1. I have determined that the best description of what I do all day every day as a housewife with three small children is play a little game called, "Race Against the Clock." What can I do before William is finished with preschool? What can I get done before the baby wakes up? What do I need to do before I start dinner? Before Brian gets home? Before the next feeding? While Little Einsteins is on?
Just now I finished lunch with the kids and put them in their rest zones; reading, napping and just staying in their rooms "until the clock says three, zero, zero!" And lucky for me the baby is also sleeping at this exact moment. Before I got here to the computer my mind was racing at all I could get done. Put away the lunch food, load the dishwasher, wipe off the table, vacuum those pesky crumbs under the table, and maybe shake out the rugs while I'm at it, change the laundry, redo the sofa pillows to their original location, fold the blankets the kids used this morning while watching television, put away the contents of that shopping bag from two days ago. Oh crap! The baby's crying! Put her nukie back in. Yes, she fell back asleep. What should I eat for lunch? I need to go to the bathroom. It can wait. Baby's crying again! Put her in the swing. It'll buy me another ten minutes. Reply to an email. Send a text. I need to change the chalkboard from February to March. I'm thirsty. I need to drink more water or my milk supply is going to drop. Look up a scone recipe to make sure I have all the ingredients I need for tomorrow morning. Eat! I need to eat. Peel an orange. Heat up some soup. Sit down at the computer.
And that's why my entire body might go to hell but I'll always have buns and thighs of steel after climbing the stairs, two at time, approximately 5,784 times a day. The StairMaster's got nothing on me.
2. I'm tired after that. Let's just sit here and have a moment, shall we?
3. Our dishwasher broke this week. Not really. The door wouldn't latch and thus it wouldn't run. This small-ish problem was actually bigger than it seems because a couple years ago the spring that keeps the door from flopping open also broke but we never got around to fixing it. Broken latch + broken spring = hazard to small children walking by. I had to keep a chair in front of it for a couple days before Brian got the part we needed. All this to say I never realized how thankless I am to my modern appliances until they are out of order.
4. Brian fixed the dishwasher all on his own. But he only did this after a lot of badgering from me insisting that we didn't need a repairman. And I was right. I don't know why he lacks confidence in DIY jobs but so far he's never disappointed. I always tell him a repairman is just a phone call away but most of the time it doesn't hurt to give it a whirl yourself and learn something in the process.
5. Look at this girl. Oh! I am in love.
Just now I finished lunch with the kids and put them in their rest zones; reading, napping and just staying in their rooms "until the clock says three, zero, zero!" And lucky for me the baby is also sleeping at this exact moment. Before I got here to the computer my mind was racing at all I could get done. Put away the lunch food, load the dishwasher, wipe off the table, vacuum those pesky crumbs under the table, and maybe shake out the rugs while I'm at it, change the laundry, redo the sofa pillows to their original location, fold the blankets the kids used this morning while watching television, put away the contents of that shopping bag from two days ago. Oh crap! The baby's crying! Put her nukie back in. Yes, she fell back asleep. What should I eat for lunch? I need to go to the bathroom. It can wait. Baby's crying again! Put her in the swing. It'll buy me another ten minutes. Reply to an email. Send a text. I need to change the chalkboard from February to March. I'm thirsty. I need to drink more water or my milk supply is going to drop. Look up a scone recipe to make sure I have all the ingredients I need for tomorrow morning. Eat! I need to eat. Peel an orange. Heat up some soup. Sit down at the computer.
And that's why my entire body might go to hell but I'll always have buns and thighs of steel after climbing the stairs, two at time, approximately 5,784 times a day. The StairMaster's got nothing on me.
2. I'm tired after that. Let's just sit here and have a moment, shall we?
3. Our dishwasher broke this week. Not really. The door wouldn't latch and thus it wouldn't run. This small-ish problem was actually bigger than it seems because a couple years ago the spring that keeps the door from flopping open also broke but we never got around to fixing it. Broken latch + broken spring = hazard to small children walking by. I had to keep a chair in front of it for a couple days before Brian got the part we needed. All this to say I never realized how thankless I am to my modern appliances until they are out of order.
4. Brian fixed the dishwasher all on his own. But he only did this after a lot of badgering from me insisting that we didn't need a repairman. And I was right. I don't know why he lacks confidence in DIY jobs but so far he's never disappointed. I always tell him a repairman is just a phone call away but most of the time it doesn't hurt to give it a whirl yourself and learn something in the process.
5. Look at this girl. Oh! I am in love.
Does it sound like bragging when I say she's the best baby in the whole world? I don't care. After three babies, she really is. Who do you think she looks like? Brian and I think she looks just like William but almost everyone else says Lucy.
I can't believe that it was a year ago that I was struggling with the idea of a third baby while experiencing the pains of my first trimester of pregnancy. If I knew then what I know now... She makes it easy for me to envision more children in our family. Unless, of course, they told me it would be a clone of Lucy. Then I would really, really, have to think about it.
6. Many people think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill when I explain how exhausting Lucy can be. She does that to people. She woos them in with her charm and good looks. She'll sing you a song, do a little dance and you'll think, what's not to love? That's how she gets ya. But spend a day with her and you'll quickly see what I mean.
And therein lies the problem of me sounding like I don't like Lucy. Which is completely false. I have a fierce love for that girl. And crazy amounts of admiration of her. She's everything good that I am not. Outgoing and confident. Determined and motivated. BUT, she is a difficult child to raise in a house where she is one of five. She doesn't demand that the house revolve around her but she fully expects it to move out of her way so she can do it her own way, on her own clock and without disruption.
A few days ago I finally said aloud what I think I've known all along: This girl is going to be something. Really something. And it's going to be big. You just wait.
I can't believe that it was a year ago that I was struggling with the idea of a third baby while experiencing the pains of my first trimester of pregnancy. If I knew then what I know now... She makes it easy for me to envision more children in our family. Unless, of course, they told me it would be a clone of Lucy. Then I would really, really, have to think about it.
6. Many people think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill when I explain how exhausting Lucy can be. She does that to people. She woos them in with her charm and good looks. She'll sing you a song, do a little dance and you'll think, what's not to love? That's how she gets ya. But spend a day with her and you'll quickly see what I mean.
And therein lies the problem of me sounding like I don't like Lucy. Which is completely false. I have a fierce love for that girl. And crazy amounts of admiration of her. She's everything good that I am not. Outgoing and confident. Determined and motivated. BUT, she is a difficult child to raise in a house where she is one of five. She doesn't demand that the house revolve around her but she fully expects it to move out of her way so she can do it her own way, on her own clock and without disruption.
A few days ago I finally said aloud what I think I've known all along: This girl is going to be something. Really something. And it's going to be big. You just wait.
7. It's the second Friday of Lent and we're headed to a fish fry tonight at our church with my brother and some friends. I always feel a little guilty about this. Lent is supposed to be simple and reverent. But these fish frys are so much fun! And they raise a lot of money for our school so I guess I don't feel all that bad.
Head over here for more Quick Takes Friday!
Head over here for more Quick Takes Friday!
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