It's always been a crazy mix in our house. We did three kids 3 and under at the beginning. That was complete chaos. Add in a few more, and by the time Ellie came around, we had six living children within 10 years. That was certainly very busy, too!
Just a different kind of busy.
When you have all babies and toddlers, they need you for almost everything! Once they start school, they get a little more independent. Then, sports start and the world that revolved around home and family really explodes.(and mom and dad add taxi driver to their titles!) Multiple siblings on multiple teams makes for crazy sports seasons!
Add in another baby when your oldest two are in high school and it really gets interesting! And then, just when you think that the having a baby and a toddler at the same time has passed, we got to do it all over again!
Don't get me wrong, Luke and Kate are blessings! I mean...just look at these faces:) (Plus, without them Ellie never would have been a big sister!)
It's just that the completely unique needs of each child are at opposite extremes! (Although sometimes the teenagers...one in particular who shall remain nameless...sometimes act like toddlers!)
Take tonight for example. It is 11:09pm and even though the past three nights have been worse than usual in regards to sleep, I am up blogging because I am trying to wait up until my oldest two come in the door! Mike is with friends and Andrew is at a junior counselor meeting for pro-life boot camp that is coming up in July.
Chances are, any moment one of my two youngest cherubs will awaken and need?/want? me by their sides. Some nights one wakes the other up and they are both crying at the same time! Ahh...a mother's symphony!(insert eye roll here!)
Yet, as much as my weary body longs for bed in my humid room....Is there such a thing as a Central Air Fairy? Oh, that would be such bliss!...my mama rest won't really happen until I hear the 'beep' of the car locks and hear those footsteps through the door(and the door being re-locked!). I may even fall asleep but it won't be soundly. That has only happened once....during the winter when Mike had the crazy late basketball practices. I fell asleep around 11 waiting for him and woke up in a panic at 2am not knowing if he had come home...trying to peer out the window in the dark to see his car...without turning on lights and waking up the rest of the house!
This driving thing is so.not.fun!
Right on schedule...11:15 and Andrew is home and Luke is starting his evening moaning and babble. One home and one to go.
We were friendly years ago with a woman who had 10 children. She always said that in Heaven, she would be the one sleeping in the corner, making up for all those sleepless nights!
I think I will be right along side of her:)
