Think 1

We do a lot of thinking in twos around here. And four and six. If I see someone with one baby, I automatically look around for the other one. If I'm changing one baby then I automatically grab a diaper for the other cause I know that's coming around the bend. They sleep at the same time, eat at the same time, play in the same areas, etc. BUT occasionally, JUST occasionally, we deal with ONE! This week I dealt with one while I made the carpool run.  I dealt with one when I got to take Rachel to see Cinderella (It was heavenly I tell you).

So today I want to tell you about the one:

Adam is #1. He is my first born, my only son and likes to be first in EVERYTHING. He is my easiest kid right now because he is so independent. He is my go to helper and he can make food, open all baby proofing, etc. He is also my hardest kid because he is stubborn and anxious and competative (just like ME!) So ask him to go to bed on time and we're golden. But get him to let you pull out a splinter and we have a full blown nightmare on our hands. Plus he's telling little white lies. But he's also teaching himself multiplication. We LOVE this guy!

Rachel is my favorite. No, just kidding. But she is my easiest now because she is so easy going! She is compliant. And she is my number 1 babysitter. I hear, "Bachel" around here more than Mommy! She is the first to give me a hug or to ask if I need anything. She is the best friend you could ever have. But she is my hardest because she is so darn forgetful. And disorganied. And slow. All things that are ( NOT me). So we deal with that. And I blame her father.

Brooke is my hardest toddler right now because she is LOUD! And pushy. And obsessive (especially of Mickey Mouse and MY tablet). But she is easy because she is so easy to transfer. Time to go? get dressed?eat?turn off the tv?clean up?go to bed? Okay! She says. Almost no tears over changing activities. I LOVE that.  She also is so funny.  But she pulls her sister's hair out! 

Erica is my easiest because she talks well and is so polite. "Here you go. Thank you. You're welcome". I hear over and over. If she has an ouchie on her knee and I kiss it better than I hear, "Thanks, Mom."  She is so energetic and fun. She loves to move and climb and is very capable of doing so. She is my hardest because she is so fiercely independent. I can't do anything for her! "I do it" is her most common phrase. And oh man can she scream if I don't do exactly what she wants exactly when she wants it! She is so easy to compare to Rachel because of their looks and personality but I do see differences.

So basically all of this 'oneness' added together means that I am losing my mind! But I also think we have a pretty good system around here. The olders take care of themselves, each other and the youngers. Ryan works hard and diffuses all of my explosions with his humor. The youngers bug each other and everyone else. I drink Diet Dr. Pepper everyday even though it's toxic and go to bed with every intent to give it up tomorrow.  And then we do it again.

(Hmmm...I guess I take a lot of pictures while we eat...I guess it's cause they are holding still!)

For Real

So people have been telling me that they like that I'm "real". So I've been giving thought to what that means. I don't know if I like it so much. Cause the real I am means the things I am not. And I am not a lot of things:clean, on time, matched, artistic, a cook, a musician, a poet. I am not high energy. I am not fast.
 So what does all of that look like?  It looks like a family of six trudging two carts through Costco with a toddler screaming through the aisles and with a face so booger slimed and dirty I'm surprised someone didn't call CPS. It looks like a son who throws fit after fit because he's tired and hungry but really it's cause he's sad he's the  only boy. It looks like toddlers climbing and climbing and climbing out of their cribs and saying mine mmine mine mmine I do it I do it I do it! And it looks like a freshly vacumned floor with new crumbs and toys within seconds. And a sink full of dishes and three laundry baskets waiting to fold. And a never ending list of projects: hang the pictures, catch up on blog, send note to friend, order birthday present, check on gma, etc.  You have those things too.

If I look at this "real" for too long then I admit it--it's depressing! It's overwhelming! It's all consuming.  But...are you ready for it...there is a BUT...

BUT...
I know I'm blessed.
I know it doesn't last forever.
I know that others have a harder and longer "real"
I know that there is help! Divine help, neighbor help, friend help,pychiatric help, and let's blog about it and get it off my chest help.
And so all of this means that I can have a total breakdown I'm hopeless fit on Friday and on Sunday I can sit in the middle of all this realness and laugh and laugh.

Because this roller coaster, highway, box of chocolates, life test, insert your favorite analogy here, is REAL. And I'm happy to at least be that.

This was supposed to be a cute video of E copying everything B did or said. But of course she stopped as soon as the camera came out. I also have a really cute video of them at library story time, but my phone broke before it could upload to backup. Of course. :)