A day in the life...

Not every day in my life is crazy, but this last week has been full of them.  Yesterday was one of the worst!  I woke up at 7am, got my son off to school by 8am, got my daughter off to school by 9am, and had 30 minutes to get myself and 2 smaller children ready and be at the Honda dealership for my 9:30 appointment  Of course I was running late because only a superwoman could get everyone ready that fast (yes, I admit I'm not superwoman) so I pulled in at 9:45.  Of course the baby decides it's the perfect time to tell me she's hungry so I'm bouncing her on my hip to keep her quiet (which didn't help much) and practically yelling at the car guy so he can hear me.  Oh yeah, and little S is not happy about being buckled into the stroller so I resort to letting him play games on my iPhone.  By 10am they took my car away and I was told it would take 2-3 hrs to do everything.  What do you do for 2 hrs at a car dealership with 2 small kids???  Nothing, that's what.  So I walked across the street to the mall.  Well, it would be nice if I reported that I had a great time leisurly strolling the mall, but afterwards I felt like I had run a marathon (not that I've ever run one before).

First, I didn't realize the mall was like a half mile away.  Second it was hot outside which made the walk longer.  Third, because of the heat my feet were rubbing on my shoes and hurting.  And fourth baby E was screaming to eat.  I trying to quickly make it to the mall so I could feed her in the mother's lounge, but the crying finally broke me so I decided to stop at a bench along the sidewalk and feed her, despite the busy traffic going by.  The only problem is, I didn't realize I had sat down next to a bus stop and all of a sudden a bus pulls up and waits for me to get on.  Uhhh...embarassing.  I quickly motion for the driver to move on and she gets the hint.  Ok, baby done eating, baby quiet, baby goes back in the stroller and we keep walking.

I finally get to the mall, grab a drink for me and S because after a long walk in the heat we need it, rush to the two stores I needed to hit, and then quickly leave because I'm nearing my 2 hr mark.  As I'm heading out of the mall, little E decides she is hungry again, or maybe tired, but anyway she starts screaming once more.  Another long walk, in the heat, with a screaming baby and sore feet.   Meanwhile, S is beginning his meltdown because it's lunch and nap time, and to top it off I have a UTI and I have to go to the bathroom like NOW! (I can't believe I just admitted that but if you've ever had one it helps you understand the urgency and discomfort I was in).  By the end of my walk I just started sprinting because I couldn't take the crying any longer, my feet were killing me, and I just wanted this all over.

Luckily the car was done, so I buckled now sleeping S and still screaming E in their seats and sped off.  Unfortunately I didn't make it home by the 12:00 mark so I had to ask a friend to keep A after preschool until I could pick her up, and I also forgot I had someone coming to my house at 12:00 for a craigslist item I was getting rid of, and she was annoyed I wasn't home.  Aahhhh, I can't please everyone.

So on my speedy drive home I texted the craigslist person to say "Be there in 10" and I get there and hang out in my driveway and she doesn't show up.  Meanwhile the clock is ticking and I'm supposed to pick up A from my friend's house by 12:45 and it's now...uh...12:45!  Aahhhhh!  So I call the craigslist lady and say I'm leaving your stuff on my driveway, gotta go, bye.  And I speed to my friends house.  I can't even begin to explain how tired I was after all this.

I get home and decide I really REALLY need a power nap, so I lay down on the couch and as soon as I drift off to sleep little S (who had a great nap in the car on the way home and is now raring to go) yells "Mooooom!" and brings me back to reality.  I want to cry.  Can't I just get a nap!???  Please, please, please!!!  Then C gets home from school, my friend stops by to pick up her daughter who I was babysitting, and one thing leads to another and the day just keeps going.  There's no time to stop.  And to top it off, as I'm standing outside talking to my friend and holding S on my hip so he won't run into the street, he drops older brother's cool lightning McQueen flashlight which I just put new batteries in and it rolls down the street and drops into the gutter drain.  Another aaahhhhh!

It was at that point that I promised my friend a blog post.  So Heather, this is for you.

The rest of the evening is pretty much a blurr, running around after kids, cleaning kitchen, fixing food, scrubbing dishes with vinegar water because dishwasher has been leaving hard water spots all over them, etc, etc, etc.  But, the most vivid memory I have of the evening (besides the feeling of complete and utter exhaustion) is my husband calling on his way home from work to tell me how tired he is.  What do I say?

