Toddlers Escaping Death

Last night Katherine had a pretty big accident that ended without so much as a bump or scrape.  It was one of those things that could have ended badly.  Like, really badly.

We were over at Brian's parent's house for the evening so that I could attend a bridal shower for his sister.  Just as we were about to load all the kids in the car and head home, Katherine decided to make one very large end table her own personal jungle gym.  She secured her hands to the edge, lifted up both her feet and that's when the table, and the massive lamp that sat atop it, toppled over on top of her.  Except it didn't.  Miraculously both the lamp and table somehow missed her little body.  But the dent left in the hardwood floors is enough to make me a little nauseous.

There was a lot of panic.  And screaming.  And crying.  It was pretty traumatic.  And I'm not just writing that for the sake of drama.

Bobby ended up on the floor in the rush to the scene so he was crying.  William, not understanding everyone's sudden alarm, was crying.  At least half the adults were choked up.  And Katherine, scared out of her mind, was of course hysterical.

I secured Bobby and Brian took to Katherine.  It didn't take too long to realize that we had just narrowly avoided a major incident.  We combed through her little body upside and down.  After her broken arm earlier this summer I was having a bit of PTSD.  If there was a problem I certainly wasn't going to let it linger for a couple of days like I did before.

Nana offered ice cream and all was right in the world.

I think I feel the worst for Brian's mom who has called and texted me no less than five times since last night.  She knows it could have easily gone the other way and keeps rewinding and replaying the events in her head.

I admit to thinking about it a few times as I tried to fall asleep last night.  But mostly I'm unaffected.

The truth is, these things happen.  Kids are constantly just barely missing death's door or serious injury.  If you really think about it, it's a damn miracle any kid makes it to their third birthday unscathed.  And Katherine's guardian angel, in particular, seems to be working overtime.

Toddlers, by nature, are curious beings and you just do the best you can to keep them safe.  And then you pray like their life depends on it.  Because it does.

The Toddler

In other more light-hearted news, we are in the midst of a major heatwave.  Which is funny because we had a rather mild summer.  I would argue we had some of the best weather in the country for the better part of July and August.  But just like Old Man Winter never forgets about us, neither do the dog days of summer.  We're playing out the final days of summer vacation in the A/C or outside with our toes deeply submerged in ice cold water.

And so, with sweat dripping down our brows, we're crawling to the finish line.  That being the first day of school in four very long, very hot days.  Today has been so boring and dull that I described it to Brian as "a black hole of infinite nothingness."  Which is pretty dark now that I'm rereading it.  But when the most productive thing done all day was to relocate all the school supplies from the Target bag to the backpacks, well, we're struggling.

But at the very least today will go out with all my children still in tact and apparently, as of late, that's saying a lot.

Only 13 Day Until School and Other Less Important Updates

We're nearing the finish line, folks.  And I'm equal parts, "Whoop whoop! Homestretch, baby!" and also, "Omigosh summer is almost over--QUICK! What fun things have we forgotten to check off the Must Do to Make a Happy Childhood list?"

I had this one really bad day last week where nothing of any significance happened.  It was just a really looooong day with a lot of fighting and screaming and not listening.  When things get to that point I really want to overreact and send the Bigs to their room for the rest of the day.  The real reason I'm impatient is because their erratic behavior is getting in the way of me taking care of the babies who have more pressing needs.  So we all get a little annoyed with each other.

And that right there is the best illustration I can use to explain why a school routine does wonders for us.  I literally need another adult (their teacher) to take over for a few hours so that they get their activity needs met and I can devout time and attention to the babies for the lion's share of the day.

Everyone's happy and homeschooling is not for us.  The end.

All that said, the babies are progressing like crazy and I'm really starting to feel like maybe, just maybe, we won't be in this season of infants and toddlers for the rest of all eternity.

Bobby has been crawling for about a month now.  A full two whole months ahead of any of my other babies, who, it should be noted, were late crawlers/walkers.

This boy can move.  And also get into stuff.  I had forgotten, after having two back-to-back girls, just how active little boys are.  Say what you want about gender neutrality but I think it's a whole big chunk of baloney.  Little boys and little girls are innately different.  They just are.  For one, I'm pretty sure that every boy is born with a little bit of ADHD.  Which, I suppose, would render the term "disorder" unwarranted.  But I guarantee you every mother of a little boy at one time or another has wondered, "Should he get tested?"

The answer, in most cases, is no.  He's just a boy.

