Dancing in the Rain and Playing in the Sun: 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).