The Witching Hour

I used to say that early evening was my favorite time of day. There's something about the fading light in the sky and the quiet calm that really relaxes me. When I was a senior in college, my friend Katie and I used to take a blanket and a big ole jug of wine down to the shores of Johnson Pond nearly every night to solve the world's problems while enjoying this special time of day. This was, of course, before children. Nowadays, the early evening hours are anything but relaxing - I often feel like I am in a mad sprint from 5:30 until the boys are down for the night. Everyone (including yours truly) is hungry, tired, and cranky, and everyone needs everything "RIGHT NOW!". Between cooking for, feeding, and cleaning up after my three boys, I am lucky if I actually get to sit down and shovel a few bites of food into my mouth. Ben always wonders why I eat my dinner so fast - it's because otherwise, there would be no dinner for me.

Despite the hectic frenzy, this is still one of my favorite times of the day. From dinnertime to bedtime, our lives are only about each other. Our family. There is something very rewarding about making sure that everyone's bellies are full, that their ears are clean and their teeth are brushed, that they've had some good stories and cuddle time, and that they're all tucked in tight for the night. It makes me feel like a good mom.

When there was just Ethan, bathtime was Ben's job (it will be again at some point - he just doesn't know it yet). But with two wriggly, slippery boys to clean, we've adopted a man-on-man strategy. I've actually come to love this nightly chore - the boys are so adorable playing in the bath together, and Ethan has even started washing himself (sort of).

There are a lot of discussions about which soap belongs to whom, whose bath toys are whose, and who gets which towel. Here is Adam in his frog towel, not to be confused with Ethan's polar bear towel.

These matching car PJs are a big hit, and help convince Ethan that he really does want to put his pajamas on.