In Our House.

In our house, we celebrate birthdays for as long as the mylar balloons keep floating.

In our house, we stop the morning routine to get a cell phone picture of the kids being sweet together, recognizing there could be years upon years where they won't even consider each other friends.

 

In our house, Disney Princess laptops rank so high in importance we need our picture taken with them and we hide them behind a recliner so our brother won't "steal" them.

In our house, we have a 2 year old and a 4 year old.

In our house, when we can't convince the 4 year old to shower before school, we do her hair in "Minnie Mouse Ears".

In our house, you have about the same likelihood of being kept awake by snoring from the dog, the dad, and the 2 year old boy.

In our house, sometimes dinner happens in a circle on the great room rug.

In our house, there's a good chance you'll each go to sleep in your own bed and then all 4 of you will wake up in one.

In our house, there are random piles of hand-shredded construction paper in baskets under the kitchen table, piles of spilled glitter on the playroom floor, blocks and crayons rolled under the edges of every piece of furniture, un-hung piles of clean laundry in at least 2 rooms at any given time, dishes unwashed, little collections of stones in little boy pockets, dolls dressed in infant clothing, tights and swimsuits and dress up outifts in piles on the floor where Luca stepped out of them without putting them away, and half-read books with dog-eared pages on almost every flat surface.

In our house, the baseboards aren't finished, the house isn't magazine-perfect, the money goes to taking the kids on adventures while Mommy wears the same tired and worn wardrobe for months on end, the dog chews toys left out too long, we recycle the same colds from one family member to another, and childrens' books are stacked in haphazard piles in every room.

In our house, Daddy whips the kids into a frenzy of giggles right before bed, tossing them into the air or twisting them over his shoulders and then rolling them across the carpet while Mommy pretends to be annoyed at the circus riling them up right before bedtime.

In our house, we kiss imaginary boo-boos, dance with toddlers in the kitchen because they beg, "Ho-yud me!", mornings start with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Daddy's English muffins, we make pre-bed shoeless drives to McDonald's to get a cone for each of us in the drive-thru at least once a month, and little artistic creations are taped to walls, doors, and windows.

In our house, I am the luckiest wife and mom in the world.