a good morning

Here is the goodness that can ensue when the boy is at preschool, the girl is asleep, the sun is shining, and the mama has a little energy. Bread is rising, pear sauce for said growing girl is cooking, chocolate (!) granola is made for nibbling, and tea is steeped for sipping. I am grateful for my life.

Seriously, it's wonderful what a difference two little things have made in our lives. One, Finn has started preschool, which means all kinds of things. Two mornings a week Willa and I can just breathe, relax, and focus on her needs, and then I am so relaxed and rested when I pick Finn up that the rest of the day is a joy for all of us. Plus, the little bit of independence, in a safe, nurturing environment, seems to be just what Finn needed for his growing self, and he's not fighting me nearly so much.  

Two, we've finally figured out that Willa has a sensitivity to dairy items, and likely to soy as well. Since I stopped eating dairy, in all its forms, she has almost entirely stopped spitting up, and more importantly, there's no more of that shrieky, pained crying that we heard so much of, especially at bedtime and naptime. And so even though she still has some bad sleep habits--like an inability to return to sleep on her own--she is much easier to soothe, and we are much more patient and confident in our parenting of her. It's amazing how cyclical these things are--with even a modicum of success, we feel good about what we are doing, which only leads to more success, which leads ultimately to happier children and happier parents. 

And the chocolate granola? That, my friends, is what happens when a dairy-loving mama is suddenly denied all dairy goodness and thus my habitual indulgences. Granola is something we make an awful lot of around here (a GREAT toddler/preschooler project, since he's free to nibble all he likes during the making) and this morning the salty-sweet, nutty oats were just begging to be coated in dark chocolate. Who was I to get in the way of that?