Sometimes I get all caught up in my “online personality”, in who I want to portray myself to be. This is a post where I show what a nut-job I truly am.
On the one hand I can wax poetic about my first born son starting First Grade. I get all emotional, weepy, verklempt.
Then the little fart comes home after his first day and throws out some First Grade attitude.
At the Supper Table:
Me: “So what exactly are you trying to say?”
G: “So what exactly are YOU trying to say?”
Bring it, dude. Bring. It.
I honestly feel like I am a bit of a lunatic. The pendulum of my emotions swings violently between, “I love my kids SO MUCH. I hope they NEVER LEAVE MY SIDE!!!”
The next minute?
“WHY DID I HAVE THREE CHILDREN? Could we possibly enroll the three of them somewhere that will keep them until they are at least fifteen?”
See? I AM CRAZY.
Being a Mom of three is not entirely horrible. It is just busy. Horribly, horribly busy.
(Side note: If one more person looks at me and my three kids in the grocery store and states the obvious comment of, “WOW! You must be BUSY!”, there may or may not be a disastrous event. The kids and I will be fine. The perp? NOT SO MUCH.)
Apart from the busy-ness (and the attitude) there are glimpses of greatness. In the midst of chaos I get little rewards for enduring my three little beasts.
Nathan (He of the Whining and the Not Sharing and the Whining. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE THE WHINING. Oh! And the crying. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP) is a sweetie with a heart of pure gold.
He hugs me numerous times throughout the day and tells me that I am “The Best Girl”. He also tells me that I am “The best Mommy in the whole world”.
Then he swipes a toy from Emily.
(Swiper, no swiping!)
Emily, though feisty in all of her almost-two-ness, is blowing our minds DAILY.
I have mentioned before that the boys were not “early” talkers. They seemed to *just* make the developmental requirements, such as the “string two words together by the age of two” milestone.
(Now? I CANNOT SHUT THEM UP.)
Miss Emily is different from the boys. Some say that it is because she is a girl. Others say that it is because she has two older siblings.
I say it is because she is a genius.
Don’t even try to argue the fact.
She is stringing four, five, SIX words together. She is DAILY using new words that I did not know she knew even existed. We have conversations. We understand each other. She is counting. COUNTING.
She is also still in a diaper. Which I often forget to change. Which results in it exploding. In her pants. GEL CRYSTALS EVERYWHERE.
In the midst of all of her glory (and urine) she will throw herself to the ground in a fit of fury. Which brings me back to that place where I wonder what it is I have gotten myself into.
I am surely crazy. And blessed. And did I mention CRAZY?
I am pretty sure I am not alone in this. I can’t be.
27 Comments
um…do i dare admit that i only have one and my pendulum swings violently in a mere few seconds?!? how can they be so sweet and good one minute and so tandrum-y the next?
p.s. makes me feel better that your boys weren’t big talkers when they were younger…Hudson only says a handful of words and he’s around the same age as Emily!
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Comment by joyce on September 4th, 2008 @ 4:34 amYou are not alone. Been there, done that with the pendulum. Still doing it and my kids are 18-1/2 and 22!! That’s YEARS, not months 
As for the talking … ah, yes, there was another pendulum. My older son was a very early talker. Talked all the time. We were thrilled one moment, then wished the heck he would STOP TALKING ALL THE TIME!!! We used to have to tell him that our ears were tired and we needed to play our quiet game for a bit. Which used to last all of 10 seconds
Enjoy the pendulum. I couldn’t wait for my youngest to leave for college because he was pushing ALL of my buttons. Of course, now that he is 5 hours away, I miss him
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Comment by dognutmom on September 4th, 2008 @ 5:08 amwhen people ask me that busy question or use the “you’ve got your hands full” im so tempted to be all “um, actually, no. i usually lock them in the closet every evening and sit and enjoy my dinner and my crossword with a glass of wine and ignore the screaming from behind the door”
but i usually just smile and say “yes. it’s busy”
Ahh, those damn gel crystals. *shakes fists*
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Comment by Maria on September 4th, 2008 @ 6:57 amOh, no, you’re not alone I have ONE and I feel that way daily:)
There are moments I just don’t know how I’ll get through it, and then E dog will do something just so amazing and just astonish me and it’s all so worth it, all over again.
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Comment by Elizabeth on September 4th, 2008 @ 7:06 amThat’s the best kind of crazy though.
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Comment by sizzle on September 4th, 2008 @ 7:16 amI just had my third in March.
WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING???
OMG, he is sooo cute, can I have another?
They are totally killing me with the love.
Comment by Becky on September 4th, 2008 @ 7:40 amI get that line in the grocery store all the time! It is busy and crazy, I was kind of hoping the craziness would end once my kids got just a year or two older, but it looks like no such luck! They seem to grow up so fast, and yet they don’t act as ‘grown up’ as they seem sometimes. Brooklyn is using the toilet already, say what!?! And then she pushes Katy over for being in the way. You’d think someone who uses the toilet could say ‘excuse me’.
