Just when you are about ready to jump off the deep end...

Things seem to magically get better. At least they have around here. Mom & Dad have heard all this, so I'm sorry to them for not posting something new and fun with lots of pictures. :)

I know parenting is hard. I knew that before I had kids. Then I had kids and had to laugh at my beautiful oblivion. I don't know how other kids are, but ours seem to go through cycles. A couple of weeks of goodness with few major issues, then a week or so of "What the hades?!?!?!" The last several days have been much closer to hades. I don't know what the deal was. We took a fun family trip for the weekend. Sure, we did a lot and got tired. But it's not the first time we've had weekends like that. We get back home, and all hell breaks loose. My trip to Wal-Mart on Monday was quite an event. Both Evie and Maggie made nice spectacles of us multiple times by screaming at the top of their lungs when scolded. I don't mean little shouts. I'm talking about long, wailing, ear-piercing, "Mama's torturing me!!" screams. I love the looks you get from people when that happens. Some are sympathetic. Most are looking at my cartful of kids and my bulging belly and have to be wondering what I'm doing bringing another brat into the world. God help me! They can judge if they want. In a few years the young 20-somethings will get what's coming to them for thinking "My kids will NEVER...." And the old farts who don't remember how it is to deal with little ones can just take their go carts and...well, they can get out of my way so I can get the heck out of the store!

Now these lovely outbursts weren't just limited to our public outings. They were happening at home along with a sudden inablilty to obey and a refusal to eat. I KNOW kids do these things. I've been through them before. But when it's all happening to both girls at the same time, and none of my normal tricks are working, I start to lose it. Add that to the fact that I'm becoming hugely pregnant and have little patience...well, God help us all.

I know just a few days of this doesn't seem like much, but it was plenty. At least for me in my delicate state. Yesterday morning was starting off just like the rest of the week. I was praying and begging God for a solution and answer to what was going on, because I had nothing. I went to check my dad's "random" blog to get a break from my maniacal kids. (He didn't know at the time that I was on the verge of throttling a couple of beautiful children.) He had decided to post about how fast time is flying, and how it doesn't seem that long ago when me and my sisters were little tiny things, and how those of us with kiddos will soon miss the frustrating things they do, and how these are the best years of our lives. Bring on the waterworks. Doesn't take much to make a preggo cry, anyway, but that certainly did it. It was the answer to my prayers! All I needed was a perpective change. How simple is that??? Geesh. So I go in and start loving on the girls instead of fighting the urge to throw them out the window, and what d'ya know! I could almost hear the twinkling fairy charms as the magic wand waved over our house. The day picked up, and today has been much better! (Ignore the sound of me smacking myself on the forehead...) Thank you, God, and thank you, Dad!! Maybe next time I won't be so bone-headed and will remember what I learned this time. One can only hope.