Home Again.

Yesterday I woke up in a terrible mood.

I mean, a terrible mood.

I was snappy with my husband. I was impatient with my son. I was angry about every little thing that happened. I tried making breakfast for Cub, but we had been out of town for the past week, so everything I needed was either expired or non-existent. I moaned to my husband and he very nicely went out and brought breakfast back.

Friends, I was a bear. It was awful.

We ran some errands and I thought that would cheer me up, but it didn't. Finally, when Cub went down for his nap. I sat on my bed and tried to figure out why in the world I was so upset. It finally dawned on me that it was being home that was making me upset.

I know, that's a horrible thought, right??

Well, it was true.

For the past week, we had enjoyed an overload of family-time, food, and making amazing memories at my parents' house. And now I was back home with empty cupboards and a post-Christmas mess that was making me want to cringe. I realized that things were feeling kind of out of control, and ugh, that's an awful feeling. And really, I felt like we were kind of alone. I sighed and prayed and tried getting a better attitude. I hated being grumpy and I definitely did not want to be that way with my husband and my son.

I went to the kitchen to make some lunch and when I opened the cupboard that holds our measuring cups and baking items, I noticed that my vanilla had spilled all over the bottom shelf. It was a sticky, stinky mess! So much for trying to be positive!! I removed the shelf liner and cleaned everything up and then noticed that my baking cabinet seemed a bit disorganized. So, I emptied it completely and put everything away neatly.

And then I felt kind of better.

So, I got lunch started and got creative with our limited food supply. A few minutes later I had some grilled cheese sandwiches toasting on the stove. And I felt even better. Then, I sat down to make our grocery list and came up with some fun dinners for the remainder of our short week. By the time Cub had woken up, my mood had completely changed. Once I was able to take some baby steps in creating some order in my home, I felt better. I fed Cub lunch and we headed to the grocery store ... and I realized I had left my list at home. I hate shopping without a list. I inevitably buy food I don't need and forget the food I do need. But. I had a renewed outlook and I was NOT going to get grumpy again! So, I hoisted Cub on my hip and we shopped anyway, creating meals as we went. Cub did great and only got fussy towards the end of the trip ... right as the boy bagging our items asked me if I would like to take advantage of their drive-thru pick-up. Yes, I would! Thank you! Another positive thing, especially considering the rain that had started to sprinkle outside.

I came home and unloaded the groceries and began making dinner. I was missing my Mom, so I made her delicious meatballs for spaghetti and meatballs (I'm sure she would LOVE to think that making her meatballs helps me when I miss her--ha!). I called my father-in-law to see if he would like to join us (my mother-in-law is out of town) and my good mood just kept growing. My husband walked in the kitchen later to tell me he had invited his brother, too, and instead of worrying about having enough food, I scoured my cupboards and came up with a little extra pasta and tossed a can of diced tomatoes into the sauce to make it a bit more substantial. In an hour I had three hungry men eating my home-cooked meal, and one hungry adorable little man smiling at me from his little chair.

My empty house was now full. There were full bellies lounging in the living room and leftovers in the fridge. And one happy lady observing it all.

And all it took was a prayer and a change of attitude.

It sure feels good to be home.