The positive side affects of laziness.

Now that winter is fully upon us the days (while it is light for less time) seem longer and longer.
Too cold for the park or much outdoor play and with three kids one of them is usually sick.
So between being stuck in the house and the usual business of the holiday's getting ready for Christmas and the increase of business for me during the holiday season I am pretty tired. Tired of being inside. Tired of not getting enough sleep. tired.

Sunday night Teague was throwing up (fun) but was fine all day yesterday. So I got us all packed up to go a holiday party/play date with one of my mom's groups. I planned it out so that we would leave about an hour before it started to run a couple of drive through errands and that way Sullivan would sleep a bit since the party was during his usual nap time. So Sully goes in the car first and he is just hanging out while I load all our stuff and the other two boys. By the time I get everything in Sully is asleep (yeah!) but then is woken up by his brothers as we pull out of the driveway (damn it!). So we are driving around doing our errands and are just a few minutes from arriving just before the party starts and Teague starts whining saying that he wants me to hold him (happens about 30 times a day but not usually this whiny). I ask if he thinks he is going to throw up and he says no but we have learned that he is not a reliable when it comes to this. Seems like he always thinks we are asking him if he wants to throw up (of course not) instead of if he is going to. So, next thing I know he dry heaves in the back seat. A very realistic dry heave to the point that I thought the real stuff was coming up next. I pull over help him get his coat off thinking maybe he was hot and give him a bag so that I don't end up having to clean vomit out of my car. Party off. So I drive to the party, run in and tell them we are not staying and we head home. We get home in a few minutes and he seems to be feeling better. Perhaps he is getting my carsickness? Anyway so after all the effort to get us out of the house we are now at home with a child who is not vomiting. Good and Bad. :) But now I am tired again. We hang out for a while, Sully naps and now it is time for me to make everyone's lunch. I don't mind the laundry or the two kids in diapers but I am not crazy about making multiple meals 3 times a day. One for me. One for the boys. One for Sully. Anyway, I look over and starring at me is the rest of Dan's chocolate birthday cake. Hmm.
Can I? Should I? Why not? I just keep eating it myself and since I am trying to lose the rest of the baby weight it would be better for all of us if it was just gone. Ok yes I'll do it.
So I pull out 3 plates and slice up 3 pieces of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for myself, Beckett & Teague to eat for lunch. I call the boys over for lunch and then come over the to the table. They look up at me but then quickly look down and start eating their cake before I change my mind.

So, while I was feeling to lazy today to make my kids a proper lunch. I smile at the thought of my kids talking one day about how their mom just served them up some chocolate cake for lunch and they hadn't even asked for it.

bi-polar parenting

It is amazing how in the course of a single day I can want to put my children up for sale on Ebay and then later on that same day want to weep with happiness at something so simple my heart breaks. Earlier today I came downstairs from putting Sullivan down for his morning nap and discovered Teague had climbed up on to the counter (no suprise there) and dumped the salt all over the counter and floor. A definite dip on the 'how much do I love being a mom scale'. Then just a few hours later we were out running errands. I let them take their 'spend' money to the dollar store hoping that whatever the bought would distract them enough to let me get the two real errands out of the way without incident (i.e. yelling at my kids in public). Anyway they each picked out their things and as we were walking to the car they were both so happy with their purchases they ran off together screaming in excitement. Maybe it is the photographer in me that sees these moments as something so precious they should be captured so that we don't forget them. I wished I had had my camera with me to capture their joy as they ran to the car to open up their treasures. Their coats blowing out behind them as they ran, the sun lighting them just right. I love watching my boys become friends and so perhaps that is why I got choked up. They were so clearly enjoying each other and sharing in a childhood memory. Then on the way home from the last errand I had to pull the car over and refrain killing Teague when he had unbuckled himself because he coat was bothering him. Of course. Another dip on the scale. At least it is almost naptime.

Don't get the wrong idea though. It isn't just Teague who drives me crazy but he is just that age right now. Beckett used to do things too but has grown out of it and just does other things that drive me crazy but aren't as messy. I'm sure right as Teague outgrows it Sullivan will be ready to go with all new ways to torture his mother.

