Sometimes there are really nice moments in motherhood that make all the stress and anxiety worthwhile. This morning I asked Olof to get up with Lydia and get her ready for school so that I could stay in bed for a little while longer while Tage is asleep. This evening after Lydia was home, I thanked her for being so good for her dad this morning and getting ready without waking me up. She said, “you’re welcome, but I like it better when you get up with me. Dad doesn’t get my clothes or anything — he just sits there and reads the paper.” Olof is surely more than adequate in the parenting department, but I am a much more hands-on, openly nurturing caretaker and it’s good to get positive feedback about that from the kids now and then. Those moments really reinforce my decision to be an at-home mom to my kids.

I’m having company over tomorrow afternoon (Helena and Fredrik, Debbie, and a “new” girl, Melanie, who just moved to Skellefteå from the States a couple of weeks ago). I made banana bread earlier, and I just put a Mississippi Mud Pie in the oven, so I’m really looking forward to the eating part of the occasion (it’s a given that I’m looking forward to the company part!). Actually, I’m just hoping to wow them so much with my baking skills that they don’t notice that my house is an absolute disaster area. We’re still moving furniture around, and this in-between stage isn’t so nice.