Sore arms and toddlers

I have forgotten how precious & high maintenance toddlers are.  There is a reason God made them so cute.  Before I get into this story, I need to set-up some background.  A few years ago, while under the house, Hopson noticed a leak coming from our shower.  It has gotten progressively worse over the years and he decided that before we fall through the floor, it was finally time for  us to have it properly fixed.  The way you completely fix this kind of problem is to have the shower ripped out, a new pan put in & re-tiled.  For those of you who know Hopson, the thought of this killed him.  For those of you who don't know him...Hopson is a CPA.  Accountants are notorious for being tight with money.  Blood from a turnip kinda tight.  He somewhat fits that description, it just depends what he's spending his money on.  He was not excited about this fix.

Chris was our tile guy last year when we added onto our house.  He does excellent work; he's trustworthy; and he cleans up his mess.  (this makes me thankful.)  It was a no-brainer that we contracted him to do our bathroom.  Chris has two precious children:  Alexis 7 & Ashton 2.  We were able to hangout with Chris' children yesterday.  Ok, this is where we pick-up the story. 

I love my kids.  I have loved each stage of watching them grow up, but I have to say that being out of the toddler stage is no hardship.  I love toddlers in moderate doses.  What are a toddler's two favorite words?  No & mine.  Oh wait, those are a teenager's favorite two words too.  LOL!  I forgot a toddler will put anything & everything in their mouth.  I forgot that a toddler had to be entertained or they will find their own ways to entertain themselves.  They like to be held and loved and get down and go.  They are walking contradictions.  I love when they laugh because there is nothing fake about it.  They are exhausting.  Flitting from this to that & leaving a trail toys, food, & whatever else in their wake.

Chris needed to take his children to the doctor yesterday for their check-ups, and knew that we were fine with him bringing them back over to our house to hang out until he finished his work for yesterday.  Bless that baby's heart, he had to get 4 shots yesterday.  Ashton was such a trooper.  I loved watching him interact with his sister & my children.  But there were times last night when he wanted me to hold him.  It's been a long time since anyone wanted me to hold them for hours at a time, and my left bicep is not very happy with me this morning.  :/  Don't kid yourselves, I loved every second of it.

It took Chris a little longer than he thought to get done last night & I was a very bad hostess.  I didn't have any dinner ready for my kids or his.  I would love to say it was because we were just so crazy that I didn't fix dinner, but it was because I was playing with a 2 year old.  If I had been better prepared I would have served this recipe but would have changed out the bacon with turkey sausage, sliced and sauteed with garlic and onions.  Next time I will be better prepared.  It's a recipe a toddler can easily eat & little ones always like to eat noodles.

I love my children so much.  It's hard for me to fathom how quickly they've grown up.  It makes me a little sad knowing how quickly they are changing, but I am also going to enjoy every minute of it!

Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley