“OH MY GOD!!!!! STOOOOOOOOP DUMPING CEREAL ALL OVER THE FLOOR!!!!!” I scream angrily, at the littles.
Nora, “Sowwy mommy, I sowwy.”
“Ugh, it’s OK, baby girl, but you guys have GOT TO STOP throwing food on the floor….”
Nora, “Ok mommy, sowwy.”
“It’s ok, baby – can you help me clean it up?”
“YESSS!!!”
Ahhh, the joy that can overcome a 3-year-old in the matter of a minute HAHA. I mean, she was upset – about to cry because I was yelling. And then, total pivot, I’m fine mom, let me help clean this up.
Gotta love toddlers. And I do, I LOVE my toddlers, but JESUS, MARY & JOSEPH, if I could just have a little less mess and a little more time to myself. I could be such a happier person.
I seriously cannot wait for the days when my life doesn’t involve 6 different code reds of, “CLEAN UP IN LIVING ROOM 1 – CEREAL IS ON THE FLOOR!”
Or, “Mom, the babies are playing in the tub again 🙄 – there’s water everywhere.”
Or, “Can you please not bite your sister?”
Or, “Mommy, I want PAW PATWOL! You put Paw Patwol on PWEASE?!!” – Nora
“NOOO NOOOO, NOOOOOOPO, ME WANT Spida Man!!!” – Colton (Thank God we have 2 TVs – each morning, Paw Patrol goes on 1, Spider-Man and Friends on the other)
There are a hundred times a day I can’t WAIT for this phase to be over. But then I pick up the boys from school and ask them how their days went.
Tristan bursts into a fantastic tale involving Johnny and ga-ga ball (I still have NO idea what that is) and how he realized while he was eating his lunch that one of his molars is loose!
“Look, Mom, see this one right here?! I think I’ve lost ALL of my teeth by now!”
Me laughing and saying, “Guess what, T?”
“What?” he says.
“I love you up here, down there, all around, I win!!!” – me
“Awww dang it, you don’t get to win today, I win, I love you up here, down there all around I WIN. I didn’t hear what you said earlier!! Haha haha.” – T
I ask Declan how his day was, and we’re of course, in the days where, “Fine,” is about as good as it gets. But then, on occasion, he’ll say,
“Mom, guess what I realized today?” – Dec
“What, buddy?” – me
“Well, I realized that red ants can carry like, a thousand times their own body weight! And they have these colonies with a queen, and they never stop working! And did you know how many species of ants there are?” – Declan
“Um… no?” – me (Feeling completely stupid)
“Well, at least over 10,000!!” – Declan
“Wow dude, that’s AMAZING!! I can’t believe there’s THAT many! You’ll have to show me sometime! Also, guess what?” – me
“What, Mom?” – Dec
“I love you, buddy.” – me
“I love you, Mom.” – Dec
That’s when I see how BIG these amazing humans my body created are. I mean, cleaning up messes, changing diapers, yelling, fighting, breaking up fights… it’s all a part of the whole picture.
But helping these tiny littles I have eventually get to the place where Dec & T are today is half the fun. It’s NOT easy, and I usually want to pull out my hair or just hide under the covers. It’s worth it.
So I let them be little. I let them throw the cereal, color on the walls, bang on the dog food bowl, overflow the tub, scream at the top of their lungs, run wild at the playground, jump into the deep end of the pool, race around the house with their mini shopping carts ramming into one another, make me fake food and watch me eat it.
Because very soon, one day, that will all be over. Dec and T are well on their way to not wanting to say “I love you” back to me in front of their friends. I’m sitting here writing this while my twins take their one nap a day. And even these stolen quiet moments will be gone soon. They won’t have to take naps. They’ll head off to school, and I’ll have 7 uninterrupted hours a day.
A part of me can’t wait for that time. But my heart breaks at the thought of it, too.
And on that note, the remaining tower, Miss Nora, is throwing a temper tantrum lying on the couch because Paw Patwol STOPPED. Oh, the horror!! So, off to grab her, turn off the TV (oh, the screaming and crying LOL), and lay down with her in my bed for her one remaining nap.
Kelly
Because This Is What Five Kids Looks Like ❤️
The cereal incident was not an isolated event. 😂 For the full daily circus, read A Day In The Life of a Mom of Five. And if you want to actually meet the personalities behind the mess, they’re all in Kids Will Be Kids.
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