It’s been one of those days… please tell me you know the ones…took the circus crew to the pediatrician’s for my 3 yr old’s check up. One would have thought by the amount of shrieking that took place in the hall that we were attempting to tie her down and give her 30 shots, when really we just wanted her to take her sandals off and stand on the scale. From that humbling spectacle we were off to the grocery store. I am sure your wondering why today of all days I decided to take the whole crew with me for a major stock up. And the truth is, b/c I was desperate. We’ve depleted the supplies… even those ones in the back of the cupboard that stay there month after month… and we have no free evenings in sight for me to divide and conquer, so forward we marched, baby strapped to me in the moby wrap, 3 yr old crying in the top seat of the cart and the other two jumping beans bouncing around the aisles talking a mile a minute at the top of their lungs. Oh what fun!
Finally we emerged with a full cart to unload, load, unload, and put away… and as I did this, taking a break to nurse the baby, and then make lunch for the other 3, I was feeling my patience wearing thin. I was tired. My back hurt. My ears were ringing. I still have food to put away, laundry to put away, toys to pick up, phone calls to make, dinner to prep… you know the list… I sent an SOS (really just a whiny e-mail) to my husband while sticking a can of coke in the freezer to cool off for later.
The baby started to cry in his swing and my son suggested that maybe he needed his diaper changed. Good thought since it had been quite awhile since I’d done that. I went to pick him up and as I bent down he stopped crying.
My son said, “Why are you always the magic trick?”
I told him I used to be his magic trick too. As I walked down the hall to the nursery pondering the impact a mother can have on her kids and on how small a window of time we have to make that impact.
It was then that my son called out from the table, “Ya know mom, when your holding a small person, really your holding a big person, because you have no idea the plans God has for that life.”
Wowzers! Talk about a zinger! And yet so very true. I have no idea the plans God has for their lives. But they are big. And what a humbling privilege it is to be their momma.
As they each rest in separate rooms for their quiet time and I soak in the quiet while sipping on my coke and nibbling on lunch, I am so thankful for the perspective God gave me today out of the mouth of my 6 yr old.
My recently turned three year old has been cracking me up lately with some of the things she says (when she’s not throwing a temper tantrum or disobeying that is…it’s not easy being 3…or the mother of one who is)
Last week when I put her down for her nap she told me she didn’t want to sleep. I told her that was fine, but she needed to lay down on her bed. To which she replied, “Mom, that never works… every time I do I always end up falling asleep!” (she was right, b/c sure enough she ended up falling asleep then too)
A few days later we were at my in-laws for a family dinner. She returned to the table after going potty and I asked if she washed her hands. “Yes,” she replied. Knowing my daughter, I pressed further and asked if she was sure.
“Yes, Mommy, I am sure… I washed them before I went potty!” (and back upstairs she went to wash them again)
What funny things have come out of your children’s mouth’s lately?
And if your looking for more funny anecdotes, check out Mary’s carnival, Tiny Talk Tuesday.
Math has never been my strong suit (except in 3rd grade, I did awesome with the multiplication tables and was the class champ at around the world, but that was b/c all I had to do was memorize facts and not understand the process)
Anyway, as I was saying… math has never been my gifting… and math at 3 am is certainly not my gifting. So, I calculated the hours again.
Could it really be true?
7 hrs
Yup, I’ve done the math multiple times.
I fed my little guy at 8:15pm and I went to bed at around 10pm. He didn’t cry to be fed until a little after 3am. 8-12 is 4 hrs and 12-3 is 3 hrs…add them together and you get …
7 hrs
Now I can’t yet bank on this happening every night, but I’ve got a feeling that things are going to get a bit easier around here.
Dear Son,
When you grow up and notice that every time you talk people kinda take a step back from you… its not your fault.
You will have come by these socially awkward close talking tendencies quite naturally.
Blame your older sisters for your lack of personal space. Because they can’t seem to talk to you without their face literally centimeters from yours.
