Up Til Midnite with Bode

I've been really trying to stay in the moment with Boden. He is super smart, full of energy, curious and doesn't always need a lot of sleep. A challenging combination for me at times;) But he is so much fun and I really like being able to give him my undivided attention, which I admit doesn't happen that often. So the other night when he took a 3 hour nap late in the afternoon I not surprised that he wasn't tired and I decided to take this as a perfect opportunity to spend some fun time together. We had such a great time!! I cleaned up the downstairs while Bode watched some tv and then helped a little. We played, had a snack, read books and snuggled. It was so nice to just spend time together and I really don't know how many times he told me he loved me. That's just the sweetest sound. Sigh.

Cat pee!

Fact 1: We got a new couch.
Fact 2: We have a cat who is very sensitive to the overall energy in our house.
Fact 3: I was in a very bad funk one day last week.
Can you guess Fact 4?
That's right pee on the new couch!!
So now I am thankful for a cat who reminds me when I need an attitude adjustment and also for vinegar.

I'm stopping this car right now!

Boden was screaming, not crying, just yelling as loud as he possibly could on the way home in the car today. It wasn't joyful, happy screams - which I can handle. He was screaming so that I would know that he wanted to get home (which is where we were headed.) Well, it completely drove me nuts and I had to get off the highway and actually stop the car because I wasn't cool enough to just tune it out and drive at the same time. I felt like I was in one of those horrible family comedies that make you laugh but at the same time you wish you didn't get the jokes. I got out of the car to talk to him and he stopped screaming, though I was still hanging onto that frustration. But I turned it around!! I got some compassion, he was super tired and we had just had 3 fun-filled hours at the childrens' museum. I knew he would be asleep in just a few minutes and I just had to wait it out. I want to respond to things like that with love and calm patience, that is my goal and I know until I can do it consistently these kind of occurances will keep popping up in my experience.
So today I am thinking how thankful I am for my vocal son!!