Today was one of those days where I was counting down to the girls’ bedtime shortly after we got up this morning. The girls were crabby and antagonizing each other from the get-go. Big Sister was whining about not wanting to go to her last day of morning camp (which she asked me to register her for), Baby was pitching a fit and rigid as a board as I tried to strap her into her car-seat, and together they’d managed to leave the house looking as though a tornado (or perhaps an energetic preschooler and toddler) had gone through at full force. Big Sister was still crabby when we picked her up from camp and headed home for lunch.

*sigh* I don’t want to yell at them, but I really don’t have the energy to deal with this all day long.

You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

I decided Big Sister needed some one-on-one time with Mom while Baby was napping. We scored a plethora of fresh apricots, peaches and apples at the Farmer’s Market yesterday, so we decided to do a bit of baking. First things first, though: Mama Coole took a fifteen minute lay-down herself after putting Baby down for her nap. Anyway, by the time Baby woke up, we had a fresh-baked peach-apricot galette cooling on the counter, another one in the freezer alongside a lovely looking tart apple pie.

Everyone seemed to be a better mood after our naptime/bake-a-thon. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing out in the backyard. Yes, the girls did have a few more irritable moments once in awhile out there, but they are young kids after all. But the best part of the day came as the girls were getting ready for bed. They had lots of hugs and kisses for each other in the bath, and then invented a new game while playing on Big Sister’s bed – Pass the Animal, which is pretty cute to watch. I marvel at their creativity.

At the end of the day, that’s really what it’s all about. Despite the frustrations and tribulations we face every day, those precious moments you could watch forever are what make it all worthwhile.