Alone. With 4!

My husband has left for Portland. He will return in 5 days. This means, I must go to work full time and manage the household. I went to the store yesterday, knowing I may not get the chance to return...so I stocked up on Ben and Jerry's as well as a box of red wine. After all, as the saying goes, "If momma ain't happy; ain't nobody happy." I also completed the menu for the week with kid friendly, easy to prepare meals.  Coincidentally, they are some of MY favorite meals.  So, I eat like a 2-5 year old boy, what gives? Oh, the menu, you ask? Fried Rice and watermelon. Sloppy Joe's and Tater Tots. Pork chops, broccoli and noodles (or cheesy potato casserole if I'm really feeling fancy). Macaroni soup. 

We went with the Sloppy Joe's tonight.  Curtis had one and half! He did nothing but thank me for dinner. The other 2 had 'happy plates' as well. Ok, ok, if you must know, I had 2, and a 'happy plate' also. We then ventured out on a walk around the block. On this walk, Curtis and George proceeded roll down every "hill" we passed. I put the word 'hill' in quotation marks because, well, there were no hills.  Maybe very slight, somewhat imagined inclines. They looked like fools. But it was cute. Entertaining. Energy-releasing. Amusing as Curtis spit out a mouth full of freshly mowed grass. Brock asked what the man passing us was carrying, pointing to the small Minsk'y leftover box. The man kindly replies, "a Minsky's pizza box". To which, Brock exclaimed, "That little!!!?? Oh my gosh! It's so cute." The man just laughed. Brock is currently so obsessed with tiny, cute things, that he really wants a chihuahua.

Now, after getting them all to bed, the house picked up a bit, the dishes done, I am left with a decision...wine or ice cream?  Wine. To blog, or watch...ANYTHING I WANT!!! Grey's? Downton? Some chick flick? Read? The possibilities are endless! Matt seems laid back, but when it comes to television, well, he likes 24. Need I say more? B-O-R-I-N-G.

Tomorrow. They all need baths. I think we'll go with watermelon (before bath) and chicken fried rice. I'll have ice cream. They can have Popsicles.

Wish me luck.

The Nuggets {of LOVE}.

 “Motherhood is a choice you make everyday, to put someone else's happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you're not sure what the right thing is...and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.” ― Donna Ball, At Home on Lady Bug Farm

Mother's day was last Sunday. I woke up at 8am in the morning, in the hospital, after being woken up previously, at 6:47 by a page, and not going to be until close to Midnight, but it sort of felt like sleeping in late. The boys (mostly Matt) had made me a giant 5 layer cake. He used 2.5 boxes of cake. 2 tubs of icing. 3 tubes of icing. Pink sprinkles. Colored, sprinkle discs. It took me probably an hour of being home before I even noticed the massive thing, and the flower next to it. Not all of the boys were even home to witness my reaction, as the two eldest had slept over at Mimi and Papa's.  Though the day seems dedicated to celebrating mothers, for all they do, every day, day in and day out, without hesitation, for their children, I found myself appreciating the children instead.  Suddenly, their separate and beautiful personalities, full of nuances unique to each kid, shone bright as if to scream, "look at me!" I also found myself reflecting on my own motherhood, and parenting.

Brock, who graduated from preschool this week, seemed to really understand the day. He asked for extra hugs from me, and paid me compliments throughout the day. Though, it's amazing how quickly the appreciation and admiration slips away. Which became so immediately apparent today as I caught him with a plastic knife, carving patterns into our leather ottoman. This discovery intensely angered me. I momentarily contemplated a physical consequence, but instead, in my maddest of mad voices and mannerisms, sent him to time out. He did not appear sufficiently remorseful, so as I walked past him on the stairs, I broke his plastic knife in half and threw it in the trash. Along with the plastic fork and spoon, all of which he had acquired from Hen House, and carefully carried all the way home, while riding his bike, so as to "start a collection" (as I later found out after disposing of them all). A little part of me felt awful for destroying his bizarrely meaningful plastic-ware. Part of me also felt, this is tough love. A lesson that needs to be learned. He needs to think before he acts. This is just furniture, what if he did this to an animal, or person!? This evening, when he overheard me telling the story, he reported, "it's healing well". Wishful thinking there, Brock. Maybe if the cow were still alive. He later wrote "mom"  and "(drawing of an eye) (drawing of a heart) u" on the Magnidoodle. Ugh. Forgiven. Melt my heart.

The other weekend, while trying to get ready for Xander's First Communion, the boys were making me crazy. So loud. Destructive. Obstinate. Getting them dressed was an absolute fiasco. In fact, George pooped in the tub (which I would say, scared the shit out of him, but that had already happened) while all 3 were bathing, so we had to switch to the shower. Matt was out golfing, therefore unavailable to help. Finally, after getting them all mostly dressed, it was my turn.  I stood in the bathroom attempting hair and make up while the 3 of them played in their room. In my head, I'm thinking, just stay in there. Just play quietly. Enjoy yourselves. Please don't do anything that requires my attention...and in the midst of this thought stream, Curtis saunters into the bathroom and stands beside me.  I can feel the agitation. WHY IS HE IN HERE? They always touch everything in the bathroom, nothing of which should be touched. Don't touch my hair brush. Or my tooth brush. Or my deodorant. Or my bobby pins. Definitely NOT my make up. And DEFINITELY NOT my hair straightener. Curtis rests his hands on the counter. I can tell, he is surveying, contemplating what to touch first...and I say it, sternly, "Go away, Curtis." In his usual, laid back, innocent, unsuspecting way, he replies, "Why mommy?" I'm so annoyed, I want to scream, but I simply say, "Because I don't want you guys in here or near me right now. Mommy needs a moment to get ready, and you are making me crazy." He just looks at me, without missing a beat, and says, "But I love you, mommy." Defeated. Fine. You win. Stay in the bathroom. Touch all my stuff. I kiss his forehead. "I love you too, Curtis." With one statement, I'm reduced to puddles. Curtis does this, all the time.  Staying mad at that child is nearly impossible.

George pats my back, ever so gently when he gives me a hug.  I love it.  I try to get hugs from him, probably more than I should, just to feel his tiny, soft hands patting my back. He says "thank you". Always. I don't know how to phonetically type the way he says it, as it's mostly clear with just a unique, adorable little intonation, that I hope to remember forever. Perhaps I should attempt to record it. It might be close to "sank-o". He's pretty good with please, "pees" as well. George has always been into positive reinforcement. I think he secretly watches his brother's mistakes, and has learned, if I say please and thank you, my odds to getting what I want go up, significantly. I'm looking out for that one...middle child, forget me not.

Mitch, my big lug. My baby. He can do no wrong. For the rest of my life, I will feel horrible for letting him fall down the stairs. All the way down, our 14, steep, hard, barely carpeted stairs. He is not only growing at a physically inhuman rate, but seemingly meets developmental milestones at the same alarming rate. Just moments prior to his first stairs encounter, he attempted and failed to get up, over, and past the step in our room - just as he had failed a million times before...until I left him unattended.  For 45 SECONDS. Why!!!??? Why at that moment? Why not while I'm watching, and laughing at your futile attempts to get over that step? Not so futile now. Nope, he did it. And now that he survived going down, he is obsessed with climbing back up those 14 steps. Sitting at 4 months, crawling by 5, climbing by 7, walking by 10, dominating all his brothers by age 2, and tackling on the offensive line of a pro team by 22. Right? Right.