorite places to play while I try to do dishes around him. Grace brushed her head under a cabinet and couldn't be consoled without a band-aid. She came to the breakfast table the next morning, still wearing it. The mischief hasn't happened yet in this photo, but it is being conjured up in Kade's little head at that very moment. Neil and I have had the hardest time trying to get him to keep his food within a 12 inch radius of his highchair at meal times. Although we are quite pleased with the good arm he has, we are not amused by the constant splats of oatmeal, yogurt, spaghetti, etc. which lands in our laps after he chucks it off his tray. This mess may be partly my fault. To keep Grace busy during Saturday chores, I gave her the assignment to pick up rocks from the garden and put them in her bucket. I got so caught up mowing the lawn and pulling weeds that I didn't pay attention to her going into the house with it. I found her and Kade both in the crib examining the rocks and dirt together. Even though they make the biggest messes together, they sure have fun and make each other laugh while they do it.

This last one was more of a mess than it looks, but mostly it was just cute. The kids emptied out the bottom shelf of the island and played peek-a-boo together while I made Sunday dinner. They were laughing so hard that Neil even came out of his office to check out what they were doing. Unfortunately, the laughter didn't last very long when I realized one of them had a totally overflowing diaper that required several batches of hot soapy water to mop up. So gross, but so typical of a day in the life of a mother of two children under three years old.

 

I have to add a few precious moments we have had together recently as well, so this post doesn't come off at all like I don't think our kids are anything but the sweetest creatures on the planet.

#1. A few days ago, just after reading scriptures with Grace she finished up her snack and asked me, "Mom, how do you know?"

"How do I know what, Grace?"

"How do you know Jesus?"

I wasn't sure if she really just asked me that, so I asked her again and she repeated the same question. It was a perfect opportunity to share my testimony with her of how I feel about the Savior and how He feels about her. It was so sweet.

#2. Before Church on Sunday, Neil returned from a meeting with the Elder's Quorum Presidency. Noticing Kade was fussy, he fixed him a bottle, took him in his room, and put him to bed. It was almost half an hour later, when I realized it was completely quiet in the house. I walked into the kids' room to see Neil, holding Kade on his shoulder as he slept, and rubbing Gracie's back as she drifted to sleep on her bed as well. Instead of just putting Kade in his crib with a bottle, Neil chose to hold him and rock him to sleep. For a second, Kade looked like a little baby again in Neil's arms. And it was cute to see that Grace didn't want to miss out on Daddy time, so she followed the boys into their room to join in on a peaceful, morning snooze.

How blessed we are to have each other. Even amidst the messes, the crying, the snotty noses, and the temper tantrums, we have a lot of love in this growing family.