The changes.... So many changes!!!

Hello again... I know it's been a WHILE since my last post.. again.. To be fair, I tend to get really busy and when I'm NOT totally busy doing SOMETHING, I am generally enjoying my few moments of doing NOTHING and with the help of my recent loss of memory (I SWEAR it's hit me since the last pregnancy...) well some times I just forget to pick up this wonderful machine and tell you all about my days. I've actually noticed a pattern... Did you ever buy a journal or diary with the thought that you would write in it EVERY DAY so you'd have this great keepsake to look back on? Yeah... me too... I actually just found it the other day.. It starts off like this...

                    December 29, 2011
The upstairs toilet overflowed making it RAIN in our living room through the ceiling fan. Eventually the day worked itself out though. I have learned fully (especially after this last year) that you should never take good times for granted. Rain will always block out at least one sunny day and now I know you don' even have to be outside when it happens...

That is the very first entry on the very first page of the journal I bought after my sister told me I should get one to write my days down... Don't ask about the positive outlook garbage... I must have been in a mood.. ;) The next entry was January 3, 2012.. Not a BAD gap... It goes on to the 4th... the 6th... the 8th.. 12th... 13th... actually it's fairly steady through January and February. For me anyway.. Then jumps to April... then May 11th.. June 1st... July 13th... September 2nd... Then we hit January 2013... February 20th... March 5th... From there we jump to January 11, 2014... and to the very last entry... April 1st of this year 2015!!! So to be clear... my pattern of actually documenting everything I would like to... yeah... A little spaced out I must admit... I guess I will learn to appreciate the things I actually DO write down that much more! So to be clear, I admit that I am a horrible "on track" everyday writer due to my memory loss, crazy schedules and or the fact that I can't maintain a decent diary life. (I mean four years scribbled onto like ten pages... PATHETIC!!!) Now that we're all caught up.... Back to the title... Changes... So many changes....

It's an obvious fact that life changes when you have children. There is no "normal way" about it. Even for those parents who SWEAR that NOTHING except the actual child itself has changed in their lives aren't being honest. SOMETHING changes.. always. These are a few of the things that I have noticed in my OWN life since having children. (And I'm not saying these changes are horrible, bad, wrong, crappy or anything else.. Just different from what they used to be....) For instance...

1. Date night...

I remember being very excited while getting ready for a date.. Buy a new outfit.. fix up my hair all cute and nice.. Wonder where he was taking me... Having that wonderful conversation about our day and what the night still had in store as we stared into each others eyes from across the table with not so subtle signs that the best was yet to come.. Yes.. that was date night THEN.. Three kids later... Date night is a night you might be able to swing if you have family or friends that will not only take your mob willingly, but also have the very big heart to NOT call you every 15 minutes asking if you're on your way home yet. Though there is ALWAYS a time limit on these little getaways, it's nice to just sit across from each other again without saying things like "Sit down", "Finish your food", and "Are you picking your nose because you're still hungry or...." Yeah. I usually can swing a date night a couple times a year where it's just the two of us outside of the house. Our weekly date nights are IN the house after bed time and usually consists of a movie, a bath, maybe a massage and that kind of thing. On the REALLY good nights it's all of the above and then some! I don't know about you but I'm thinking I would trade a dinner out for all of that in no time! So a big change for sure... But as far as date night goes... I think I have to give it to the change for the better. Even though the little couple getaways are few and far between, like my journal writing, they are even more special when they actually DO happen.

