good! Cheesy, yes, but I don't care. :) Maybe it was the fact that I took a shower today without feeling like I was going to pass out. Or maybe it was that I brushed my teeth and didn't throw up immediately after. (horrible cycle...) It could have been that I made chicken for dinner, handled the whole raw bird, even loosened the skin to rub seasoning underneath it without feeling squeamish. I've spent the past few months trying my best to hold it together during the day only to fall apart the minute my husband walked through the door. What a good sport. I can't count the number of times lately he has come home from work, made dinner, put all three kids to bed, then gone back downstairs to do dishes. How lucky am I? I should have been enjoying it. Instead I spent many of those nights up in my bed in tears (yes, I'm sure horomones had something to do with it:) because I would have given anything to be doing those dishes instead of feeling the way I was feeling. This pregnancy has been very humbling. I realize that I have been pretty proud of myself the last 3 times for having easy pregnancies. Now I realize I was just incredibly lucky. I keep telling Dan this baby is going to have some explaining to do. :)
It wasn't just the sudden turn around in my pregnancy that made me happy though. (Oh...how sad will I be if I wake up tomorrow feeling yucky again?) It certainly helped that I got out of the shower to see sunlight streaming in my bathroom window. That's enough to make any Washingtonion happy in early February.
I also didn't mind that we got our car back today after it spent 2 months in and out of the shop because it just didn't feel like it was driving "right". I'm grateful for my husband's careful observence to a problem that initially seemed very minor to me. Turned out, after taking it 3 different places they finally figured out we needed a completely new transmission (among other things) on our 4 year old car. Have I ever mentioned how much I love warranties? It put a smile on my face that we picked it up, paid $500 for things that weren't covered, then found out the total repairs came to over $6000. Yes, that definately helped my mood.
Did I mention that when I went to bring my garbage cans back into the garage this morning that I could see my daffodils starting to poke up out of the ground?
One of the best parts of my day happened while I was grocery shopping and got a phone call from a dear friend who lives out of state, whom I think about almost every day but hardly ever talk to. It made me happy enough that I became "that mom" who opens the box of crackers to start feeding her 2-year-old just so I could enjoy a pleasant conversation while walking around the grocery store. I did apologize about the open box to the clerk while checking out, but she hardly seemed to care.
Finally I was able to walk in the door at dinnertime after taking Jacey to ballet to smell dinner ready in the crock pot, and it actually smelled good to me. I enjoyed a meal with my family, helped with bedtime, and came back down to do dishes. Who knew I would ever be so happy to do dishes? I'm so ready to get back to normal. Maybe I shouldn't be so excited after one good day, but I am. I am ready to be a fun mom again. I'm ready to play with my kids, clean my house, cook real meals, go for the occasional run (well... waddle:), and give my husband a well-deserved break! This has helped me realize how much I cherish being able to stay home with my kids and do the things for my family that may at times seem less-than-glamorous or mundane to the rest of the world. This is the life I have always dreamed of, and I'm so grateful to be living my dreams.