Last night I tried to get Bobby out of the bath but was failing miserably because he was obsessed with this little ball I had thrown in the water with him.  I had to grab both him and the ball to get him to cooperate.  After he was all jammied up he was still having a love affair with this ball so I decided, what the heck?  And I put him to bed with the ball.  I didn't hear a single peep after that.

Some kids have a blankie or stuffed animal.  Bobby has a ball.

In other sleep news, we put Katherine in a big bed this week.  Brian's mom took the big kids to her house for a couple of days so it seemed like the perfect time to give it a whirl since she had the bedroom all to herself.  I'm thinking Kate must have something else up her sleeve because this process was way too easy.  I do think, however, the fact that we didn't acknowledge the change AT ALL played in our favor.  We just simply placed her in the bed like this is what we had been doing forever.  She's been sleeping 12 hours at night.  And when she wakes up in the morning she just sweetly calls for someone to come get her.

But the big kids are headed home as we speak so the sleeping arrangements for tonight are already on the top of my mind.  I had Kate in Lucy's bed, which happens to be a full size.  So potentially I could put the girls in bed together and hope for the best.  Otherwise there is a trundle option for our model of bunk beds that I could look into purchasing.

Do any of your children sleep in the same bed together?  What are the positives and negatives?

As for my own personal updates, I've started running again!  I was sidelined for a couple of months by an ankle injury which I may or may not have remembered mention here.  Anyway, it's all healed and I'm back at it three mornings a week.  It is a total sanity check for me because if nothing else I'm getting out of the house for 30-40 minutes in the morning.

I'm having an internal debate about whether it's better to run with or without music.  I usually run without music.  I like to hear my breath and footsteps because it helps me get into a rhythm.  I ran with music for the first time last week and was surprised to find that I was completely wiped out after only two of my usual three miles.  I looked at my clock and realized only 16 minutes had passed.  An eight-minute-miler I am not.  The music propelled me to run faster which is great except when your goal is distance instead of time.

So maybe the key is run without music until I think I can't go any further and then let Bon Jovi propel me the rest of the way.

Yesterday I made my annual trip to Target to purchase school supplies.  Does anyone else get totally excited when you see all those racks stacked with office supplies?  All I can picture is how organized I could be (a giant dry erase calendar!) or how calm and quiet and crafty we could be gathered around the table drawing (new crayons!) or snipping (Fiskars!) or creating (construction paper and glue!).

Then the Target Lady rings me up and is all, "That'll be $177, please!"  I'm all, "Whaaaaaaa...?"

Fifteen-cent folders add up fast.

I didn't go supply shopping with the kids this year but spied this gem on Facebook this morning and had to share.  Enjoy!

Rolling With It

I thought we could just start out with this little gem.

If you have a Facebook account, or Instagram, or Twitter, or a blog it is common and easy to post the best of the best of your super idyllic life.  I am just as guilty as the next person.  Who wouldn't want their old middle school friends to see just how crazy awesome your life is now?

Except that most of those perfect pictures represent about .001% of actual life scenarios.

So here's my real life.  A lip curl smile.  A I'm-2-hours-past-nap-and-I-don't-want-to-sit-and-smile-ANYMORE! A diaper ready to burst. And an are-you-kidding-me look.

This is real life.  And it's so awesome.

Shortly thereafter Brian snapped this photo of me.

I'm posting it to show that sometimes if you give up on getting the perfect photo, you'll get one when you least expect it.

Katherine didn't want to sit still or look at the camera.  William wanted to look through the binoculars. So I sat down and chilled out.  It was past 1:00. We had just finished up at the Farmer's Market and took a stroll down to the ol' Mississippi to get a better look at the lock & dams.  We ate fresh local blueberries right out of the carton.  The kids sampled green beans.  The yellow kind.  Brian and I sampled whiskey. (For real!)  We bought buckets of corn and juicy tomatoes.  The kids ran and ran and ran.  And then melted down.  And we took it in stride because we were out and doing something.  All of us.  Together.

Last night we forfeited our normal routine again. We made a Target run at dinner time which was HI-larious.  Pretty sure we convinced a few people to go child free for the rest of their lives.

We bought cheese and crackers and grapes and hummus and baby carrots in addition to our list items.  Then we drove to the Sculpture Garden in downtown Minneapolis.  A summer family favorite of ours.  There was some sort of photography class happening.  And also some other sort of gathering with a lot of cheering that we couldn't quite figure out.  Either way our party of six was a traditional minority that stuck out like a sore thumb among all the local hipsters and shakers.

