Party of Five

Wow, can't believe almost a month has passed by since my last blog post. What can I say? It's just a normal crazy fall schedule around here. It was pretty crazy last year when I was toting around a nursing newborn, but at least he was still sleeping most of the time! This fall, we have shifted our schedule to eat most of our meals around 4:30 - 5:00 and so far it has worked better for us. We get dinner out of the way before soccer games and church stuff and when we come home, it's a little easier to manage bathing 3 kids and doing bedtime stuff if you're not trying to cook and eat dinner too. All I know is that I work 10 times harder between the hours of 2 and 10 than I ever worked at some 40 hour a week job. Which brings me to a little mini-rant. In the 15 months that I have been a true stay-at-home mom, I have learned to appreciate the other side of motherhood. The during-the-day downtime of motherhood. It's the part I never got to experience when I worked outside the home. After making this transition, it was inevitable that I would get asked how I liked being at home and how the kids liked having me around all the time. That question is fine and I love to answer it. The question I dread is this: What do you do during the day now with all of your free time? I always want to scream FREE TIME?? What FREE TIME? If you are a mom, then there truly never is any "free time". All time will cost you something, some type of sacrifice.

The real issue I have with that question though is that I can't answer it truthfully. What would be the response if I said well, I try to work out every day, then I come home and fix myself a healthy breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper in complete silence. Then I will usually spend time playing with Nathan. Maybe we go outside, maybe we just play with some cars pushing them back and forth on the carpet. Maybe I just blow raspberries on his belly for an hour. Or maybe I spend 30 minutes trying to clip his toenails because I get distracted and play with his toes and feet instead. When he goes down for a nap, I might get crazy and do some laundry, clean a bathroom, mop some floors, whatever seems most pressing. This is also shower time for me. Yes, I realize it's noon, but hey, it's when the kid is sleeping and the only time of day I can take a shower and get completely ready for my day from start to finish with no interruptions. If there are no errands to be run, then I might even sneak in a recorded tv show to watch while I fix Nathan his lunch and start preparing things for dinner. After Nathan's nap and late lunch, it's time to pick up the girls or run errands. You see, I can't answer the question truthfully because I instantly feel guilty. I feel guilty that I may read a magazine at 1:00 in the afternoon or spend time playing online. But when 3:00 hits and the tornado that is two girls with tons of chatter and homework and activities burst onto my scene, I am so thankful that I had a little downtime in my day. Nathan gets pushed to the side so much during 3 and 8, that I am so thankful that I had an hour to spend with him in the morning. When Marty gets to play with the kids in the evening while I am cleaning the kitchen or doing baths and stuff, I am thankful that I got to have my "playtime" during the day.



Nathan is learning to "read"



and learning to find his tongue


and learning to blow a kiss.