Waking or sleeping, car seat, or bassinet or bouncy seat or swing. It doesn’t matter. Your poor little eyes can barely focus as you see their face come into yours as they tell you hello and how much they love you.
I try to protect you. Honest I do. “But Mom,” they tell me, “we’re just saying Hi…”
They can’t help themselves.
And I am afraid after years of experiencing life like this, you won’t know any better.
And you, dear son, will grow up to be a bit of a close talker.
I’m sorry,
Mom
Divide and Conquer
That would be the name of the game lately at the circus.
I’ll take the youngest two to the grocery store while Scott takes the older ones with him to build the new to us play set. Or Scott takes the big 3 to the year end baseball ceremony while I stay home with the babe.
At this stage of the game, tag teaming has seemed crucial for surviving and for attempting to keep the household running somewhat smoothly.
Last week we seemed to take the whole divide and conquer strategy to a new level, though.
Maggie, our patient and honestly quite often overlooked dog, was overdue for a vet appointment. I don’t care how over due she was, I was not bringing her and the 4 kids to the vet by myself (remember last years visit with just 3 kids?). So, I scheduled an evening appt for her so Scott could take her. Unfortunately the night that worked best also happened to be the night of a deacon meeting for Scott. He didn’t have time to take her to the vet and back home before heading out to church for his meeting.
So, he came home from work, grabbed the dog and headed to the vet. I then followed with the kiddos about 15 minutes later and waited in the parking lot. Scott came out with the dog about 10 minutes later stuck her in the back of the van, gave me a quick kiss and as we parted ways… him on his way to church, me back home with the circus crew… I had to chuckle…
Now we’re even tag teaming with the dog!!
In other news.. my little man is 6 weeks old…time is flying fast and my laundry seems to be piling up even faster!!
Because I am used to the chaotic and crazy lifestyle I live, I sometimes forget how it can look to the outsider. It feels normal to me to walk down the street with a gaggle of kids surrounding me, fighting or singing or playing (or all of the above). And when I combine my circus life with that of my close friend (whose blog could also easily be called Life At The Circus as she has 4 boys ages 5, 4, 3 and 3 months) well the chaos only multiplies.
We’re accustomed to it though and unless one of us takes a step back and observes, we often forget how crazy we look are. I can recall a trip to Einstein Bagels a few years ago. We sat at the table enjoying some adult conversation while the kids chewed on bagels. Only when I got up to refill my drink and stepped away from our table, did I realize how incredibly loud our table was compared to the rest of the restaurant. Embarrassed, I quickly went back to the table to quiet our troops.
Last week her husband was crewing on the same boat as mine and we decided to go together to watch them sail into the Annapolis Harbor. 
There we were walking down the streets of downtown Annapolis, me with my babe strapped to me in the bjorn, her pushing her little man in a stroller and the other 6 holding hands around us. We looked like a summer day camp out for a field trip. All we needed was the long rope with knots for the kids to hold.
City dock was not ready for the circus times 2.
I don’t think I have ever gotten so many stares in my life. We eventually met up with our husbands and then decided to go for ice cream. The line was out the door and rather than add 12 more people to the line, we decided to send part of the crew with the dads while we ordered the ice cream and brought it to them. As I left the ice cream shop holding my 3 year olds hand as she held her cup of ice cream in her other hand, and I juggled 4 cones in my other hand, multiple people stopped to ask me what I was going to do with all that ice cream. The looks and the comments were never ending till I met up with my circus and handed off the goods.
As we headed back to the car, an hour after bedtime with our youngest ready to nurse, I found myself quite tired and perhaps a little on edge. Scott suggested that maybe we tried to cram too much fun into one summer evening (watching the race, going to the playground, and going out for ice cream) and perhaps some of those looks were justified b/c we just might be a little crazy for taking all that on in one outing.
Still I am thankful for friends whose lives are just as crazy as mine and who are willing to come along and share the adventure with us! They make the ride to insanity all the more fun and memorable!
