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!
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