Movie Inspiration

Last night me and the hubs watched the movie Marley & Me. Not only did it inspire me to never want a dog (not really, only sorta) but it made me want to be a writer. I've always enjoyed writing and there were times in my life when I thought about doing some type of writing for a job, but I've never seriously pursued it. But watching the Owen Wilson character in his writing career, finding the style that really suited him best and whatnot made me want to write! So until I become famous for something or another, you'll just have to deal with me here. And instead of writing funny stories about my horrible dog, you can hear about my occasionally horrible children. :)

Speaking of my children, they're all in bed now. The hubs is still back there however, because Munchkin woke up crying when we put the big kids in there. Can you imagine that they don't always walk right in, lay down and go to sleep without a sound? I know it's hard to believe. But they wake her up from time to time. The hubs, I'm assuming, had to pick her up and is now holding her in our rocking chair in their bedroom. There's also a very good chance that he's fallen asleep there and will come out in a few minutes rubbing his eyes. :)  (*A few minutes later: I'm sooo good. That's totally what happened!)

There were a few parts of that movie (I'm remembering as I write) that said some really poignant thoughts about parenthood, and staying at home with your kids. The mother character quit working to stay home with her children. She talked about how you lose every part of yourself that once was important to you, and you essentially become someone else. That can be so true. But she said she wouldn't change it for anything. She also said that if it came down to spending time at work or with her children, she chooses her kids. I feel the same way too. I would hate the feeling of spending my whole work day wanting to be at home with my kids, and the whole time I'm at home with them thinking about work. Not to mention only seeing them for an hour or so at the end of each day. They talked a lot about how no one prepares you for parenthood. Or you hear everything but you just don't listen. Agree, agree, agree. And everyone's experience is different, so no one can really prepare you for what you'll have in store. There were really some great nuggets in that movie, amidst the quite hilarious dog shenanigans. All in all, I felt reaffirmed in my choice as a stay at home mother, and somewhat comforted in how hard it is.

So if you haven't watched that movie, you might enjoy it. Especially if you like dogs. :)

Better Day

It's amazing what some time with the hubs and a good night's sleep can do. Today has been much more productive. I haven't had a day like this in, well, a while. I honestly can't remember.  It's been a rough few weeks. The kids went down much better last night. They're still going down later than they used to but it's better.

Unfortunately, the hubs and Moose are going on a father/son campout tonight. So I'll be flying solo with my girls tonight. I'm hoping it'll go alright. I completely rely on him when it comes to nighttime fussiness. We are amazing at complimenting each other when we lose our cool and can't handle it in the bull pen anymore. So cross fingers for me that the girls will sleep through the night tonight so I don't have to handle nighttime grouchiness on my own.

Today we've also got a little dude over at the apartment. I watch him every Friday. Despite the extra work, having another kid over is great. For anyone who doesn't know, having a friend over to play is awesome. The kids are so excited and focused on their little friend that they leave you alone. It's like magic. Now, he's only 2 months older than my Munchkin, so he's still a bit of a handful, but all in all the kids are much less work when he's here.

The work to prepare to move continues. I washed the walls in the hallway today and packed up one more box of books from the kids room. We have just under 2 weeks, and I think things are moving along nicely. Ooh, and today I made a batch of cookie dough (I didn't bake them. I'm giving frozen cookie dough balls to a friend as a housewarming gift.) and some pizza dough for dinner tonight. I'm eating pizza with the kids for dinner, then Moose will leave with the hubs and Grandpa. Then me and the girlies are going to Coldstone. Yeah, you heard me right. Coldstone. I'm hoping that by the time that's all done I'll be able to get their pjs on, put Munchkin to bed and me and Monkey can watch a movie. I think it'll be fun, assuming there's not too much fussing and fit-throwing in-between. :)

Can't Stay Away

I know it's been ages since I've blogged here. But I guess I just couldn't stay gone for long. I think about this blog on occasion and how it felt to share the joys and woes of parenthood. I think I've been needing this outlet lately. For the past while now I feel like I've either been supermom or something that's on the other end of the spectrum. I'll spare myself making up horrible titles for it because then I'll be tempted to use them on myself when I'm being that way.

**3 minute break while I soothe crying baby who is devastated that her sister took the remote away from her while said older sister was in the closet in her underwear finding a pair of pants. *5 minute break while I go and soothe baby sister again who was now screaming because her older sister closed her fingers in the pants drawer.**

Anyhow, things lately have been so crazy. We're buying a house, which is great. We move in 2 weeks. I can't wait. Don't get me wrong. I love our apartment of almost 3 years. It's awesome. But 3 children in 1 bedroom just doesn't work well. Lately sleep has been a serious problem. More specifically, me and the hubs not getting enough sleep has been a problem. Even when the kids sleep through the night, our evenings have been so disrupted by them not being able to fall asleep together that we haven't had our usual wind-down time together. By the time we know they're all asleep we're too tired to do anything but just go to bed. Especially in the event that there might be rough patches during the night. Anyway, the house will help fix that since we'll have more than 2 bedrooms. Hallelujah! Not to mention all the other extra space, and the fenced backyard. I'm one happy lady over here. These coming 2 weeks can't come fast enough.

For an update on my crazy zoo of kids: Moose is almost 6 and finishing kindergarten. He loves it! He's so smart and friendly. We are considering homeschool next year. For a myriad of reasons. He says he really wants to homeschool. We'll have the space when we move. This summer will be our decision time. Monkey is now 3 and such a smarty pants. She's still pretty endearing most of the time. We often call her imp. But she likes to yell at me. Not cool. Munchkin is now 13 months.  She's a big gal who can probably walk if she wants to, but refuses to. Her personality emerges more every day and I just adore it. As long as she sleeps nicely. Otherwise, while being cute, she drives me batty.

Me and the hubs are great. Aside from being exhausted 99% of the time, we are so happy. We'll celebrate our 8th anniversary this summer. We had a date a week or so ago. The first one in over a year. It was cut short, but it was still great. We're going to do it again soon since we now know that Munchkin can handle it. Life is amazing. And crazy. Don't forget the crazy part. The kids have a lot to do with that. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Look for more posts from me. I think I need write in here a bit more often for my homemaking-sanity. :)