Friday, May 7, 2010

Lots and Lots of Littles

Tonight finds me sitting at the computer waiting for the washing machine to quit its job so the dryer can then begin its job so I can then do what my body is longing to do - sleep. I spent an enormous amount of time cleaning the front loader five days ago and I refuse to waste my efforts and resources by beginning the process of dirtying it up again, which an entire load of damp laundry sitting inside the drum overnight will do.

So here I sit, trying in vain to find some productive way to use my time which doesn't require extreme concentration (Elias's sampler will still have to wait), noise (no home repairs tonight), or a lot of energy on my part (no one needs to know that I didn't do Yoga or Pilates today. Or yesterday.) A movie would work if I wasn't convinced I would find myself drooling as the credits begin to roll and then having to schlep my way up the stairs after putting the afore mentioned clothes in the dryer, collecting Elias out of his swing, and still managing to wash my face and brush my teeth. I finished "The Time Traveler's Wife" last night (it was eh) and I just don't feel like getting involved in another story quite yet. So I've managed to catch up on the news, cleaned out my email, done the little bit of filing in the pile, and the house is managed. But that washing machine has a solid 57 minutes to go. Sigh.

Tuesday morning, we welcomed sweet Sadie Sue for a visit. She joined us that morning and didn't leave us until today. We all truly enjoyed her visit, and honestly were disappointed when she had to go home. As we were out this week, we began referring to the "Boy Twins" (the real set) and the "Girl Twins" (Sadie and Abigail, who are only three months apart.) She and Abigail sleep side by side in their crib/pack&play with their matching keep-them-in-bed-at-all-costs-crib-tents, whispering and giggling for all of 5 minutes before collapsing into an exhausted slumber. And I get to be Aunt Tacy, which (let's be honest) is always a fun break from "Mooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!" My charming qualities are still enough to spur Sadie on to doing all things good and pleasant, unlike my children who know every button I have and delight in pressing them occasionally to make certain they still work.

Then, yesterday we welcomed the Three Little Brannons into our midst. We have all been looking forward to their visit as well since Evelynn is a perfect match for Tucker, Keats & Aidan, while Caelan is buddy-buddy with Abigail and Sadie. Then there is sweet, rolly-polly McKenna, who is only two months older than Elias so the two of them are able to entertain each other with burbles, coos, and crawling all over one another's faces. It's a great set up for extremely happy Littles.

The flip side to the extremely happy Littles? Extremely tired everyone else!

We made the decision as a family to take on four extra girls all under the age of five at one time. It only seemed fair to discuss it as a group because it would absolutely without a doubt impact everyone. We agreed that these days would simply be "God days," which is code in our family for focusing more on others than ourselves. In our case, it meant something different for everyone.

Shelby sat in a bedroom with a Book Wedge and "Little Men" until 11:00pm last night to provide incentive to stop whispering and go to sleep. She has been the primary bath giver for all these little bodies and the stand-in-mom when my arms are already full. She buckles car seats like a pro, can maneuver shopping carts full of children with ease (yes, we did go run errands) and has the eyes of a hawk when she needs to. Shelby also met most of Sadie's needs while she was here, so she had quite a full four days!

Dawson gave up all thoughts of daring accomplishments in the backyard today in order to provide a safer example to four pairs of very watchful eyes. He helps at meal times, encouraging everyone to "Eat for Energy!" He patiently feeds Caelan to make certain she isn't hungry within minutes of leaving the table because they are all just so excited to play together. He is my vacuum/mop/clean at the end of the day guy.

Isabelle has taken on the majority of McKenna's 11 month-old needs by default - McKenna adores her! Isabelle will sit and feed McKenna while cuddling Caelan on her lap with Elias standing at her feet. She changes diaper after diaper with almost no complaining and can get either of the youngest two to stop crying by just a soft whisper in their ears.

Tucker has become the go-to guy: jammies, diapers, bath help, meal prep, dishing up meals, swing-pusher, milk getter, movie changer, TiVo programmer, dirty diaper gatherer -- he can do it all.

Keats and Aidan are in charge of the floors. With two crawlers who put EVERYTHING into their mouths and LOTS of bodies dropping stuff, it's a recipe for impending doom. So every hour or so Keats and Aidan give the entire first floor a once over to make certain nothing choke-able is left where McKenna or Elias could discover it. They also, being quite the gentlemen, gave up their bed for Evelynn and Caelan and are currently sleeping on their own floor of their own accord. "Mom - they're girls! They shouldn't sleep on the floor! That's a man's job! And we are men."

It has been a great four days and I know that while I will enjoy the quiet tomorrow evening after the Brannon three return home, I will miss the girls. I will miss the hustle & bustle, the extra laughter, the extra cuddles, the extra kisses, the extra singing, the extra prayers at bedtime. I will miss the unfamiliar clothes in the laundry, the unconventional sleeping arrangements, and having 9 car seats in our van. I will miss so much that is impossible to put into words when you have the opportunity to watch four very different little girls come to stay with you bringing their very different personalities.

Already we are missing Sadie, who only went home a few short hours ago. I miss hearing her call to Abigail with the unique-to-Sadie pronunciation of Abigail's name. I miss catching her eye and seeing her smile. I miss seeing her eyes widen as she watches all the craziness around her. I miss feeling her little hand in mine as we say bedtime prayers together.

I won't even begin to try and convince you that these God-days of ours were easy. They are an awful lot of work. But there is something about really hard work that makes you appreciate the outcome so much more after its all finished. And, if all that happened in these few days were that our children learned to live life outside of themselves just a little bit, than I'm a happy woman.

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