Staying In

I have had almost a whole week home, four days of which were spent at home with Roman and Blaise. It was shear delight.

Being home and having a lot of stuff to do, and the boys making messes and terrorizing each other, me, and the neighbors isn't always so fun. But being home, with nothing to do except be mom and boys is heavenly.

I was at the peak of my domestic self. I made cookies. I cooked nearly every meal, making cinnamon rolls completely from scratch. I also got down the crock pot (and admittedly, wiped the dust off of it) and made chili. Or, rather, something resembling chili, only because it contained meat and beans and a few other random things. But still...

I also was crafty. We made paper snowflakes (which is a long standing family tradition during the winter, going back as long as I can remember, even before I knew how to hold scissors.) I even tried to teach Blaise how to use the scissors (I know, what was I thinking?! Lucky for me, no damage done, he is still completely frustrated by the things.)

One of Roman's creations

One of my creations
(Yes I know, the windows are filthy,
but try to ignore, just like we do.)

Roman, standing proud with our snowy artwork

While Blaise took naps, we spent early afternoons in the sunshine at the kitchen table with "iron beads." I'm sure that this delightful craft has a real name, a trade name. But in our house, they are simply "iron beads."

Roman, intent on his iron beads
(I love this picture!)

"Iron beads:" a lot of fun
But you can see why I wait for
Blaise to take a nap before
we start in on this project

When you're done, you get pretty things like this

We went for walks in the chilly air and skated on frozen puddles. We went to the library, and discovered a treasure trove of Mo Willems books! We made chocolate chip cookies and ate them warm with milk.

Absolutely fantastic children's books!
And fantastic for parents with short(er) attention spans.

I spent an entire evening with Roman on a "mommy-son" date night. We ate pizza, popcorn, and lemonade while we watched "Tale of Despereaux" at the theater.

Wow, that's a cute mouse
(Despereaux: the hero)

The house didn't really get cleaned, no projects go finished, the laundry barely got done. But none of that really matters. Because I was home. And I wasn't there for the dirty floors, the laundry, the dishes, or the paperwork.

I was there for my boys.