moments like this make all the rough times totally worth it...

big sister veda

So, as much as I think my world has changed since the arrival of our two sweet girls...I've got NOTHING on Veda! I can only imagine what went through that big old brain of hers when she got the concept of a babies growing in mommy's belly. I have to say, from the very start, I was so nervous for her. All I could think was that my sweet, spoiled little girl was going to resent me and her new baby sisters. How in the world could I show her the attention that she deserved with two babies screaming at me?? I decided to go ahead and accept the fact that she was no longer going to be my little mommy's girl. =(

But, I was in for a huge suprise! I know I say this a lot, but we were blessed to have really good babies! So, although I still get screamed at a good bit, these girls still give me plenty of time to spend with my sweet Veda. Granted, there are still many times when she doesn't get my undivided attention and she probably says "mama" 50 times before I realize im being spoken too. I feel horribly guilty about it, but she seems to take it all in stride. We still get our alone time every night before bed and I try to take at least 30 minutes a day and just sit in her room and do just about whatever she asks of me.

Even though our relationship has changed, she is still my sweet mama's girl and she is the most amazing big sister! From the first day she came to the hospital, she was so protective of her baby sisters. If one of the girls would start to cry, Veda would try to push that little cart toward me and say "mama...baby cwying..get her!" And then ofcourse, when we finally got the babies home, Veda couldn't go a whole 5 minutes without at least touching/poking/rubbing/kissing a baby. There were a few scary moments of her trying to pick up one of the girls by herself. Eek! But, all in all, she has been a mostly gentle, hands-on big sissy.

Lately, we have really started to see how much she really loves "her" babies. Yes..."her" babies!

Me: Veda are they your babies or mommy's?
Veda: mine!
Me: Oh! Did you carry them in your belly for 9 months?
Veda: Yes. My babies!

Needless to say, she has really taken posession of her precious sisters. I catch her often telling the girls "you're so bootifullll."as she rubs their face, signing the word beautiful. How adorable is that?! Veda could tell the girls apart before I could! I think toddlers are just very good at picking up small differences. Such attention to detail! But now she has her stubborn days where both of the babies are named August. I personally believe she does it just to aggrivate me. I mean, this is Veda we're talking about. But, correct names or not, she is so enthusiastic about her babies. From the moment we had names picked out, she told everyone she met "August and Worawye! Baby sistas." Most people didn't understand her and I just had to laugh. She felt that everyone should be just as interested in her babies as she was. Sounds like someone I know...Shane!!

Don't get me wrong, there have been a few...ugly...occasions with the babies. There have been some scratches and pinches and aggressive "pats" on the head. And there has been one...so hard to admit...bite! Gasp! I know...how awful! But, no permanent damage, and I figure...those babies are going to get her good one day! We will just hope that we have incidents that are bite free in the future. Ofcourse, she gets punished for the injuries she produces. And then she runs to her latest victim and says "ahhh, I sowwy baby! Muah! I kiss you! I so sowwy." I mean, really! How can you stay mad at her after that? Such a sour patch kid!

So, the last 4 months have all come down to one beautiful moment. We recently took Veda to the circus. We decided not to take the babies because I was already anxious about dirt, germs, swine flu, charging elephants, creepy clowns, tortured angry lions...I could go on. Im not a fan of the circus! So, back to the story. We dropped Veda's babies off with their grandparents for the evening and we headed out for a date night with our sweet girl. We didn't so much make it out of the driveway before Veda had a meltdown. Now, we're used to this, so we didn't think much of it. Until she said "I want my babies baaaaack! I want my babies!" It was the sweetest, yet most heartbreaking moment! It took us about 10 minutes to get her calmed down and understand the fact that tonight was just for her and mommy and daddy. She so badly wanted her babies with her. It was so sweet and I couldn't help but tear up a little.

