Life with Three

Ever since Charlotte was born the biggest question I've been asked is:

"How's it going with three?"

(Insert sympathetic smile)

So, here's a real peek at life with three.

All in all, it hasn't been anywhere near as hard as I'd imagined although I think I was prepared for total and complete chaos. I spent the last month of my pregnancy doing everything I could do to get ready. I knew that it was going to be a busy few weeks/months and in the middle of it all we were going to have a new baby.

Let me catch you up.

I don't work outside of our home. However, Matt has a job as a full time math teacher. He's also a full time student working on a Ph.d at the U of A. He also taught a class as an adjunct teacher for Harding from January to early March. And, he is teaching an after school Algebra credit recovery class that ends next week. You get the idea. He's busy. And Matt being gone so much means that I'm in charge of anything that doesn't fall into his class/teaching schedule.

So, I knew that I had to get big-time organized before this baby came! I stocked our freezer with many, many meals. I stocked the pantry with staples and things I could stuff in a lunchbox in a jiffy. I did the laundry daily so it was totally caught up. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned! And I prepared for our life to be crazy for awhile.....

But it hasn't been. It's busy, of course. There are days that I only sit down to feed Charlotte. There are a LOT of nights that I eat only a couple of bites of dinner -- while standing up. It sometimes feels like I'm juggling 20 things at once and I'm a guru at multitasking now! And don't even get me started on the laundry. I think I've decided that it's just never going to be fully caught up and that's okay.

I have realized that my days (and weeks!) are much much easier when we stay home most of the time. I can stay more on top of cleaning and laundry and even get a head start on dinner. Our days just seem to go smoother when I'm home. I always forget between babies how much that 3 hour feeding schedule ties you down, but it's worth the sacrafice to have a predictable, happy baby. She's now sleeping a lovely 9-10 hour stretch at night, so it's even more worth it! And, getting out with a baby requires so much gear! However, there are definitely times when I NEED to get out -- for my sanity! :)

The days with three go by so fast! I never seem to finish everything on my to-do list since the days seem to fly by! I keep telling matt that I'm busy all day & never sit down, but I don't seem to get anything DONE. Some of that is my fault of course. I know this time around how the time really does pass all to quickly when they're little. I've spend hours upon hours just rocking and talking to Charlotte. There are days when Harrison's at preschool and Madeleine at kindergarden when that's pretty much all that I do. And it's soooo worth the sacrafice of not getting anything "done" to just have that time with her. She just lights up when I smile or talk to her which I love. She's quite the momma's girl, too. I love that!

If I could only find a way to add a few more hours to the day. Or not need sleep. Or maybe split myself into 2 it would make life a little calmer......but on the other hand, I love being busy. I love being at home with my babies all day. And that makes it all worthwhile.