They again asked if I could help in nursery but someone else was in charge of the lesson which made a surprisingly big difference. All I had to do was get us there. So, we got up today and the house wasn't as clean as I'd like it but I just decided not to worry about it. Jeff played with the kids while I took a shower and we just slowly got ready for church. We watched Dora and Dragon Tales and had breakfast and lunch. I guess in some way I gave up on trying to make it a special day and decided to just try to enjoy the day.
So we went to church and I played in nursery. Somehow things just seemed to go very smoothly there today. Not much, if any, crying by my kids or the others. And the other lady helping was wonderful. I think she was a bit more structured and that made quite a difference.
Rayne did excellently. They played some games and she got so into it and excited. One game, they took one kid into the hall (of course one kid always ended up being several) and another one got to hide a little paper pumpkin. Then the kids came in and had to find it. Of course after the first time, they all hid it in the same spot but the kids still had to look a bit and they would ALL get so excited and cheer when it was found. Rayne laughed and clapped and it was so cute. Then she even wanted a turn to go out in the hall and went without me. I was SO proud of her.
I had seriously considered going to the mother's room for the duration of sacrament meeting. I thought maybe I could rock Caius to sleep and let Rayne play and eat fruit snacks. But today I decided we'd just try starting out in the foyer since that's where we end up anyway. Just as we got there, the last seat was taken so I sat on the floor, in the corner, against a wall and fed my kids fruit snacks. I worried it would be distracting for other people, like we were sitting there having a picnic. But we were out of the way and they close the doors once the meeting starts anyway. So we sat there and we were quiet and good through the prayer and the start of the meeting. They even brought the sacrament out and I was able to take it. Yes, the kids did end up going up and down the hall, but it wasn't like they were trying to escape. They came back! I felt so much better not trying to balance the diaper bag and two kids on three or less chairs that Caius falls through and pokes the people in front of us.
After the sacrament, people left and we were able to sit on the couches and the kids went back and forth and played cars (yes! my kids shared their cars!) with another little boy from nursery. I was able to listen to one talk given by a lady that was my visiting teacher before they changed the wards around. It was a very good talk and something I needed to think about. We did leave before the meeting was over but not because the kids were freaking out. They were starting to get a bit fussy but it was more a preemptive move on my part. Rayne ran all the way home and Caius was happy in his stroller.
For dinner I bought a pre-made Stouffer's pasta dinner to go in the oven. While I think Stouffer's is a good brand, it's a bit expensive and I feel like a bad mom making pre-made food. We do it frequently- Hamburger Helper and such- but I've been trying to get away from that and I've been trying to make Sunday a bit special. But, getting home at 4 with everyone hungry and tired and the dishes not completely cleaned up from last night's dinner, I think it's probably a good idea. I came home, put in the oven and went to the bathroom. So simple! And that's probably in keeping with the Sunday spirit right?
So, I feel like I learned something today. It's been good.
Sounds great, JoAnna! I love you!
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