There are days....

...when I start out so tired that I just don't even want to get out of bed. But I do it because I have to get the boys to school.

...when I think to myself "I should really take a nap while I have the chance" but instead I come home and work on stuff that needs to be done all morning while I have the time to myself.

...when the stress and frustration of being broke but still needing to get just a couple of things at the grocery store is enough to put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

(Note: No, we are not starving. Yes, we have food. I knew that this month was going to be tight because of the whole transmission/broken axle mess, and I get money again in 2 days. I'm not sweating it that badly. It's just aggravating.)

...when the dishwasher decides to eat one of my favorite and most-used wooden spoons. Yes, minor in the grand scheme of things, but still...

...when it seems like all I do is run-run-run to get kids to where they need to go...




....when I look at my datebook for the upcoming week and try to figure out how exactly I'm going to do it all.

...and then I look at the mountains of laundry and wonder if I'll ever get all of it done.

But then I look at the kids' faces and I realize that no matter how overwhelming things seem at times, it's not that big of a deal. To see Daniel grinning from ear to ear as he gets to push a "kid cart" through the store, or see Alex and Daniel having a ball at Scouts (Daniel technically isn't in Scouts because he's too young, but they let him participate in a few things because he's there with me), or to see them snuggled up in their beds sound asleep - those things make the day-to-day stress totally worth it.

He likes to shop more than I do.

Yes, the orange and green blur is Daniel.

I might be constantly stressed out, but I'm also so lucky that I get to be a part of my kids' lives on a daily basis. I might complain about the constant running around, but I'm glad that I am able to do it and to be there for them.

Perspective. Sometimes we just need to change it a little bit.