A day in the life of a mommy, round two

Here’s another one I pulled out of the archives to dust off and update to our current life. Enjoy a very accurate, un-exaggerated picture of our day to day life.

“It’s morning. I’m hungry.” It’s my no-snooze alarm.
My eyes struggle to open as she taps on my arm.
It’s only 6:30 but my day has begun.
Welcome to life as a mommy.

Downstairs we go to start off our day.
Let’s get those first diaper changes out of the way.
“I want oatmeal!” “I want ‘yogret!’” “I need a drink!”
“Can I have some more, please, Mommy?”

Back to the bedrooms we head to get dressed,
Little shirts, little socks, and all of the rest.
Combing hair, brushing teeth, “Okay, Bess, that’s good.”
“Please go make your bed now for Mommy.”

The rest of the morning is filled up with jobs:
Doing laundry and dishes and calming their sobs.
“She pulled my hair!” “She took away!”
“Elisabeth stole his paci again, Mommy!”

“What do you want for lunch?” “Peanut butter and jelly!
And remember that Cheetos are great for my belly!”
“I want more!” “I’m all done!” “Can I have a cookie?”
“You forgot my drink, silly Mommy!”

Thank goodness it’s naptime. I tuck two in–”Night, night!”
A snack for the baby and tuck him in tight.
Now it’s finally school time, a highlight of the day;
Time just for the oldest and her mommy.

I hear Catherine’s footsteps, and then Elisabeth cries.
Down the stairs they come, both rubbing wake-up eyes.
Rest time is over, the snacks come out.
And it’s back to work now, Mommy.

“Mommy, I pee-peed!” (Oh dear, it’s on the chair.)
“Mommy, Elisabeth put lotion in her hair!”
“Play with me, Mommy!” “Read me a book!”
“Samuel started crying again, Mommy!”

I look at the clock. Hurray, it’s almost time!
Onto the couch by the window we climb.
“I see him! There’s Daddy!” And to the door they run.
Everyone’s forgotten about the mommy.

Time now for dinner. “Girls, come and sit down.”
“Remember to eat and not act like a clown.”
“Take a bite.” “Use your fork.” “Let’s use our manners.”
“Can we have a treat now, please, Mommy?”

Some nights we load into the van and we go.
At Thursday’s gymnastics we make quite a show.
One needing fed and one needing changed
And two yelling, “Look at me, Mommy!”

The evening’s now over. Prayers have been said.
Daddy takes his three girls to tuck them in bed.
The baby goes too, just as soon as he’s finished
Getting every last drop from his mommy.

The house is now quiet. I sit down with a sigh.
The days are so long, but oh, how they fly.
My body’s exhausted, my brain is worn out,
But after all, I am a Mommy.

I climb into bed and know this is bliss.
I turn to my husband for my good night kiss.
I better sleep quick for in only three hours
That baby will be crying for Mommy.

You may be sleep-deprived if… (round 2)

**I pulled this out of my archives to publish again, because, with an almost-2-month-old who on a good night gives me a five hour stretch between feedings, it seems to fit the current mood quite well.

One morning, after a particularly rough night with an infant who was perfectly happy to wake Mommy up every 98 minutes for yet another 17 minute nursing session, my two older daughters tiptoed sweetly into my room and in soft, cheerful little voices said, “Good morning, Mommy!” Now how did I respond to that precious little greeting? Well, I promptly dissolved into tears. These were not sentimental tears that overflowed out of my love for my daughters. No, these were tears of mourning and self-pity: mourning over a sleep opportunity gone bad during the night, and self-pity because now I had to get up and be Fun Mommy and it would be 15 hours before Sleep Opportunity would come again. That’s when I knew I was Sleep-Deprived. Once I realized this, I started noticing other little signs throughout my day that pointed to this diagnosis, and if any of these are present in your life, you are probably Sleep-Deprived, too. For example:

–You might be Sleep-Deprived if you find yourself putting the milk in the pantry and the cereal in the refrigerator after fixing breakfast.

–You could be Sleep-Deprived if your friend with no kids is excited that they get to sleep late tomorrow and all you can do is smile through clenched teeth, knowing that your kids don’t know the definition of “sleep late.”

–You might be Sleep-Deprived if, when you hear another friend with no kids complain because they had to get up early (9:00 am!), you just want to growl at them.

