Yesterday I had one of those (extremely rare) days where everything may as well have been in slow motion to an emotive soundtrack. One of those days where the kids exuded cuteness and it felt like I could visibly see each of them grow up a little.
It was Eli's first day of 3 year old kinder and he woke up so excited. He put on his uniform with great anticipation and headed off with Dave into the great unknown. Both Dave and I were a little nervous about how he would go, it being his first time away from us/family and knowing he had not even met his teacher yet or any of his new friends. We had taken him to see the space a few times so at least we knew he could picture where he would be spending the time. Dave spent over an hour at the kinder, observing Eli interacting and sending me five minutely updates and photos so I could be involved too. He did really well and hardly noticed when Dave said goodbye! When Dave went to pick him up he was very excited and asked if he could go to kinder every day!
Meanwhile, in the morning I took Ivy to her 6 week check and she did really well, giving the doctor some wide smiles as she checked her lungs and heart. During the rest of the day she slept well and was very alert and engaged during her wake time. Turns out she loves sleeping in the car too, so looks like a few trips are on the horizon!
After lunch it was time for Hudson's two year old review. He didn't say much but was at his charming best with the nurse, and rode the rocking horse with gusto all around the room! While he was at home I noticed a big difference in his speech with Eli gone, as he tried harder to express himself and gave mum and I directions, like "hammock, mummy" and "I talking to you, nanny!" When Dave got home, he presented his mini laptop case (read 'man bag') to Hudson, who immediately packed his toy computer and phone in it and trailed Dave around all afternoon like his 'mini me'. When Dave sat down to do work, Hudson would follow suit.
After kinder I took Eli for some special time at McDonalds to talk through how the day had been. He seemed so much older as he answered questions about what he had done and who he played with and what his teacher was like. It was such a great experience for us both. We braced for a difficult evening, knowing that Eli would be very tired and would likely lose it multiple times before bed... and then... nothing! He followed instructions really well and went to bed with zero fuss.
These times can't last forever, however, and today was a completely different story! Dave had an early start and left me only barely out of a comatose state at the breakfast table. When we finally managed to get our shit together, I got a phone call from Dave that he had forgotten to tell me that the maintenance guys were coming over to paint walls/doors and fix the broken things in our house... and that they were at our front door that very minute! I was feeding Ivy in the hammock, in my nightie still and must have looked like a crazy woman as I very reluctantly went to let them in. When it soon became clear that energetic toddlers and open paint cans were a bad mix, and that one of the doors that needed painting would need to stay shut for 4-6 hours, effectively shutting off all kids bedrooms; I decided to hightail it out of there immediately!
We've made it through the day now and we have managed to get there, despite a few tantrums (some from the kids) and close calls on the stairs at Nanny's three story apartment (not super child friendly, you could say!).
With the current intensity of life, it is so rare to have a full day where you can actually appreciate each child and be able to zoom out from the craziness a little to just 'see' the kids. Yesterday was pretty incredible and I hope for many more such moments, particularly if my disposition has anything at all to do with how regularly they occur. In the meantime, we'll just have to keep trying (amidst failing) to react to life with creativity, patience and above all, a sense of humour.
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