What a big heart she must have! Despite the lack of attention, the passing down of favorite dresses and shoes, the loss of cuddle time with mommy, the problem hearing her favorite movie over the piercing sounds of baby screams, the sharing of toys, the constant "Veda don't do that! Veda don't poke her, Veda don't pick her up, Veda leave the bottle alone, Veda don't don't don't!"...despite it all, she has such an unconditional love for her baby sisters. I couldn't be more proud of my sweet little helper. I have to tell her daily "Veda, you are such a good little mommy!" And she beams with pride! Moments like these, I realize that despite all of my insecurities as a mother, I must be doing something right to raise such a big hearted little girl.

things i love today...

The way Veda says "mama, you bootiful!" (As she does the sign for beautiful)

That my "original" baby, Louie turned 5 this week. Old man!

My daddy's crazy suggestions for the babies. Example: forgot formula, "can't you just give them 2% milk?"

Cloth diapers! And ofcourse, my patience with all of the extra laundry.

Brittnee Skidmore and all of her extra D batteries! What a money saver.

The way Loralye's cry sounds more like a song.

The way August grabs a hold of Loralye's dress and holds on SO TIGHT, even though it makes Loralye crazy.

Low fat ice cream and/or frozen yogurt.

Steph & John's engagement pictures.

Veda's love for the wizard of oz.

How God blessed me with such an amazing father for my kids.

And all of the good memories of James that replay in my head daily.

how do you do it?

So, lately I hear the same question all the time! "How do you do it?" And then there's always "Is it hard to have 2 babies?" Ofcourse its hard!!! There is nothing easy about having 2 babies and 1 unruly toddler. There are some mornings when I wake up and think the same thing that everyone else does..."I do not want to get out of bed and I do not want to go to work!!!" And yes...for those of you who think being a stay-at-home mom is not a job...THINK AGAIN. But as tempting as it is to pretend like I am still in my pre-baby days and sleep until noon, instead I drag myself out of bed and resist the urge to sprint to the coffee pot. And yes...I do cry at times out of pure exhaustion and frustration. I mean, all 3 of my children have really big lungs and they are not afraid to use them. And yes, there are some days when shane barely gets one foot in the door before I am in the driveway jumping into the nearest vehicle. Im lucky to have such a wonderful husband.

But, to answer the big question...how do I do it? Sometimes with grace, and sometimes, well...not so graceful. The 2 biggest things that help me with raising these 3 beautiful girls every day are prayer and counting to 10 before I react. Here's an example...running into the grocery store by myself with all 3 girls. Before I even get out of the van, I incorporate prayer into my trip. I pray that the babies don't get hungry, I pray that Veda doesn't have to pee, and I pray for no stinky diapers! So far, God has blessed me with outings that were pee& poop free. But babies not getting hungry...yeah right! So once I get all of the girls out of the van (comparable to running a marathon) I try my best to get Veda to hold my hand through the parking lot. She typically refuses...enter counting to 10. So now that we're in the store, here comes one of the not so graceful moments of my day...I go ahead and take a trip to the register and buy veda whatever candy and/or gum her little heart desires. Enter counting again, except with dollar signs. For those of you repulsed by this tactic, please tell me how else to keep my wild child sitting in a cart that I am pulling behind me with one hand while I push a double stroller in front of me with the other hand! Ill take any lack of comments as an agreement that this is the only logical tactic. Thank you. So, as we go through the aisles, I am constantly reminding Veda to not climb on the edge of the cart. Enter praying...that she wont fall and bust her head open. And as we continue through our shopping, veda continues to spill candy throughout the store. 1...2...3...4...Then at least 1 baby will cry for something that I probably forgot to bring...1...2...3...4...5...6. So, now we're in a full out sprint to finish the shopping, but wait! Everyone wants to stop and peek in the stroller! Don't get me wrong, I love showing my girls off. But really, they're crying and I am sweating through my shirt. Enter counting. That is, counting the number of people who have stopped to ask questions, which usually exceeds 10. So, I am usually praying my way through the last aisle in the store. Praying for 2 things...to stay on budget, and to keep my sanity. Enter worried, sweaty face. So, now we get to the register...the home stretch! Yay! Usually some helpful employee who has a free moment helps me unload the groceries. Now we're counting again...the number of beats my heart just skipped because I am in love! Then I get ready to pay just to realize I forgot my card on the kitchen counter!!!...!!!!! Really? Really? Enter more sweating. Wait...check book! Enter praying..."thank you God!" So we are finally done and in the van just for Veda to pee in her seat because she didn't go before we left the store. Counting again. We make it home, I unload children and groceries, get everyone settled, wait for shane to get home and then probably take another shower. Remember...sweating!

