Parents start at dawn

We all know there are very many hectic moments when you have kids. Whether you have 1 kid, 2 kids or 6 kids, life is full of very busy days. Between schedules and cooking and homework and cleaning and bedtime and bathtime, (you get my point) there is barely any time left over. The appointments written out on the calendar, emergency numbers on the fridge and the shopping list maybe somewhere in your purse. Social evenings away from your kids, is few and far between, and at that, finding someone who actually wants to come over and stay with them, is a task on its own. Why? Because we are parents and our job as parents is to wake up every morning at the crack of dawn with 4 extra bodies in our bed, make breakfast for 4 extra bodies, dress 4 extra bodies, bathe 4 extra bodies, cook with bodies hanging off our legs and read bedtime stories at night. This is our job, but eventually the morning visits in bed will disappear, breakfast will be a granola bar to go, they will dress themselves, bathe themselves, prepare their own meal because what you prepared is just too fattening, the hanging off the leg will turn into hanging off your wallet for weekend money, and the only bedtime stories will be the ones you read to yourself. This is what raising a family is all about. We do our best to take care of them from the day they come home. We love, hug, cuddle, kiss and adore them. We teach, preach, pray and hope for them. We yell, shout and cry for them. We save, sacrifice and sweat for them. They are our kids and we are their parents and our job is to raise and praise them until the day we leave this earth. We are proud, we are sad, we are mad and sometimes we are just flippin fed up. We can’t quit because we know that they need us. My parents spent all day in a garage yesterday filling 200 jars of tomato sauce because their very grown up kids need them to make a nice plate of pasta. Although I appreciate it, I know they don’t have to do it. They do it because they are my parents and their job is not over.

Children grow taller, wider and wiser from the day we bring them home. They go through many stages of life, and before we know it, they are out of our bed and into the world, so thank God we enjoyed the cuddles at the crack of dawn.
That's my peace today!

Italian Flag Risotto
1 pack of arborio rice
1/4 pesto
1/4 cooked tomato sauce
1/4 olive oil
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Boil rice as directed, salt to taste. Remove from pot once cooked. Split rice in 3 parts. I part add oil, second add pesto and third add cooked sauce. Arrange in a baking dish to resemble the Italian flag (green, whit, red) Sprinkle mozzarella on top, cover with foil and bake for about 10 minutes (enough to melt cheese)