Me=Crazy (but Loved)

Yep-that's the title of this post and I stand by it.

It's funny 'cause it's true.

This weekend has tipped the scales of craziness into might-possibly-need-some-bunny-slippers land. I have been busy wrapping up the designs from my Near and Far Giveaway, which has been fun but challenging...fun because it's been great to work with the fabulous winners, but challenging because it seems this is also the weekend that the kids chose to simultaneously LOSE THEIR FREAKIN' MARBLES. My bad for not checking the schedule.

I am not kidding you when I say that each of them spent 90% of their waking hours in some form of whining screaming stomping tantrum. Many times over this weekend they were all going off at once, making my house reverberate with the sounds of shrill child screams. Fun Fun. By the end of the day today I was nearly ready to pack their bags and suggest they run away to live with Grandpa when, as I was putting Monkey to bed, I was reminded why I never have gotten around to selling them on Ebay.

After I read him his story Monkey put his hands on each side of my face and said, "I'm sorry I was so mad today and yesterday. Thank you for helping me feel better, Mommy. You're my best friend and I love you so much." Then he snuggled into my neck and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I won't lie-I teared up, and said a silent prayer of thanks that while my children may sometimes seem like psychotic midgets determined to be my mental undoing they are actually in fact loving, gentle creatures who love me very much.

My kids love me.

I know that it seems like an obvious thing, but I guess it's not something that I ever thought about. I love them to the ends of the earth and I would do anything for them. I work very hard to teach them, and take care of them, and let them know exactly how much I adore each of them but I never really considered how they felt about me. Does that mean I'm not empathising with them enough? Maybe. I guess I just always assumed the kids liked me just fine, and left it at that. I'm the mom-I do what I do because of how I feel about them and because of what they need-but realizing that my children love me as much as I love them is by far the greatest reward I've ever received....even if it is something I never knew I really needed to know.

Looking back on this weekend, it's obvious the kids just went bonkers-but if I look hard enough I can also see that no matter how frustratingly, ridiculously insane they might act sometimes they love me-and look to me for love, knowing it will be there all the time no matter how they behave-and that touches me so deeply I am nearly at a loss for words.

And it totally makes up for my nervous twitch.