A Few Things I've Figured Out

*What used to seem hard or tiring, (ex: taking two toddlers to the grocery store,) seems like a breeze. Only because I'm used to tending to an unpredictable very small baby and these two suddenly seem completely predictable. Right down to the things they would maybe try to grab off the shelves and the amount of juice they will consume during the trip. Each kid finishes one whole cup between home and the store which is about 2 1/2 minutes from my house.

*Before having children, I went to CVS for things like mascara and nail polish. And maybe an occasional Diet Dr. Pepper if I was caught out in public without one. (Gasp) Want to know what I go to CVS for now?

About $150 dollars worth of meds for my three small children in one trip. Baby Joy has joined the ranks of reflux victims in my family...and Prevacid, while worth every penny, is--well--a whole lot of pennies.

I'm not really complaining for two reasons: One, I am so glad Joy is healthy otherwise. She is a gift and a miracle and we are so grateful for her. I have never enjoyed the itty bitty baby stage as I have with her because I know how blessed we are to have her. The other reason: I know I'll never do this again unless Dr. Greebon didn't complete his mission, which he always does. Anyway.

*Feeding, dressing, getting, and keeping three kids in the car can take upward of two hours. Even with two adults working on it.

*Getting and keeping three kids happy can take even longer.

*I need a video monitor. Otherwise I average 76 times up and down the stairs each day. Good for the baby weight, bad for the...well...not bad for anything I guess. I have gone from zero working out for the last three months of pregnancy to constant physical activity in the last two weeks. I'm tired.

*Getting up during the night is not as hard when you know it will not last forever. If you need a great resource to help teach your baby to sleep, go get our favorite book. It's called Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. It radically changed our household when Ty was about 6 months old. The book helped us get the kids on a good sleep schedule and they (big kids,) sleep an average of 13 hours/night consistently. They go to bed between 7 and 7:30 and sleep until 8. Glory. Now to clear something up: It doesn't guarantee your child will be happy every second but I guarantee if your kids sleep that long you certainly will be.

*Cooking things that can be used in different ways really helps during the mid-afternoon meltdowns. I made a roast with carrots and potatoes a few days ago, (my MIL recipe and it's super easy--Roast, one packet of Lipton onion soup, and one can of cream of mushroom soup, cooked for three hours at 350) so we ate it one night for dinner. The next day I used my meat grinder and made sandwiches out of the meat. Another recipe from Mimi, this one you just combine the ground meat, sweet relish, and Miracle Whip. It's like tuna for people who don't do tuna. We may or may not have eaten those sandwiches for two meals yesterday.

*One must not leave Charlie alone with babies. I have not done this at all and I'm pretty sure Joy owes me her life for it. I have become a bodyguard of sorts. Remember the book Of Mice and Men? You know how Lenny loved things TOO much and sometimes the things didn't survive? That's what we're dealing with.

*And my final observation: it is possible to eat, talk on the phone, discipline kids, read magazines, and blog all while pumping. It is impossible to do any of the above while nursing.

I lead a glamorous life and there's nowhere I'd rather be.