As far as annoying habits go, being married to a constant noisemaker isn’t truly the worst thing in the world. He could clip his toenails in our bedroom or pee on the toilet seat or leave his rank hockey gear in the back of my car. Thank god he does not do these things.

Or he could leave his beard trimmings in the sink. Oh wait.

So, yes, I married a noisemaker. He has a song for everything, even the mundane, like doing the dishes or playing board games (ask my sister about that one) — it’s basically like living in a Disney movie. And to top it all off, in addition to passing down his eye color and skin tone to our three children, he passed down the gift of the chronic sing song. Yes, most of my days are a re-enactment of that Lois, Lois, Mum, Mummy, Mom, Mommy, Mama, Mama scene in Family Guy (oh, you know the one) and Isabella gabbing nonstop about her retainer (I swear to god, I’m like the Tootsie Pop Mr. Owl “Just how many words can one use to talk about one retainer? THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW“) they also like to sing. All the livelong day. And different songs too. Of course.

They sing at the dinner table. They sing in the shower. They sing in the car. They sing while doing their homework. They sing while making their lunches. They sing while watching tv.

They sing while *I’m* watching tv. Or reading. Or working. Or answering an email. Or trying to listen to MY songs.

Their sound is BIG.

Usually it takes all of my patience not to, well, lose my patience. (I am not always able to do this, mind you.) I leave the room and hide until they find me — and then I run away and hide again. I politely tell them that I need to be able to use my brain for just one minute please.

But you guys, this weekend something happened. Something wonderful.

I sat on my living room couch — which is, by far, the most comfortable couch we own; it beats out the one in our bedroom, the one in the basement, and the one in the family room — and READ 100 PAGES OF THE NEST whilst at least two of my children sang two different songs at the top of their voices and one of the songs was Katy Perry so it was a particularly over-emoting belty tune.

And I didn’t have to reread any pages and I retained what I read.

Friends, I’m going to take my parenting wins where I can.

Because this is my life.