On the way home, in between over-tired baby screams, Brian said, "See?  We can do cool stuff."

Like he was previously doubtful.  Or nostalgic.

I knew we had it in us.  Even if I did get home, throw all the kids in bed and chug a beer like my life depended on it.

7 Quick Takes: 8.2.13

1. So this is my 1,001st blog post.  Wow!  I only noticed when I logged in and saw the number.  Six years, four kids and I'm still writing.  Not as frequently, I realize, but I've learned to let go of the guilt of not being a consistent writer and instead letting this blog be here for me when I need it.

Someday I still dream of writing a book.  But today I'm satisfied with just a quiet moment at the kitchen table click-clacking away on the keyboard.  A book though.  I'm putting it out there.  It's going to happen.

2.  My post on Wednesday wasn't supposed to be what it became.  I intended to sit down and write a little update on Casa del Nash but instead this is what came out.  I can always feel it inside me.  When I need to take all the little bits that are floating around and cluttering up my ability to be the best me.  I need to organize them.  Reconcile my feelings.  And get it out in the form of sentences and paragraphs.  And then my life feels real again.

I will never stop writing.

3. So enough of all the heavy stuff.  Updates, updates.

For the past couple of weeks our family has been playing this super fun game.  And when I say super fun what I really mean is the opposite of that.  What you need is this: Three bedrooms, four little kids, two cribs, a set of bunk beds and a whole heap of tolerance and patience.  Sometimes I forget to bring those last two things.

The game is called Musical Bedrooms.  The object of the game is to find the best kid combination within the space we have to get everyone asleep and happy before 9:00.  We usually fail.  But I think we're getting close.

It's tricky with two babies.  The littlest one is annoyed to be awoken after he's already been asleep and the other baby is like, "HOLY SMOKES THIS IS SO AWESOME TO BE WITH MY OLDER SIBLINGS! I WAS IN A BEDROOM BY MYSELF FOR MY WHOLE LIFE AND I HAD NO IDEA HOW BORING THAT WAS! LET'S JUMP! AND SCREAM! QUICK, THROW EVERYTHING OUT OF MY CRIB! WAIT, I WANT MY NUKIE! I'M GOING TO CRY FOR MY NUKIE. I'M GOING TO SCREAM FOR MY NUKIE!  WILLIAM, GET OUT OF BED AND HELP ME! OK, NOW PLAY PEEK-A-BOOK WITH ME. OK, NOW GET ME ONE OF YOUR BOOKS.  I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR PAGES OUT. THIS IS GREAT, GUYS.  SUPER FUN. YIPPEE! PAAAAAAAAAAR-TAY!"

Like I said, tricky.

4. This is the time of year when everyone collectively hangs their heads and somberly says, "Summer's over." And when I say, "Crap, still another month until school starts."  Aside from a gymnastics class here and a golf league there, I'm out of camps which means I have to go inside my own head to think up new and exciting things to do for the next few weeks.  It's going to be R-O-U-G-H.  Hang on, folks.

5.  On the up side, however, college football season is just around the corner.  And I have to remind any of my newer readers within the past year or so that I am not at all being sarcastic.  I had this idea of writing a series of posts on a girl's guide to loving football.  What are your thoughts on this?  If you like it, what would you want to hear about?

6 & 7.  And since I desperately need to shower before nap time is over, I'm going to burn my last two takes with cabin vacation photos since I never posted any.  ENOY!

To Just Be

Last week I signed the big kids up for an afternoon camp just up the street.  It was three hours every day for a week.  And it was the best idea I've ever had.

On one of the camp days when I was finally somewhat caught up with house chores and the sun was shining and the babies were napping I decided to pull out three issues of my magazine (because that's how far behind I am) and sit in my lawn chair on the patio.  I realize I could have used this extra time to write a blog post.  Or finish my Kindle book from the last year.  Or call a friend.  Or write some emails.

But as soon as I got in that chair I forgot about the magazines.  Instead of consuming my mind with the thoughts and needs of someone else during every minute of every day I realized how lovely it was to hold my face up to the sun and to notice to my own thoughts drift in and out at will.

For a small part of my day I just wanted to be.  I didn't want to cringe when I heard someone screaming about a toy being grabbed from their hands.  I didn't want to think about what I was making for dinner.  Or which part of the laundry cycle needed to be moved through.  I let emails go unreplied and phone calls left unreturned.  The crumbs on the floor sat idle and there were probably still dirty dishes in the sink.

