The Witching Hours

4pm until bath time at 6:30 used to be our witching hours. I dreaded them. The kids were whiny, I was trying to make dinner and do a last minute clean up before Daniel came home from work and by the time he did come home, I was tapped out. That is exactly how I felt most days at 4pm, Avery... distraught.

 But as the kids have gotten older, those witching hours have become less frequent (with the exception of tonight! haha) and I'm finding myself really enjoying late afternoons with the kids.

 We've had a few sneak peaks lately of spring weather and we've spent what was once our witching hours on the walking trails, playing fairies in the woods, snapping pictures in new spring clothes and swinging at the park while the crock pot makes dinner for us!

 It sure beats cooking dinner with 2 kids crying at your feet because you put on the wrong Barney episode because they asked for the one with a dog but there are like 13 dog episodes and you have no idea which one is the "dog episode" they want but it so obviously is not this one...someone has a potty accident while your hands are covered in Parmesan bread crumbs and egg yokes for the dinner you've promised your husband because he has been so gracious to eat the chicken nuggets you've microwaved him for 2 nights straight... someone spills water all over the kitchen trying to self serve himself water that he's asked for 12 times but you're too busy cleaning poop off the couch when your husband walks in and asks "How was your day?"

 At that point you basically want to cry or maybe you do because you've tried so hard and it looks like you've failed... big time.  Sound familiar? Well guess what....

 You know those obnoxious middle age ladies with college kids who tell you every. single. time you go to the grocery store to savor every moment because it will pass?

 They're right. It does. They do pass.

 They quit wanting to watch Barney {thank you Jesus!}, they learn to poop in the potty, they quit spilling drinks quite so frequently and your husband will, in fact, survive on chicken nuggets until you can get it together enough to cook an actual meal.

The savoring part.... I'm not sure you can truly savor those tough moments until they're gone or less frequent but I've certainly learned to laugh at them. The tantrums that used to leave me in a tizzy, now make me giggle because they're fleeting and few and far between. I can't say we'll miss them because those tantrums have turned into toddler sass which will likely prove to be equally as challenging...or dare I say hilarious. Just listen to what these tiny humans say with their dramatic hand gestures! It's so hard to take anything seriously.

So next time you have to walk out of Target with a crying toddler under your arm because you won't buy her a $40 owl treehouse or even the beaver family accessory pack... yes that does actually exist and yes this did happen tonight... take a deep breath and giggle at the hilarity of it all because those grocery store ladies who smile at my tearful toddlers who can't seem to cope with the Harris Teeter cookie box being moved from the front door into the deli are right...

 It's gonna pass....

... and those witching hours are going to turn into frog hunting by the creek, playing fairies in the moss beds and bike riding at dusk.

 Today, if you carried a toddler out of a store under your arm, your husband came home to a greasy haired wife wearing a days worth of spit up, frozen pizza is for dinner again and you haven't a clue what's going on in the Middle East but you're fully up to date on all things Bubble Guppies.... take heart! There is light at the end of the tunnel!

I can see it! I promise it's there! Hang in there, mama!