And So It Goes

It started like any normal day. I guess, in fact, it was a pretty normal day. Because, really, normal has been redefined. With the addition of each child to my life, my sense of normalcy changes.

Normal today included the oldest two running around with their beloved blankets tied around their necks super hero style. They zipped and zoomed and squealed and screamed about rescuing stuffed animals, crayons, stranded citizens of all kinds, and the remote control.


Then they came dashing up the steps to inform me that my super hero powers were needed. The toilet was backed up. Again. I grabbed the plunger and began to utilize it when I was told that I needed my super hero cape to make everything work.

Um, thanks, can you just hand me a wet towel? I am sure it will make a great cape. Then I can drop it in the washing machine as soon as I wrap up the potty plunging.

Two birds with one stone. Now THAT'S what I call a super hero!

The possible disaster was narrowly escaped.

After days of having been trapped inside due to the kinds of cold weather that we Southerners are too delicate for, I called a halt to all indoor activity and commanded that the Munchkin Brigade don some warm clothes and get the heck out of my house before I had to strangle somebody go outside to burn off some of their pent up energy. They jumped at the chance and a mere forty minutes later, they were off!

All was well and peaceful for a whole half hour. (If you are a Mama, you get that 'a whole half hour' is a precious prize!) Elizabeth came in declaring that 'it's too told to pway out dare' and I mixed her up some hot chocolate. Because I truly do aspire to be June Cleaver.

Then I got busy with stuff. Diapers, laundry, dishes. I glanced out the back window to see Thomas and Sarah Grace tromping around in the wooded area behind our house and went about the business of being a Mommy. I was totally unaware of anything until the car horn started blaring in our front drive way. The mail man was sitting there, laying on the horn. Must be a package, I thought as I ran barefooted across the cold ground.

'I saw your kids over there by the pond. 'Bout scared me to death. You know they are there, right?'

Um, no. Thank goodness for mailmen with sharp eyes and kind hearts.

I ran out on the back deck and yelled for the kids, who never even looked up. I scrambled back inside and gathered Anna and Elizabeth, tossed them in the van and went around the block to, um, shepherd those of my flock who had gone astray.

When we got back to the house, I tossed food at them and put all the girls down for nap. Thomas opted to do 'house blessings' rather than sleep, and he set about cleaning the kitchen. He very thoughtfully refilled the salt shaker, swept the floor, then wiped down the table (where he had filled the salt shaker). Then he took the rugs outside to shake them out. The big one is still on the ground from when he tried to shake it and dropped it over the deck.

Next, he decided to put all the puzzle pieces in the proper puzzles. But only after he dumped them all out on the table and scrambled up the pieces. About halfway through that project, he got distracted with the pillows and blankets that were all stuffed into the tent (an indoor variety for the kids to play in) and ousted them into the middle of the living room floor.

To his credit, he did get living room in pristine condition, ready to be vacuumed after all the girls get up from nap. The puzzle pieces were left for the both of us to work on.

He proudly came over to me, as I was re-sweeping the kitchen floor to rid it of the salt he wiped of the table, gave me a big hug, reiterated his love for me and said...

'Aren't you glad you have me to clean this whole big house for you? It would be too messy if you didn't have kids to help you clean it!'

I hugged him and bit back my laughter, thanking him for his initiative and hard work.

Yeah, I just can't imagine how messy my life would be without those kids to grow me into a responsible Mama.

But I can vividly imagine the lack of puzzle pieces strewn about and salt studded floors...