How a pair of shoes made my day...

Today is Monday, and I am ever so thankful to have the day off! Well, a day off from my "paying" job, that is... I have spent the day fighting off a headache and trying to avoid the inevitable feeling of being overwhelmed by all the things I needed to get done today...things that I didn't get done this weekend...things that were actually on my to-do list LAST week.

I was up late last night, helping the girls with their homework, and I was really hoping to crawl back in bed for another precious 30 minutes of sleep after getting Mickey on the bus, but it wasn't to be. Caroline, who usually sleeps late and wakes up slowly by snuggling her "gulla" and reading her books, decided to get up early today, and she was out of bed before Mickey even left! I managed to enjoy my morning with her anyway, despite my fog. She was in a charming mood this morning! And she ate like a horse...I'll share a little more on that in a minute. After spending at least two hours trying to shower and dress, while chasing Miss Caroline and changing laundry, I was changing her clothes for the second time (don't ask what happened to the first outfit), and that's when I got my reminder for the day...you know, that moment when you realize that all the stuff that's not going right doesn't matter...the moment when you know you're in the right place, doing the right thing...the moment that makes you get that big silly grin on your face...for the first time, Caroline picked out her own shoes!

"Cheese!" Why do we teach our children to say such silly things?

Wait, you say, that's it? Well, you just had to be there to see the little look in those beautiful brown eyes. When I asked her if those were the shoes she wanted to wear, her eyes lit up with excitement. Now they weren't the perfect style for the outfit she had on, but at least they matched colorwise! I am usually the matching queen. I love it when the accessories perfectly match the outfit. I love it when my kids wear matching clothes, and, believe me, those days are fading fast and usually only exist for major holidays and events and with major bribery. But I was able to appreciate the moment, and she proudly wore her little lavender tapestry shoes from China on our errand to secure Mommy's sanity for the day.

They do look good, especially from her perspective!

Now about this little girl's appetite...I am sad to say that she must be about to grow. I have told her repeatedly to knock it off and slow it down, but she's ornery about it. She ate more before her nap today than she's probably eaten total in the past two days! A couple of days ago, she starting saying "moh" for more as she was signing it. Well, she sure loves that word now! Here's the damage...

• 3 servings of Cheerios and milk


• 1 bowl of Teddy Grahams


• 6 oz. of milk in a bottle


• 1 bowl of Whale crackers (contraband she found stashed in the girls' room when I wasn't looking)


• 1/2 mozzarella string cheese stick


• 1 boatload of fresh pineapple (I finally had to cut her off)


• 1 handful of ice cold frozen peas


• 4 cubes of colby jack cheese


• 2 oz. of diluted Gerber Graduates juice to wash it down!

And she actually asked for another "ba ba" at naptime. My diversionary tactics worked, and she went to bed without a fuss. She was happily reading one of her "Mo Mo" (Elmo) books when I closed the door. So instead of doing all the things on my to-do list, I'm here at the computer, sharing my day, hoping it will shine a little light on yours! Happy Monday!