New Mercies.

Last night was one of those nights. And today was one of those days.

 

Last night, after a lovely, cozy evening with my BFF and the movie, North & South while the men watched the Superbowl (sorry – but Boring!), hubby and I found our littlest daughter in her crib, covered in throw-up and very sick. 🙁

Needless to say, we spent the next hour or so cleaning her and her crib up and then tucking her into our bed and watching her closely, as she continued to be sick, throughout the night. Our middle child, Lyla, ended up getting sick just like her little sister around 3 a.m. in the morning so we spent the night going between sick children, snuggling with each of them, changing sheets, rubbing backs and holding the “sick” bucket. 

I hate to see my children ill, especially with the flu! Oh, it just breaks your heart to see them in pain and feeling so awful! I’m now just waiting to see if my eldest daughter will become sick tonight, following in her sisters’ direction. 

Thankfully, by the morning, the majority of the sickness seemed to have passed and while Lyla was able to bounce back to her nearly-normal-self by lunchtime, Lucia spent most of Monday sleeping the illness off and cuddling with mommy. 

{sigh}

I actually love it when my kids are so snuggly and just want to sit on your lap and cuddle the day away. You can stroke their hair and rub their backs and whisper “I love yous” in their ear until they feel better. Yes, my laundry piled up (and trust me, that drives me nuts) , and yes and my floors didn’t get washed until the afternoon (also drives me batty!), but I count it as a privilege to comfort my child in my arms. 

 

 

I find though when you have multiple children, even if one is sick, you still have to carry on and do your regular daily duties and somehow manage to juggle everyhing – like cook dinner, try to do the laundry, make lunch, bake for the week, entertain and just keep on parenting like normal.

 

So, while wee sick Lucia slept and rested away her illness, we moved on with our regular Monday-ness. We painted toenails and fingernails in pjs.

 

 

 

 

We made the yummiest muffins … awww, we love baking together!!! It’s good for the family (healthy), good for the girls (teaches them to bake and teaches ME how to bake!!) and good for an activity while at home together. Good for our souls. 

Today, we worked on making banana chocolate chip muffins from the weekly recipe posted on the Groceries to Go website.  Mmmm!
You have to understand, I am new to all this baking and cooking. I just started to learn just this past year. And quite recently, I have discovered by trial and error that you can overmix muffins. It was a good lesson to learn, although I wish I knew earlier. 😉

But these muffins turned out yummmmmmy. I was pleasantly surprised.  

 

My girls can really crack an egg. Or four.

 

Here’s the recipe of yumminess. 

 

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

*Preheat Oven – 350 Degrees*

**Grease Muffin Tin**

 

1/2 Butter – Room Temperature

1 1/2 cups – White Sugar

4 – Eggs

1 tsp – Vanilla

6 – Large Ripe Bananas – All Mushed Up with a fork.

 

2 cups – White Flour

2 cups – Whole Wheat Flour

2 tsp – Baking Soda

2 tsp – Salt

 

1/2 a 350g bag – Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

 

*Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in Bananas.

*Mix dry ingredients together and then add to wet ingredients.  Stir until moistened.

*Fold in Chocolate Chips

*Pour into Muffin Tin 3/4 full

 

Bake for 30 minutes.

 

 

… and the end result was a delicious healthy snack. My sister used to make these when she was learning to cook in her teenage years and so they bring back great memories. 

Did you notice that there’s one missing in the pan? Yeah, I popped it in my mouth as quickly as I could. That’s how good they were. 

 Oh dear. Do I see a little burned edge there? Nawww, it’s gotta be the chocolate, right? Just nod and agree and humour me please. It’s been quite the day!

 

After this, we made homemade gummy candy – an idea sent to me by one of my friends.  Here’s the proper recipe.

It was VERY simple to make. Gelatin, jello and water. Throw it all in a saucepan and then melt it all together and pour the mixture into a mold. The only problem was I didn’t have jello so I just used flavorless gelatin and some raspberry flavor for taste … hoping and thinking I was some crafty Martha Stewart and it would all work out in the end. 

 

 

 

Heart shaped molds, of course. 

 

 

 

Let them cool and the voila, cute, adorable homemade candy to give out to your chidl’s class on Friday!

 

 

 

 

We are all so excited to taste them … but when we popped them our mouths, we promptly spat them back out! Hah! They tasted like a mixture of nasty cherry lip gloss and old Vaseline! OH MAN!! What a day!

Needless to say, I have to perfect my version of the recipe a little bit. *ahem*

… so today was not a shiny, all glorious, perfect child-perfect-mommy day. I was running off of two hours sleep (I think) and still had to continue on with the day for the other children who were not sick. By  6:30 p.m., during the bath hour for the girls (which I was doing alone because hubby is/was working late hours today and only came home to eat dinner and then rushed back to work), one un-named daughter decided to have an number two accident in the tub without notice, and another child was crying because I was trying to wash her stinky blankie (the smell of vomit is not so welcoming when snuggling with your child) and the other girl was freaking out because she had a pimple on her lip and wouldn’t let me look at it …. my patience ran out. 

AUGH. I was sooo disappointed with myself. 

I hate, hate hate losing my cool, but I did …and I hate myself for it. 
I apologized to the girls. I told them mommy makes mistakes and that I should’ve been more patient. And I hugged them and snuggled them tighter and read them extra books before they fell asleep … and I prayed. And I promised I would be more patient tomorrow.  I am so thankful for  a God who has fresh and new mercies each morning. 

 

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22

 

No, the day was not perfect, but I am thankful for all the little moments in between that were perfect in their imperfectness. Does that make sense?

 

See. I told you. Two hours sleep.

Not good for my brain. 

 

From one of my favorite singers, Steve & Annie Chapman:

I count it as a privilege
I count it cause for praise
to kiss my children goodnight
at the close of everyday
for I know too soon they’re off and gone 
and walkin’ out the door
and I’ll never have a child to kiss 
goodnight anymore …

 

tell the story read a book 
wipe a nose or tie a shoe
they never ask me to rub their back 
the way they used to do
once it was a bother 
just a troublesome kind of chore
now I would give anything 
to do it just once more

mommy bounce me on your knee
daddy flip me in the air
throw a rubber ball to me
and help me comb my hair
mommy tickle my tummy
daddy hold me high
let’s go outside for awhile
or make a kite to fly …

 

I count it as a privilege
I count it cause for praise
to kiss my children goodnight
at the close of everyday
for I know too soon they’re off and gone 
and walkin’ out the door
and I’ll never have a child to kiss 
goodnight anymore

 

Tomorrow is a new day and I am going to count it as a privilege …