Quiet on the Homefront

 These days are slow, and I am soaking up every ounce of it. We are making it through with lots of deep breaths and trying not to go crazy over the mountain of laundry on my couch or the dishes on my counter. We enjoyed a nice, relaxing, quiet day today with no obligations, no where to go, and no expectations. 

When we wake in the morning the house is a tad on the chilly side. It's not quite cold enough to turn on the furnace, but Fall is definitely in the air! I love enjoying the cozy atmosphere in our home as we layer up in sweaters and blankets and admire the trees changing colors across the park. 

Finley is eager to help with Oliver and brings me handfuls and handfuls of diapers while I change him. Eventually the entire bag ended up in a pile on my rocking chair, and I just had to shrug.

In the late afternoon I escaped to catch a few winks in the rocking chair while I nursed Oliver and the boys played contently. Joseph fell asleep on the couch, Finley found a favorite toy, and Hyrum sat at the table with some freshly made playdough. I listened to the rain pound on the rooftop and the thunder grumble in the distance as I soaked in the quietness of the nursery.

When Camilla got home from school she grabbed a quick snack and then rushed off to the park with her little brothers. The crisp Fall air nipped at their noses as they ran and played with friends. I watched them chase each other all around the green space playing frozen tag and was brought back to my childhood. I remembered the way the cool Fall air would feel on my cheeks, warmed from playing tag with the neighbors. They came inside for dinner with drippy, pink noses and grins from ear to ear. 

Dinner was graciously brought by a friend, and it was so nice not to have to worry about what to cook. When we finished eating, Finley went for a bath and then we had ice cream. When I asked Joe what kind he wanted tonight I had  to laugh at his reasoning, "I had banilla yesterday, so today I will have chocolate please."

I then did bedtime solo for the first time since Oliver joined our family. I started with the toddler who proved to be the most difficult. I watched from the cracked doorway as he stood on his bed and high-fived his shadow approximately 100 times before he actually lied down. He then rolled all over his bed, kissed his headboard a few times, jumped in and out, and eventually fell asleep with his legs hanging off the edge.