Party of Five (ie- how we are adjusting to the craziness, frustration and fun of 3 kids!)

Visiting With Uncle Brendan


Enjoying the waterpark
(a girl constantly on the move!)

A rare quiet moment July 4th (with only
ONE child climbing on me!)


Although it has improved a million times over in the past week. The most difficult part of 3 kids for us has been (hands down) LESS SLEEP! Those of you that know me will be shocked that it is actually possible for me to get less sleep since I regularly survive on 5-6 hours of interrupted sleep or less (I have not been blessed with consistently good sleepers for a number of reasons and also get most of my work done at night). Lia started out sleeping shockingly, fantastically well and still does for days at a time. But then... we will have nights where we are putting her back to sleep over and over again for two hours or MORE! The worst are those nights when she wakes up and truly wakes up- thinks it is time to play! Ugh. Until recently this was a waaaaay too recent ocurrence.

However, sleep issues are probably at least partially due to all the partying! That is a fun part of our family we are a party in and of ourselves (never a dull moment) and we have been lucky enough to get to spend lots of time with friends and family lately (between 4th of July, end of school and all the birthdays it has been one party after another). Lia loves the entertainment value of being outside with kids to watch and doesn't seem overwhelmed at all but I think we've played fast and loose with her sleep routine a bit too much. When we had Jack I remember longing for the days when I could base my daily routine around one child's naps, well, now that's even more impossible many days.

I've also been surprised by how one tiny little person has changed our laundry and cleaning routines. I used to be able to get all the laundry done in one day (I hate letting the laundry drag out and be half done forever- it drives me NUTS) but no longer, it just seems impossible. There is always one more load that needs to be done. And although I thought I had already learned to live with toys everywhere before, there is apparently a whole new level of toy clutter. I have tripped over toy trucks, doll shoes and plastic dinosaurs more times than I can count (and have this gigantic mysterious bruise over the top half of my leg that I cannot for the life of me remember how I got but I'm guessing it was from one of these encounters). Of course my cleaning schizophrenia probably doesn't help (I am forever flitting from one area of the house to the other and never actually finish anything).

One very good thing is we have actually spent way less money! Why, you might ask, when we have an extra mouth to feed, body to clothe and bottom to diaper would we spend less money? Well, leaving the house with 3 kids (2 of whom are walking toddlers) is so challenging that I hardly ever go anywhere further than the neighborhood pool or neighbors' houses. I think I went to Target once 2 weeks ago but other than that I have done a weekly grocery run and Greg runs some errands on the weekends and that is it! Also, much less inspired to eat out at a restaurant when it involves cutting up multiple children's foods and trying to encourage them to eat semi-quietly (Lia likes to screech loudly- happily, but very loudly- while she's eating). Good thing it's summer so we can hang out here and not lose our minds.

I also feel less patient (possibly related to chronic sleep deprivation). I swear when I only had one child I never (or almost never anyway) yelled or wanted to tear my hair out, but the boys' constant fighting (I am trying to be understanding of the huge change in their life and grateful that at least they're not taking it out on their sister) has thrown me over the edge more than a few times of late. This constant fighting is relatively new but I also think it is partly due to the fact that Jack is just now old enough to really challenge Gavin and drive him to new levels of crazy. Jack is also much less containable (if that is even possible) now that he can climb over anything (think large walls and furniture here) and open any door (including the sliding glass door on the back- one scary moment there). He also thinks that the cut-out between our living room and kitchen is the upright of a football goal- and everything gets thrown through it. Good thing he is cute!

Although both my little ones are cuddly, sweet and just downright wonderful I am constantly wishing I had more alone time with each one because it is a definite juggling act. I see the beauty of kids who are well-spaced out (hey, I was kinda smart waiting 3 1/2 years between the 1st two kids!) I have a whole new appreciation of mothers of multiples because it is HARD! While I always thought we'd adopt again, right at this moment I think I have my hands completely full so we'll have to see if #4 is in the cards someday (right now someday far, far in the future when I'm no longer changing 15+ diapers a day!).

All that said, and as tired as I am most nights I truly love this summer and having all three kids here with me. I know I am incredibly lucky to get to spend all of this time with them (even on the days when I truly want Calgon to take me away- to somewhere far, far away). I love the sweet moments when the boys invent games together and Lia reaches out to give them cute, little kisses. I love the memories we are making visiting with family and friends, playing in the backyard, bike-riding, and swimming.

*Funny note- one of Lia's newest words is 'Stop' and she says it in the same annoyed tone I say it (when the boys are attacking each other or she is wiggling all over the bed in the middle of the night!). Yikes I'm going to have to start saying something nicer more often.