a trip to the DMV...or 2.

There's not much that makes me want to write...but the DMV here in woodbridge does it.

I pull up in front of the place and notice, that yes, most of the what seems like 300 parking spots are filled outside of it. Now, you MIGHT ask yourself, as i do, why have so many parking spots when you KNOW they can't possibly handle that many people inside without having to have the said people wait for hours on end to get served. Good Questions! I say, put 15 spots in, and call it good, any more than that and you areally aren't providing a service, because those people REALLY don't want to park there anyway because once you get inside you'll just start seathing with frustration as you wait your turn in line to be served by someone that is most likely pissed off and incompetent. You may also be asking, why did I choose to proceed on going in today?! well simply i put off going for so long that my temporary tags expire tomorrow.

Now, as if i'm not already irritated to see that my wait time is going to be excrutiatingly painful with 2 kids, i unload them from the car and start dragging the carseat and clenching to my daughter's hand up the sidewalk, only to be greeted by some obama hating table with all sorts of paraphenlia on it and 2 spanish speaking people who seem to be in a heated discussion with another person standing at the table. Can someone tell me what the purpose of that demonstration is?!? I didn't know that political debating was a part of the DMV experience?!? Don't correct me if i'm wrong on exactly WHAT the material of that particular table was today, because i don't care, i just care that i had to walk past that annoyance just to get in a door to a place i really don't care to be in the first place!

We take our number, for the SECOND day in a row, because as if going once isn't enough, i never get out of the place the first time with the issue at hand taken care of. THere's always something i need that i didn't have or some rediculous stipulation that if you didn't read the fine print under the fine print on the internet site you would have no idea. We get F128...thanks for assigning all sorts of letters and numbers just to screw with peoples minds so they really can't tell how many people are in front of them. A - Gs, and then the numbers following...i really don't care if it makes it easier for them to tell what you are there for that way, just give a freakin number out and when you get to the desk then they can know why you are there. Does it throw them for a loop if they aren't mentally prepared ahead of time when you walk up there? Andie's being pretty good, you know circling the chairs, dancing around, screaming F 128 mom, F 128 over and over and not understanding why they are calling every other combination but ours. I'm rocking the baby in his carrier with my foot, probably a little too rough, but if i stop the rocking he cries and then we have a situation. While i'm waiting, i do find the crowd amusing, especially the quintisential woodbridge DMV person..you know, massively pregnant with half the stomach sticking out, low rider tight "skinny" jeans with rips in them to show the under layer of bright pink spandex, all finished off with a pair of huge black and white high top air jordans (didn't know they even still made those) and a toddler strapped into a tiny umbrella stroller. I digress.

Our number finally gets called and i go up to the counter all bubbly simply because i MADE it this far without any major complications like, public nursing in the dirty DMV, or major diaper blow outs or toddler peeing in her pants. It so far, has been a success...albeit 45 minutes AFTER we pulled our F128. The man at the counter is disgruntled, and to be honest, i probably would be too if i had to deal with person after person back to back all day long about motor vehicle issues. BUT then again, the difference is, i don't choose to work there, and he evediently does. So i can tell his demeanor is less than stellar. i tread lightly, just hand him the packet of stuff, which IM SURE is complete today since i was just there yesterday and told what i needed. After rifling through my stuff he has the nerve to tell me "oh, we need proof that your husband lives in Virginia since he has a PA license". REALLY!? you are going to turn me away AGAIN because you need PROOF that HE lives in Virginia?!?!? I threw a minor tantrum, but yet still controlled simply telling this man that i was just here yesterday, the woman told me all was fine with the copied driver licenses and never mentioned i'd need 1 of 20 different things of proof of residence, which this KIND man threw at me as he was ready to dismiss me. I say, here's my VA license, he's my husband, he lives with me. (for now anyway). "well, i'm sure he does, but that's not proof". Well THANK GOODNESS the man beside him said "she doesn't need that proof". This is where i'm starting to think this man is A) incompetent and B) just trying to piss me off. So bump one is passed. but then i look up at the clock and realize, i'm never going to make it intime to pick up my "thing 1" from preschool. So i get my phone out to call a friend to see if she could get colin while she also picks her son up that goes there as well. I'm on the phone for 30 seconds and disgruntled, mental, incompetent man says "i hate to say it, but you can't be on the phone near MY computer". I taken a back, quickly say i have to go to my friend because i'm getting in trouble and hang up. But then i get into a conversation about how being on my phone will crash the DMV's entire computer system. Yes, I, and my 2 minute conversation may crash the computer system. He went on to say "they are very sensitive". Well, then maybe i'd be doing you a favor to crash them, because for a business that depends on said computers, they really should have a less shotty system if you ask me! Time for an upgrade! Besides that, it's either my son is stranded at school, or your computer freezes. I'll choose option B thank you very much.

