“Momma’s Heart is Full!”

This was the happy refrain I sang over and over to my baby tonight. 

Not just because last night he slept for 10 hours STRAIGHT!  (can I get an “amen”?!), but because I have found such joy in being around my family these past several days. 

Thursday of last week was The Day.  The Day We Got the Wii.  We’ve been waiting for about six months for the right time (financially), and the store called us Thursday to say that our order was in.  I zipped on over and picked that puppy up!  We are not a gaming family – we have never owned any type of game system, my kids don’t have gameboys, in fact they only get a total of 80 minutes every week to even use the computer (40 minutes Friday after school, 40 minutes Saturday).  But the Wii is another creature entirely!  We’ve been up and at ‘em, flying around our living room, laughing hard and loud, spending oodles of time together as a family.  So much fun!

Friday was the day my husband *finally* returned from his business trip!  (after being stuck in bad weather for two days)  We were so glad to have him home.  Friday was also the day that my new,  awesomely generous friend graced our doorstep with her spunky presence AND a gift – the A&E production of Pride and Prejudice (oh….I think another “amen” is in order!).  It just so happened my oldest daughter ended up quite sick the next night, and in her weakened state she fanned herself and meekly inquired (at 3:30am), “Do you think Mr. Darcy might be some good medicine?”  I didn’t hesistate to pop the DVD in the machine and watch with her until she fell asleep. 

Saturday was a day of napping (making up for a rotten night with the non-sleeping baby) and errands.  Any little comfort that day was made possible by my very dear husband (thank you honey!).  Saturday night my husband took the four older kids to our city’s rodeo (not the Houston rodeo, mind you, but our humble suburban fete).  I was worried about how it would go – we’ve never been to a rodeo, and I didn’t know if it would be crowded or too loud or if the kids would get bored.  They all apparently had a FABULOUS time, not getting home until 11:30pm!  My husband said that the entire rodeo was smoke and alcohol free, making it very family-friendly.  The kids all excitedly told me their favorite bits, and they can’t wait to go back next year.

Sunday was literally a day of rest for me.  The baby had another poor night, as had the sick daughter.  We spent the bulk of the day napping, and after dinner watched each other tackle different games on the Wii.  The three middle kids camped out in the living room, and I stayed up late reading (and happily listening to the kids downstairs getting along so well).  I had a good feeling that the baby was going to do well that night.  I put him to bed at 7:30pm, and as I already told you, he didn’t get up until 5:30 this morning!  Absolutely fabulous!

Today was another great day with the kids.  My husband left this morning for Chicago, and the kids had the day off from school, so like a crazy lady I loaded them all up for a trip to the ginormous Katy Mills Mall.  I let the two older girls wander off together, and the other three and I hit some stores.  We shopped a little, walked a lot, chatted, and enjoyed each other a great deal.  We met back up with the other two in time for me to feed the baby in the mall’s nursing station (thank you, forward-thinking developers!!), and I was so full of goodwill for my awesome kids that I took them for milkshakes at Johnny Rockets.  In the five hours we were out of the house, the baby was absolute ~perfection~.  My heart just swelled with gratitude to be enjoying all five of my kids at the same time.

It seems I’ve spent a lot of time boo-hooing my lot lately, so I wanted to balance things out by professing my love and adoration for my kids.  Another mom in the nursing station today commented on what a “brave woman” I must be for having five kids.  But I’ll tell you, with weeks like this, they make every single minute of motherhood worth it!!