This past year I’ve found myself facing a lack of energy. I’m sure I could come up with a list of reasons that have contributed to this feeling, and they’d all be true, but I’m not sure any one thing is to blame. And some days this lack of energy has lead me to feel like I’m not being the Mom I’d like to be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sitting around being lazy. Ever. I’m always doing something, but I’ve found it hard to focus on any one thing for too long. And I’ve found it impossible to sit and play with the kids for any stretch of time. I’m constantly jumping up to do something else really quickly before settling back into play time. And I’m over-sharing all this to say, that the kids and I had a good day today.

I found that having a few activities planned ahead really helped me stay focused. This morning I mixed up some cool whip and food coloring for the kids to paint with. They had a great time painting on their construction paper. Somehow, all the colors seemed to have mixed into one. And amazingly, Emily figured out the stuff was edible and licked the plate clean when done painting.

While Emily was taking her nap and Brenden was having quiet time, I gathered ingredients to make pumpkin bars. I measured everything out and put it in small dishes as if setting up for a cooking show. Then I called Brenden out of his quiet room time and we mixed up the bars and put them in the oven. I finished up by making the frosting while Patrick took a quick work break and took Brenden out for a little baseball. And I must say, they are delicious!

After Emily woke up and we all had a snack the kids and I went for a walk. We even got homework, a family dinner, TV time and baths in before bedtime stories.

Nothing big. I just felt like I got it right today. And as an overly critical of myself person, that actually IS a pretty big deal!

Notice how intently they are both concentrating:

Yummy:

Our creation, which really was yummy: