Case in point:
Andrew was finishing dinner up because I had to nurse the babies. John Paul started freaking out because he couldn't get Mr. Potato Head's necklace on. Then Elizabeth started puking on my stomach and Mary Claire decided she ABSOLUTELY had to burp. So here I am trying to burp Mary Claire while holding a diaper next to Elizabeth's face so she pukes into that and not on my stomach (I must smell awful most of the time...) and trying to put Mr. Potato Head's necklace on, all while Cecilia is playing happily on the floor with HER Mr. Potato Head saying, "He wooks wike Boy GEORGE!" over and over again.
Seriously, can someone send a few extra sets of hands over here? I am a caricature of a frazzled mom.
(Cecilia had her moment later on. In a fit of rage because John Paul wouldn't trade the camera he was playing with for the phone book she offered him, she starting sobbing, "IT IS ALL BAD!" over and over again)
The kids made "Christmas" cookies today with a friend from church (who is 10 years old and AWESOME) - I missed it because I had to take Elizabeth to the doctor's office AGAIN (seriously prayers please, kiddo is still only gaining 3-4 ounces a week and apparently it's not enough...) and came home to find their beautiful creations:
The mix was from a bag. I'm not going to go to the trouble of making cookie dough from scratch when this will taste the same and take zero time! But I *did* make peppermint buttercream frosting from scratch, and colored sugar. That took all of 3 minutes...
And they chose those lovely "Christmas" colors for their frosting. Pink and teal? Sure...
(Can you tell that I'm still learning how to use our fancy new camera?)
I was pretty amazed at their self-control for the rest of the day. The cookies sat on the table and John Paul offered one to everybody who came to visit (he particularly liked giving his aunt a "sacred heart") and hardly whined at all about not getting to eat more than one! I can probably count on one hand the number of times I heard, "Oooohhhhh I want a cookie!" from him, and that's impressive.
Apparently the last giant cookie was made from the leftover dough that they didn't feel like rolling anymore. John Paul, when asked who should have the huge cookie, immediately answered, "Jesus."
So there you have it - offering up those giant sugar cookies for Jesus. Now if only we could get him to stop shrieking "NO!" every time he was asked to do ANYTHING, we might be further along on the path to sainthood.
Less than a week until Sister is gone from our lives until March. HOW AM I GOING TO HANDLE THESE CHILDREN ON MY OWN??? WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO BE OUR NANNY FOR FREE?????????
Honey, I will be able to come and stay with you as soon as I get well and stop being infectious, because I really don't think you want kids with flu on top of everything else. And I will be delighted to help, though I am not as energetic as Meg. Hey, it's something, right?
ReplyDeleteI wish I could explain how happy this post made me. First of all, "Today just really felt like a sitcom at times." Yes, yes, and more yes. I'm 100% with you. Cookies - not from scratch (even though you are inwardly twitching and wishing you could have this miraculous organic raw food diet still). Yes. And my sisters stayed with me for almost a month after Emeric was born...it's a sad, sad day when you are plunged into life on your own :) It is sooooo good to know other people have crazy lives too though...you're not alone!!! Have you figured out the logistics of taking everyone out in public by yourself?? It's not too bad for me since I have 2 hands for girls and have a carrier for Emeric...can you babywear 2 at a time??
ReplyDeleteI've been out with all 4 of them on my own... once! And it was to a La Leche League meeting, so all my mom friends were helping me with the twins. I don't think I'll be able to get them anywhere else until I figure out tandem wearing - back carries with tiny ones are possible, but tricky! We may just be recluses until the twins can walk, but then I'll have to figure out how to nurse both in public without having to take my shirt off!
DeleteOops and I forgot to add that we'll be praying for baby Elizabeth!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! We did a calorie count on Saturday (pumping and bottle feeding) and she's definitely taking in as much as she should, she just doesn't always keep it down... So we started reflux medication, but it's too soon to know if that's making a difference. I'm just hoping we don't have to get bloodwork done :(
DeletePrayers for Elizabeth. I can usually help on weekends, but call me, because I don't always see your facebook or blog posts. We have a party tonight - might be able to help out an hour or two this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI actually have a lot of experience with infants and toddlers, but of course I'll need to know how *you* want things done!
Thanks! Weekends are actually a lot easier because Andrew's here - once there's one adult per baby, things are much simpler.
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