So these are the ups and downs of motherhood that drive me to the edge of sanity sometimes. One moment they are throwing fits over something seemingly ridiculous and the next moment after you have tucked them into bed (finally) as you walk out of the room they say 'mommy you're pretty'. Awwww, I guess they will live to see another day.

My submission for mom of the year. (ok week)

There is a spot in our back yard that is bare. It is a circle about a foot in diameter and a few inches deep. We were outside yesterday and while I was pulling weeds and Sullivan was swinging Beckett and Teague were playing in their water table recently filled by the rain. I hear Beckett telling me that he is going to fill up the the hole with water and then he is going to play in it. I just sort of nod and keep on weeding. Then I hear a splash and turn around to see that Beckett has jumped in to the little whole with his socks and pants on. I tell him to take them off which he proceeds to do and then goes right back to playing in the muddy water. Teague has now seen this and runs over to join his big brother stripping down to nothing on his way over to the hole. I continue my weeding and by the time I am done the boys are covered in mud. So, I tell the boys that I am going to put Sullivan down for his nap and that they are NOT allowed to go into the house till I come back. I put Sully down, start a bath for the boys and grab some towels and the video camera. By the time I get back to the boys they have realized that they can actually reach into the muddy water and grab handfuls of mud to throw at each other. Actually, Beckett has realized that he can do this and is chasing Teague all over the yard and throwing handfuls of mud at him. Teague thinks this is hysterical and keeps running back to his brother yelling "you can't get me". All this much to the amusement of our next door neighbor who has been watching this whole thing. So after shooting a few minutes of video I give the boys a good hosing off and then wrap them off in towels and whisk them off to their bath before putting everyone down for a nap. And, needless to say the little bare spot in the back yard is now a giant hole several feet wide that will need to be filled and re-seeded. Oh well. What is a little yard work in exchange for letting my kids have a little unbridled fun.

Calgon....take me away.

So, today was one of those days. Not a day that was so wonderful that you never want to forget it but a day so challenging that I almost wish I had a job to go to.

Today I did something I don't normally do which was to take all 3 boys to the grocery store. Usually I avoid going on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday which are days when I have all 3 of them at home. The other days either one or both of them are in school or Dan is around on the weekend and I can sneak off for a trip to the store. A trip to the grocery store with all 3 of them and a long list of things to get can take forever. As usual I spent the whole time going back and forth between trying to keep Sullivan from fussing, keeping the older 2 out of things, telling them to stop putting things in the cart and trying to actually get the things on my list. After lord knows how long I finally had everything (that I could find after one pass through each aisle) and got us in line to check out. Sullivan stayed quiet and I tried to keep Teague out of things (no Teague you cannot have a bag of beef jerky) so that I could get a quick lesson in for Beckett trying to show him how the cost of the items was showing on the computer screen and then how my bank card told the bank to send the grocery store the money and again tying in the 'thats why daddy has to go to work every day'. The 10 minute trip home was relatively peaceful as everyone was strapped into their seat and then once we got home it all started again. Fussing complaining, whining, getting into things, this pizza is broken, will you blow on it, whine whine, cry cry. So I find myself sitting at the table trying to eat a yogurt while simultaneously feeding the baby, blowing on Teague's pizza and answering a list of questions from Beckett. ----I need to go look up synonyms for simultaneously because most of my stories will need to have that word in there at least 3 or 4 times. ----So, now I have all 3 of them down for a nap and need to grab my daily shower and get some proofing done from a session I had on Saturday. All of this of course happened after a bad night's sleep. There were thunderstorms that had Beckett running in at 4am and not a lot of sleeping for any of us after that. And Dan has his first trip out of town this week and he will be gone Wednesday and Thursday so I will be on my own with all 3 of at bedtime for 2 nights. Thank goodness Sullivan is pretty easy to put down these days so it shouldn't be too bad. We'll have to get used to it because he will be traveling about once a month for a night or two each time.

Now that the boys have all been down for a bit the morning seems a little foggy. That is part of why I started this blog. It is so easy to forget how hard it is. That is how we end up with more and more kids. :) No more for us thankyouverymuch. But there are also moments so precious they almost make you cry and I wanted a place to share those too. I am hoping to have one of those moments this afternoon. :)