Daddy-Daughter Date

At some blessed points in the cloudy skies of motherly weather, the sun shines (or the stars shine in this case) for a brief and wonderful 'time-out' that helps detract from the cold snowy spring days of misery. I exaggerate slightly. Or do I?? (Oh Spring, where art thou??!!)

At any rate, as fate would have it, I was driving my dad's truck this past Thursday, (that's another story) and he had the radio tuned to a Reading station on which was playing an interview with the conductor of the Reading Symphony Orchestra. Very interesting. Then they mentioned the concert for Saturday and I thought, why not? And, how can I go? With a poor sick mother and a tired and not-too-overly-thrilled-at-classical-concerts husband, I decided to invite the one man that fueled, paid for, supported, and still to this day encourages my passion for music. My dear father. Just the two of us on a memorable evening out!

On the program? Some amazing piece I had never heard of before by a man I had never heard of before, Grieg's A minor piano concerto (which I played...can it be...10 years ago with this very same orchestra), and Dvorak's New World Symphony!! What a great 2 hours for my ears and my heart and my sanity being restored! Uh, well, at least temporarily...

PLUS, half time proved to have a delightful surprise hidden in it as I literally almost bumped my dear friend Kate whilst in line for my peanut M&M's. How special to run into a friend somewhere where you're pretty sure you won't know a soul! (Like when you run into friends at Hershey Park randomly!) Plus she was with a friend who I had never met before that was also sweet and lovely. Plus, they had a lovely reception in the third floor ballroom afterwards where we all got to eat SWEET STREET!!

Ok, break for a snotty, crying, sick baby...Transpire 4 hours...

Now I'm so tired I don't trust myself to form any kind of beautiful sentences so I will leave you with a few pictures to prove my story true. And a few more simple sentences that even Luke could read.

It was grand. I love my dad. I love great music. That guy's name is William Wolfram. He is tall. He plays a mean piano. Dvorak's melodies at times remind me of Star Wars. I love mini eclairs. I love Kate's hair. The end.

Diary of a pooped mom...

Dear Charis, 
In 10 years when life is rolling along with a whole different set of issues and troubles, but when you have help setting the table, the children can do their own laundry, and maybe even MAKE DINNER THEMSELVES, I want you to remember that God and his grace got you through these days. So many women say they can't remember the whirlwind of life with toddlers and babies, but I want you to remember. I want you to honestly remember the good, bad, and the ugly, so at the end of a long day in 2023 you can say "Well, God got me through THAT, so he can get me through THIS."

So let's just list the accomplishments in any given day of the past 3 years, or at least 3 days:

Wake up to Luke crying "Evan is eating all the chips and making a big mess!"
Go downstairs to a happy Evan, who had indeed eaten half a bag of corn chips with shards all over the floor to prove it. He didn't eat hardly a nibble of his second breakfast.
Suck vac the crumbs. Get the kids cereal.
 Wipe snot from their noses.
 Get Kelly, whose awake now and crying to prove it. Change her pee'd through outfit (no one around here ever gets changed unless they are really, truly dirty). Nurse her, never fast enough. Go back downstairs to Evan screaming because Luke is shooting cheerios at him like a gun. Unload the dishwasher, with their help. They have only broken 3 dishes in the whole time (at least a year) that they've been helping do this.
 More snot.
Tell them to go play. Wash dishes. "Mom, Evan's poopy!" (no wonder with all those chips). Change Evan. Make him sit on the potty. Go back to kitchen. Start washing dishes again. Kelly starts crying. Feed her cereal that looks like cement. She loves it. Luke asks "can you read to me?" Not now. In a little bit. "Like in 2 minutes or 4 minutes or 1 minutes?" "Like in an hour- go play."
 But I help him wipe his nose first. And then force some meds down his throat so he'll stop coughing.

