a morning of "ah!"

it's currently 10:35 and i am still in PJ's. rough life i know :)

this morning we had nothing on the calendar (an odd day indeed). no where pressing to be (accept dropping off katie at 830), no immediate errands that HAD to be run.. so what did we do? well, one of my favorite things.

before we moved to VA and i started homeschooling, i had a house full of preschoolers. most days i was running on very little sleep b/c i was pregnant or had an infant around. consequently, i was in my PJ's everyday til noon. not out of want but our of sheer necessity. many of you know exactly what i am talking about.

anyway, everyday the girls would grab a stack of books and come plop on my bed for HOURS at a time.. when i was pregnant i spent 16 weeks or more sick as a dog. so the kids brought the fun to me. we would read, read, and read some more. the kids were still transitioning from "full time mom entertainment" to playing together. they were little, no one could read for themselves, and them being without supervision was still hit or miss.

we have grown leaps and bounds from those days. the kids play together around the clock... i rarely end up entertaining, two of the four can read, (lucy thinks she can read :), the only one that needs supervision is AJ, and i no longer spend endless hours in the bed, praise Jesus! our house has a completely different feel then it did years ago.

but as of lately my little man can not get enough of the books. big sisters LOVE reading to him, which is FABULOUS but it means that i am not reading as much to him. :( so today, while julia and lucy were playing restaurant with the play dough, i stole anderson away and spent some time cuddling in the bed and reading.. at one point he snuck in the ipod and we bowled together :)

i miss these days. at one point i remember sobbing, thinking i was going to be stuck in preschool hell for the rest of my life. the days seem like eternity until dad walks through the door for some relief... any outing is a huge accomplishment, and life seems like a blurry cloud of toilets, PB&J, and Arthur.

it's amazing, absolutely astonishing how fast it went by. next summer, i could have 3 eligible kiddos for full time school... WHAT? WHAT? how is that possible? (this doesn't mean all 3 girls will be in full time school, but the fact is we have arrived there.)

looking back, i cherish those days in the bed reading until i memorized the words and said it with my eyes closed so the room would stop spinning, play dough covered ice cream cones, bear wants more and more and more and more, cold toes against my legs, and love galore.

now, there is not enough money in the world to send me back to those days.. but atleast i can look back on them fondly.

now, everybody go to the bathroom, put your shoes on, we gotta go somewhere!!

~s