Being Intentional

Over the past week I have tried my best to be intentional about my time with Caid and Ethan. With the birth of baby number 3 only a week or so away I wanted to make the most of my time with the boys before I become a very sleep deprived and busy mommy. It made such a difference in our days, there was less fighting and arguing between the boys themselves and I found myself getting less frustrated with them. If my goal of the day is to be present in their lives and not to get this little chore done or catch up on this e-mail or whatever it is the day goes so much smoother, and in the end, is much more fun for us all. Our play together was filled with imagination guided ideas from Caid and Ethan, playing with toys - mostly all of Caid's different building things and all of Ethan's cars and trucks, and games with their different beloved stuffed animals. 

Of course the week wasn't perfect, arguments still arose and my patience still ran thin at times but all in all it was so much calmer. I am home to be their mom and a lot goes into that but sometimes I loose sight of the most important thing and that is to be present with them in what they are doing. There were so many benefits and it was most apparent to me at the end of the day when Jamie would come home to us happily playing instead of us all (well maybe just me) being at the end of our ropes.  One surprising outcome was that the boys played really well by themselves and together more often when I did have things I needed to do or wanted to do. I am thankful for the perspective I took heading into last week and I am going to try my best to keep it up.