2. Your favorite snack...

You go to the store, find your favorite snack (cookies, ice cream, chips, whatever!) buy it, take it home and put it away knowing you can have it whenever you please... HA! CLEARLY that was THEN as in BEFORE kids because WITH kids you need a hiding place for your snacks just to be sure that it will be there when you want it! Exaggerating am I..? NOT EVEN CLOSE! Example...I love beef jerky.. It's a sensible little snack here and there and if you've ever bought it, you know that it's not like buying a candy bar or bag of chips. It's usually pricey.. But it's also spicy so I considered it safe to be in with the general population pantry foods. Big mistake. My middle child took it upon herself to try out a jerky stick and found that she herself LOVED them. So not only did I NOT get to eat my little snack, I now have to buy them for her and STILL hide mine if I want to eat it myself! She is so in love with them now that even if I have one open and set it down even to just run to the bathroom, I will come back and INCHES will be missing if not the WHOLE THING! That's just jerky, I won't even get into SWEETS! So when it comes to snacks... change is a little on the ARE YOU KIDDING ME side.

3. A clean house...

Laundry put away the moment it's done... Never a dirty dish in the sink.. Everything dusted and vacuumed perfectly. Drop in guests are always welcome! Enter three children and you get this in your clean house - three more beds to make, three more bodies in and out of the bathroom, three more pairs of shoes by the door (or more!) tracking in dirt, three more wardrobes to fill the washer, three more plates, forks and cups at every meal, not to mention three times the amount of toys that you would find in a toy box of one child... Yes... The spic and span seems to fade with every finger print, crumb, toy, dirty sock, hair band, old band aid, sippy cup, booger and wad of gum that turns up in the house of children. A clean house is not impossible with kids by any means. It is a lot of maintenance but very possible! A clean house to me now is one where the baby toys are stacked in the corner, the ten pairs of shoes by the door are at least on a shelf, the laundry is put away at the end of the week and varies in magnitude depending on exactly how many days are waited and how many times the kids change their clothes, the trash is taken out when the lid can't close on the garbage can and I run the vacuum twice a week. So with all that done and not having to jump over toys and clothes on the floor, THAT is what a clean house is with the change. It's a wash, cleaning is cleaning.. :/

4. Being ON TIME...

Whether it was a doctors appointment or just lunch with the girls, timing was never really an issue before children. You had a place to be and a time to be there and you usually showed up a few minutes early just so you weren't THAT person who's always late. Nowadays... If you have to be somewhere that's ten minutes away and you want to be ten minutes early, you have to hope to leave thirty minutes before the time you need to be there! It's no longer grab your purse, keys, phone and go. Oh no... Now it's "make sure you go to the bathroom!" and "We have to GO! Get your shoes on!!!" and "What do you mean you're hungry? You just ate! Let's go!" and so on. That's just getting the older troops ready and out the door.. Add in a baby and you have a whole other realm of crap you need to be "prepared" to leave.. Oh yes.. Diapers, wipes, a bottle, a pacifier, a spit up rag, a blanket, a toy and AHHHHHHH!!!!! So you now have a bulging diaper bag on the same arm as your purse that's also grabbing the keys because the other arm has a car seat, a phone and is ushering out the two older kids to the car! That's just LEAVING... We won't get into the car ride there or the time it takes to do what you have to do.. Some times it's fine and some times you want to pull your hair out... Change for the crazy in this area...

5. Dinner...

When it was just the two of you, dinner was whatever you felt like at the time. You could plan a dinner made of just about anything, cook together if you wanted to or just say screw it and go grab a bite somewhere. With one child it's not that big of deal unless they are SUPER picky or finicky about the food they eat or in many cases DON'T eat. With two children it starts getting a little crazier because at least one of them likes things the other does not and that's when they start thinking that mom is a short order cook and if they don't like spaghetti, that automatically means they're entitled to chicken nuggets instead... Hmm... A battle I've seen many times before. I never had to BARTER with my husband about eating his food before kids and I'm not about to start with someone half my size! Their answer to everything is "let's go to... (FILL IN THE FATTY FAST FOOD NAME HERE).. Yeah... Now there's three.. in my picture anyway.. The oldest is FINALLY starting to venture out of the child friendly food zone and actually trying new things all the time. The middle child is the pickiest (slowest and MOST STUBBORN) eater I have. If it's not Mac and Cheese... There's bound to be hesitation when she sees what IS on her plate. She always asks "What's for dinner?" when I'm cooking and to save myself from hearing moans, grunts and groans early on, I answer with simply "Food". "What KIND of food..." she says.. "The kind you eat of course!" That gets me some eye rolling and a sigh here and there but gives me a few extra minutes of peace before I start the "But I don't LIKE this..." Dinner... A simpler, QUIETER time before children...



