Let's Reminisce...shall we?

As I put the finishing touches on our nursery (for the 4th and FINAL time...hopefully) I got to thinking about our journey to this point in life. First of all, here are the pictures of the nursery:

I mainly took the pictures because I'm planning on selling this stuff after this baby has outgrown it...but I figured since I have the pictures I might as well make some use of them.


As I start to reminisce, I'm going to start in stage#1...the pre-children stage in our marriage. I recall the time where I had a set schedule. Not only for myself, but for my cleaning and organizing. I would clean every Saturday, I would do laundry during that day as well, and I would often use phrases like "MY kids will NEVER...."

I remember the pre-children days when I knew that I would have angel children that wouldn't DARE disobey. I wouldn't need to child-proof my house because MY kids would be SO well behaved that they would leave my antique porcelain figurines alone. (I don't have antique porcelain figurines, but it's just the principle of the thing. ) MY kids would NEVER talk back, they would be perfectly behaved, and we would be the envy of all. We would all be dressed to the hilt, never have runny noses (and MY kids would NEVER pick them for heaven sakes), and I would never be the cause of a scene in the grocery store because MY kids would NEVER throw fits.


Stage #2
Let's call this stage...oh...the Only Child Stage (yeah I know. Reeeeaal original).

We FINALLY had our first child. We were prepared. We bought anything and everything we would EVER need for this baby. She had the perfect nursery. She had a wardrobe that Paris Hilton would be jealous of. She had 100% of our attention 100% of the time. If she cried, Chance and I would discuss what techniques needed to be used in that particular situation. Chance and I even fought about naptimes, whether or not to let Morgan "cry it out" (because it seemed so dang cruel for pete's sake).

Morgan was by FAR the most beautiful child in this world...couldn't everyone else tell this? I would read to her not only in the womb before she was born, but as a newborn I would show her black and white flashcards because that helped to stimulate her mind and vision. While I was pregnant I faithfully kept a journal about how "amazing" pregnancy was, and how blessed I was to feel life inside me. I would play Mozart, Bach, you name it.

As our first child grew, I read books, I sang songs constantly, I even got out my art books from college and taught about Picasso, Van Gogh, Degas.

Now.

Let's move on to Stage #3.
The 2nd Child.

We tried for a couple of years to get Grace here. My pregnancy was scary - I was on bed-rest for a few weeks and was TERRIFIED that I would lose this baby. She was very anticipated and welcome when she finally arrived.

Luckily, Paris Hilton's wardrobe worked for this one too...so she had everything she needed. I felt GOOD. I had another little girl, she was perfect, I loved cuddling with her every chance I got, and I VOWED that THIS time I would just enjoy her, and enjoy the little stages she was in. I was determined to Breast Feed (and when THAT wasn't working, I pumped exclusively for 3 months). I was LOVING the newborn baby stage. My patience was endless. I never yelled, I was living my dream. **sigh**

Ssccccrreeeeeeeeeeeaaach! ***sound of car breaks***

When Grace was 3 months old, guess what? Yep..I'm pregnant again. Come again?!?! So that put a SCREECHING hault to my good attitude. Instead of focusing on art lessons, music lessons, reading and stimulating my child, I was just plain ORNERY. (I love those awesome pregnancy hormones...ya know?) My children would only be 12 months apart, and I was FREAKING out. Remember the days when I had schedules for everything?!?

Let's fast forward to
Stage #4
Dwindling Sanity

Yep, the 3rd child arrived, and my sanity departed.

Laundry? What used to take me 1/2 a day now takes me 1 1/2 days to complete. Let's talk about pre-treating. Before my sanity left me, I ALWAYS pre-treat my clothes. Any little spot or potential stain I would attack with vigor, and if THAT didn't work, I would attempt other methods until that stain was finito. Now? It's a good day when I am folding clothes and I don't find a stain that's been permanently heated into a shirt.

Cleaning? Hmmmm.....I am not even going to admit how often I clean now. Mopping my kitchen floor has become a wistful thought. I changed my kids sheets the other day and thought to myself, "I REALLY should be doing this more often". I think I found a few long lost toys, socks, and other such items neatly stuffed in the foot of their beds.

Oh, and patience? Well that's totally gone as well.

If one of our kids throws a fit? Well....lets see how far they can throw it. That's especially fun when I am at Walmart and Grace is screaming at the TOP of her lungs.

Crying it out during the night? Oh yeah...I'm all for that. Chance, at this point, has resorted to wearing earplugs to bed so that HE can at least go to work the next day and not be a zombie.

Childproofing our house? Well, DUH! It was either (a) yell at the kids nonstop to "quit touching that!" or (b) move it out of the house until the kids get older. I chose option (b).

I think it's quite amusing how much MY attitude has changed through these stages. If you would have told me 7 years ago that this is my life, I wouldn't have believed you. Back then, I knew I would live in the perfectly kept house with perfectly kept kids. Now I realize that there are SOOO many more important things than a clean house and clean kids.

I am so blessed to have HEALTHY and HAPPY kids and a house that is comfortable. I love the fact that I don't have to worry that my clean house will be wrecked if my kids play with their toys. I am grateful that I can do something fun for myself without feeling like I have to keep a perfectly manicured home, and that I have a husband that doesn't mind a little clutter here and there.

Sure, my kids aren't perfect - but neither am I! I just hope that as they grow up, they will know how much they mean to our family, and how much they are loved. I also hope that they will appreciate us as parents. I'm so glad that my attitude and outlook have changed through these different stages, because I really don't know how happy I would really be if I was only concerned with perfection.

Anyway, thanks for listening to the ramblings of a semi-sane Mom of 3 1/2 kids.

The End.