Not today Satan, Not today!

Yesterday was one of those days, one of those just really hard days. I could feel the enemy working against me from every angle! I cried, A LOT! You see, I'm not just a SAHM, I'm a Work At Home Mom (WAHM). I am the day time caregiver for my twin, 1 year old nephews, I run this blog, and I run my own essential oil biz. On top of those, I'm a Wife and Mom first! When I have my nephews we don't usually leave the house. I really don't care to haul three children around unless it's necessary. However, staying home all day every day with three kids and two dogs can take a toll on a person physically, mentally, and emotionally; but that's a post for a different day!

My day started as Mom at 3AM! My 3 year old daughter woke up crying because she was congested and couldn't breathe well. So, I move her to the living room and try to get her back to sleep. I put on a diffuser blend with essential oils to help relieve some of her congestion. While waiting on her to be able to get comfortable she requests to watch Rapunzel and have something to drink. In the midst of my early morning brain fog, I give her a cup of milk....SERIOUSLY! My daughter LOVES milk and would really drink it all day if I would let her. You will see why this was a bad idea in just a few moments. So, she finally goes back to sleep.

At 5:45AM, my nephews arrive, just like every morning. They have their PediaSure and go back to sleep. Not too bad...right?! I get them back to sleep, I make myself a cup of coffee and I rest for a little bit and think about the break I will get when I take my daughter to Preschool later in the morning.  My husband is up and getting ready for work. Of course, all the hustle and bustle he makes wakes my daughter back up, and she's grumpy. YAY! As my husband is getting ready to walk out the door, here's where that horrible idea with the milk comes back to haunt me, she vomits all over my carpet. My husband is instructing a 3 year old to "go to the bathroom", because he's a man and doesn't think about that being a foreign concept to her. To him it's just the logical thing to do, thank goodness for Moms! So, I shoo him out the door and scoop my daughter up and rush her to the bathroom. She's still throwing up and now my nephews are awake and screaming to get out of their bed....BUT WAIT! It's not over yet!

I get my daughter settled and run her a Thieves bath and put her in the bath tub. She looks at me and with a very serious face, tells me that she thinks the dinner I made her eat last night made her sick! WHAT?! Yes, we fought over what I made for dinner the night before, and Yes, I made her eat a few bites before she could leave the table, and YES, she was totally hanging on to a grudge because of that! So, I get her in the tub, the boys are still screaming their heads off, and I still have to clean the milk out of my carpet before I can let them out!

Y'ALL...it's not even 8AM yet!!!!! My nerves were shot, I was exhausted and I still had, AT LEAST, 12 more hours left in my day! My daughter plays in the bath tub, I get the carpet cleaned, I get the boys out and diapers changed, I get my daughter out of the tub and she's hungry and thirsty. I tell her she can't have any more milk for the day and she completely melts down. She's tired, she's mad, and she doesn't feel good. I felt completely helpless. I needed a moment to myself. I go in my room, shut the door, lock it, and I pray. I pray for strength, compassion, and the overall ability to make it through this tough day. When I'm done, I walk out of my room to find my daughter sitting at the door. I picked her up and hugged her tight. We join my nephews that are playing in the living room. The rest of the day was just as chaotic, frustrating, and discouraging.

Later that afternoon, my husband comes home from work, the boys go home with my brother, and I spend the evening with my little family. We ordered pizza for dinner, because I obviously wasn't going to have another fight about dinner, and we ate and had family time. When I put my daughter to bed, I sang her a song and we prayed together. We prayed for tomorrow to be a better day, we prayed for her to feel better, and we prayed for everyone else we know that needs the extra prayers right now. Nothing makes me feel closer to God than praying with my daughter. After putting her to bed and talking with my husband about the events of the day, I gave it all to God. This is just my season in life, this is not what defines me as a mother, care-giver, or person. At the end of the day, I remind myself that it's a bad DAY, not a bad LIFE; and that I cannot let the enemy take my sights off of that. Yes, my family and I have issues, stresses, etc; but there are families out there with greater issues, stresses, etc. I'm eternally grateful to God for the family HE has blessed me with. I will continue to trust God to watch over my family and bring peace to us on days like this. Today is a new day, and I woke up refreshed and thinking of solutions to all the problems the enemy threw at me yesterday. I'm ready to face challenges and do what I need to do for me and my family. Not today Satan, Not today!