THIS mother...

is

TIRED.

There is no other way to put it.

Everyone wants to know what it's like to go from 2 children to 3?! Let me tell you:

It's easy in the sense that you already know how to juggle more than one schedule at a time and you have already accepted the fact that as a mother, your needs are met dead-last, if at all and you also have 2 children that have learned some things you must "wait" for.

Yet, on the other hand..

it's really hard.

There is NO keeping up. While it may seem like you couldn't keep up with laundry before..forget it. Those piles are not moving for days. The dishes? My sink hasn't been empty since I've been home from the hospital and we are utilizing the "straight from drying rack to dinner table" method, which doesn't prove any more effective because now my counter space is cut in half so during the precious moments when I am holding newborn baby and filling up sippy cup for the toddler and making a PB&J sandwich for the eldest....and dishes start falling off the top of the mountain and we're all donig a dance to try and not get blasted by the "clean" dishes..which end up on the floor before the dinner table.

Showering is near impossible. Yes, baby is in the bathroom with me..safe and sound sleeping in the car seat or bouncer seat and thank god..because the horrific screams that carry thier sound to the shower as Im trying to get my 2 1/2 minutes of alone time are never -ending and result in at least: 1 broken toy, 1 child crying, 1 huge mess to clean up and 3 children to soothe...and I still haven't managed to find an outfit I sucessfully fit in, so I wander througout the house in the same 2 outfits as I painfully accept the fact that yes...three pregnancy's is harder on the body then I originally allowed myself to believe.

Bedtime has become the breakdown for the whole family. Zach is the creator of havoc...with a record breaking 27 attempts(yes, we counted) at going to sleep and that was followed by another glorious 9 visits from him in the middle of the night, which either happen directly after feeding little Andrew and settling back in for my promised 3 hours of sleep intervals or it happens WHILE nursing the baby, which gets Dad involved..which is scary all by it's self, not to mention Zach is screaming relentlessly and irrationally with all limbs and appendages struggiling to give black eyes and broken ribs as either me or dad coax him back into bed, using the ever popular "repetition" method..which is basically an attempt to not lose your mind while you do the exact same thing over and over, silently praying that THIS time will be the time it clicks in thier head...but, ohhhh...the screaming. And the screaming is what affects Danny..who whines from the upper bunk at 3am; "please, please Mom..let him sleep with you." Those dumb-ass parenting books who claim that repetition and routine are the key to any sucessful night of sleep don't account for the older brother who is being tortured by the screaming fits...

but not the little guy

oh no

he sleeps and sleeps and cuddle and nuzzles and makes those damn adorable little grunting noises, so you can't help it..

you forget all the other crap

and

you love your children

all damn 3 of them

and THAT is when you know you are truly insane.

Aside from the events in the house..outings are quite interesting.

First let me explain that I posted a lovely little note at Danny's preschool 3 weeks ago asking for a volunteer to help transport him to and from school for a few weeks (so I wouldn't have to bring baby out in the cold). His preschool which is tues, wed and thurs from 9-11:30 is 2 miles from my house. Also, dropping him off and picking him up means getting out of the car, entering the church, walking down the croweded, narrow stairs and then down the hall, turning left and waiting by the door and then getting Danny's coat and hat on, getting his bookbag and doing the same thing in reverse.

This whole routine was hard enough with 2 kids..so 3..seems..very intimidating.

Guess how many of these so-called "christain"/future PTO/Green's finest/perfect little BMW SUV driving/anti-thrift store shopping/let me pull out my little black book/ too good for you MOTHERS....

NONE!

So today was my first day where my mother or mother in law couldn't help and I was forced into starting the adventure.

It was.

sad.

:)

Zach has learned how to kick his shoes off, because he knows it means I have to out him down to pick them up..so he runs away, forget holding hands. Danny takes advantage of this time to inform me he didn't go to the bathroom before we left, he has to go really bad "NOW!", he can't carry his bookbag..it's too heavy, He's not wearing his hat because it will mess up his hair...the list goes on and on..and every word that leaves his mouth is sheer whining..which only adds to the whole beauty of the day, the 20 degree day where my 12 day old baby is forced into the outdoors.

We barely make it downstairs, now 20 minutes later after the bathroom trip, the drinking fountain trip, the replace binky in baby mouth pit-stop and the "oh shit, I hope I put in those nursing pads" freak out.

But, we made it.

And just in time to return home, change diapers, feed

and

do the exact same thing again with the knowledge that this is what I get to do 3 days a week, all winter long.

Oh the Joys!

On a non-sarcastic, much more important and un-selfish note:

Andrew's PKU test for his Thyroid came back irregular, so he was re-tested yesterday and we'll hopefully find out the results by Mon. and I am trying NOT to worry since...it was only the pre-liminary test that he failed.

but, it still sucks.

He is a great baby, just like the others. He's adorable and quiet and lovely in general. He has found his place in this home and family effortlessly and naturally, like somehow I know now that I would alwasy have 3 boys, there was just no other way. It's looking back and towards the future where you realize you have absolutely no control in your life, it's just how you deal what what you've been given.

I am also going to try and learn how to do some fun blogger stuff on here, like add pics..lol

I know,

big step!

So here's a few.

Maybe I'll actually get some readers..

other than my faithful claire!