–You are most definitely Sleep-Deprived if you hear the afore-mentioned friend talking about the two hour nap they had to make up for getting up so early (remember: 9:00 am!!) and you have a sudden urge to kick them in the shin.

–You may possibly be Sleep-Deprived if some caring individual volunteers to stay home with your kids so you can go out alone with your husband for the first time in six months, and all you can think is, “What I really want is for you to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese and let me stay here and sleep!”

–You are probably Sleep-Deprived if, on that first date in six months, by the time the previews are over and the movie begins, your husband has already had to wake you up twice. (Okay, so this hasn’t actually happened to me, but if it’s happened to you, you probably need a nap.)

–Finally, there’s a pretty good chance you’re suffering from Sleep Deprivation when, while watching your favorite TV show, a commercial for sleeping pills comes on showing adults sleeping peacefully and waking up rested and smiling, and it’s all you can do to refrain yourself from punching the TV screen.

If you could identify with four or more of these scenarios, then you and I probably both need to go take a nap. Also, please note that I am not a violent person by nature. All of these violent urges I mentioned above are just another symptom of not having enough sleep. If you find yourself developing similar impulses to growl, kick, or punch just because someone else got a good night’s rest, then please do us all a great service and go to bed early tonight before you hurt someone.

Also, if you found yourself nodding and agreeing with me, but your tiredness is due to your own poor habits of staying up reading or playing on the Internet all hours of the night, or if it’s just a one-time even after an all-night studying session or something, then I’m afraid you really don’t deserve to count yourself among the truly Sleep-Deprived. If, however, you are part of the weary multitude stumbling through the day after experiencing sleepless night after sleepless night, then you’ll probably be as comforted as I was to hear someone reassure me that this won’t last forever; your kids will become teenagers who will suddenly want to sleep around the clock. Well, for me, that’s a mere 4509 sleepless nights away. I feel so much better now.

A slippery slope to a scary new normal

Yesterday I wrote about our new normal. What was implied and absolutely had no need to be said was that we have chosen most aspects of our new normal, and we have the freedom to change it if we want. But with all of the political chaos lately, it drives home the point that if events transpire a certain way, we could all be on a slippery slope to a new normal that sounds very scary to me. I don’t claim to understand much regarding the issues of politics. I am up on the few issues that are closest to my heart, and for the rest, I basically just trust my dad’s opinion, to be quite honest. But I know that if a “big government” gets ushered in next week, it could just be a slippery slope to a huge change in many of the things in my own little normal.

The slippery slope begun by the government mandating certain forms of education means that I could no longer have the freedom to educate my children at home according to the educational philosophy and worldview that my husband and I choose for them. Homeschoolers fought hard for the freedoms we enjoy today, but already courts in California are trying to take those freedoms away and put education solely in the hands of the government. Granted, the ruling got overturned, but a few changes in power are all it would take for a new trend of anti-homeschooling to sweep across our legislature. I could realistically be forced to send my children to government schools regardless of what they teach or promote. I realize that in many areas, at this time, that this wouldn’t be a tragic choice–that many of you are public school teachers or parents in great school systems. But again, it’s a slippery slope, and the anti-Christian trends could be just around the corner, should events transpire a certain way over the next few years. I may no longer have a choice what my children are taught regarding the origins of life or sexuality. I may have to spend every evening righting the lies that they have been told each day at school. I may have to teach them basic history myself because their history books are filled with meaningless stories glorifying only the acts of homosexuals and minorities and leaving out important historical stories simply because they involve a white, European, male heterosexual hero. Read Doug Wilson if you doubt what I’m saying.

The current abortion laws, combined with a refusal to ban partial-birth abortion, are just a slippery slope to situations in which a newborn is allowed to die because of easily-treatable health issues, or situations in which a couple can choose to abort a baby due to it being the “wrong” gender, or situations in which babies can be genetically constructed according to the parents’ wishes. It’s all just a slippery slope that could easily then lead to withholding medical treatment, or even just food and water from the elderly or handicapped or terminally ill. When life becomes devalued in one area, it will begin to be devalued across the board.

