Love Hate Relationship

I was thinking today that I have a love hate relationship with several things. Just a few are: Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning the bathroom, and runnning. Let me explain further:

Grocery shopping: Yesterday I went on my first full on grocery shop with all four kids by myself. I knew it was inevitable, but I was still dreading it. I have always hated grocery shopping, but now it is much worse with all the kids. By the end of it all I was a little frazzled and very impatient. I HATE GROCERY SHOPPING! But, I love having fridge full of food, snacks for the kids, and most importantly ice cream in the freezer.

Cooking: I have never been a real fan of cooking. It is not so fun at the end of the day when I am rushed to get it all done with four kids yelling at me for different reasons. It is a fine balance with the baby making sure she is not going to be hungry right in the middle of it. Asher usually is hungry and screaming at me by then...last night it was for marshmallows (which he did not get.) Jamison and Caleb are fighting over what they want to watch (tv is necesarry for my sanity at this point.) So what do I love about cooking? There are two things. The first is making a meal that pleases my husband. I love it when he enjoys the food I have prepared. The second is cooking with my husband. We are trying to have a date night at home where we put the kids to bed early and he and I prepare a meal together which we have planned together. It is really nice to work side by side and then enjoy the fruits of our labors. Last night we enjoyed baked shrimp that was dipped in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and then coated in a breadcrumb, garlic, parmesan mixture. Next was Marsala chicken with angel hair pasta and sauteeted carrots, squash, zuchinni and onion. Oh so yummy! Our dessert fell through, so we just had Ben and Jerrys. It is a good time for us.

Cleaning the Bathroom: This is one of my least foavorite things about being a housewife. Cleaning the bathroom sometimes grosses me out...what with having a two year old boy that often gets distracted while going to the bathroom and all. I am also not a huge fan of hair in the tub, and with a little girl that is inevitable! What then do I love. I love walking into a bathroom that looks and smells clean. That is very satisfying.

Running: Today I went on my first run since Miquelyn was born...well actually my first run in just over four months. I was a little nervous that I was going to die even though I was only going two miles. What did I hate...well when I started the run I felt my back end bouncing all over the place. I hate having that reminder of how out of shape I am and how far I have to go. I loved that I felt awesome on my run and could have easily gone another mile or two. I loved that I was out hitting the pavement again...I have missed it! I loved that my legs did not really hurt much at all. I love my time to myself when I run. But most of all I loved that when I ran up to the house I had a three year old boy greeting me with a cup of water, a daughter that could describe to her father exactly what I was wearing down to the ponytail and stripes on the shorts, and most of all a supportive husband there to ask how it was and look at me with pride as I told him how good it felt. Man I have a good life!