6:30 a.m.

It's 6:30 a.m., I've had a shower and half a cup of coffee. I'm just starting to hear the little voices in the room off the kitchen, but I won't bother them until they cry out for me. This is my morning time. I don't always get this time to myself, sometimes we are all up early and sometimes I like to sleep late (that is if you call 7:00 a.m. sleeping late). Although it is extremely hard and sometimes gruling to pull myself out of bed anytime before 6:00 a.m., I am always happy I did. I love the quiet mornings. As I prepare my mind for the day, I am lost in a sea of to-do lists. Paint the bathroom, organize the papers on my desk, pay some bills etc., etc., etc. The only thing that can break this cycle of lists spinning around in my head are the baby voices getting louder and louder. Every once in a while I hear a squeal as if to say, "ok, you know I'm awake." But, maybe just a minute longer. One more sip of my warm steamy coffee, because the next one will be ice cold as I leave my mug neglected for the sweet smiling faces waiting for me to greet them.
In the morning it seems like all the tasks of the day can be easily accomplished at some point. Early in the morning my mind tells me that I have all day to fold the laundry or sort through the junk mail, but before I know it, 8:00 p.m has rolled around and we are reading bedtime books. Then I realize that what I have not yet accomplished will just have to wait until another day, just like this blog post which was started at 6:30 a.m. on a Tuesday and is finally being published at 11:15 p.m. on a Friday. Now, instead of a warm cup of coffee it is a tall glass of pinot noir that I will leave for the little crying voice echoing down the hall. And I will finish off this post with a sleeping baby on my shoulder. I wouldn't have it any other way. Just a little reminder that it's o.k. for the laundry to stay wrinkled up in the basket for another day. And all those things that I didn't get done, including most of my blog posts, are not considered "not done", but to be continued...

I am...

a nurturer, I am a listener, I am a teacher and a student, I am a dispute settler and a rule enforcer, I am a cook and a maid, I am a nurse and a comforter, I am a professional laundry folder, I am an expert at making something exciting that was once a dreaded task, I am a storyteller and a reader, I am a motivator, I am a hairstylist and a manicureist/pedicurist, I am an organizer of toys, I am a face wiper and a tear drier, I am a taxi driver, I am a professional grocery shopper and price checker, I am a one handed multi-tasker, I am patience, I am frustration, I am a punisher and a forgiver, I am my biggest critic, I am a mother and a wife, and sometimes I am each of these things and more all in the same day.

What's in a name?

So, my blog seems to be ever evolving, hence my name change (once again). I decided to change the name to be more about me, even though I will still write about family, kids, and just being a mom most of the time. But, this is MY blog and if I just want to write about ME, well then, I will. I wanted the title of my blog to represent a little something more about me. Yes, I have typed the word "me" many times in this post, but when your day pretty much consists of being super-mom, sometimes you have to save a little something for yourself a.k.a Me. So, enjoy my ramblings.

Time Well Spent

I think the hardest thing about having more than one child is feeling like you have spent enough time with each of them. I always wanted to have more than one baby, three to be exact (and three is what I had). But I never really sat down and thought about the fact that having three babies means your time is divided by three or four or five. Sometimes Annabel will be in her room entertaining herself for an hour before I realize how long it has been. I spend a lot of attention on Lilly and Wesley (just like I did for Annabel when she was their age)and when they are napping, there is always a huge mess to clean up. And believe me, I do leave plenty of messes uncleaned. Annabel will be 5 this summer and that seems soooo big, but she is still my little girl and she is such a fun age. I want to be able to play barbies and paint pictures and play candyland, but I just can't ALWAYS do that. I wish I could clone myself, so that I could be everywhere I need to be at the same time, making everyone happy. I guess you really don't realize how fast your babies grow until you turn around and one of them is almost 5 years old. And you think about all the ways they have grown over the past 5 years and you want to put them on pause so that you can cherish every moment to its fullest. It seems like not that long ago Wesley was still my little wobbley baby boy, but now he barley fits into the baby towls anymore(which I still wrap him in after his bath) and he can run down the hallway faster than the speed of light. At night when I tuck Annabel in bed, sometimes she will tell me that she is "always going to live at home with mommy and daddy" and I am reminded of how much my kids love me and that I have spent our time together well. So, I really have to see it as a matter of quality not quantity. I don't see how mother's who have 4, 5, or 6 kids do it. I guess what really matters is going to sleep at night and knowing that you have done your best for that day and that your family is happy and your children love you...that IS really all that matters.


Almost 5 Years old!

How long has it been?

It has been a long time since my last post, so I thought it was time to do a little update. All my babies are growing so fast, especially my little Lilly. Why do they seem to grow faster that first year? Lot's of milestones, I guess. Annabel is still my little artist. I get a least 4-5 drawings a day (I know, sorry trees), and I'm running out of room to keep all of these masterpieces. The first time I tossed one drawing in the recycling bag was really hard, but I've decided to keep only my favorites (which is most of them, anyway). Otherwise, when you came to visit us, papers would fly out the door as soon as you opened it up! Nicholas is playing basketball now, which is actually way more exciting to me than baseball. I think I like the action, and there's just something about baseballs flying at a kids face. Makes me nervous, but then again, what doesn't. Ha!
Wesley is still just as full of energy as ever. He doesn't slow down until he is asleep. Which is why I am so thankful that he still takes a nap. whew! He got his first haircut about a month ago, so now he looks like a little boy and less like a baby. Now we just have to work on the paci. I don't think any toy in the world will get him to give it up. I'm going to have to take a different approach than what I did with Annabel. Since we have had some cold winter days, Wesley has become quite the pyro. I'm talkin sit and stare at the fire in the fireplace for hours. We don't have a fireplace at our house, but when we go to my mom's it is almost impossible to get his attention off of it.
Lilly is crawling, standing up and wanting to walk so bad. She is eating all kinds of food and is starting to act quite a bit like her big brother Wesley. If she is not strapped in the highchair, she WILL climb out. She will try to pull herself up on the side of the bathtub, so you can only imagine how difficult it is to bathe her. Imagine holding on to a giant water balloon that is covered in vegetable oil. You get the picture.

Last of the news is that I am going back to work part-time. I'm not excited about leaving the kids, but it will only be two maybe three partial days a week and the kids will always be with my mom, Dustin or another family member (if they aren't in pre-school). This is something I NEED to do. I took it as a sign that this is what I should do since they contacted me for the job.

So that is my update on the fam. Hopefully I can do more blogging about more creative stuff in the future, but with three kids under the age of five, who has the time?