You aren’t alone. I promise!
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Comment by Heather on September 4th, 2008 @ 8:36 amWow, three kids 5 and under! You must be busy!
*turns and runs as fast as she can the other way*
Sorry, I couldn’t resist
I only have two and I feel the same way…I love them with all my heart and then this morning, the yelling oh the holy yelling to get Jack to school on time.
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Comment by Kami on September 4th, 2008 @ 8:38 amI don’t have kids, but I’m pretty sure you’re not totally crazy.
I love the pictures of them with the enormous backpacks. SO cute!!
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Comment by Sharon on September 4th, 2008 @ 8:38 amGraham’s attitude makes me laugh. Probably because he’s not my kid, but still. It’s kind of funny. Mostly because that’s something I would say. Hey, I’ve got the maturity of a 6 year old. I’m not proud.
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Comment by hills on September 4th, 2008 @ 8:42 amI love seeing kids wear big backpacks that are bigger than they are. It’s so cute!
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Comment by Kristabella on September 4th, 2008 @ 9:08 amI read posts like this and know that they are in my future, and somehow that makes me feel more calm.
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Comment by Janssen on September 4th, 2008 @ 9:35 amThe photo of Miss Emily and her backpack? KILLS ME! SO CUTE!
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Comment by Rhi on September 4th, 2008 @ 11:14 amI’m right there with ya… in the motherhood trenches. It’s glorious and horrendous, beautiful and dirty, mind-boggling and mind-losing.
Nobody warned me. NOBODY WARNED ME! But I love my life. Just sometimes I wish I could take a permanent vacation.
If only three children just made us busy. I can handle busy. CAH-razy is more like it. And if we are so busy and those brilliant people know it, why do they not offer to babysit? I mean c’mon!
-Andrea
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Comment by Andrea on September 4th, 2008 @ 11:54 amNo, you are not alone.
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Comment by bethany actually on September 4th, 2008 @ 2:04 pm(18 comments later) I think by know it’s been established that no, you are absolutely not alone. In fact I think you are in pretty good company. I, for one, am definitely crazy. And blessed. Should we start wearing pins or something?
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Comment by Elisa on September 4th, 2008 @ 2:29 pmThanks for the smile today, Angella.
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Comment by Elizabeth on September 4th, 2008 @ 5:56 pmI have a friend who aslo has three kids and I quite often hear her singing, “I am slowly going crazy” too!!!
Graham is such a turkey…Nothing like the grade one attitude! Nathan sounds so sweet, saying that your the “best girl!” Melt my heart!!! And Emily, what a little princess…That sweater, that outfit, could I keep her??? You’re a great mom to those three, busy monkeys!
Comment by Michele on September 4th, 2008 @ 6:35 pmWow! You must be busy!! (haha, can’t get me, haha!)
I wholeheartedly appreciate that you share these feelings b/c it’s nice to know a fellow blogger feels like they’re “losing their s***”…even if it’s only in their head.
You are NORMAL and I love it!
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Comment by The Over-Thinker on September 4th, 2008 @ 7:24 pmEmily! That sweater! The giant backpack! So cute.
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Comment by slynnro on September 4th, 2008 @ 7:25 pmJust wanted to say you are definitely not alone… we seldom leave the house that some random person, stranger or not, doesn’t find it necessary to say, “Boy, you’ve got your hands full!” At times I think it might make me loose my cool in public, and I really, really try hard not to ever do that! I don’t want my four girls thinking that having a tantrum in public is acceptable behavior, afterall.
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Comment by MaryBeth @ FourSillySisters on September 4th, 2008 @ 8:26 pmThe “oh you must be busy” comment irks me too! Gerrr!
Comment by Kristin on September 4th, 2008 @ 9:06 pmOf course you are not alone!!! Thank God us mothers have found each other so we can all survive the ups and downs together! ; )
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Comment by Elaine on September 4th, 2008 @ 9:29 pmYou are so alone in that. You’re the only one overwhelmed by children. And the only one who forgets to change her baby.
ps. Liliana was in the same diaper yesterday from 9 am until 2 pm. Yes, I am AWESOME. I had company! I forgot! Poor kid.
And also? The pics of them in the back packs are AWESOME. So cute.
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Comment by Mrs. Wilson on September 5th, 2008 @ 8:58 am
No, you’re not alone!!! I only have 2 and my life is crazy. I swing like a pendulum just as you have described, and the days when I am home alone with both kids all day (not often, but it happens) I almost crack completely. It’s TIRING being a mother. We are blessed – and crazy – and it’s perfect!!
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Comment by Hannah on September 4th, 2008 @ 3:11 am