A glimpse of my crazy life

This morning as we were getting ready for the day I asked the boys, "what should we do today?" Without even a slight pause, Hugh responded with "Go to Utah." Funny boy. Then, he continued to say it throughout the day. We didn't go to Utah. But, we did walk down to Bapa and GG's house.

But, before that the boys decided that they'd take turns trapping each other in the big toy tub, all while I was nursing Lucy. At first they were both sitting in it in the middle of the kitchen floor, talking about how they were floating in a boat, giggling and playing nicely. Then, the next thing I know Hugh is screaming and crying hysterically, but it's all kind of muted. So, I got up as quickly as possible to find the lid on the tub securely in place and Ben looking a little concerned at not being able to get it off.

We rescued Hugh and I got comfortable again and Lucy and I resumed her feeding. Not more than a few minutes passed when there was another muffled scream, this time coming from Ben. This time he was the trapped one. I tried really hard to remain calm, but also to use my firmest voice to let them know this little game was not okay. Not just because it could be dangerous, but also because Lucy was tired and all of these interruptions were making it really difficult to get her to sleep.

When we were interrupted for the umpteenth time and Lucy was clearly unable to sleep through it all, I thought I might just lose all my cool if we didn't get out of the house. So, I wrapped Lucy up in her Sleepy Wrap and gave the boys a piece of licorice (as bribery to be good on our little walk) and off to the grandparents' house we went. They held my hands the entire way and didn't try to pull any fast ones on me, for which I was very grateful. Times like these remind me that they really are good boys.

Spending a couple of hours with my parents was a good choice. We all got some fresh air, a change of scenery, and a few more extra hands to keep them from hurting each other. Ben assumed his usual self-appointed duty of watering the plants in my parents' yard, and did so very thoroughly, while Hugh sat on the stepping stones playing with rocks and bugs, making up stories about cars going through gates.

And, Lucy? She slept against my chest, her head tucked perfectly under my chin, her body snug against mine. I love carrying her around in the wrap and feeling the closeness with her that we shared for nine months, only now the joy is tenfold and the pain is considerably less.

Luckily my Dad walked with us back home and the rest of the afternoon went by rather uneventfully. Until at one point I started to change Hugh's diaper, only realizing halfway through that I needed to grab a diaper. I came back to find that Ben had taken over, pulling the diaper off and trying to wipe Hugh. Poor Hugh looked like he was paralyzed with fear and had the most uncertain look on his face. We were all cracking up!

We ended the evening on a little family walk down to the playground, one last attempt to extract any extra energy from our little energizer bunnies. We've been doing it every night for the last week or so and it's been working like a charm! Lucy and I swing, while the boys run around, and Marc and I get time to talk about our day. While I enjoy the one-on-one time with Lucy, I think I enjoy this whole family time even more.

And, we end the evening with some sort of treat (lately it's been ice cream cones) and baths. Marc takes care of the boys while I take care of Lucy, and we usually emerge from our routines at about the same time, giving us a couple of hours of quiet together.

The days sometimes seem long and a tad bit crazy, but my three little ones are growing so fast and, even with all the craziness that comes with it, I wish I could make time stop. This is the life; the life I always dreamed of having. And, it's even better being right in the middle of it.