One of the things I love most about being catholic is the Church's emphasis on quiet prayer and meditation.  I'm not a praise & worship kind of gal.  Certainly that has its place and works for some people.  But for me, I feel most at peace and most alive when I'm quiet and still.  Which, as you may have guessed, doesn't exactly jive when you have four kids under the age of six.

Every day it's a sacrifice to live out this vocation of mine.  To wake up and go, go, GO until I have nothing left.  To be needed and then depleted.  If I had to choose one word to describe the current state of my life it would be constant.  I am constantly "on."

And yet, as much as it is a sacrifice, I know it's where I'm supposed to be.  Because there's nothing more holy than sacrificial love.  Even if I might be complaining the whole way.  I'm still putting one foot in front of the other.

When I tell people I have four small kids they ask how I do it at home all day every day with little to no help.

I don't know how to answer that question.

What else should I be doing?

It's like asking somebody how they breathe.

When I was pregnant with Bobby and already holding a baby in my arms they would ask, what are you going to do?

Again, I didn't know how to respond to that without sounding sarcastic.

Because the answer was obvious.

I'm going to take care of my babies.

This life, it pushes me to brink of insanity.  If it didn't I probably wouldn't be doing it right.

And when I'm standing there at the Edge of Crazy ready to fall (or maybe jump), suddenly the sun will come out. And I will realize two of my kids are at camp and the other two are sleeping.  And I am given the gift of a moment to breathe and just be.

Because God knows.  He always knows.

Today's To-Dos

I need to go to the liquor store to buy another bottle of tequila for my batch of margaritas and I'm wondering the most appropriate way to do this with four children ages six and under.

Option 1: I bring them all in.  There could be some breakage.  Or yelling or screaming.  Or at the very least, running about.  In this situation the store clerk may give me all the alcohol I need for free.

Option 2: I leave them in the car while I run in.  Being that today will be one of the hottest days of the summer I will definitely need to use the car's remote start to keep things cool.  But leaving kids in the car on a hot day naturally draws attention especially when said car is parked in a liquor store parking lot and the mom returns with a brown paper bag.

Option 3: I walk there with the stroller.  Two kids will be strapped in and thus immobile leaving the two bigs to be on their best behavior.  But again, a mom with a double stroller and two more kids walking to the liquor store in 90-degree heat? What more could scream absolute desperation?

I sent Brian to work with my favorite bra.  The one whose strap broke on the left side right in the middle of t-ball last Thursday.  That was fun.  The mall is by his office and he's going to exchange it for a new one.  Being that, after two months of use, it's defective and all.

So I suppose we all have to shelve our humility every once in a while all in the name of the best interests of this here family.  Which currently include a good bra and even better margaritas.

Tomorrow we leave for our cabin vacation.  Which is why these to-dos are so pressing today.  And I'm all, "Hey! I need to hop on the ol' blog and pound out a post RIGHT NOW."  Because there's no better time to blog than when I have an endless supply of to-dos with a deadline.

Also on the list is getting the car vacuumed.  But I'm out of quarters and I don't want to do it in the heat anyway.  It calls for a trip to Mr. Car Wash.  But I don't actually want the car washed, you see.  With all the bugs and stray summer-y matter the windshield will encounter on our lovely drive through Northern Minnesota, a wash would be pointless.  Is it possible to just pay for a vacuum?

And then there's Bobby boy who had his first full night of sleep EV-AH in his whole six and half months of life two nights ago. SCORE!  Then I went and screwed it up.  Too many errands yesterday and too many short naps in the car made for one overtired little boy who was wound up like clock until way past ten and had a tough night thereafter.  So today calls for some routine and his own bed.

Oh babies.  They are so easy to figure out yet so hard to abide by.

This is my day, folks.  And the dilemmas I'm encountering.

But tomorrow!  Tomorrow is vacation!

7 Quick Takes: 7.5.13

I am laughing an evil condescending laugh in the face of any version of my previous self who ever uttered the words, "I'm SO busy!"

Wrong.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Oh life.  It is eating me whole right now.  Not only have I not blogged for weeks, I also have not even turned on my computer or checked my email.  I don't not write for lack of material or out of laziness.  I assure you.

1.  And when you are busy out of your ever-lovin mind you may, for example, neglect to notice that your 20-month-old has a broken arm.  If you don't already follow me on Instagram or Facebook (why not?) yes, this really happened.

My dear sweet Katherine, who possesses a freakish amount of strength for someone her size, pulled herself up on her crib railing far enough to swing one leg over.  She then came tumbling down to the hardwoods below.  There was a long moment of extreme silence followed by the most terrible cries you can imagine.  My adrenaline was pumping as I raced up the stairs, three at a time, to comfort her.

