Happy Mother's Day!

Melissa talked me into submitting something on Mother’s for her blog on Mother’s Day. So I figure I had better post it on my blog as well. I think I must have been a bit sleep deprived that I even agreed to this. I don’t know that I have anything profound or coherent to mention. The only thing I can really focus on right now is what I seem to be doing over and over each day, so I thought I would bore you with the details.
Here is my typical week day with three kids and a newborn:
• Sometime between 6-7 am: Day starts (or did it ever end?) Feed Lily, change poopy diaper.
• 7:30 am: Eat a hurried breakfast while I am holding Lily and making sure the girls are on task for getting ready for school and doing their morning chores which include getting Isaac up and ready which they hopefully already did while I was feeding the baby . Put Laundry in.
• 8 am: Walk the kids to school. Picture this- Me with Lily in the front pack, pushing Isaac in the jogger, holding the dog leash and trying to keep up with the girls who are in front on their scooters. I had one comment this week from someone walking by, “You had another one?” I wanted to reply with some sarcastic comment like, “Yeah, but now we are trying to figure out which one to give away….” But I just smiled and said, “Yup!”
• 8:30 am: Slowly attempt to remove sleeping Lily from the front pack to put in the bouncer so I can shower while Isaac watches Super Why on PBS. Most days this is successful, some days it is not and I end up having to try to blow dry my hair while I am bouncing the bouncer with my foot while Lily is screaming. Try to find something to wear that fits.
• 9:30 am: Feed lily, change more poops. Get Laundry out.
• 10 am: Attempt to run an errand with a newborn and a toddler. Fun, fun. Hope I haven’t forgotten to bring a snack for Isaac.
• 11 am: Home to feed Isaac lunch and maybe sneak in a peak at the computer while he is eating or playing after lunch, all the while holding Lily (if she is awake) and trying to keep her fussing to a minimum.
• 12:30 pm: Nap time for Isaac, YEAH! The mothering ratio is now down to one kid. The days that Lily and Isaac nap at the same time are divine, but that doesn’t always happen quite yet. Feed Lily, change more diapers, do dishes.
• 1:30 pm: Hold a fussy Lily and try to get her to go to sleep.
• 3 pm: Emily and Abby come home from school! Yeah, (I think to myself) I have some reinforcements! However they are usually busy eating a snack and starting on homework
• 3:30 pm: Feed Lily, change more diapers, make sure the girls put their laundry away, supervise homework, maybe go outside with the kids so they can play.
• 5 pm: Think to self, “Yeah Chris is coming home in about 30 minutes!” Start dinner while trying to hold Lily. Put a video in for Isaac if he isn’t playing with the girls.
• 5:30 pm: DAD’s HOME!!! Hip Hip Hooray! Dad of course gets a grand welcoming home from all the kids and the dog. Eat dinner, do dishes
• 6 pm: Maybe sneak off to the gym after feeding Lily, all the while feeling guilty that I am leaving Chris with bath duty, putting Isaac to bed and holding a fussy baby.
• 7:30 pm: Some nights Chris and I go for a walk with Lily and the dog while the girls read in their rooms before bed. It is one of the only times Chris and I actually get to talk and catch up on the day and complain to Chris that I haven’t got anything done all day long.
• 8 pm: Girls are in bed, house is quite besides Lily fussing if she’s awake. Maybe find something to watch on TV in between trying to straighten up, check computer, get a few odds and ends done.
• 9:30 pm: Feed Lily and maybe give her a bath some days (usually this is only remembered when I actually realize she stinks…)
• 10:30 pm: Put Lily down for bed, get myself ready for bed and fall into an exhausted slumber.
• 3:30-4:30 am (usually): Awake to Lily crying to eat. Feed her as I am half asleep. Put her back to bed in hopes it is a night where she goes back to sleep easily and not one in which she wants to have some mother-daughter bonding time in the wee hours of the morning.
• 7 am: Start all over again.

Mundane? Maybe. Some days are such a blur that most of the time I don’t know what I did or how it got done. Most days I feel like I am neglecting my other kids, especially Em and Abby, since most of my energy and time is focused on Lily. There is no doubt about it, being a mother is tough especially juggling a newborn with other kids. It is full of long nights, tough days, crying newborns, dirty diapers, homework hassles, and lots of drama. It is also full of tender moments in the middle of the night with Lily, big hugs from Abby, sloppy kisses from Isaac and Emily grabbing my hand to hold as we walk through Target. Those things and others like it are enough to melt my heart and make all the hard days worth it. I wouldn’t change it all for the world.

My Four (Holy Cow!) Great Kids