A rough week: A rant of sorts....

Levi is in the throes of his first cold and he is miserable. My ordinarily jolly baby is a continuous fountain of mucus, snot and tears. Last night, after a particularly rough spell, we fell asleep on the couch together; his sweaty little body draped over mine like a panther on a branch. Amelia and Claire have been hacking up their lungs for what feels like five weeks now. I can't even count how many times our entire household has been awake at 4am to administer medicine, and/or soothe children back to sleep after their coughs and woken them or their siblings. *Sigh*


I feel rather restless and irritable these days. My home is a perpetual mess, despite my best efforts to keep it tidy.  I see dust and crumbs EVERYWHERE, regardless of the fact that I sweep at least twice a day.  My couch is pilling and stained, the counter is covered with dishes, the beds are unmade and I have snot in my hair.   Sometimes motherhood is blissful and other times it feels like complete and utter drudgery.  This week has felt a lot like the later.  Weeks like this make me want to yell and a stuff my face with chocolate. Literally.

Right now Levi is napping, Amelia is at Kindergarten, Claire is in preschool and Nathaniel is out running errands. I am relishing the quiet and enjoying a mason jar of piping hot tea. Ordinarily, I would be making sandwiches, answering the phone, helping Amelia spell sentences, all the while bouncing a very cranky baby on my hip and an attention starved preschooler clinging to my foot. GAH! It's no wonder that at the end of the day all that I can do is flop down on the couch and watch re-runs of Downton Abby. I often stay up too late, trying to delay the inevitable; the fact that tomorrow I have to do it all over again.

 You would think that with two adults at home we would be a hive of productivity. We have good days from time to time, but this week we have been zombies just trying to keep our heads above water. Hopefully when our girls stop coughing up their lungs at night and Levi's health improves we will be to start tackling some spring cleaning, but for now, we are in survival mode. That being said, we certainly have it a lot better than people did in the Tudor times. I can't even fathom how people raised small children during those days. Now THAT was true drudgery. I am living a fairy tale in comparison.

There is something about January that is always dismal. Dark mornings, uninviting weather, cranky children and the monotony of day to day responsibilities. Christmas is a distant memory and Easter is  a long ways off.  Spring, however, is on its way. I was washing the dishes the other day and noticed that the snowdrops had begun to push through the earth. New life.

.