Today we had a wicked wind and rain storm. We live in farm country and are out in the middle of numerous fields, so we feel everything. My 1 1/2 year old son was quite intrigued with the sound of the rain hitting the window and gusting of the wind. I captured quite a few shots of him looking out the window, kissing the window, and pointing..."Wane Monny! WEEND!" I was going to blip one of those photos tonight, but changed my mind when I woke up in my daughter's bed tonight after "snuggling."

Tonight was one of THOSE nights. To those of you who are parents, I'm sure you will understand. My husband is out of town, so it's just me and the monkeys...somehow when you don't have someone to bounce the emotions off of, it is just that much worse....

One year old: Screaming, thrashing, biting, not wanting to go to bed tonight. And this is after throwing his toothbrush because he could still brush his teeth for the next two hours. After just "one more book," (in the dark) and a few more hugs, he was on his way.... well almost...milk, milk, milk!!!!

Four year old: Not listening resulted in no story tonight, no story resulted in very emotional screaming and crying, screaming and crying resulted in toys being taken away, toys being taken away resulted in more screaming and crying.....I found myself looking at the clock and watching the numbers get later and later. "Did I really pick this time to "pick a fight" and follow through? All I want to do is just cover my ears and go to bed....After having a few sobs, and taking many deep breaths, (my daughter and I both), we snuggled in.
We snuggle together every night. Quite often I am guilty of laying in bed with her while thinking of everything else that I need to be doing...working, cleaning, exercising, spending time with my husband, packing, etc. But tonight, I really snuggled...REALLY took the time to just be there with her.
I woke up with her arm wrapped tightly around me and her snoring in my ear.

Being a parent is not easy; as we all know, some days are much harder than others. I don't usually wear my heart on my sleeve, but tonight I wanted to submit this photo as a reminder to me to ALWAYS take the time. Take the time to follow through and make it through the hitting, biting, throwing, and yelling. Take the time to talk, listen, and even cry. But most important, always take time to snuggle :)