After the toddler years

I am writing this post for any woman who feels like she doesn't quite measure up to "all the other moms" who appear to have it all together and also somehow seem to have more hours in their day. When each of my kids were really little, I felt like my days completely revolved around their needs. I felt like I was constantly changing diapers, bathing, dressing, feeding, playing with them, or getting them down for naps. I felt completely inadequate as a housekeeper, grocery shopping was overwhelming, getting dinner on the table was hard, and going to the park was almost always out of the question. After all, my toddler could easily get hurt and there was nothing relaxing about Mom spotting her little one up on the play structure for an hour. I played it safe a lot; staying home far more than I left the house.

At age 2 1/2 things took a great turn for the better with Zach. And again with Luke too. Luke was 2 1/2 in late January and every day just keeps getting better and better. I am amazed at my ability to carpool (having to wake Luke up early from nap in order to retrieve the kids at school), we can all three walk through the grocery store now without anything getting broken or stolen, we are at the park nearly everyday and I can sit on the park bench if I so choose, and taking the kids with me to the doctor is no longer a nightmare.

In the last week - I purged all of the old toys and too-small clothes, got a haircut, spent two days at Women of Faith, went to the grocery store (twice!), went to the library (some of you are laughing - you know I hate that place!), went to book club, prepared dinner most nights, took Zach to the dentist, got Zach signed up for soccer, went to Target a couple of times, and even had a garage sale (without a babysitter). With the exception of my haircut, Women of Faith and book club, I had the kids in tow. My point is this -- I do not have more hours in my day and I am not suddenly more organized and "with it". My kids have just grown easier with age. Be encouraged that the time consuming days do pass and it is possible to leave the house with both your children and your sanity. I absolutely love the ages my kids are today, but I also miss those younger years. After all, Luke's precious mispronounced words are less frequently mispronounced and Zach has been walking himself into school for months. Last night Zach asked to tuck himself into bed... After spending so much time wishing the hard days would be behind me, I'm now dreading the arrival of "school kid" days and how much more quickly our boys will grow up.