You know there are so many more things that I could shine the light on when it comes to kids changing things.. BUT instead of making this as long or longer than the hospital page, I'll blurt a few and you can nod along as you realize exactly what I'm talking about....

The bathroom... The things left in the toilet, the excess water on the floor, toys EVERYWHERE, no toilet paper left on the roll, toothpaste and spit in the sink, all of your shampoo magically gone, scissors on the counter with a chunk of hair next to it, 7 washcloths in the tub, the sink dripping, dirty clothes on the floor....

The yard... Bubble tubes, broken sidewalk chalk, holes dug in attempts to find dinosaur bones and China, new toys that should be inside, the hose left on, water balloon guts everywhere, water bottles and juice bottles in the grass, bikes laying where the car should be parked, freshly picked flowers (you know, the ones you planted months before and have waited on...)....

The bills... Higher water bill from multiple baths and showers (and when they use the hose to "cool down"..), way higher grocery bill (because feeding five people costs WAY more than feeding two..), School supplies, movie tickets, fundraisers, higher ELECTRIC bill (oh yes.... they definitely contribute... for example.. the boogey man doesn't come out when the lights on... )....

The noises... "She hit me!",<Door slamming> "MOM!!!", "DAD!", <screaming> "Stop it!!", "I'm telling!", <Moaning and groaning> "Leave me alone!", <CRYING> "I don't want to!", <Foot stomping> "NOOOOOO!!!", <Whining> "Give me that!", "Don't touch me!".....

AND SO ON....

It's a good thing I love my children and they mean the world to me. That must really say something about the tolerance and sanity level of a mother.... Have a wonderful night everyone and I will try not to make this my replica diary... ;) -Super Mom

Two months later...

           It has been two months since I went into the hospital to have my third baby girl. I am actually writing this while she sleeps on my chest with her little face nuzzled right up to my neck (I use the purple bedtime bath in her bath and sometimes I use it MYSELF at least on my chest and arms since she's always THERE anyway... I like to think it helps her sleep... does it? Who knows. But as she sleeps with her tiny little baby snores drifting to my ears, I can't help but think I helped her get there. :)  ) It has been quite a change to have a newborn baby back in my life. Especially since it's been almost seven years since the last time... A lot of things in the baby world itself has changed in that time too. There's a long blacklist of things that are DANGEROUS to have around babies these days.. Crib bumpers, blankets, even stuffed animals. Mostly this is all frowned upon for bedtime. So hearing about all of that AND not getting a full nights sleep in a long time.. It's been a little crazy. But then I look down at the squishy little face next to mine and realize yet again that no matter what kind of stress will come up (AND I KNOW IT WILL COME UP!) it will all be worth it. Obviously I've been a little busy with THREE kids and so it's been a little harder to jump on here and jot down all of our crazy stuff as it happens.. BUT.. I CAN fill you in on a few things that I have relearned and  experienced NOW... Here we go...
          
- A baby will eat every two hours and when they start crying because they're hungry, they rarely just STOP until they get something. It can go from a whine to a shaking cry in no time and the only remedy is a bottle or a boob! Then there's that timing where they act starving and exhausted all at once so you have to keep them awake or sit there for two hours while they nod off then jerk themselves awake to eat just a LITTLE bit more before they nod off again.. Motherhood is such a joy..

- If you're a breastfeeding mom then like your baby, your breasts have their own time limit too. If you're not careful, they can soak your bra, your shirt and even your sweatshirt (yes, that happened! Thankfully it happened at HOME and not at the store.. yeah.. that almost happened too...) if you're not covered carefully! We're talking snap up bras lined with what my middle daughter calls "boob pads" day and night even when you sleep!
          