Recent attempts at certain “hate crimes” legislation could be a slippery slope to a pastor being prosecuted for preaching that homosexuality is a sin. We could find ourselves attending churches that aren’t allowed to preach much truth at all, or being prosecuted or persecuted ourselves if we choose to stand strong for the Scriptures. My daughter often prays for those in China and India who would get into trouble for going to church and worshipping the one true God. It is not unrealistic that, should current trends be allowed a foothold in legislature, she could be included in that group right here in the USA.

“Spread the wealth” economics could lead to our loved ones and ourselves working hard our whole lives to build a life or business or bank account that is at our disposal, only to have much of it stripped away and “spread out” to people who have not worked hard to earn it. “Spreading the wealth” really is just robbing from the rich to give to the poor. Please understand that I am completely in favor and support of helping out those families who genuinely need help. That is the basics of Christianity. James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…” Absolutely we should help those who have a serious and genuine need, but that’s not what our system is doing. “Help” is going to families that could support themselves, and “help” is also serving to enslave those that are receiving it by enabling them to live lifestyles of laziness and self-pity without ever being responsible or accountable for anything. Don’t yell at me for saying this–I’ve seen it played out over the past two years very close to my own family. As we have struggled hard at times just to stay afloat and buy groceries, we’ve seen people living off of the government and buying new cell phones and eating out at Red Lobster and buying new video games, cds, books, and movies every month. Am I the only one who is troubled by what my taxes are going for here? Currently in our systems, a family can make a livable income, yet still qualify for and take taxpayer money for basics like food, health care, and medicines, even though they can afford these things on their own income. I know this because my own family qualifies for many of these things. We could use your taxes instead of our own income to get groceries and go to the doctor for free, and then go to Disneyworld or on a cruise with the money from my husband’s job. I’ve seen people do this very thing. Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture? I realize this is not the case for every family that receives government help, but it should not be allowed to happen at all. Spreading the wealth is not the answer. It is in no way wrong to be rich, and it is a twisted kind of logic that says a basketball player should not be allowed to make more than a teacher, as I saw implied in a magazine last week.

As I consider what might happen next week, I know that probably none of these extremes will actually come into reality over the next four years, no matter who is elected. But a slippery slope doesn’t begin with extremes. It begins in little baby steps that, if unchecked, then snowball into extremes before we even realize what’s happening. I know that neither party is perfect, neither candidate is perfect. But I will cast my vote against these slippery slopes. I realize there are other important issues that I have not mentioned, issues that I don’t pretend to understand completely, if at all. But I understand freedoms and I understand the importance of getting to choose my own normal (which really involves following God not the government). I also realize that I have friends and family that will disagree with my conclusions here, and I hope you understand that I did not set out to offend you but I just had to let my heart spill out here.  Vote for whoever you want next Tuesday–that’s the beauty of the freedom thus far in this country.  I just hope that those freedoms are not slowly erased should our country jump onto that slippery slope.

A new normal

We are closing in on the two month mark now since Samuel joined the family.  Since I’ve walked down this road of adding a new baby to the family a couple times before, I knew that it would take some time and adjustment until we found our new normal.  Well, Samuel has gotten most of what I’ve termed the “newborn junk” out of his system, and the girls have settled down from their initial excitement over their baby brother, and I think we may have pretty much settled into our new normal.  (Keep in mind that the “normal” changes every few months as the baby grows and develops, and our new normal hopefully is on the verge of changing drastically very soon in the near future as we see how Clay’s new job possibility plays out–but we’ve got our new normal for now.)  So does that mean that our house is calm and orderly and quiet?  I’m laughing right now at how far that is from the truth.  Does that mean that every day is the same and we just follow our little routines?  Still laughing.  So what does our new normal look like?  I’ll give you a few snippets.

Our new normal includes:

*  Lots of time spent sitting on the couch feeding Samuel and hoping the house doesn’t fall down around me before I’m finished.

*  Lots of bottom-cleaning.

*  Lots of interruptions anytime I’m talking to someone else.

*  Getting up way earlier than I feel ready to.

*  Feeling like a firefighter–I go from kid to kid and crisis to crisis putting out little fires all day long.

* Lots of tears and tantrums.

*  Cleaning up lots of messes, whether that is messy bottoms, dumped out spices, endless laundry piles, spilled sunflower seeds, or squeezed out lotion courtesy of Elisabeth.

*  Lots more bottom-cleaning.

*  Conversations that appear to be with my children, but apparently are really with people such as Rachel, Seraphina, Mrs. Carrington, John, Billy, or Ariel.

