Wonder

 Today has been one of those days... It was beautifully sunny and crisp this morning and after three squabbles and then a talk about squabbles which almost always leads to another squabble I decided we should get some healthy fresh air and take the dog to a favourite walk in a National Trust Park.

There has been so much bad weather lately, and it's been such a long winter I know we are all starting to feel a little hemmed in, so I try and get outside with the girls as much as possible. After the general chaos of getting hats, gloves, scarves, boots, coats, water bottles, poop bags, baby wipes, etc... ready for 6 people and a dog we finally make it to what has become, after the recent tumultuous rains a rather muddy and somewhat slippery park.

After a 10 minutes of healthy fresh air and lots of mud, Nola slips and slides into a rather large and dingy puddle. She looks somewhat triumphant until she realises just how cold the water actually feels.
Still, she cries more about having to go home than actually being covered in muddy, cold water. Poor lamby :(

I run with her to the car to get her clothes off and cover her in a blankie while Emmy brings the dog and Boo brings her younger sisters, who ran miles ahead on the way out but seem to be dawdling rather a lot on the way back.
We must look quite the bedraggled sight!

But as Rumi says "this is not a caravan of despair!"

And I've stopped noticing whether anyone's paying attention.

We stop at the shop for juice and animal food and I buy Sylvie a lovely piece of steak that is on offer.
The utility room quickly becomes a mud room as a bunch of wet soggy girls + one pup tumble in.

As I get Nola washed and dressed I notice that certain wee people have been putting dirty socks and tights and yes, even pants back into their drawers. Eeeek! So the offending, items of clothing are pulled out of their somewhat composting pile and are finally deposited in the washer.

Just as we sit down for lunch, Sylvie does a wee which runs from the french doors down to the kitchen in little rivulets between the tiles.

Grasping at slender straws, I wonder if there might be a home school lesson on irrigation there somewhere.

Sylvie gets put out in the garden. Sylvie tips over one of my pots and buries her face in the compost.I think about eating that steak myself.
We make another bottle of eco cleaning spray.

After lunch it seems like a rest would be the best option for everyone. Although not everyone initially agrees I soon have 3 little ones fast asleep in their beds. A miracle has occurred!

After the girls wake up we play some games that a kind friend brought over yesterday.  Boo makes Irish Soda Bread and things seem to settle down. By dinner time the front room is covered with puzzle pieces. The kitchen table is covered with paints and paper. The counters are covered in dough. The sink is full. But somehow, somehow everything is just right. Just as it is meant to be. And I can't help but smile at the wonder of that.

Edited to add: This looks like a great series "Teaching from a place of rest" from "Amongst Lovely Things" Blog.