- You may think that a "JUMBO" pack of diapers will last you a while. And why not? After all it comes with over 40 diapers and since a baby is so little, how much can it possibly go through in a day? HA! I've Relearned that a "jumbo" pack will MAYBE last me three days. THREE FREAKING DAYS! Most are just wet but still... that's crazy... And then there's that perfect balance of not too tight and still tight enough to contain anything and everything will fill it up.. Fun, fun, fun....

- A "quick trip" to the grocery store that SHOULD take 30 minutes or less actually takes an hour or MORE with a new baby and two other kids. It's not as easy as grab your purse and keys and go. Oh no.. More like make sure the older two go to the bathroom in hopes to avoid the public bathroom with your mob once you get to the store, get a bottle ready just incase, grab at least two diapers, powder, and wipes just incase, put the baby in the car seat with a blanket, spit up rag, pacifier and a hat (since it's winter..) grab the keys, grab the cell, grab the purse and guide the posse to the car. Then you have to snap in the car seat, make sure the other kids are buckled, make sure you actually HAVE everything you intended to grab, get in and go. If the baby is sleeping, the drive can be a little less crazy but if the baby is screaming from the backseat and neither of the big sisters can make her happy... It just adds to the "fun" of the drive which forces you to think two things... One- Why am I going to the store again? And two- Do we really NEED food in the fridge.... Of course you keep GOING to the store... Once you get there then all it is is simply going aisle to aisle with the car seat sitting on the cart with a squeaky or bouncy wheel while keeping an eye on the two kids walking AND grabbing the things you need that you wrote on the list that you conveniently left on the kitchen counter. Doesn't sound TOO bad does it... :/

- Ahh naps in the daytime.. The doctor says "sleep when the baby sleeps" in order to maintain my energy, stamina, and SANITY. Good advice... HOWEVER... When you have two other kids who have school, school projects, homework, reading times and everything else while you also have to feed them, keep up with the house, the pets, the laundry, the dishes.... How EXACTLY are you supposed to do all that while the baby is awake if you're napping when she does... Hmm... you DON'T! So it's either put everything else in your world on the backburner while you get some shut eye (KNOWING it will be there when you wake up..) OR... bye bye Z's... Yeah... Tough call..

- Baby skin is super smooth and also very soft and people can't help but crazy for that "baby smell". I KNOW what that is and maybe you notice it MORE when the baby isn't yours. Don't get me wrong, my little bundle of joy definitely had that smell... as well as many others that seem to pop up here and there. There's the obvious gas, wet diaper smell, dirty diaper smell, baby drool, and throw up. THEN you have the neck.. It's like the treasure trove of nasty things... All it takes is a line of drool or small stream of throw up to seep in there and then it's over. Have you ever found a ranch dressing cup from a nugget meal a week before in your car? Get what I'm saying...  Even if you're quick to wipe it up it seems like there is always something else in there! So imagine THIS smell.. baby sweat, drool and throw up in the folds of skin tucked up under a neck... YUM! How's THAT for the baby smell.... then there's diaper rash, the little red bumps they get on their face, and boogers that can be almost an inch long! So if you go up to a cute little baby and see it's precious face and admire it's smell... you should DEFINITELY thank the mom.. That's a LOT of upkeep to make sure that precious bundle is indeed precious!

- Baby clothes are super cute, soft, cuddly and pretty much... A waste. I have quickly noticed that there is NO NEED to carefully select an outfit in the beginning of the day because honestly, it will probably be worn for a few hours and that's it... Pretty much long enough to withstand an abundance of drool, spit up and whatever else comes out of either end before it is stripped off and replaced. A set of vinyl pajamas would be ideal for an "all day" wear BUT, haven't seen any of THOSE... yet... ;) The extent of outfit hunting for the time being is simply this- Open the dresser drawer, grab some pajamas, put them on and expect to change them out at LEAST once again before the day is over. That's it! I'm also trying to hold out on buying a bunch of outfits and everything because they grow SO FAST especially in the beginning. (I did that with newborn clothes... two months later.. do you think she's still wearing that stuff... NOPE!) Lesson learned...

