Halloween...and more...

We had a wonderful Halloween.  The holidays are becoming so joyful with these two precious beings around.  It is incredible to experience all of these special occasions through their eyes.  I know it is cliche to say, but what an honor it is to be a parent.  I get to watch these little miracles grow into full grown people!  I have to be honest, I sometimes worry about the coming years - I can't imagine enjoying them any more than I do now.  To be honest, most school age kids kind of annoy me, lol!  I assume mine won't be as annoying...but will it be as fun?  I don't know, they are just so amazing right now!  

At the pumpkin patch, refusing to pose as usual:).

This one is always up for a "cheese!" moment:).

Her skull skirt - she wore it last year for Halloween and it still fits this year!

My little monster.

Handsome Diego (try to ignore the Halloween explosion that is my living room in this picture:)).

Yup, even mommy dressed up.  Sadly, this is as close as we could get to a posed picture of the three of us.   *sigh*

Seriously, how cute is he?

She is soooo serious!

Love the light in this one...

And this one.

Rory got in on the fun.  Addy is in the background whining - a common occurrence these days.

I should end this by saying it is NOT always easy and beautiful and lovey-dovey in my house, lol!  I always struggle with people who only write about how wonderful life is as a mom...because I don't know if that's real.  The days are HARD with these two.  I have found myself doing things I said I'd never do (you might notice Jackson was a TV character for Halloween and I always swore my kids would not watch TV until age 3...but then he turned two and he loved it so....).   I am working hard to take deep breaths and when I get overwhelmed, to slow down and soak them in.  I even left work a couple of hours early today, just because I could and because I am sick of working so much and being away from them more than I want to be.   I have been overtaken lately with anticipatory grief.  Pretty soon, they won't be toddlers anymore.  My chest aches and my eyes well with tears just thinking about it.  I'm not going to waste away these hours, days and weeks being sad that they are flying by.  Instead, I am being very deliberate about spending time enjoying Jax and Addy.  When Jackson says, "mommy, sit!" and pats the couch next to him, you better believe I sit.  When Addy hands me a book and says "read," I read to her.  I rock longer before bed with each of them, I sit and play on the floor with them, I do art projects with them and I let them help me clean the windows.  I don't want to waste one second.  So...yes, it is hard, some days are downright painful.  I've decided that that's just motherhood.  But, that said, I've also employed some strategies when I notice myself feeling over-the-edge anxious, and I do believe they are working - self care (I finally started my weekly yoga class again!), slowing down the pace of our days, and making the time to just BE with them have all helped.   Any other mommy tricks out there?