There are also a few other posts I wanted to put up before this one.
Scarlett's birth.
Silas' 15 month.
Sophia's 4th year.
Vein issues during and after pregnancy.
Scarlett's first month.
Wednesday night I had a little breakdown. Aaron started back to school this week and has a lab two evenings a week. Wednesday was his second evening gone. We're kind of used to him working late so it wasn't too big a deal, but it added to stress that had been building.
While I was pregnant, I knew having three children four years and under would be challenging. (And boy was everyone quick to let me know how just how "hard" it is going to be.) But there's no way to be prepared for it until it happens. It's not that it is even hard. It's just constant. Con-stant.
Everyone always needs something.
Someone is always emptying something.
There's always a bottom that needs wiping.
A mouth to feed.
A mouth to wipe up!
Sibling rivalry at play.
Help with feelings they don't know how to say.
Discipline to be done.
Mom sucking all their fun.
Heh. It was starting to sound a little Dr. Seuss-y. So I went with it. Maybe I should keep going sometime and see where it takes me!
But you get the picture.
And in between all that, I'm having to remind myself to eat and drink water. Ahh. So there's the secret to staying thin. Have multiple children close in age! ;)
Anyway. Wednesday night.
When Aaron got home I told him I wanted to put Sophia in a preschool program. I could see his face fall. We have always planned on homeschooling at least through elementary. But long story short, it all came down to be doubting myself, being tired, and feeling sorry that I'm not "doing enough" or keeping Sophia entertained.
That night I prayed that God would give me confidence and allow myself grace, and I woke up feeling totally renewed.
And that's what this post is actually about.
I can do it.
It will take lots of planning and prepping, but I can do it.
Thursday we had our first outing for fun with just me and the kids. We went to Free Art Thursday at the museum.
Sophia went straight to the craft table and worked for almost an hour on her creations while chatting away with the other children and their families. Silas sat right next to her almost the whole time copying what she did. He loved using the glue sticks. Scarlett... Oh, my sweet Scarlett. I held her the whole time. She's my hardest baby by far. In the late afternoon and evenings she pretty much cries unless she's held. Thankfully, Silas was so consumed in his crafting that I was able to hold her without ever having to chase him down. (I would have worn her in my new awesome wrap, but I wore her so much earlier in the week that I gave myself a bad plugged milk duct. Bleh.)
When they got up from the craft table we tried building with blocks, but Silas wandered and ended up at another craft table with colored permanent markers. When I tried to get him down he screamed.
Side note: Silas is a screamer. A loud, LOUD, mad screamer and tantrum thrower.
Hearing that first scream, I knew it was time to head out before it all hit the floor.
I purposely skipped the kid's afternoon snack and packed it to take with us to help lure them out of the museum and it worked like a charm. All I had to do was show Silas his snack bag and tell him to sit in the stroller and he gladly climbed down from the permanent marker table, signing "eat, eat" and got in the stroller. Sophia also gladly left her table, too.
How awesome is this stroller? I'm glad Sophia is young enough to still be able to hop on and catch a ride. She usually stands, but she can also squeeze in a sit next to Silas.
It's always nice to get everyone in the van without anyone crying. It's just nice.
We also got a parking spot that completely covered the van with shade and it wasn't blistering hot when we got in, which was also nice.
And I can do it.
