Since becoming a stay-at-home mom four years ago, I am often asked what I do all day. Sometimes I have no words to fully describe the experience. After all, anyone  absurd enough to ask such a question couldn’t comprehend the answer anyway. (News flash. Parenthood. It’s tough.)

Other days I have approximately three hundred and eleven. Today was one of the latter.

For the past three days, Lou has been begging to wear her Halloween costume. Because I’m such a lazy amazing mom, this morning I finally gave in.

Come on, isn’t she adorable?! I love this girl!

The kids didn’t want to leave the house (hidden blessing) or do much of anything today. Instead, they happily played beside me while I worked. As I glance up from my computer, I noticed Lou, still in her flower costume, sunning herself in a warm shaft of light coming in through the window. It was so beautiful and perfect that I nearly cried.

“This is the moment…” I thought. “This is the moment when being home with my children—witnessing their daily joys and discoveries, indulging their whims and fancies because… well, why not? The day is ours!”

Being a stay-at-home mom can be the most gratifying, heart-bursting, sublime joy I think I could ever experience. Even though I made the switch to work-at-home mom late last year, I still get to have the little moments. The best of both worlds, right?

Lou caught my gaze and ran into my arms. As I picked her up, I felt a wet spot on her leg. I assumed the kids had just been splashing water or spilled some juice somewhere in the house until I noticed a trail of “dewdrops” leading to the spot where Lou was sitting… and then a puddle.

She had apparently Houdini-ed her way out of her diaper while still zipped IN her costume…

I whipped her out of her costume and into the bath, because yes, I’ve done this drill several times before… Meanwhile I told Scout to just stay in one place until I could clean up the mess.

When I returned from drying and redressing Lou, I found Scout perched on top of my desk. I proceeded to mop the floor as he literally oversaw the process, commenting on all the places I had “missed”…

My life is a fairytale, but some times it feels more like Cinderella before the ball than the happy ending. Not that I ever get to finish reading anything…