Hurry Up and Slow Down!

"Hurry Up!"
Those seem to be two of the most said words that come out of my mouth.
"Hurry up and eat your breakfast."
"Hurry up, Kalei is crying."
"Hurry up, it's time for naps."
"Hurry up, we're late."
"Hurry up, we have things to do."
Hurry, hurry hurry.
As adults, especially as parents of young children, we constantly feel the stress of a to-do list a mile long. I find myself having a difficult time focusing (or enjoying as I should be in most cases) the moment at hand because in my mind I'm going through what else I need to be getting done.
This is the exact opposite of how the minds of young children work. They don't care about what else is on the to-do list. They live for the moment. They could spend an hour going out to the mailbox to get the mail. There's the blooming flower to look at, the trail of ants to observe, the rocks to pick-up and throw, the dirt to dig through to look for worms etc.
Over the past few weeks I've found myself wondering how much of their imagination, their zest for life, their desire to learn am I squashing because I'm so worried about making sure the bathrooms are cleaned, the dishes washed, the shopping done. All things that can wait for another time but the moment that I'm hurrying my children through will never come back.
I've had a lot of those "Stand back and realize how much your children have grown" moments. Little things like:
Brayden getting himself a snack and cleaning it up or making his bed and getting himself dressed every morning.
Tavita having grown tall enought to turn the lights on and off on his own.
Kalei sleeping in Junior's lap and church and realizing she no longer fits in the crook of his arm, rather she sprawls across his lap and her feet hit the bench.
Brayden having his days where he just finds his parents so annoying (see previous post) and constantly wanting to be off playing with friends.
Tavita constantly talking about getting bigger and having big susu's (like Daddy's so he can make them dance) or just the fact that he's talking SOOO much now.
Kalei crawling and pulling herself up to stand.
Or the fact the my two boys are starting to rival teenagers with the way they eat (no joke!)
The list could go on and on as to ho many moments over the past few weeks where I just sat back and thought, "Wow, could they really be that big already."
It's at times like these that the words "Hurry Up." are at the very bottom of my list of what I want my kids to do.
I want them to stay young and innocent. Constantly savoring every moment of life rather than hurrying through it to the next tasks. All too often I find myself saying, "Well, today I've got to get this done but tommorrow I'll spend the whold day jsut playing." I realize that those responsibilities still need to be met and I can't spend all my time playing with my kids. However, I've made a renewed goal to keep my kids my #1 priority. Even if it means leaving the floor in desperate need of a mop so I can play superhero and villans.
Then there are the sweet moments that I'm taken back and I realize that they will always be my babies. Like when Brayden lays next to me and plays with my eyebrows (something he's done since he was just a few months old) or when Tavita asks nightly for his blankie he's had since he was a newborn and wants someone to sleep with him. Or the way Brayden will come up and tell me, "Mommy, did you know I love you to the moon and back." Or Tavita will say, "Mommy your cute."
The bottom line is I feel so blessed to be their mother. The 3 of them can make for some real insanity at times. Sometimes I find myself questioning if I can make it through the day without having a total meltdown or wondering if I'm succeeding at all as a mother. Then one of them will do something that will melt my heart (usually something small and insignifcant) and it makes all the stress and work so worth it. I will always be worrying if I'm doing enough, if I'm teaching them enough, if I'm loving them enough. But those little moments make me realize that while I'm far from being the perfect mom, I'm their mom and that seems to be good enough for them so it should be good enough for me.

Anyway, here are some pics from the past few weeks (for when that time comes that they really are all grown up). Brayden and Tavita got hit with a NASTY virus of some kind, it was the 1st time Brayden's been sick since Tavita was born. So we haven't done very much over the past bit.
One of the days when Tavita was so sick he couldn't think straight Junior found him crying and stuck like this. The poor kid couldn't understand why his pants wouldn't go over his head.

Tavita decided to wash the windows for me. Apparently a shoe and some water are the secret ingredients to sparkling clean windows

Princess Kalei her usual smiley self!

Santa bought these flashlights at the dollar store for a quick stocking stuffer. They have been the most loved and used toy ever! I love the nights when I find the boys like this, or when we find them with blankets pulled over their heads and all you see is the glow of flashlights and the sound of a lot of giggling.

Time for Valentine cookies!!!

Adding the sprinkles

Tavita cared far more about eating then decorating

Brayden enjoying his cookie

A finsihed product!

We now have 11 o'clock church which is the WORST schedule in the world for Tavita who is very set on his nap time (how many 2 year-olds do you know who tell you they're ready to sleep). This Sunday at dinner we were in the middle of a conversation and realized Tavita had been quiet for awhile. We looked down to find this:

After 2 1/2 years we're finally getting some decorations up!

Mouthing off with an Imagination

Before I begin I just need to point out that Brayden is normally a very level headed kid and listens surprisingly well. Rarely will he talk back or throw fits. This said, two weeks ago he was on a real roll. We don't know if it's because he had spent the previous day playing with a friend who tends to be pretty disrespectful to his parents, or if he was overtired, or overstressed and felt the need to vent feelings. Whatever it was he was angry at just about everything and was letting us know it. However, instead of the normal yelling and screaming, Brayden decided to throw a little creativity into his attitude. Here's just a few samplings of what we heard that day:
He was upset at me because I wouldn't let him play the DS and told him do something that didn't involve video games or tv.
his response (while waving his hand over his head): "Why don't you just get a bunch of balloons and float away."
Yeah, I was just randomly laughing out loud for days whenever I thought of that because I'm sure Brayden had a very clear picture in his head of me floating off into the sky with a handful of balloons.

Junior had put Brayden into time out for throwing a fit and hitting at him when he tried to go over and talk to him. Junior continued to go upstairs with Tavita for baths but I was around the corner in the kitchen but I don't think Brayden was aware of anyone else around. This is what I heard.
"I'm so angry at Daddy. I'm just gonna leave and go live with some nice pirates."
Apparently the idea of a carefree, pirate life was just what he was in the market for but he didn't go to much for the mean side of pirating.

I was asking Brayden to do something as he was walking down the stairs. He froze, let out a long grunt and said, "That's it, your over."
I asked him what he meant and he yelled, "Your boring days are over! This always telling me what to do, and not to play PBS kids and games. It's over, you're through! Do you understand me, you're through!"
We didn't even have a response to this one. Junior and I just busted up laughing which made him even more upset.

All three of these lines have now become a joke in our home. Brayden laughs along with us. It's days like this that makes me so grateful that Brayden is normally such an easy going kid. He's usually so quick to obey and always very willing to help me out around the house.