Six Weeks

Ella is six weeks old. Six weeks! (Enter all cliches about growing too quickly and time moving too fast here, they're all true!)

We are still growing into life as a family of five. Some days everything seems to run so smoothly, while others leave us run down and a little ragged. And while I would always choose the smooth running days over the not-so-easy ones I'm trying my best to savor them all. Ella is changing by the minute, Owen is becoming such a little boy with a big personality, and Audrey starts kindergarten this year. Now how did that happen? Wasn't she just Ella's size yesterday?

So I'm learning to be patient, to let go of the mess and the fact that 2.5 seconds after I clean things are dirty again, to ignore the to-do list and just be with the kids, to savor each frustrating, hair-pulling, beautiful second of being a mom. I'm going to blink and before I know it sweet Ella will be the one going off to kindergarten and my chance to have these kids to myself all day will be gone.

BUT...

and this is a big but, I also know myself and know that when the house is a mess, the laundry is dirty, and dinner hasn't even been thought about everything feels 100 times harder. Each time the kids throw another toy on the ground or when we can't find any clean clothes because they are all buried somewhere in a laundry basket I get closer and closer to my boiling point.

There has to be a balance. So we are all learning and growing together into this family of five thing. Learning to be patient, to listen, to help, and to be a little more understanding of each other. We are far from perfect, but it sure is a great adventure we are on together.