It was the Best of Sundays; It was the Worst of Sundays

I have a wonderful love/hate relationship with Sunday. I love spending time with my family (most of the time) and church is uplifting (sometimes). BUT, I really hate trying to make a 3 year old and a one year old sit or just play quietly for an hour. It is a hopeless situation. There is just NO way on the face of this Earth that Riley can sit still for any length of time, let alone an hour of talking, praying, singing... We can't even get through meals without Riley jumping down two or three times to do something (usually it's go potty... which I would much rather him do in the bathroom than at his seat)

This morning started out early. Yes, early is the best way to describe it. Riley has taken to getting up around 6:30. This sucks, but what can you do? I however put my foot down on being woken up before the sun is even peeking its head up... just before 6 this morning, with a wonderful storm blowing outside, Riley came into our room. He was really sweet about it, he stroked my cheek and said "Time to get up Mommy". I looked at him through bleary eyes, and said something to the effect that it was not, the sun wasn't even up... walked him back to his bed, tucked him back in, and prayed that he would go back to sleep. Ummm, right. He did leave us alone for about 1/2 hour, but then he was back. So, I did what any self respecting mom does, I turned on the TV to his favorite show, and let him watch a couple of shows. We have a big recliner in our room, so he sat on it and was blessedly quiet. I do sometime feel guilty about the amount of time he spends watching TV in the morning. But I'm just not a morning person, I never will be, and I just can't function well before about 8. So, I'm a grateful for Curious George, Arthur, Mickey Mouse Club House, and Higgly Town Heroes for helping me survive mornings.

Everyone was up and ready for the day around 9ish when we made breakfast. Biscuits and gravy with eggs. So good! I love Sunday breakfast, mostly I think because Allen usually takes care of it. He makes a great breakfast!

Riley and Daddy played trains until Allen had to go to church. Before he left, we got everyone ready to go. Both kids looked so cute, and we some how managed to get to church without too much mishap. The only thing I forgot was the baby wipes, which thankfully Emma didn't need.

Now, our ward goes backwards. Meaning, we start with Nursery (for Riley) and end up with Sacrament. Ending with Sacrament meeting is really tuff, everyone is just ready to go home, not sit and listen to talks and stuff. Some weeks go better than others. This was a not so good week. Riley was just plain jittery! That kid was in constant motion. The weird thing is he wasn't that way before church....but when nursery is over, he's ready to go home. And Emma was feeling particularly screechy. She has a squeal that could raise the dead. It's piercing! I swear we had the loudest kids in the ward today..

Or maybe it just feels that way during sacrament meeting when Riley's energy is expressing itself in.. umm... wiggles... twist...shouts... kicks... tears... frustration... He couldn't concentrate on a task. He was really tired. Well, yeah, he got up before 6, and now it's close to 4. We took him out of the chapel 4 times today. And only once for the bathroom. He didn't want to pray, didn't want to have snack, didn't want to color, didn't want to play with the toys we had, didn't want to sing, didn't want to be snuggled, didn't want to sit on the bench, didn't want to sit on a lap, didn't want to... you get the idea. Emma, who is usually pretty good, was feeding on Riley's manicness. She didn't want to have to sit anymore either, and wasn't interested in the toys we brought. She did however enjoy the raisins. Riley did say one really funny thing. We were looking through his quiet book and there are pictures of all the prophets of the church. We got to a picture of Lorenzo Snow... Riley asked: "Mommy why does he have beaver teeth?" We tired very hard not to laugh (it was right in the middle of the Sacrament) or be too mortified as he started to say "BEAVER TEETH" quite loudly. But I have to admit, I'm still giggling over it. So, here is a picture: What do you think? Does his beard look like beaver teeth to you? I honestly don't know how we got through the meeting... but we did! Riley and Emma fell asleep on the way home. I was so grateful, I wasn't sure if I could have handled them, I was really tired too.

When Riley got up from his nap, he was a lot better... and both kids enjoyed a ride on their ponies... It was so cute! Riley brought this little rocking horse in for Emma. They both played on the horses for about 30 minutes. I was able to get a few pictures and a video with Allen's camera. I couldn't help but share the cuteness:

So, there it is. We had dinner at Mom's. I was supposed to bring the dessert. I planned to make apple bread in the bread maker. When I got home from church, the bread maker hadn't worked... Allen fixed it, but by not in time to bring it for dessert. Sigh, what can you do? Got home, put kids to bed (Riley finally fell asleep around 9, UGH). Eat a piece of the apple bread (it was really good!)

So, there it is: my love/hate relationship with Sunday.