We finally make it out of there 1 hour 10 minutes after arrival. I would like to think it will be a very long time before i have to go back...i really have had my fill for a long time.

Life with 3

I thought it is FINALLY time i write an entry about my life with 3 kids. Sometimes, it's hard to believe that i actually have 3 kids. I always think that Parker must REALLY be meant to be here for a purpose because Parker was a "we'll try for 1 month" baby...we thought if it's meant to be it will be. ANd sure enough, 2 weeks after the "we'll just try this one time" i was pregnant!

I practically spent the first few months of that pregnancy trying to convince myself that i could handle 3 kids, and that colin and andie's life wouldn't be too disrupted etc. and trying not to flip out. I spent the last couple months trying to truly enjoy being pregnant since I knew this was the last time I'd ever be pregnant and experience it all. I had such an easy pregnancy that it was easy to enjoy it.

Once parker was born, i was overjoyed to have him here. Didn't even have a touch of the baby blues or anything. Colin and Andie really love their baby brother. Constantly kissing him, saying "he's the best baby in whole world mom" and "i really love him, and he loves me" and "he's so fluffy" or "he's so adorable mom!" But it wasn't all roses at the beginning. There were many mornings where i felt like i was treading water in the middle of the ocean, nearly drowning. Between feeding the baby every hour or so, andie going through a total potty training regression...which means poop on the floor, pee in pants, and colin demanding i feed him him all day it was exhausting. My favorite would be the kids flooding the bathroom with the sink water, the dog shredding whatever non-edible object he could find on a bedroom floor all while i'm trying to feed the baby. I usually ended up just throwing my very own tantrum...totally not above that! things have really calmed down now and i've learned that with 3 young children, there's always going to be ONE that doesn't have their needs met at any one given specific time. I simply can't be in 3 places at once, doing 3 things at once although i do try. I have been known to nurse parker, put andie on the potty and throw toys at colin all at the same time.

Speaking of nursing, i'm proud to report that colin knows the ins and outs of not only the art of breast feeding, but the subsequent pumping, infections, leaking, storage of milk. I will have to kindly remind him in the future that when he was 4, he believed that breasts were meant only to feed babies. he gets very concerned for parker and will yell for me to get my breasts. he has explained to doctors about my leaking, and has been known to ask "do you have too much milk mom? let me get the pump". It's kind of disturbing and cute all at the same time. I'm sure some day the thought of this will completely horrify him.

In the end of January, a piece of my soul died. I got a minivan. I fought it with every fiber of my being, but having 3 kids under 4 makes the task of finding a more suitable vehicle nearly impossible. I curse at the thing every time it skids on a tiny flaking of snow. I'm that mom now that has a gaggle of kids that pour out of the van, all screaming, throwing food, and smashing said food into floor carpets of the van. All i'm missing is the Fish symbol on that back, an anti-abortion bumper sticker, and the little white figurine family on the back window. No, i don't plan to do any of those things, in fact i plan to "pimp" out my van with racing stripes. Not kidding. It will happen.

Now, i do have a triple stroller which i have to use when i go out with all 3, colin calls it the space shuttle. I call it the bus. Either way, it's one long, heavy son of a gun. If I got 5 cents for each time i've got the comment "whoa that's the biggest thing i've ever seen" or "you really have your hands full" or "you do know how that happens right?" (while pointing to parker while my other 2 are fighting screaming, and pulling each others hair) i would be rich. Do you think i have my hands full? wierd, i thought this was easy! and no, i nearly 30 have NO idea how procreation happens...maybe i need to be educated. While i know it's NOT easy, it's a complete joy (most of the time).

So far, i know these couple of things:

1) you can never pack enough snacks.

2) you can never pack enough spair outfits, for yourself, the baby, and the toddler.

3) you can never pack enough valium.

4) you can't take anything too seriously, because at the end of the day, if the kids are alive and happy my job has been completed successfully.