BOOM, Baby!
Posted By jayna on November 15, 2011
For four weeks straight (give or take a day or two in between), we had family staying with us to help out. First my dad, then my mom, and then the husband’s parents. On Monday morning, our easy life came screeching to a halt as the girls and I watched my in-laws pull out of the driveway. Gone were the days of adults outnumbering the children. Gone were the extra hands, sleeping in, mid-day naps, and the attention lavished on the girls. Oh, the attention.
At approximately 9:02, as the in-laws probably hit the next intersection north of our house, the girls Lost. Their. Minds.
Gone.
Situation overload.
The baby needed to be fed. E needed something she couldn’t reach. MJ smashed her fingers in the door. The baby filled his diaper all the way up his back. E was hungry. MJ needed a new pull-up. The baby puked down my shirt, bra and pants. E sassed back one too many times and found herself in time out. MJ dropped a quarter in the toilet. The baby screamed. E screamed. MJ screamed.
I went into the kitchen, ready to make a nice, hot cup of coffee, intent on staring out the window while scalding my tongue on some vanilla flavored goodness. E was yelling about the injustices of the world from her bed, MJ was pouting on the couch and the baby had given in to the tiredness that he was so angry about.
But . . . the coffee maker broke the day before.
And so on and so on and so on.
We made it to late-morning before I gave up on getting anything done in the house, rounded up some shoes, wrapped the baby up on my chest and herded everyone outside. E had been begging to ride her (relatively) new bike, so on went the helmets. MJ on her tricycle with me pushing and E on her Big Girl Bike. After two trips up and down the street, we all decided to head to the playground and turned on to the sidewalk. It’s hilly and tippy and full of bumps from tree roots scattering here and there. As a really, really timid bike rider, E freaked out a few times when she couldn’t get up a hill or a bump threw her off balance. Eventually we ended up with her refusing to pedal and throwing a temper tantrum because I couldn’t run along behind her with my hand on the bike. Soooo, I just happened to gently suggest that we head on home.
Someone. Lost. Her. Shit.
I’m sure the neighbors all got a chuckle if they saw our spectacle. Me, wheeling two bikes down the sidewalk, with E dragging backwards on hers while screaming at the top of her lungs. Bikes abandoned at the intersection. E scooped up and slung across my back like a sack of potatoes, with the baby sound asleep on my front and MJ meekly trailing along behind.
The chaos didn’t end for hours. In fact, it continued well on through today . . . and probably tomorrow and the next and the next . . .
For so long, I’ve watched other mothers of three, both online and in real life, and marveled at how well they held everything together. Ever since the beginning of the pregnancy, I would find myself thinking that if they could do it, of course I could do it. Of course. And now? Now I’m telling myself that they just aren’t telling anyone about those days that end with a giant sigh of relief at bedtime. The days where they gave up at noon and just accepted it as a loss. They just aren’t warning the rest of us that OMG! Life! About to go BOOM!!
And BOOM!! it did go. We’ve eaten three meals, and are all clean and clothed. School drop off and pick ups were on time, and we have done a little grocery shopping. Aside from that . . . all I can say is “Wheee! Aren’t roller coasters so much fun?!”
Holy shit! It’s me! Reading and commenting!
Oh, honey, there are days when my three make me wonder if the whole “eating one’s young” is maybe a viable option. For about a month after school started, my sweet 6-year-old daughter lost her shit every damned day. She was six going on sixteen and I was ready to put a “For Sale” sign out in the front yard.
But, you know, having three is all about juggling. When it’s bad is when all three are having a bad day and taking it out on you. And when that happens, I look at my three and say, “You’re not being fair to Mama. I’m angry and I’m going to leave the room before I’m as mean to you as you are to me.” And I will, literally, lock myself in my closet for a few minutes and make them sort it out.
And, yeah, there are days THAT doesn’t even work. And that’s where cartoons come in. Seriously, if rotting their brains for 30 minutes calms them the heck down and gets them out of my face? Amen.
You’ll make it. It sucks some days but you’ll make it.
I’ll just say again how much I missed you :-)
And yeah. The DVD player has gotten more action in the past few weeks than it ever has before. We’ve entered survival mode.
Everyone has days like that! You’re doing awesome!
This post gave me flashbacks. To the days when all 3 of mine would be crying at once and I would seriously look around and think, “Ok, where are the hidden cameras? Because I can’t believe that this is SERIOUSLY my life right now.”
I’m here as living proof that It.Does.Get.Better. I promise!
I can’t wait for the days when I can look back and laugh. Deep down, I know that so much of this is some really funny stuff!