Instantly I was checking her head, her collarbone, her ribs, I had her walk to and from me.  Everything looked fine.  She was crying so hard I thought perhaps she was scared or that she had the wind knocked out of her.  The last thing I thought of was her arm.  And the darndest thing about those one-and-a-half-year-olds is that they can't say, "Hey Mom, check out my arm.  It freakin' hurts like you wouldn't believe."

I finally put it together two days later when she was giggling in her chair at dinner but then yelped out of nowhere when I grabbed her arm.  Immediately my mind rewound the past two days and played out all the times she had been crabby for apparently no reason.  Probably because SHE HAD A BROKEN ARM.  Mom of the year, right here, folks.

The late-night urgent care visit revealed a fractured radius.  That was followed by a cast appointment the next day.  When the ortho specialist was studying her xrays from the night before she was oddly quiet and seemed to be taking a long time.

"Do you think it might not be broken?" I asked, hopeful.

"Oh no, it's definitely broken," she said, "It's just that I think the other bone (the ulna) might be broken as well."

After visiting the hand specialist we never did get a definitive answer but it doesn't matter.  Treatment remains the same. Cast through July 24.  She's handling it like a pro.  Except for the fact that we've discovered she's definitely a lefty thus making eating a little more frustrating than usual.

2. We went to St. Paul's fireworks display last night.  This a big deal.  The last time we attempted this we only had two kids.  But this is the way memories are made so we forged ahead.

We prepared ahead of time.  Naps were mandatory.  The kids were bathed and jammied up before we left.  We brought the double stroller and the Ergo so that only William had to walk from the car to the viewing area.  The weather was perfect.  Not too hot, not too cold and just the right amount of breeze to the keep the mosquitoes at bay.  When it was done we loaded the kids back up, easy peasy.

"Well that was kind of...hassle free?" Brian questioned in a surprise voice as we drove off.

It was really was.  What the heck?  Double our kid count and it just turns into an assembly line of ease, I guess.

3. Last week I hired a company and paid an obnoxious amount of money to have our windows and gutters professionally cleaned.  Worth every penny, I tell you.  It's like I'm living in a brand new house.  I can't even wait to pull up the blinds every morning and look at the sunshine through the beautiful streak-free glass and cobweb-free screens.

This screams happiness to me.  And also a little crazy, I know.

4.  Here's a recent picture of The Baby.

He has finally arrived at the glorious age of six months.  You all remember that it wasn't too long ago when I was writing about how I was aching to get through the newborn stage.

Although most babies become more independent sleepers and eaters at six months, Bobby balks at that idea.  I can't really tell if it's me or him.  I might complain but really, I haven't done a whole lot to force a resolution.  Maybe my subconscious is telling me something.  Is this it?  Is this my last baby?  I'm still unsure but I can't escape the signs that seem to be haunting me everywhere saying, "Hold on to this while you can!"  And so I do.

He has little to no interest in baby food.  And also little to no interest in spending more than three hours at a time in his own bed.  And so my boobs are still hard at work.  Also sleep deprivation is getting a little old.

One massively large improvement is bedtime.  For weeks we couldn't figure it out.  He would scream and scream and scream from 8-10 every night before finally giving in to sleep.  The answer?  He prefers to be a belly sleeper.  Amen, brother.  You go on and show those Back to Sleep campaigners how it's done.  (I'm not making fun.  There's lots of evidence to prove this method actually doesn't do anything to prevent SIDS.  Go on, Google it.)

We also have been known to co-sleep.  So, you know, daggers abound around every corner here.

But back to Bobby.  Cute.  Smiley.  Happy.  Two toofers.  Bald.  Chunky.  What's not to love?

5.  Brian has had a relaxed work schedule since Wednesday.  No coincidence that life has been pure bliss since Wednesday.  I have to keep reminding myself it's not even Saturday yet.  If only we could arrange our summer to be like this every day.

6.  A couple weeks ago we went to see a live performance by the Okee Dokee Brothers.  If you don't know who this is, do your kids a favor and buy their latest album now.  Great for kids and adults alike.  Anyway, my kids are obsessed.  Obsessed!  So when we saw them live it was like I could get a little glimpse into my crystal ball about what life will be like with  Lucy as a tween and whatever the hottest boy band will be at that time.  Scary.

7. And finally, I remembered to take my 4 on the 4th at 4:00 picture yesterday.  Total win.  Enjoy!