Slowing Down

My nesting is kicking in high gear lately. The sight of a cluttered room, dirty dishes in the sink, and nearly anything out of place drives me absolutely nuts (much more than it normally does.) I see a toy that isn’t where it’s supposed to be and I immediately feel the need to put it back, regardless of whether the girls just finished playing with it 30 seconds prior. The constant need to clean or straighten has left me busy around the apartment and has given the girls more time to play with one another.

The upside of my craziness is that my apartment has been a lot cleaner than usual. The girl’s are also playing with one another a lot more and their relationship is stronger than ever.

The downside:

The girls are left alone in their room long enough to do this to themselves. I was folding the laundry yesterday and Avery came out of her room with this all over her face. Thankfully it was only watercolor paint and washed off within seconds (she also thought she was hilarious.)

I’ve been trying to get so much done in these few 24 hours that it’s left me tired, sick (my morning sickness/HG is ramping up again,) and the girls being witnesses to me stress over the littlest things when all they want to do is play and make as mess just as little girls are supposed to.

Last week MacKay was out of town and I had already put Avery down for bed. Rather than putting cleaning all of the dishes in the sink, I sat down on the couch with Harlan just to talk. We chatted about her day, the letters and sounds she’s learning in school, and life in general. I love having these little conversations with her because it is such an eye opener on what life really is all about.

That night I let her sleep with me in my bed as a special treat. As we were laying there together and Harlan was snuggled up against me (that girl loves to cuddle) she whispered, “I love you mom. You are the best mommy ever.” I whispered back to her that I loved her too. She then looked up at me and said, “I want to keep you forever.” With tears trickling down my face, I whispered back “You can baby.” And then we both drifted off as I held her closer than I have in a long time.

I’m not sure if she would have said those things to me while we were laying in bed if I hadn’t stopped and chatted with her on the couch. Taking that little moment to put aside the “to-do”  list running rampant in my head just for a few moments with my girl.

Since that night, I’ve taken my craziness down a notch and vowed to take things one step at a time. No more running through life just knocking things off of my list, even if my nesting hormones are particularly high and in demand.

Last Friday, with that mindset, I took Avery on a little outing. Usually after we drop Harlan off at school I rush home to get Avery down for her daily nap while I get things done around the apartment. Not this day. This day we decided to forgo the nap and just take a walk around the city. We ate lunch together and strolled through streets looking at dogs (because Avery loves to point out every single dog) and finding balloons (another one of her current obsessions.) No agenda, no place to go, just walking around enjoying the scenic view and enjoying one another.

It was magical for both of us.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you just took a little time to slow down from the craziness in life and just be in the moment?

Do it.

You will be amazed at how one small step back can be life changing.

For more ways on how we slow down as a family, check out this post on Babble.