The feedback that I've gotten from all of my previous posts is that I have been making a lot of people cry. Well, this post is going to give you a little glimpse into my everyday life. I doubt it will make you cry, but you may laugh with me or at me, or it may actually make you think that I'm a crazy person for doing this. Either way, my hope through this blog is to bring awareness to Foster Children, and maybe inspire others to get involved.
So, I take you back to a weekend in February. It was going to be an exciting and fun-filled weekend. Tink's first birthday party was scheduled for Saturday, and Ballerina Girl had dance practice on Saturday & a performance on Sunday and Tink"s birthday party with her family was to be held Sunday evening after the performance. I knew that I was going to have a lot to do, but little did I know....
Lately, as the evening approaches, I become zombie-like and extremely sleepy. I guess it's from taking care of two babies all day. Anyway, on Friday night around 9pm, as I was half asleep and lethargic on the sofa, Ballerina Girl comes down from her room to tell me that she needs new ballet shoes for her performance on Sunday. Well, that means that I will have to go to the dance supply store on Saturday, the day of the birthday party, to get her fitted for new shoes. Ok...I can do this....it is still managable.
So Saturday morning rolls around, and when I go into the babies' room, I find that Tink has a fever of 102. NOOOOO! This child had NEVER been sick, and she decides to get sick on the day of her first birthday party! Ok, this is still managable. I will take Ballerina Girl with me to take Tink to the doctor, then go buy new ballet shoes, then drop BG off at dance, then go by Publix to pick up the birthday cake, all while O stays at home with Goosey and Hunk, and cleans the house. (Thank God for my wonderful husband who can multi-task better than any woman I've ever known!)
So, after taking Tink to the doctor, on the weekend, at the weekend clinic that is way across town, it is determined that she had her first ear infection, but we caught it early. So, since she is not contagious, we are able to continue the plans for the birthday party. Phew! I get all of the errands run, including picking up Tink's antibiotic, and I make it home just in time to get everything set up for the party. I lay Tink down for a nap, and since O and I were busy, we asked Goosey to keep an eye on Hunk....big mistake. As I'm scurrying around, I hear him spitting. I look over, and he is eating a pile of dirt that had been swept off the floors. I go over and scoop it out of his mouth. Now, since he's my first boy, I justify the fact that this is just what boys do. They eat dirt....right? Ok, no worries, moving on.....
The party went off without a hitch, BG's performance was beautiful, and Tink's birthday party with her family was so sweet. Now it's time to start a new week....school, dance lessons, horseback riding lessons, visitations for the babies and trying to keep the house together and in one piece. I'm already ready for the next weekend. Maybe, just maybe I can relax????? Well the answer to that question is: NO!
So, I take you now to the first weekend in March. Again, Saturday is going to be a very busy day. BG has dance pictures and practice, and we are celebrating my brother's birthday at a local restaurant. Our new motto has become "Divide and Conquer", so that is what we will do again today. I will get up, wash my hair and get ready, fix BG's hair for her ballet pictures by french braiding across the top of her head and putting the rest of her hair in a bun (I can do it pretty well, but very slowly), then apply her makeup. I will then get the babies put down for a nap, make sure Goosey is ready to go, make sure the bag is packed with plenty of diapers, bottles, baby food and snacks. Then I will wake the babies up and get them dressed, go to Walmart, buy more diapers and go to the party. All of this is happening while O takes BG to her pics and ballet lesson and we will meet at the restaurant. So far, everything had gone off without a hitch. But, little did I know......
We had planned my brother's party at an extremely busy restaurant, but it was scheduled for 1 oclock so that we would miss the lunch rush. Well, we waited for about an hour and a half. It was ok. We all just passed the babies around (including my 1 month old niece), and we ordered some cheese dip for the big kids (my two girls and my 4 year old nephew) while we were standing in the bar area. Goosey was really hungry, and I think she ended up eating most of the cheese dip by herself (big mistake)!
We eventually ate. The food was great, my brother opened his cards, we all ate some cookie cake and it was time to go home. So, halfway down 280, in the middle of crazy traffic, Goosey vomits (nasty cheese dip) all over herself and the backseat of the van. And what did I do? I couldn't contain my laughter. Once I pulled over, opened the trunk of the van, climbed in and saw the explosion, I just started laughing. Poor Goosey! I had to make sure that she knew that I wasn't laughing at her. But, it was either laugh or cry, so I laughed!
The cheese vomit explosion happened while I was on the phone with my mom, Thank GOD! And thankfully she and my dad weren't far from me. So they pulled over to help. In the meantime, the sleepy babies were crying, so I pulled out their bottles. Tink proceeds to take a few sips of her milk and then throws the bottle into the vomit. So much for that! Also, come to find out later, while all this was going on, Hunk's diaper was leaking. O and BG went to the store to get some upholstery cleaner and I took the rest of the crew home.
Well, that was the end of that day! Needless to say, there is never a dull moment, and I feel like I take a 4 ring circus with me everywhere we go. You may think I'm crazy, but I wouldn't change a thing. I think the hardest part and the easiest part of this is the age difference between my girls and the twiblings. While my girls are usually wonderful helpers when they are with me, it is hard to run big kid schedules and baby schedules at the same time. Juggling school, dance lessons, and horseriding lessons with naps, feedings, and diaper changes can be a real challenge. It really makes me appreciate the days when my girls were little and we could just stay home. Somehow it all works, though! We make it work. These babies are worth it, and the love that I see my girls pouring out onto these babies is worth it. We constantly ask our girls if they are still ok with having the babies, giving the fact that they take up a lot of mommy and daddy's time. They both say that they are so happy to have these babies in our lives, and even though we are all making sacrifices, they wouldn't change a thing either! All this to say.... I love my little circus, and Barnum & Bailey's got nothin' on us!
