Ebb and Flow

I had a conversation this week that was so timely, so spot on that it served as such a perfect reminder:

As with everything, parenting has a natural ebb and flow.  And for me now as a SAHM, that tide can change by the hour.  

I had some really beautiful moments as a parent this week and some really ugly ones too. 

Not sleeping as much as I should be these past couple of weeks, paired with feeling much more raw and emotional in my third trimester than I have this entire pregnancy and really needing to learn how to discipline a 16-month old that is testing his mama and trying to learn the reactions of hitting (I've gotten a full-blown slap in the face and just this morning hit with a stick that gave me a bloody lip) and throwing (he's chucking remotes at infants, Frank and I aren't safe from flying rocks in the backyard, and neither are the other kids at the park with fistfuls of mulch heaved their way)
have left me spent.  

The positive always, always, always outweighs the negative.  Case in point, the kiss and hugs I got after my bloody lip were really needed. 
And the extra work to do special, out-of-the ordinary routine things are worth it.

It's worth it to spend more time chasing after him trying to pick up every half-eaten,
starting-to-rot apple off the ground to catch him before he takes a bite than we actually spent picking apples. 
I'm not exaggerating when I say there are probably 10 apples on the ground with one tiny Henry bite out of them. 

It's worth it that our house was a disaster because we were gone all morning at the orchard, got home in time for a nap, worked and then never made it to the grocery store after my doctor's appointment for this experience.  Sometimes I feel like some of our days don't always balance...Monday may be more focused on me and my to-do list, but Tuesday is all about Ham and keeping him engaged, learning and exposed, and so on. 

This was one of those experiences that served us both and served us well. 
I needed to recharge with friends and Henry needed to get out and run and be an ornery boy with his buds. 

The sweet honeycrisp apples were as sweet as these smiles.

Always worth it.
 ps, so is anything where he can wear this sweater.
--

Hoping to start fresh Saturday morning with breakfast with my boys.  But first, I've got to stay on the hunt for a lost remote we haven't seen in a week.

It's not in any of the usual places I've found other missing objects,
i.e. cookie scoop in Ham's toy basket in his room or his cup in the family room built-ins. 

Have an extra sweet weekend.