 Clean up kitchen table. Start a load of laundry. Exercise, maybe, if it looks like I can squeeze in 20 minutes. Change Kelly's poopy diaper. Have the kids clean up the mess of toys they've made so far. They watch Winnie the Pooh while I shower and Kelly takes her short morning nap. (The showering only happens 2-3 times a week. Gross. But that's my reality.)
 Wipe snotty noses.
Get lunch ready: sliced apples, graham crackers, pb&j, rice cakes, whatever. Sometimes read them a Bible story while they are sittin' there. Go get Kelly. She plays nicely for a little while I eat and the boys go play. Oh yeah, pay the credit card. Go through the mail. Change out the laundry. Settle a toddler dispute. Put on kids praise songs (please dear God get some of this stuck in their heads!). Sit and play with them for 7 minutes.
Help Luke wipe his snotty nose.
Put Evan down for a nap: change him, read to him, rock him, 8 minutes flat. Nurse Kelly, change her again, put her down for a nap. Ok. I can do this. Finish cleaning the kitchen. Pick up and vacuum. Fold laundry. Pass out on couch for 20 minutes while Luke watches a little show. Check e-mail, catch up on news, write grocery list, another round a laundry. Teach Luke for 10 minutes how to write his letters. Savor the next 1/2 - 1 hour of just him and me. My most productive 1 hour of the day. Usually try to tackle a few things of the never ending 'list.'
Help Luke wipe his snotty nose.
Before I know it, Evan's up. Put him on the potty. Start dinner. Settle an argument (already, why can't you guys just get along?). Go back to dinner. Get Kelly (how can 3 hours go  by so fast??). Wipe her snotty nose. Change her and cuddle her for 2 minutes. Go back to dinner. I think I can squeeze in a blueberry coffee cake while I'm at it. Nurse Kelly when she's tired of playing rough with the boys.
Wipe Evan's snotty nose.
Stick on another show for the kids so I can finish dinner. Ed is hardly ever home when we eat. But I try to somehow get them all around the table and try to teach them manners: Eat your food, I don't care if you don't like it, stop crying, just eat it!, feed Kelly her mushy goo, Evan spills his juice, yell at him, clean it up, apologize to him cause he's still crying, no more drink for you, forever! 4 more bites if you want a treat. Oh you don't want blueberries in your cake? Too bad. Do I eat? Somewhere in there.
 Wipe some more snot, but ran out of tissues. Whatever, just use a cloth napkin. Perhaps read them another Bible story.
Start cleaning up. Luke suck vacs this time. Evan puts their dishes in the sink. Then they run wild while I try to clean up the kitchen. Again.
Pray: Dear God, help me. I'm so tired. I'm so tired.

Ed comes home. To a big mess made in the last 15 minutes. Not a cushion is left on the couches. Now I can do even more chores without the kids buggin' me. Fold and put away some laundry. Run to the grocery store. Come home and put stuff away. Nurse Kelly and put her to bed. Wash more dishes. Get Ed's lunch ready. Go sing to the boys Away in a Manger (Ed usually puts them to bed though). Watch a show with Ed and eat snacks. Brush my teeth (let's be honest, sometimes). Go to bed and pass out. (No sleeping pills needed here!).

Note: this was written in winter when I did not have the car most days, Ed was working long hours, and the kids were sick off and on for 3 months. I CANNOT WAIT FOR SUMMER! Yet, we did occasionally get to church, and we got in a few play dates, went to Bible study most of the time, visits with grandparents existed... So it wasn't all so mundanely tiring!


And now for a song ( to the tune of These Are a Few of My Favorite Things):

Puke-colored oatmeal meets bibless disaster

Toddler is running with boy roaring after

Dry erase markers all over the sheets

Little black sneakers on opposite feets

Glasses are crashing and baby is crying

Suck-vac is broken and snot just keeps coming!

Dishes and dusting and more endless chores

Little hands helping but making mess more!

When the boy bites, when the kid whacks,

When I'm feeling MAD

I strain to remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel so bad:

 Favorite things: When they run and laugh and squeal with delight, when Luke sings, when Evan hugs, and when Kelly cuddles with me. Also, Ed's face. It's pretty amazingly good looking. Making cookies with the kids. Playing War and Go Fish! with Luke. Singing with them. Playgrounds. Summer! When they make those grunting noises while happily eating. Little baby butts. Date nights. Silent nights. Popcorn. Looking forward to fun things.


So there it is Charis. A bit of reality of my life in the winter of 2013. I'll look back and laugh. I know I will. Sometimes I laugh now. I'm learning to embrace the craziness. I grew up swimming in a clean, clear, indoor pool, back and forth. But white-water rafting is a lot more exciting. Harder, yes. But adventurous! So here's to the life-long adventure of mothering...

(My hour is over, and a fresh poop scent is wafting down the stairs, beckoning...)