Mom!  An egg broke on the floor and the dogs won’t eat it!

This morning began like many mornings. 

“Mommy, I’m hungry.” drawn out with emphatic emphasis by my 3 year old.  So we get his choice of cereal, pour some milk, and get his favorite spoon (toddlers do these things).  He then eats one bite and then tells me he’s not hungry.  Off to play.  It’s a battle to finish eaching many times a day.

My oldest got up ate his breakfast and went to play.  I proceeded to remind him to get his bowl and spoon in the sink and put his clothes on.  Which he did, in the opposite order.  You’ll get no complaints from me about that.

Then time to exercise.  Normally the boys watch their hour or less of shows while I exercise, but I convinced them today to play and wait until snack time to watch.  They were doing well. 

That is until I heard the fridge door open.  I stopped my video and got up to monitor that.  After ushering them back to their toys in the living room, I went back to exercising.  Somewhere in there they moved to playing in the bedroom.  Several minutes later I heard it:

“Mom!  An egg broke on the floor and the dogs won’t eat it!”

I don’t know why the dogs have to be encouraged to eat raw egg off the floor.  My previous dogs never had a problem.  Our current two will walk away from them like they contain some sort of poison. 

Ok, that’s not really the problem here, is it?

Where did they get the egg from?  So I ask, “Where did the egg come from?  When did you guys get the egg out?”  I didn’t really get any answers.  I mean, was I really expecting my 4 and 3 year old to give me a timeline when and why they got the egg out? Haha! 

So at this point I’m dealing with the one broken egg on the floor.  That’s when my 3 year old approaches me, “Oh, mommy, here are the babies.  Aren’t they so cute?!”  He’s carrying two more eggs in his hands.  Now my mommy alert system is in full GO mode. 

How many more eggs are there floating around the house?! I hurriedly thanked my son and moved the eggs to the fridge to put them away.  That’s where I gather another bit of concerning information.  There were no longer two egg cartons in the fridge. 

THERE’S A WHOLE EGG CARTON LOOSE IN MY HOUSE WITH MY TODDLERS IN CHARGE!

I’m in a panic to find it now.  So I look in the place my children just were, their bedroom.  Thankfully, there is egg carton on the floor in their room and it’s empty.  I quickly try to remember how many eggs were left.  If my memory serves me correctly all eggs are accounted for.  (I hope, or I’ll be finding a surprise egg later today, yikes!)

(Yesterday should have been a clue to what was coming.  I found a whole carton of eggs in their backpack in the afternoon.  I guess were going to need to lock up the eggs, haha!)

I finally convinced the dogs to eat most of the egg and cleaned up the rest.  I finally finished my exercise and ate breakfast.  But my 3 year old got a cookie down from the countertop before I could catch him and we had to play a game to get clothes on since he was grumpy this morning.  Apparently, mom can’t got out with dad for the evening.  The 3 year old doesn’t like it.  He’ll have to deal with it.

These days have been a challenge.  I wonder if I’ve packed them too much: playing piano for a choir, tutoring, bible study, story time, etc.  And I find myself interrupted in the middle of almost everything I do to stop a child from climbing on the countertop, getting into the freezer or fridge, climbing onto the desk, fighting over a toy, a need of some kind, accidents (drinks, food or otherwise), keeping a child at the table to eat, etc.  It makes it hard to hold a thought or finish things when I can’t hardly remember what I’m doing since I have to stop and take care of some sort of crisis. 

I was talking to someone at our library about the struggle this season is.  She paused and thought back to when her kids were the age mine are.  That was a difficult time, she shared.  I was so grateful for that affirmation.   It’s ok that it’s hard.  It’s normal.  I’m going through what lots of other moms go through.  I’m going to survive.

If there’s anything true about kids it’s that they change.  Often faster than we want them too, but sometimes in ways that surprise us, take the pressure off and usher us into a new season with them.  My 4 year old is already starting to get to that place.  He is more aware of what things will be trouble for him.  He choses things that are allowed rather than testing boundaries as much.  My 3 year old, well, I’ll get back with you. 

I remind myself, I am not unlike my children when I come to God.  Sometimes I’m not sure where my boundaries are and I don’t know how to manage myself in this season.  I need God, His Holy Spirit in me, to guide and manage me.  I find His peace and calm coming out in my words when I don’t feel that calm and peace inside myself.  When I yield to Him, peace comes that passes all understanding.  I yield to it and it teaches my heart to respond and own that peace and calm.  And peace reteaches my mind to turn from anxiety to my Lord. 

I’m so grateful for the gentleness of our Lord when He teaches us.  I hope you can find this during the wonderful season of Christmas.  Let the Lord be your gentle teacher one small moment at a time.  So when the eggs break and the dogs won’t eat it right in the middle of your cardio, it’s just a little blip in the day and not the thing that sets the tone for the day.

Lot’s of love in this Christmas season!  Be blessed, friend!

LWF