parenting

So I'm definitely not the parent I dreamed I'd be. 

I could make a long list of things that are hard for me or how horrible I am or things that annoy me, but I won't. It's likely I have 10 previous blog posts on that. One thing I will say though is that I'm not the greatest at "playing" with my kiddo's. I've forgotten how to be a kid. My imagination is gone. I can get down and pretend fight them or tickle them or snuggle them, but I no longer know what action figures say to each other. However I do love when I hear them playing. I love the sound of play. One thing I love about my job is when I'm home, puttering around the house, doing laundry or cleaning the kitchen and I can hear sweet little play in the other room. Together is awesome, but I also enjoy it when I can hear them by themselves. I don't get this a ton with Ivan because he is pretty much gone all day. I have Jack and Emery until noon and then It's just me and Emery for a while. I love it when I hear her playing around me. The other day I was mowing the lawn and she was out there with me, but playing off by herself, in her little hand-me-down slip Ellie gave her that she wears as pajama's. 

While I'm at it, another of my Emery favorites right now is when either of the boys have soccer practice she gets in her leotard, skirt, soccer socks, cleats, gets her water bottle, a ball, puts them in a bag, hops on her little bike and follows them over to the park. Next time I'll get a picture.