Lastly...

- Sabotage.... Oh yes I've said it and have actually called her Princess sabotage because let's face it, she's EARNED it! I don't know if we just have this "super bond" as my husband calls it, she just has very good sensing techniques, or it's just dumb luck EVERY TIME but WHATEVER it is.. It never fails. It seems like she wakes up or gets the most vocal when I want to do one of these things... Eat, sleep, play a game, do a project or have "alone time" with my husband... She just, KNOWS when any of those things are going to happen and it's like she can't LET it happen! Sleeping is one of the worst.. At the moment, she sleeps in a bassinet next to my bed... Have you ever seen a baby doll that closes her eyes when she lays down and when she sits up they open? Well.. My baby and I have that effect going on it seems like because even if she's KNOCKED OUT SLEEPING and I lay her down in bed.. It's all good until I lay down.. If I lay down, as if by some magic coincidence, her eyes open... But when I sit back up.. She sleeps! I mean REALLY?!? I'm hoping that crap will thin out and I'll eventually get back to sleeping through the night soon. A fools hope I'm sure... But one can dream!


So there's a little taste of what I've relearned with the new baby after so many years... I'm sure I'm in for a lot more FUN as time goes on... That's how it goes! ;) To all of you new moms, tired moms, and moms in general.. keep up the great work! Have a great rest of the day and night everyone! - Super Mom

What no sleep at 4 am does to you....

Laying in bed while I was feeding my baby this morning at 4:09 am, I started thinking.. and rhyming.. and thinking some more.. Let's just say that I can get somewhat creative when I'm totally exhausted. So once my daughter was back asleep and my other girls were off to school I did what any other normal mom would do. No, not go to sleep to try to catch up... I grabbed my computer and wrote all this!!! It makes sense to me at the moment... I'll come back this time tonight and REALLY read it again.. ;) Maybe now it's nap time...? Oh wait.. the baby's crying... So close.. so very close... ENJOY!!! -Super Mom





Like a tomb, in the womb, there's just no more room
Please let me out! I quietly beg
Bright light, what a sight, is it day or is it night?
And why am I between someone else's legs?

Big hypes, cold wipes, stinky bulging soaking dipes
and there's always someone picking me up
then I walk, kinda talk, like to nibble on some chalk
while I drink my juice from a sippy cup

Done with drool, time for school, so many strict and crazy rules
why is that kid always picking his nose?
school plays, sunny days, blooming in so many ways
and shaving off leg hair when it grows.

Favorite pants, school dance, hoping there will be a chance
to kiss the cute boy who stole my heart
never frilly, always silly, would love a million dollar billy
and always laughed when someone would fart

First job, gross slob, doodled a guy and named him Bob
Then I got engaged at my high school prom
Wedding day, move away, some other stuff I cannot say
lets just say that I became a Mom!

Baby girl, changed my world, hair full of blonde and messy curls
who cares that I never sleep through the night
diapers changed, house rearranged, three years already? very strange
as I see a plus sign. Oh yes that's right!

Girl two, who new, what's the first one gonna do?
They love each other oh thank the lord!
cute blouse, new house, that's a big NO for a cute pet mouse
Can't recall the last time that I was bored

Move again, tired then, new job for years until I said WHEN!
Switched it up so I could work on my own
Pay the bills, keep the thrills, tell them "Clean up your own spills"
It's crazy how fast they both have grown

Mom knows best, another test, one more girl? I think YES
dad's totally outnumbered but that's okay!
House not dirty, we're still flirty, can you believe I'm almost SHHHHHH!
I'm loving my life what more can I say

Pee pee dances, power stances, life seems crazy from many glances
but I wouldn't change a thing because life's a ball
Happy wife, amazing life, No time for other peoples strife
This Super Mom is tired but she loves it all!