Today was one of the type days that make me thankful it is drawing to a close.

Elle stays home with her little boy, and occasionally she has days where she considers listing him on ebay. I used to think that was funny...and now, I am beginning to understand the sentiment. Lest you worry - she would not do such a thing, and neither would I. Our kids are far too precious and cute...

But today I was dealing with an ill pill of a child. He must've gotten up on the wrong side of the bed crib because after his inital sleepy sweetness this morning, we went downhill pretty quickly. From whining at me while I was fixing breakfast, to whining at me while I tried to play with him, to whining at me in the store - subsequently screaming when we left the store, to whining at me while I fixed lunch - subsequently screaming when lunch was done. Naptime was pretty pleasant. And after his initial sleepy sweetness after naptime, he quickly began whining at me while we were trying to play. I finally gave him a banana, which made him pretty happy - only to make him verrry unhappy when the banana was gone.

It was one of those days where I really couldn't do much of anything to make him happy.

We met K, P, & N to take a few pictures toward the end of the day...we took the pictures outside, and I think that being outside made my child SO happy. Until he got reallly hot and tired. Then he was unhappy. We went home and started supper - Nathan was going to be a little late getting in, so I really didn't need to wait for him to get home to hang out with the munchkin while I cooked. So I cooked while a whiny, hungry munchkin hung onto my legs. I finally got to the point where I was able to pick him up so he could actually see the ground beef cooking on the stove.

It was still pink, and he was smacking his lips. Bless his heart, he just doesn't understand that you can't pick up raw ground beef and eat it. He thinks that if we are in the kitchen, then that's where the food is, and eating is just an instant thing! I know this will change as he realizes that cooking is a process, but for now, it can be a little frustrating.

Some days I deal with the frustration a little better than others; today, I was not feeling well (read: cramping, and those of you who know me know how this is for me)...so the frustration was difficult to deal with. It doesn't help that the heat is absolutely oppressive right now - no rain in sight - and one can't even think about going outside without breaking a sweat. Our a/c is working as hard as it can go, but with 100+ degrees every day for 2 weeks, the a/c does good to keep us from simply roasting. So for me, it was a hot & hurting sort of day.

So maybe it wasn't all him...maybe I was the ill pill & he was just taking my cues. Maybe he should've gotten on the computer & listed his grouchy mama on ebay.

Fortunately, I have a wonderful husband who comes home to save the day:

The child laughs with delight and reaches for his father the minute he walks in the door. The father picks the child up and takes him back to the bedroom so the mother can finish cooking dinner. The family eats a relatively peaceful meal, and then the father takes the child outside to help make the "watering" rounds for the half-dead trees in the yard. The father then gives the child a bath...brushes his teeth...and then hands him back to the mother for bedtime. The child is out like a light, and the mother lays him in his bed...hoping that he'll keep up the trend of sleeping through the night in his own bed (2 nights in a row, now, hoping for a third).

And then the mother sighs a sigh of relief, that they made it through the day...and feels confident - or at least hopeful - that tomorrow will be a better day.
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And so you can see that I'm really not serious about ebay, here are a couple pictures we took today. I really do have a precious child. Some days will just be better than others.