I wanted to do something to surprise the kids this year. They had all day school and I had the day off. I had already worked three days in the week so I was pretty tired. However, I just really wanted to surprise them.
After T's kindergarten party (oh so much fun) I came home, decorated, wrapped, crafted, baked, cooked, and prepared. Hubby and Lil Sister love sushi so I picked up some take out sushi for their dinner but I made T a homemade pizza. I cut the strawberries in half to look like hearts.
I made the kids and Hubby little pom pom "love bugs" to go with their gifts. These were fast crafts which is what I mostly do these days.
When they arrived home the kids were overwhelmingly excited to see the house had suffered a heart attack - hearts everywhere. It was a great evening. Plus, the kids went to bed early, Baby took a long nap in her swing, and Hubby and I were able to watch the entire movie I purchased for him as his gift (Ender's Game) without a single interruption.
Such a great day. Oh, I forgot to mention, at the kindergarten party I got to ring the the bell. WOW! Such power! Mrs. T insisted on holding the baby and she did not want Baby to get frightened by the bell so it fell upon me to do the ringing. The photo in the photo of T, Baby, and myself, you can see he is wearing his heart necklace - I made heart necklaces for his teachers, staff, and the students - it was a month of riding the elliptical (I crochet while working out since it's the only time I have free hands) but it was worth it - everyone LOVED the necklaces.The hanging heart decorations you see in the photos are the same pattern. The necklaces were of different colors and yarns. T picked the designs for each person. He also hand wrote and decorated all his Valentines.
Included in the photos are the outsides (red) and insides (white/pink) of the Valentines the kids made for their dad. They drew themselves doing something they enjoyed with their dad. I thought T's pirate ship was great. He said his drawing was of he and his dad playing with Lego minifigures together in his room. He even drew his bed with a pillow on it and his activity table. Lil Sister's card was equally charming and I was SO proud of her name signing. She was the only one in her preschool class who hand signed all her Valentines. She is SO ready for kindergarten but still has 18 months until she goes.
It was such a happy day and one we as a family will always remember.
I am still getting used to being the mother of three children. As I often say these days, we are living the new world order of controlled chaos. Things are crazy busy keeping up with everyone's activities and school work. Plus, the baby is just entering her maximum cute phase of adorableness but she is also one high maintenance baby. Whew - I don't get much sleep. The only time sleep really matters is when I need to work.
This past week was a tough one because I worked three days when I normally work only two. It was tough on all of us. The good part of it was I was able to have a three day weekend and go to T's kindergarten Valentine's party which was one of the most positive, uplifting experiences I've had as a parent. (I'll try to post something about it on his blog soon.)
The transition from two to three has been much harder for me than from one to two. I'm not sure why. Individually, each of the kids is pretty darn easy but somehow when they are all together I get completely overwhelmed. I know partially because I am so tired most of the time but little things add up - cooking, cleaning up, laundry, playing, finding whatever is lost, driving to whatever appointment or activity, etc. It just goes on and one.
The other day while watching break dancing with another parent at the school, this mother asked how it was having three kids since she and her husband were considering making the jump from two to three. I responded that I was not a good person to ask since three has really put me over the edge and we're just trying to hold on right now. Often these days my inside voice speaks with my outside voice when I would normally keep quiet. I felt bad I said anything but at least I was honest. It has not been easy for me.
The other night I was so tired after a long day at home following two full back to back days at work. My in-laws were over wanting to spend time with the kids. They really wanted to snuggle the baby but she was just in one of her grumpy moods and did not want to be held by anyone but me. As I sat and listened to her cry while I tried to finish my dinner, I found myself rocking and saying, "Shh Shhh Shhh" to my food. I'm that tired. And no, I'm not trying to keep doing everything the same way as I did prior to three kids. It's just there is so much to do.
So what is it like working and having these kids? There is actually a lot that goes into my work days. The day before I am packing lunches for myself and the kids - the big kids prefer cold lunch at school so I do those. The baby's milk needs to be packed, bottles sterilized, breast pump supplies prepared for work, and the diapers and bag packed for the following day. Clothes need to be laid out for all of us - if this is not done, melt downs ensue in the morning. No one in the family likes waking up so early for school/work. In the morning, we get up early, eat, get kids ready, then Hubby takes big kids to school and I take baby to the sitter's. I estimate we're up about 2-3 hours before we actually start our work day. At work inbetween patients and at lunch I take time to pump - at least twice in the day. Then at the end of the day, I pick up Baby, Hubby picks up the big kids, and we all meet at home. Hubby and big kids get home first so they do baths. Then I get home around 6:45/7 we eat (I try to put something in crock pot the night before). Then bed time for everyone. Although, the baby generally is not totally ready so I nap while she settles down. It's quite an elaborate song and dance on those days I work.
Still, these happy smiling faces are worth all our efforts. Worth every bit. Still, though, best not to ask me what my thoughts on having three kids is (at least not for a while).
I have lots of short posts planned. It's been a busy month and a half with me being back at work. Everything is good. We're just really busy juggling three young kids. There are lots of challenges but there are also some amazing moments.
Here is one such moment - the big kids were putting on a short puppet show for the baby while I finished getting ready for the day. So proud of these kiddos and love them so much.
Enjoy...
