I love my kids - I really do!!

My kids will be the first to tell you that I haven't been in a very happy mommy place lately. I'm tired of being the maid, the cook, the chauffeur, and the person who obviously has the words, "Please whine and complain to me" stuck to my forehead. I'm just sort of sick of being the mom. I know how horrible that sounds and I know it is my attitude and my fault I feel this way. So, for the sake of my kids I am doing everything I can to break out of this funk and get back to enjoying them and their antics. Although I'm pretty sure that it is their antics that has put me in this mood in the first place. I know, I know, my attitude!! Just so I can remember how great my kids are I'm making a week in review so I can step back and laugh at my kids and myself, praise them and realize how lucky I am to have 3 great children.
I was so happy this week when Gavin's Reflections entry won an Excellence Award, meaning that his entry is advancing onto the next level of the Reflections contest. It was an excellent project and looks great in his room. And we still love his room and BYU regardless of what happened on Saturday! I digress; let's get back to Gavin. He earned his 13th Webelos badge this week at Pack Meeting and is a great Cub Scout and a good example to all the boys in his pack. Gavin signed up to participate in Knowledge Bowl again this year. This is a huge commitment on his part and I am proud of him for doing it. Knowledge Bowl takes up a lot of time and considering that this year's topic is Humanities, I'm even more impressed Gavin is willing to do it. Lastly, Gavin has finally talked Greg into giving him saxophone lessons. After much begging, the lessons began and Gavin practices almost every day. I've had to ban him to the basement while practicing, but he really is sounding pretty good.
What can I say about my Enoch, except that he is either making me laugh or cry. The child is a whirlwind, full of energy, stubbornness and questions. His favorite word is why and I've resorted to my favorite response being, "Because that is how Heavenly Father made it!". I know, a total cop out, but at the end of the day that is all I have left. Enoch loves preschool and his teacher, Miss Dawn, is perfect. The other day I told Enoch I loved him and he told me he loved Miss Dawn. I can't really blame him, she really is great. We still have Enoch Kitty at our house and most days I deal fairly well with the meowing, pawing at my legs and taking Kitty for a walk by tying ribbon around his waist. Although it is hard to dodge two crawling kids in the kitchen, Enoch Kitty is just part of our lives now. Enoch's imagination has no limits - he amazes me. He can disappear into his room for an hour at a time and be completely entertained by himself. Of course, his room is always a complete disaster, but the quiet time is worth almost any mess he makes. After loading the dryer the other day, I found Enoch had morphed into the Ovaltine Pirate under the kitchen table. He thought it was great and I just took away the Ovaltine and sent him to the bathroom to clean up. He spent the next 20 minutes making faces in the mirror and clogging up the sink with Ovaltine. Holy Crackamole as Enoch would say!
Kate is my little angel, about 20% of the time. In all fairness to her she is teething and feeling pretty crummy. Her top two teeth have broken through and then pulled back in about 3 times this past week. Her gums are swollen and bleeding, she is drooling everywhere, has a runny nose and about 6-8 poopy diapers a day. Will these teeth just come in already! We are both sick of this. By 4pm she is crankier than all get out and just wants to be held. I would love to hold her, but of course that is homework, dinner, clean-up time and so we just try to get through each evening until Dad gets home and can walk with her a bit. Poor little thing. She is generally happier that this and I love to see her smile and hear her laugh because I've missed it this past week. She loves to explore the house and her favorite room is Enoch's (because it is so messy and all the toys are on the floor where she can reach them). She is starting to let go of the couch and stand for a few seconds on her own before she realizes what is going on and make a mad grab for the couch again. I can't figure out where she is stashing all her binkys. I suspect I'd find a few in the car. If she has a binky in her mouth or hand while riding in her car seat, she throws it across the van. And she is still eating moss. At her 9-month check up this week she weighed in at 18 lbs. 15 oz., measured 27 inches long and has a head circumference of 44.5 cm. She is growing up in so many ways and her sweet, determined personality is started to show through.
I love my kids more than I every thought possible with such big emotions that it is sometimes overwhelming to me. Gavin, Enoch & Kate are everything to me. When I think about who they are and what they are capable of, it truly humbles me. I just hope I don't get in the way too much of their great and eternal potential.