So, for those beautiful mothers of 2, or even 3 of different ages who ask me how I do it...I do it the same way you do! I do the best I can and there are many times when I give up on trying to convince all of the strangers in the store that I am a flawless graceful.mother. I mean really...who do I think im fooling? I do everything for my girls, but I sacrifice the slow paced, peaceful lifestyle I used to have. Why do I do it? Because these girls are amazing! Besides the fact that I am responsible for their every breath, they deserve the very best. And if my very best is sweating and counting and praying through the grocery store like a crazy woman, then that's what they get!

sometimes you just cant leave the party days behind...

So, I got to thinking today...having children in the house can turn the most beautiful, well-kept house into something you don't even recognize. And the more I dwelled on this fact, the more I realized my house has turned into nothing short of a rowdy frat house. Let me list the ways:

1. At any given time, you can find at least one television covered with chapstick and/or marker and/or bugars.

2. There is at least one time a week when you will nearly break your neck in a restroom after slipping on a puddle on the floor. And it doesn't take long to realize that puddle is in fact...pee.

3. You too often find yourself in that "baby mama" movie moment and ask "is that poop or chocolate?"

4. No matter how tired you are, or what time you have to be up in the morning, you can always count on at least one rowdy person screaming down the hallway. Amazingly, you can usually pop a bottle in their mouth and they eventually crash!

5. It would be abnormal to not have some sort of cracker or potato chip crushed into your carpet.

6. Coffee, tylenol and kids cereal are necessary morning staples.

7. Chewing gum usually ends up on the floor.

8. Broken picture frames, torn books and cheap furniture.

9. It is typical to have people jumping off of furniture such as tables, like crazy little spider monkeys.

10. "Are you on crack?!" is a common...and appropriate question.

And I thought my party days were over!

cheap date!

I must admit...as much as I love to cook and bake, there is just something so appealing about getting out of the house for a cheap dinner that I don't have to prepare! Probably one of the biggest changes we've mad since August and Loralye's arrival is we don't always have the time for our nice, sit-down family meals. And honestly, even if we do have time, I just don't feel up to cooking! So, instead of heading out to a restaurant full of customers that don't appreciate 3 screaming children, we opt for a cheaper, child-friendly place!

Although I have not always been a big fan of mcdonalds, it has now become a weekly outing for our family. Veda has come to love it! The new play area definitely burns up any leftover energy she has rushing through her blood stream! Every child in the play area will always be dubbed veda's" fwiends", whether they like it or not. On occasion, we will have a friend meet us there for a play date. We usually prefer to invite our favorite Skidmore girls: Britnee, Buggy& Emilyn. Although, im not sure if Buggy will be joining in on the cheeseburgers anymore since she learned that her little beef patty at one time said "moo"! Im expecting to be praising her as a sweet little vegetarian in the near future. =) So, back to the point of my blog...our mcdonalds dates have become a favorite outing for the whole crowd! Shane always enjoys the chance to eat a cheeseburger, since we don't keep beef in the house. Veda enjoys the play time, the chance to drink some hi-c out of a big girl cup& call it soda, and ofcourse the occasional ice cream cone. August and Loralye sometimes sleep, or eat or even lay on the bench beside us and kick around. Happy little girls they are! As for me, I enjoy the southwest chicken salad...probably too much and I love getting home and having 3 tired babies who don't put up much of a fight for bed time. And probably shane's favorite thing is that it is a VERY inexpensive meal! After all, he is the penny pincher of the family!

So, we have all come to love our little date nights for various reasons. And hopefully it will be something small that we can do with the girls for the next few years. We definitely don't need anything fancy to have a good time. A cheap date makes us all pretty happy!