Moments that matter

Just put my sweet 3 month old baby to bed.  Wrapped her up tight, turned off the light, squeezed her musical glow worm and softly whispered "nite nite".  With an orange glow brushing across her face, she looked up at me with her big round eyes and shared the sweetest smile a mother ever saw.  It felt as if pure joy was penetrating my soul.  She was communicating, the best way she knew how.  She was saying "Thanks mom, I love you too."  So pure, so precious.  I soaked it up and smiled right back at her, our gazes fixed on one another.  Those are the joys of motherhood. Those are the moments that make it all worth it.  (Side note: all of this was written while precious baby cries herself to sleep in the background, screaming out "Mom! I want my binky [a.k.a. my nipple]!"  Good thing I have this moment to hold onto, to get me through it.)

Grab hold of the moments with your children, savor them, bask in them, elongate them, write them down, take a picture or video of them.  Make them last, because if you don't they'll get overrun by life, the "to do's", the crying or whining or messes or whatever else young children have to offer.  And you'll miss the joy of motherhood.  (Ahhhh...baby is now quietly sleeping...another moment to savor :)

Watch this awesome video about savoring the moments in life.  It will make you happy and uplift your soul.  I promise you 3 minutes well spent.  It may take a minute to load, or click HERE to see it on youtube.

What a day.

Woke up feeling yucky.  Decided to take a bath.  My 22-month old wanted to join me but I wouldn't let him in the bathroom, so he took matters into his own hands.  Afterwards,  I found him in the other bathtub (thank goodness), covered in red liquid body soap head-to-toe.  He only forgot one key ingredient...the WATER!  Oh yeah, and he forgot to take his clothes off too.  Maybe next time I'll consider letting him join me...hhhmmmm...actually no, not a chance.

Tried to take a nap, got woken up by...uh...kids.  Wait, not actually woken up since I never got to sleep.

Tried to withdraw money from an ATM today, turns out my card just expired so the machine ate it.

Sold something on ebay (woohoo!) and took it to the post office to mail.  When I got home, I found half of what I sold laying on my living room floor.  Apparently one of my children (most likely the aforementioned 22-month old) took it out of the box before I got it taped up.  Dang it!  Now I gotta run to the post office AGAIN and pay for shipping AGAIN!

Oh yeah, and did I mention my husband is staying at the Hyatt on Huntington beach right now, childless?  Boy, a "working" life sure seems hard.

Can someone feel bad for me now?

The best thing that happened today?  My friend watched my kids while I went grocery shopping by myself.  Thank you Chayse and Allison :)

Hummer Style

I like Target because they have ginormous shopping carts that fit all 4 of my children.  I call them hummer carts.  Who says you have to stay home with 4 kids?  Just ignore the stares, ignore the comments, don't feel guilty if you make your offspring stay buckled in the whole time, and ignore the fact that most of them will probably be crying on the way out (3 of the 4 to be precise), and you'll be fine.  Just keep calm and carry on.

Yes, my hands are full

If I had a dollar for every time people say to me "wow, you've got your hands full", I'd have a fully furnished house by now.  Ahhh...wouldn't that be nice?

Hot baby

To the lady behind the counter at Target: No! My baby is not screaming because she's hot.  I do not need to unwrap her from her blanket.  She's tired, that's all, and she needs to go to sleep (hence the blanket wrapping).  And yes, her face is red, because she's SCREAMING...NOT because she is hot.  And no, this is not my first child, she's my FOURTH, so give me some credit.  And don't ask how old I am.  Isn't that a social faux pas?  Sheesh.

The perfect move

I haven't posted in a while because we just moved. My past week was spent packing, cleaning, driving, then unpacking and some more cleaning, and there's still more to do. With 3 kids, conducting the perfect move is quite impossible. If it were just me, I would have everything packed in 1-2 days, spend a day cleaning, a day driving and resting, and then about 2-3 days unpacking and putting everything away. That's a total of 7 days. Yes, I think the perfect move could be conducted from beginning to end in about 7 days. But with 3 kids around? Kiss that dream goodbye. My kids unpack things faster than I can box them up, and when we arrived in our new place they rummaged through stuff until they found the toys and in a blink of an eye had them scattered all around the house, not to mention the winter clothes which my son had to find in order to dress up as a ninja or a polar bear or whatever he was thinking of at the moment. I love my children, but I wish I could pawn them off to someone for exactly 7 days while I conducted the perfect move. Wouldn't that be nice?