Tender Mercies

I think this picture expains the title, in and of itself. Kyle taking a nap. And by his own choice too! I know that he needs naps every day still becuase on the days he doesn't take naps he either falls asleep in the car on the way home from getting Alex from school, or he almost falls asleep while eating at the dinner table. So I decided to put my foot down and get strict about nap time again. Because he hasn't been in a good routine of naps lately, I took it one step at a time today. I told him that we were going to have quiet time. I told him if he wanted to take a nap he could, cuz I know he's tired, but he didn't have to. I read a book with him to start it off and said he could read more books, take a nap, play with a quiet toy, or whatever. The only rule was he had to stay quiet and he had to stay in his room until I came to get him. Well, I closed the door, fully expecting him to come out within minutes to protest. I went about my day for the next 15-20 minutes when I realized it was unusually quiet. I went upstairs to find that he had decided that he was tired after all! I had to take a picture so on rough days I can go back and look at this post and know that he's not such a terrible two year old after all. :)

I also wanted to post some more tender mercies as of lately, so I will learn to see that the good parts of my days far out weigh the bad.
*This morning at a time when I was at my whits end with Kyle keeping Jared up with his loud noises, I sat him down and said "why do you have to be so loud? It makes me so sad when Jared can't sleep because you're making so much noise." Kyle then put his hands on my cheeks and said "I'm sorry Mommy. I'm sorry you're sad." Then with a snotty nose, he kissed my forehead and said "Feeling better?"
*It's been rainy lately and it's left the walmart parking lot full of nice big puddles. PERFECT for jumping in! Well, I told Kyle very nicely that I didn't want him jumping in them since it would make my kakhi pants dirty and his pants wet. Kyle in his sweet 2 year old way obeyed me... by carefully, and slowly walking through the puddles so they didn't splash the water everywhere.
*Kyle hasn't had an accident in I can't even remember how long. Today he broke that record, but it was because he was trying to be a big boy and go potty by himself and he couldn't get his pants down fast enough.
*Jared sleeps very well at night. Usually from about 10:30 until 3-4, and then until 5-6. It works very well for me since I have to be up to get ready, make breakfast and lunch for Alex, and then drive him to school, all before 8 am. I'm grateful I have a reason to be up at 6 am so I don't have to wake myself up, which I think is a lot harder.
*The other day I realized Kyle had gone upstairs while Jared was sleeping and I ran up there, sure that he was bothering him and waking him up! I came in the room to find him singing "I am a child of God" to Jared. What a sweet moment!
*Alex stayed home with the kids last night so I could get away and go to an SAA meeting (SAA is the "wives club" here) We had a Thanksgiving dinner and I got to talk and visit with all my friends. When I came home I was like a new woman! I didn't stress over Jared crying and I happily read Kyle a book and sang some songs before putting him to bed, even though it was late and he was VERY tired.
*Kyle makes me laugh every day. One of the things he loves to say (where he got it, I have NO idea) is.. "That's right Jared! Shake it out Momma!" Makes me laugh every time!
*Yesterday the stars aligned and both my boys took long naps at the same time! So I went ahead and took a nap with them. I got to sleep two hours before I had to get up! It was amazing!
*I still have freezer meals from when my mom came to visit and help out. She was so sweet and spent every day working on them. She would make a huge dinner and then freeze what we didn't eat. It's been so helpful on these rough days when I can't fit in one more thing!
*When I go to Walmart, Kyle doesn't even fight me about sitting in the cart. He actually WANTS to sit in the cart, which makes shopping so much easier for me.
I think I could go on and on about these tender mercies now that I am actually thinking about them, but I will stop there. I think posting them more in the future will really be helpful for my sanity though. :)