Spilled Milk

The world I live in is muddled, although I love it, I am constantly juggling children and tasks and I can rarely break through the fog to finish whole tasks, is there a medicine for that?

If I want to play games with the girls, I have to go downstairs to get the games, going downstairs means I should put in a load of laundry, if I'm going to do the laundry, I need to collect it from each room. So I should separate the darks/lights too. While I'm downstairs, I'll just grab what we need from food storage for dinner and get the meat thawing. The babies will be up soon, so I should get their bottles ready. Okay, done, now I can play...oh sorry the babies are up, be back in a minute.

My day is constantly divided into 'how I can be more efficient' and 'how many things I can get done at once'. I am worried because there are so many interruptions in my thought processes during the day that I believe this is truly how alzheimer's really comes about.

Sometimes, I will be downstairs bringing up laundry and a fleeting thought will cross my mind that has been bothering me for days, something I am trying to catch, something I need to remember to do. I will drop everything to run to the whiteboard in the kitchen and trap it into words. Only to be interrupted by a request to fix a broken toy, read a book or play pbskids.org. And within that moment, the fleeting thought is lost and I feel like falling to the ground and crying over my spilled milk. Is this normal?

Paparazzi

These two belles accidentally wore the same dress to the ball and didn't care two figs about it. Sure made it easy for the kids to spot us!

I saw this sign and I thought of you...here goes...Nathan, I know I'm a crazy wife, don't stop loving me! I will always love you.
( Hazel took this picture, isn't she a fine 4 year old photographer?)

It always bothered me that Strawberry Shortcake didn't have a mom in any of the episodes. Well here she is and if I had a mom like hers, I might keep her out of sight too. By the way folks, in the off season Strawberry goes back to her natural blond but she rocks the tights and hat look all season long.

The Big Stinky: A Smell You Can't Get Out Of Your Nose

I have three babies in diapers. That being said, I want to mention that scented candles are part of my diaper budget.

I don't know how many sets of multiples in diapers there are in our city but I guess we have the stinkiest garbage can in the whole county! This sad can sits out in the blistering sun, sweltering in daytime heat, even as I took this picture I could feel its guts sweating great wafts of rotten yuck.

We call it the Big Stinky because you hold your breath, lift the lid, throw your trash in and run like heck before lid slams down, the smell swallows you whole and you die of asphyxiation. 

When I change the babies and all three of them are stinky, I ask the girls to run the diapers out to the Big Stinky for me. Not even in the beginning did they ever question, they knew instinctively where and what the Big Stinky was. I time them when they do diaper runs to the Big Stink, Hazel can drop a stink bomb in 24 seconds flat and make it back in the house! 

My sweet neighbor, who has lived here longer than I have lived and has taught us more about being a good neighbor than anyone else, washes her can about every 6 months. She also has a garden that is so beautiful she named it Winsong Gardens and I can slip into its shady peace for temporary relief when I need it. 

She says to me of her yard and garden, 'I never had anything this nice when I was a young mother.' I hope she knows how much I value her advice and non-judgment. I hope her compassion extends to the Big Stinky who sits and glares its abhorrent odor at her as she hand waters pots full of beautiful flowers on the other side of the driveway.

Highly Offensive

Hey! Hey you! Yah, the one looking at me, listen up...

I take total offense to the fact that you eat dirt and chew rocks

But turn your little noses up at my cooking! 

What's More American Than Captain America?

We found old garbage can lids in the backyard when we cleaned it out years ago. The girls have a thing for the Avengers, eh, could be worse.

For Hazel and Claire, Thursday nights have become movie night with dad. Starting on Monday they are jonesing for Thursday, 'Mom is tonight movie night?' They really look forward to it and Nate seems to enjoy having his little girls crawl on him with laptop in hand, turning on a Netflix and then falling asleep. 

In his attempts to stay awake he has introduced them to old cartoons he enjoyed like The Avengers, Spiderman and Superman. The other day Claire said that she didn't like princesses anymore only superheros, while I know that to be a pile of baloney, I appreciate that it isn't only about princesses anymore.

I, for one get a kick out of watching the My Little Pony series on Netflix (with the girls) and I have it on good authority that quite a few other mothers do. Just don't ever make me watch Dora again.

Being Married To Supermom

Some will despise this post, they'll tell me to go out and get some real problems...but read on.  I know I did it to myself. I got my feet kicked out under me, it was a total surprise and I reacted poorly. I thought I was such an independently happy little mother, turns out I was wrong about being independent.

I got home from girls camp last weekend. I was up in the mountain air, loving the girls and being with my leader friends but my heart was thinking of how Nathan was doing and hoping he wasn't having too tough of a time.

It turns out, maybe I should have stayed longer. Maybe I should have prayed for sick girls and teething babies. I was hoping for an, 'I'm so glad your home, I don't know how you do it!'

I got home late Friday night, house was clean. Laundry was kept up. Dishes done. Hmmm, maybe I should peek in on my babies. Babies clean, happy, sleeping peacefully, girls, same.
(I am surprised Nathan didn't greet me wearing an apron, with a bow in his hair!)

As our bathroom remodel drags out, so does the time between shaving.

The next morning, the girls looked at me in dismay. Why are you here? Dad and Grammy took us to the zoo, we went to the splash pad and played for hours. We ate at McDonald's and it was awesome. Why did you come home? Demoralizing.

I thundered around the house for a few days hurt, refusing love from anyone that could speak in sentences. I wasn't needed. Nate can do a better job than me with one hand tied behind his back. Maybe I should go back to work. Where's my old resume?

When he comes home from work, Nate gladly begins tidying toys and fluffing pillows. Nate helps with diapers and toilets, makes meals and reads stories. I am sure he is the reason we have multiples!! Actually Dr Andrews had something to do with it, but you know. Nathan helps carry my burden, but he usually runs with it, sometimes, I drag.

The man lives in a state of ready. Ready to read books, ready to play games, ready to cuddle. When Nate was a boy, he wanted to be a mother when he grew up. What a tribute to Pam, his momma.

He spent the week trying to woo me back to him, and the girls. Usually content with the joys of my life, I spent the week feeling sorry for myself and pushing everyone away. At one point, Hazel drew a picture of me and I had a sad face. I asked why it was sad and she said, 'Because you think we don't love you but we do.' 

I have the finest tunnel vision in town when it comes to my faults. Nathan is not perfect, he knows that. I am not trying to make anyone judge their spouse harshly. I just wanted to tell you how I struggle as a human, I want great cosmic powers, I need them now. I discount wisdom learned from 'time and experience', discernment and reliance on the Lord. Perfection doesn't come in 4 years of raising children, but over a lifetime.

Hazel cried to me the other day and the gist of her tears were because CC was so good and never got in trouble. 'Why did CC and dad get the gift to be good and you and I didn't?'

Ahhh. Here I am (humbly) being grouped in with the maturity of a 4 year old. 'You mean the gift to stay calm Haz, we all have the gift to be good. But yes, they have the gift to be calm."

That's So Last Season

Quinn and 'Ihi discover they both wore the same dresses to the ball

As if in silent agreement they both seemed to understand

They can't be seen together or they will never get asked to dance

Pool Babies