By 9:00am this morning I was pretty much over the day. It was one of those overwhelming, emotional, tear filled kind of mornings triggered by juggling a potty training toddler with a mind of her own, a stubborn bulldog (that needed to be walked), and myself – an 8 month pregnant woman. Plus making sure all three of us got fed while trying to get us out of the house to make it to church on time – bulldog excluded of course.

Hearing the music and word at church helped a lot. Then I was back to emotional tears again as I struggled with my toddler who wet herself completely from the waist down just before I picked her up from church day care.

You don’t realize how small even handicap bathrooms are until you’re in there 8 months pregnant trying to pry wet clothes off a wiggling toddler. Then as if it couldn’t get tougher, when said toddler asks you for her usual donut after church and you say no and it turns into a crying fest and pleading to get the donut all the way to the car. And you almost want to just walk back and get it but then know you’ve done the right thing when you get her in her car seat and calmly explain why she’s not getting the donut and then thankfully less than 30 seconds later she’s asking you for her cut up fruit instead.

Things proceeded like this on and off pretty much until around 1:30p when our tiny love went down for her nap and I decided I needed one just as much.

When we finally made it back home and met up with my husband we decided to go rent a movie, and since the dvd rental place isn’t too far my husband suggested we all walk there together, it would be a nice family walk with Biggie. At first I was a little hesitant but said sure and it turned out to be just what we all needed. We even bought a bag of popcorn as a treat for our daughter. I don’t even remember the last time my husband and I even had popcorn together, but I think it did happen once. And we rented Disney’s “Chimpanzee” movie, one I had wanted to see since it’s release in 2012.

Movie night after dinner turned out to be such a blessing. My husband prepared the popcorn and served Celeste her own serving in a small bowl and one for myself. She was so pleased with her treat and completely satisfied with the amount we gave her.

After the emotional ups and downs of the day, I smiled and thanked God for giving us that fun moment together as a family and for reminding me that every moment changes and to be more gentle on myself when things get rough. It’s not always easy but I try my best.