*  Hearing most all of one child’s misbehavior being blamed on Billy, and eventually banishing Billy from the house until he can behave himself better.

*  The knowledge that Elisabeth needs to be buckled and restrained as soon as possible when she’s placed into a high chair, stroller, or shopping cart.

*  The realization that Elisabeth can wiggle out of almost any buckle or restraint.

*  Even more bottom-cleaning.

*  Approaching necessary outings with fear and trepidation.

*  Finally realizing that when I’m by myself and we need to leave the house at 5:40 with everyone dressed, combed, and fed, I need to start supper at 3:00.

*  Never leaving Samuel unattended or at least unrestrained in a seat until after Elisabeth is in bed.

*  Saying things like, “Eat your food.”  “Sit right in your chair.”  “Hurry up.”  “Go use the potty.”  “Go to sleep.”  “Don’t jump up and down while Mommy’s combing your hair.”–all things that one would think could go without saying.

*  The realization that it will be years and years before I get to sleep late again.

*  And still more bottom-cleaning.

But, our new normal also includes lots of other kinds of moments.  Moments like:

*  Lots of hugs, snuggles, kisses, and cuddles.

*  Getting to have really cool conversations with a daughter who’s finally getting old enough to talk intelligently with.

*   Hearing my three-year-old say on a semi-regular basis, “You’re a very nice Mommy.”

*  A very intricately-developed system of knowing who is “right” and who is silly on which day of the week.  (Long story.)

*  Listening to the sometimes-entertaining, always sweet prayers of little children who have nothing but complete faith in the God to whom they pray.

*  Being reminded to take joy in simple pleasures like balloons and puddles and lollipops.

*  Learning things I already knew through the eyes of a child as I homeschool her.

*  Curling up with my five-year-old as she now reads the stories to me.

*  Watching them light up as they start to apply Scripture to real life, and learning from them.

*  Using every trip across a parking lot or through a grocery store as an excuse to hold a tiny little hand.

*  Being able once more to snuggle a miniature little person close every three hours by the clock.

*  Knowing again that there is one person in the world who pretty much depends completely on me, and the way my heart swells at that knowledge.

*  The renewed assurance that I am doing exactly what I was put on this earth to do, and that in the midst of all the chaos and noise, I am fulfilling my purpose for this season in life and this new normal is exactly where God wants me to be.

Yes, we are chaotic and loud.  Yes, there are some who probably could not take very much time in the midst of us.  Yes, there are days when we don’t get dressed and don’t leave the house.  Yes, my house is quite cluttered.  Yes, I get very tired and sometimes very discouraged.  Yes, there are days when I dream the day away, imagining myself on a beach while my children are far far away.  Yes, this is my new normal.

No, I absolutely wouldn’t trade it for any other “normal” in this world.  Thank you, God, for my normal.  It is beautifully ordinary, and I love it.

A few funnies

Just a few recent funnies from the Hall house:

At Wendy’s last night, Catherine was crawling under the table to get from my lap to Daddy’s lap (Samuel’s carseat and Elisabeth’s high chair had her blocked from actually walking around–no comments on the etiquette of crawling under the table, please).  When she finally popped up, she cried, “Oh, no, Daddy!  Somebody forgot their gum under here!!”

Also at Wendy’s, Daddy got a phone call from our neighbor, Ms. Parrott.  (You can probably already see where this one is going.)  When he hung up, Catherine asked him who was on the phone.  He told her, “Ms. Parrott.”  Very calmly and matter-of-factly as if this wouldn’t be in the least unusual, she said, “Oh, was it a parrot on the phone, Daddy?”  I wonder what she thought the parrot would have wanted with Daddy.

Finally, I’m quite sure that the insurance lady had no idea that while I was on the phone with her, I managed to sort through the rest of the mail, throw the trash away, calm Samuel down with his pacifier, clean up the poultry seasoning that Elisabeth dumped out on the couch, clean up the paprika that she dumped out on the pillow, clean up Catherine’s hand and take her paprika-covered shirt off of her, securely fasten the pantry door so that no more spices would get stolen, and delete some photo files off of my computer.  All that wait just so she could tell me that Samuel is indeed on the policy and she has no idea why his hospital claim was denied.  You definitely learn the art of multi-tasking when you have four five-and-under.