Over this past week there have been several incidents where I've done a double take or thought to myself, "Is this really happening?" Some were good moments; others were bad. Either way, there's never a dull moment with these kids.
The week began with a few days of sunny, 60° weather, which meant we had to spend as much time outside as possible. We went to the park and attempted a walk around the neighborhood. Neither outing went according to plan.
On Monday I planned a picnic lunch at the park where we could also feed the birds. Winter is clearly the best time to go as there were hundreds of ducks, swans, geese, and other birds swarming us.
We fed the birds, but our outdoor lunch was postponed as soon as Jackson declared, "I need to poop!"
Ah, the joys of potty training. Jackson hasn't had any accidents in over a week, but when he feels the urge to go, we've got just a few minutes to find a potty. Luckily, I had thought ahead and brought the little potty with us since I knew there weren't easily accessible restrooms at this particular park. We spent over ten minutes sitting in the van while Jackson used the bathroom. By the time he was finished I had buckled all the babies in their car seats so we just ended up eating in the smelly van.
Tuesday was another day of warmer weather. Jackson wanted to go for a walk after we picked him up from preschool. I loaded up in the wagon and strolled away, just like I've done dozens of times before. Two blocks from our house, I heard a funny sound and saw Amelia suddenly flop down in the wagon. Somehow the wheel completely fell off. I knew how to fix it, but it required me to turn the wagon over on its side. I couldn't very well lay the babies on the sidewalk, so I trudged forward. Only, the rod came out and the other wheel was no longer in the correct spot. I tried to lift the wagon like a wheelbarrow to push it back home, but the babies kept sliding with the slightest angle. The only way to safely get home was to either crawl on my knees while holding the corner of the wagon upright or to hold up the corner with my back bent completely and shuffle. I alternated between the two. I don't know how many times I stopped or how long it took, but we got home eventually. All five of us were crying by the time we entered the garage.
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On a lighter note (pun intended), I've been making conscious efforts to eat better. For dinner last night we had brown rice pasta with a homemade lentil tomato sauce and a spinach cucumber salad. Even while cooking it, I questioned if I really wanted to eat it. Turns out, it was fairly tasty.
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Since the babies have been wearing footy pajamas, I hadn't really noticed how severe Maddie's eczema had gotten until bath night. We've been slathering her up in steroid cream and lotion. My poor girl!
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Another double take was seeing both of my sweet girls rocking it during tummy time. Of course, Amelia has been doing this for many weeks. Maddie, on the other hand, has struggled to lift her head.
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The final "What am I doing?" moment was when I decided to carry the 84 pound box up the stairs and assemble our new exercise spin bike. There were some foul words said and I may or may not have taken my skirt off in the process, but we have a newly assembled bicycle upstairs thanks to Jackson and myself. Jackson was quite the cheerleader, shouting, "You've got it, Mommy. Good job!" He also got his toolbox and helped me.
