Today I Feel Like A Mom - Imperfect, Exhausted but Blessed.

Don't mind me.

After the holiday I have still been nursing the same lingering cough, my energy level has been low and the kids' sugar high is in constant conflict with my nerves. No, we didn't buy the kids candy for Easter, that is usually supplied by everyone else. We don't fight it anymore, but do try to dole it out with an iron fist. Luckily my kids can't have chocolate... so that usually cancels out most of their basket load.

I am in the final trimester of this pregnancy - only 10 weeks left to go!

This little guy finally has a name, Elliott, and has been very healthy and active. I think between the exhaustion and constant heart burn I have felt so blessed to be having another baby. No, he wasn't a surprise in the sense that we made a decision to have one more child, but in the grand scheme of things we originally planned on only having a family of 4. Five is a pretty big leap, a crowded car, parents being outnumbered and a big gap between my middle child (almost 4 years) and a new baby.

My biggest regret for last month was that all my planning fell apart around the holiday. Yes, I am a mom which means I am not perfect. My kids didn't get to decorate their eggs (I have a bowl of hard boiled beauties still waiting in the fridge), no Jell-o eggs were eaten and we didn't have new Easter outfits this year, but the kids were all smiles and we spent the holiday as a family.

Our Easter bunny left wheelbarrows filled with gardening tools and seeds. Despite my Mommy guilt at having failed the holiday I had to smile when they came running upstairs with their little packets in hand yelling, "Seeds! The Easter bunny brought us seeds!"

So today I am sipping tea, resting and trying to finish up the knitted baby blanket squares. Even if you are a new knitter, sampler squares are a great way to get into the rhythm of the art without the investment of a larger garment. My favorite squares so far have been the diagonal rib and gatepost squares. I will be breaking up the patterned squares with simple garter stitch and stockinette squares. My plan is already written up and I only have 10 more squares to knit!

Tomorrow I am going to be starting the April knit-along with Knit Purl Hunter for a mystery two-colored shawlette. I am using the suggested Cobasi yarn (a cotton, bamboo and silk blend) in turquoise and gun metal grey. There is still time to join in if you want.

I may be imperfect, exhausted and REALLY pregnant... but I am also feeling so blessed to be healthy and still productive. Now I just need to get my garden ready and food stocked in the chest freezer and I am ready.

What are you working on right now? Are you more productive in the Spring?