Ups and Downs...

So remember those pictures last week of the apple picking trip?  Didn't it look a little bit like a story book about fall?

Yeah... That was awesome.

What went unsaid was... well, a few things...

First, that two out of three of my boys, or all of them that can speak in full sentences, had told me, "Yay!  I'n gonna go catch a big deer wif Daddy!"  Nothin' like celebrating a departure with Mom by cheering about all the things they really want to be doing with Dad.  Little did they know, we were headed somewhere cool - but maybe not exactly what they had in mind.  Daddy-o loves to take his boys hunting and fishing, but on a serious elk hunt such as this one was, no baby boys were allowed quite yet.  In due time little men... in due time.

And then... before we hit the road to head to Grandma's house my kids were slowly unraveling right before my eyes as the clock hands ticked ever further past regularly scheduled nap time.

So much so, in fact, that my BFF came walking in unannounced whilst I was yelling into the bathroom, "If you don't sit on the toilet and go poop you won't get to go to Grandma's house!"  It wasn't pretty. And the only way I knew she had come in to witness one of my finest moments was when she busted up laughing behind me.  Sweet.

I also strapped in my middle child like, oh, twenty minutes or so prior to departure because he was insistent on unpacking all the suitcases in sight whenever I left the room.  I said to him while I was tightening the harness on his car seat, "Seriously, dude, what part of 'we're trying to leave' don't you understand?"  Geez.  I'm a total winner.

And last, but not least, shall we bring up the fact that I just dumped a couple dozen Cheetos on the floor in front of Acey and turned on Barney for the fourth time in an attempt to appease him for just ten more minutes while I fed the dog and finished loading the car?  Yep.  I did that.  Because I was in the midst of a few speed bumps on the road to Grandma's as a hunter's widow.  Whew.

Anywho, the whole reason I bring up these little anecdotes is to say that sometimes I point out the pretty parts of our day.  I write about the sweet spots, the delectable bites, and the golden sunsets because they're awesome.  They're those little glimpses that make it all worth it, right?  And because.... it goes without saying that there are a few little blips along the way every SINGLE day, right?

So, I was reading a cool blog post the other day that basically talked about not comparing your mama moments with anyone else's.  When you see some Super Mama that basically seems to be exhaling rainbows - celebrate with her and know that she is basking in a shining moment that came along her path amongst many other varied moments.  And just Be.Happy.For.Her.  And when you see a mama who is yelling at one of her toddlers while hog-tying another one into his car seat just assume that A) it is me and B) there are days when things shift in the universe and she too enjoys that shining moment when everything goes swimmingly.  Cool?  Cool.  No one needs the added pressure of figuring out someone else's life for them because our own lives take enough time and energy to figure out.  Amen.

And that is just my strange need to balance the blogging scale for some reason.  I always want this blog to be the story of our life.  And I will tell you that it fully is, but believe me, you would thank me from the bottom of your beating hearts for omitting all the stories of melt downs and messes and daily hum drum that we all experience each and every day.  You see, the monotonous details aren't really my shtick.... I like a little somethin' fancy like apple picking, or watching my boy take an apple to his preschool teacher post apple picking, or a bike ride home from preschool with two kiddos in the bike trailer and one in the baby bike seat all gnawing on a freshly picked apple while we point out colored trees on the mountainside like the circus on wheels that we really are.  Ahhhh - that's where it's at y'all.

Confessional over.

We're up.

We're down.

But mostly we're totally normal.

And lovin' it.

And my heart explodes with gratitude for all of it.

:)