Today...

Today was a good day.  It really was.  I had an OB appointment this morning.  It's always nice to hear the baby's heartbeat, and I am loving my doctor, who smiles so genuinely when she gets it, and seems to trust that I know what I am doing.  Then back to quickly clean up the house...it was a terrible mess, and then pick up the kids at noon from school.  We had lunch...I am realizing that we way over-rely on cheese for protein--I need to figure that out, but later.  Then a friend of Elsa and her mother came over for a play date.  Elsa, Emily and David played together, doing I don't know what, but it is so nice that he can be included in their play so easily now, while Diane and I watched the bunny and then fed clover to the chickens (which is funny, since I move their chicken arc everyday so they can have more fresh clover, but they seem to get a big kick out of it when I hold out clover for them to eat) and chatted.  It has been fun getting to know her.

Then I dug another bed where I think a few more tomatoes and my summer squash will go, and helped Elsa plant some more flowers in her garden and helped the neighbor girl pick strawberries.  Then (then, then, then) we made some graham crackers for a snack, and ate them while reading a book...which seems like a nice ritual for four o'clock.  I decided to bring Jerry, our bunny in to play as there was a humongous rain storm, at which point I proceeded to get irritated with the kids for being, well, kids.  I wanted them to be calm and soothe the bunny, but of course, they are excited about him and are, you know, small children.  (That part wasn't so good--I am finding myself anxious about this bunny, kind of the way I was about the chicks. I have calmed down about the chickens, so I am confident that I will calm down about him, as well, but right now I worry. I just really need to talk to some people who own them, and get some books, so I can have some good ideas about what to do. I like the idea of farming, but I don't have a farmer's toughness.).   They were dashing about, bringing all of their bedclothes into the living room to make him a "cozy nest" and then jumping around to convince him to get in it, which really didn't convince him.   Then, dinner, after which the kitchen was trashed again from the graham crackers too (and the dishes are still waiting in the sink for me), bath, stories and bed.  I am typing this while I wait for Elsa to fall asleep--the kids have a bath, I read David a story and nurse him to sleep at 7:30...Elsa practiced a little, then we read for about 45 minutes, and I sit in here and wait for her to fall asleep.  At some point that will need to change, but right now, I like it as it gives me a chance to write here, or just cruise around the Internet.

And my point, I suppose, is that there are lots of other ideas for things to do swimming around in my head.  I need to make bread.  I want to make yogurt--homemade is really so much better than store bought--I would like to join the final sleeve for David's sweater.   I would like to cast on for a sweater for my friend's baby girl who is coming in July.  I need to get to the knitting store to get help with a little hat I am knitting for another friend's baby girl who is coming any day now.  I want to do more crafts with the children.  I want to meal plan and figure out ways to eat less cheese and more other things.   I need to get the kids (and obviously myself) to the library to get myself rabbit books, and them new books.

And I know that there are things that could give--I don't have to read to the girl for so long, I could have bought graham crackers at the store...but I don't want to.  I am attached.  And I wonder how these other amazing mamas do it all...with more children and more farm.  I am realizing that this is mostly just a kind of processing of what feels like a very busy day for a very tired mama.  The dishes are not going to get done tonight.  Neither the yogurt nor the bread will be started. The chickens are not going to get placed on their roosts tonight.  Tomorrow there will be time enough.  Or there won't.  We will see.