Nature Walk

Attempting a stroller escape.

This guy?  This guy's chill.

I accomplished a major feat today.  I laced up my sneakers, made sure the girl went potty, changed a couple of diapers, and took all three of my little ones on a walk.  By myself.  Three miles of walking on a nature trail, pushing two twenty-something pound children in a huge jogging stroller, plus carrying a fifteen pound baby strapped to my body, made me feel like a superhero.  And as I was huffing and puffing up the impossibly long hill on the way back, Lilah asked me, "Mommy, can you sing a song?".  I told her that I can't until we get to the top of the hill, because I'm out of breath.  "But, Mommy, you're not out of breath.  I hear you breathing!"  True, kid, very true.  So I panted my way through my version of "Raindrops Are Falling on My Head" with some nice back-up from Lilah.  When I got to the top of the hill, I wanted to snap a couple of shots of these mushrooms (with all the rain we've had, wild mushrooms are EVERYWHERE up here!).  Lilah and Grady were both annoyed that I stopped pushing the stroller for ten seconds to take a picture, and both of them immediately tried to escape.


Besides feeling like my lungs were going to collapse, it was really a great mini-adventure.  The air was cool (I feel fall in the air, yay!), everything was freshly washed from the rain, and all was peaceful and quiet in the woods.  The kids seemed to enjoy it too, although Lilah was hoping to see something more exciting than "boring trees".  We heard lots of birds and bugs, but there was no wildlife to be seen today.  I was fine with that.

Speaking of wildlife, we saw a gigantic caterpillar outside today like none I've ever seen before.  I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so no photo, but if anyone knows of a humongous bright green caterpillar with black and white markings, I'm curious as to what kind it was.  It was about six or seven inches long and as big around as my thumb.  Gross.  Lilah thought it was cool, and Grady wanted to poke it.  I think Cosmo wanted to eat it.  Ick.  I much prefer them after they turn into butterflies (or moths, as the case may be.) 

It's nice to have days now and again where you feel like you've got it all together.  I don't feel like that very often, and some days I'm a frazzled mess and can't seem to brush my own hair, never mind take three children aged three and under on a walk in the woods.  So I'm giving myself permission to be proud of myself for such a simple task today.  All too often I think that parents beat themselves up for not doing enough or doing things "right", and I'm trying to change that about myself.  Today, I was an awesome mom.  And you know what?  Tomorrow I will be, too, even if I don't comb my hair, take the kids on an adventure, or read "Barn Animals" 57 times. 

On a side note, I have no idea what's up with blogger today, but I can't get my photos to go where I want on my post.  If you can fill me in on what I'm doing wrong (or just commiserate with me) in the comments, I'd be eternally grateful.  Good night, darling readers!