Being Mommy

It's a thankless job, this motherhood thing. Worth it, without a doubt. But I feel like I'm always working my tail off, to never get caught up, and at the end of the day, Ethan says, "Go back inside, Mommy!"....Ok, so that's just one day...today. And I'm seasoned enough after 2.5+ years of parenthood that I know that's just "two" talking. Not every day is like that.

But on days & evenings like this, where I'm working at home, doing three loads of laundry (which didn't include everyone's sheets which still need to be done - thankfully I could do laundry during my workday), trying to fit in baths for babies, emptying garbages, managing three screaming children while feeding one rice cereal while another had to be physically removed from the outdoors and continuously screamed so loud that he woke up the third (Andy must have thought I had nothing in control when he came home to that scene)...and I still wasn't on top of dishes today (sorry, Gamma!), formula & bottles today (sorry, Gamma!), and Ethan has some sort of spreading rash on his ass/thighs, and oh my god, when was the last time he bathed before tonight?!

But just ten minutes before the three-screaming-children scene, the 4 of us (me and my brood) were enjoying the beautiful MN spring weather, at last. Gamma has found that the babies' carseats fit perfectly side by side in Ethan's wagon. When I was done working today (after Ethan stopped yelling at me to "go back inside", and Gamma went home), the babies slept in their seats, in the wagon, and Ethan and I played. We played with the trucks, played catch, rolled down the "hill", and put leaves on each other's heads...which is hilarious, don't you know?! Dylan woke up after awhile and smiled at us. Then he got hungry...the result, aforementioned above.

Ethan has taken to sleeping on the floor. I've heard this can happen. One of my co-workers daughters does this. I thought it was weird at the time. Then Ethan fell asleep on the floor last weekend at naptime. Then he did it again the next day. And I just put him to bed, and as I was leaving the room he was yelling that he wanted to sleep on the floor...I thought it was just a delay tactic, but no, he really wanted to. So I helped him move his pillow and blankets to the floor and covered him up. Maybe he has his dad's back?!...Andy would much rather prefer a hard surface to our Beautyrest pillow-top.

Despite the invasion of the body-snatcher, "two", every couple minutes, Ethan has his charming times too. He continues to just crack us up all the time. He's considerate, asking me what I would like for breakfast. He says, "Let's go quick like a bunny." He announces at dinner, "There goes neighbor, George, and his noisy truck" when he drives by. Today, he got up from his "nap" and said to Gamma, "Where's the other one of the people?"..."Who?"..."Mommy" he says...I am the "other people"! These are all I can think of right now, but I am continuously thinking to myself, "Where does his come up with this stuff?"

I hesitate to write anything about babies sleeping, because I have jinxed myself in the past. But...here goes...Dylan and Owen are sleeping well at night. We haven't gotten up with them at night since....last Thursday? I think? Sleep training rocks...it sucks at the time...but it is so worth it. I still swear by Dr Weissbluth (is anyone sick of me writing about him yet?) and his book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child"...should be...Happy Parent!!! We still don't have much of a nap schedule, although they tend to take a little cat nap around 9 and then a longer nap in the afternoon. They don't seem to need a quiet, dark place...that's where we deviate from Dr W's guidelines, but it allows Gamma/Liz/me & Andy to be able to actually do something during the days we're with the kids. If we needed to put them down for a nap in their crib every time they needed to nap, we'd be stuck inside all day. Not fair to us, or Ethan!

Owen continues to rock the rice cereal. This surprises me to no end. He has always trailed a little behind Dylan on feeding...but he loves that mush. Dylan cries his way through the first couple minutes. I think he just isn't as patient...he's hungry and he wants it in his belly NOW, damnit! Once a couple of those rice cereal bites get into his tummy, he's a happy clam and does just fine for the rest of the feeding, but he makes you work for it at first...just like tiny Owen did when he first came home from the NICU with his 2oz bottles...how far we've come!!

It may be a thankless job, but they are my life and I love them so much and would do anything for them, whether they thank me or not.

Harley Owen

Dylan and his penguin pal

Ethan at the park today

A little brotherly love...

Enjoying the outside at last!...