Time

It really is amazing  how quickly time passes. The older I get the faster the days, hours, even minutes, seem to slip through my tenuous grip. I find myself wishing I had more moments of peace and contentment and less of chaos and worry. I wish I could spend an eternity staring at my children's little faces soaking in their beauty and innocence. I would quietly let it wash over my dull and cynical soul. Maybe then I'd remember what it was like to be young again. To recall the joy and magic in the world. To be able to run and jump without the weight of years pulling me heavily to the earth. 

Already I've lost a month of my little boys life. I looked at him this morning and quietly pleaded for him to slow down! He's already growing, stretching, and reaching towards the day he will be too big for cuddles, kisses, and his mom's fretting. Why do they have to change so quickly? Why do I not know how to cherish the short time I have with them? In all my frantic rushing to and fro I manage to take care of dinners, house cleaning, yard work, and hobbies but somehow miss out on the precious gift of a guileless spirit. Shame on me!

I need to stop frittering away these moments. My Father in Heaven has blessed me with three of his children to call my own for the briefest of time. I need to figure out how to be grateful and responsible for that time. Somehow. 

Super Mom Powers

I spend a lot of time trying to stay one step ahead of my kids. As you can probably guess it's a lot harder than it sounds. For some reason I feel schooled on a daily basis by my 2 and 5 year old girls. But I have a secret weapon. I like to call it "Mommy ESP." Here's an example of how it works:

Today I decided to have another try at getting a nap. I put a DVD in for the girls and told them to quietly enjoy mindless entertainment while Curtis and I get some rest. (I actually managed to catch about an hour--cue the hallelujahs--it was awesome!) When the newbie decided he'd slept long enough we came downstairs. Both girls were hanging out behind the recliner by their little toy box. After a couple seconds they came over to see their little brother. This is when the Mommy ESP kicked in. In a calm voice I instructed Lindy to go back behind the recliner and bring me the potato chip bag then put herself in time out for sneaking food out of the pantry without asking. With a look of utter astonishment she cries, "But how did you know?!!!" to which I responded, "Mommy's always know."

How did I know? Well, because I like my kids to think I do always know what's going on I did not mention that I was tipped off by the obvious orange Dorito residue smeared from ear to ear on both child or the fact that they both oozed nacho breath all over the place. 

I'm tricky. I know.

Mom vs. Mom

We expected tantrums. We thought we'd see belligerence, disrespect, and attitude. So imagine our surprise when Lindy decided that she'd rather be a mom to her baby brother than pick on him. She rarely lets him out of her sight and will sit with him for hours commenting on "his cute little face" or "his skinny little chicken legs". Our only problem now...I think she'd prefer being the one in charge of our new family member...and has no problem trying to put me in my place.

The other day Curtis was fussing a little bit so I picked him up to hold him. Lindy leaned over to me and said, "Mom, you need to bounce him like this." And she proceeded to instruct me on the appropriate calming-down technique for fussy babies. Man, it's a good thing I have her around, isn't it? :)

If It Weren't Screwed On

I used to be a smart person. I used to be capable and observant with a mind like a steel trap. Then I had kids. Well, at least that's my excuse.

Over the last few months I've lost my debit card a total of 3 times. Mind you, this doesn't include the many many times I've left it in a pants pocket, left it on my dresser, or had it get buried in the bottom of my diaper bag and found it later. No...recently I've developed a habit of losing it at random and unknown locations throughout the county. The first time it simply vanished into thin air. Ian and I both had to get new cards reissued (because we had the same number) which was an annoyingly long and inconvenient process. The second time wasn't as dramatic...I called around to the stores I'd been at and was able to pick it up. Then earlier this week I got a call from my credit union only to discover that someone had found my card at a bookstore and brought it in. I didn't even know I'd lost it! 

I'm now the poster child for the saying, "If your head weren't screwed on you'd probably lose it!" Sheesh.

No Rest For The Weary

Ellie has had a pretty bad cold the last couple of days. It was determined fairly early on that she wouldn't be well enough to go to church today. I started formulating a plan. It was brilliant in it's simplicity. I would send Ian and Lindy off to church, regretful that I wasn't going with them, and once they were out the door I would put Ellie down for an afternoon nap, shut myself in my room with a peacefully sleeping baby, and take a well-deserved nap myself.

It started out wonderfully. Curtis was asleep in his bouncy seat so I sat him next to my bed. By the time I got everything situated Ellie had been in her bed for about a half hour and since I hadn't heard a peep during that time I figured I'd hit the jackpot! I laid down and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was OUT.

I awoke to a horrible shrieking. It was Ellie. Screaming to beat all. I had erroneously assumed that no noise meant she was sleeping soundly in her bedroom. When I reached the hallway I discovered that no noise can also mean that she is in the bathroom applying layer after layer of SoftSoap to every single spot of exposed skin. Including her eyes.

My much needed nap time turned into Ellie's bath time. She had a blast pretending to be a mermaid. As soon as she got out, Curtis woke up with his own banshee-like wail...demanding food. I guess we'll try it another day.