My Super Momma Days

Due to Gaetan's procedure I was on everything duty.  He wasn't allowed to really move, pick up, or do anything other than make a dent in the couch or bed.  That meant no kid holding, no walking around, nada.  Which meant all the little things that I take for granted that he does for me I had to do.  I had been mentally preparing myself for it, so I thought I was ready.

Norah's mini photo shoot before Gaetan's appointment

I LOVE THOSE CHEEKS

Usually he is the one who puts the crazies to bed.  Its just become a thing.  I think it probably started with Dude after I had Lucy and I couldn't do stairs... and then the same thing with Lucy and Dude.  So, I had to get the quick run down on how they do things to try and keep it as much as the same as possible.  It actually went really well!  :)  There was only a few instances that I had to go upstairs and help Lucy find her way back to bed but it wasn't bad. Norah is becoming quite the champion at sleep so she only got up once but by the time she was back down the crazies had gotten up... so my day started WAY earlier than I would've liked.  We had a good day though.  I got as much stuff as I could possibly get done the night before so I didn't have to worry about it when the kids were up and I was thankful that I did.  Having all 3 of them together all day and for everything is quite different.  By nap time I was pooped.  They needed the nap because they woke up super early but I needed the nap so that I didn't fall asleep.  I ended up passing out on the couch for about an hour before Lucy got up so it was time for me to get up too.  Dude had actually fallen asleep so we let him sleep for a little while longer but I didn't want him sleeping to long.  My friend Beaker was in town for an interview so we were trying to schedule a time to see him.  More on that later.  So that was my Wednesday.  The crazies and I did a lot of playing and running around outside so that Gaetan could rest as much as possible.  It was really nice to spend so much time with them.  I tried to do a dinner that was fun for them and easy to do, so we made pizzadillas. They got to choose what they wanted in them and make them themselves... they seemed pretty happy about that.  Not the most exciting of meals, but they really liked it so it was worth it.  :)

Dude presenting all our ingredients for the pizzadillas!

Quality controlling the peppers to make sure he in fact wanted them in his

Lucy with the cheese

I would have to say that Thursday was the hardest.  Mainly because Wednesday night the crazies didn't sleep well at all.  I was up there probably once an hour :(  From about 12-7 I got less than 4 hours of sleep and it was not all at the same time.  I think I honestly went up and down the stairs 10 times within those hours... ugh.  Poor Dude was so tired that he woke up and realized that he wet the bed... which is something he hasn't done in years.  So, that was how my morning started.  Gaetan was the one who actually woke me up because I didn't hear the kids getting up, which is not like me at all!  Normally if they roll around to much in their sleep I wake up... just goes to show how tired I was.  So then I dragged myself upstairs to find that I had to do all his bedding and part of his mattress.  Ugh.  Have you ever been so tired that your eyes burn?  I wish I was at that level of eye burning because that meant I would've had some sort of energy!  But I bucked up and we went outside and played some more.  Its amazing how much those kids love sidewalk chalk!

One of the mornings it was rainy out so we had an indoor picnic for breakfast

Naptime was probably the best.  Norah was down.  Dude was in our room, but Lucy.  Oh Lucy.  She didn't seem like she wanted anything to do with naps.  So, I told her that I would lay down with her for a little bit until she fell asleep hoping she would let me rest a little downstairs.  Nope.  I passed out in her bed next to her, but she did eventually too.  I was just thankful that she didn't try to play with my face or anything like that and actually let me sleep.  I woke up because Norah was awake so I got up and fed her.  But I felt so much better after getting a little bit of sleep!  Dude was waaaay passed out when I came downstairs to see how everything was going.  Lucy was still asleep after I got done feeding Norah so I had a small opportunity to shower.  When I got out I noticed there was an ambulance in the parking lot so I tried to get Dude to get up by telling him excitedly that there was an ambulance outside and he itched his nose and rolled over.  Lucy had woken up when I was in the shower and had pooped, (in her potty) so she was excited for a treat.  I got the kiddos up and then we headed out for the trails.  I figured if I could run them into the ground then they wouldn't fight going to bed... and it worked.  :)  I know that every time we go out and play they are so tired out... a combo of the sun, fresh air and running around... its perfect.  We parked at the library and walked the trails to the first playground.  Its about half a mile there and a couple of steps into the walk Dude told me that he just couldn't walk anymore... ah... I told him that if he could walk to the bench then he'd be just fine.  He ran to the bench a little bit ahead and sat there and waited til we got there... and apparently that rest was good enough to get him to the playground.  He then proceeded to chase robins all the way to the playground... I guess he found his energy.  The kids played and had a lot of fun but Norah woke up a few minutes into the play time so that got a little interesting.  It turned out OK and Norah was pretty happy, but my arms got tired from holding her!  I had to feed her there, but luckily the kids took a beverage drink while I did it so it kept them in the same area.  We then had to get going back home so I could make dinner but Norah wasn't about getting back into the stroller... :( She screamed for the rest of the walk back to the car... whomp whomp.  Dude said that he was so tired and couldn't walk anymore (again) but Lucy wanted to walk so they switched.  She not only wanted to walk but she RAN pretty much the whole way back, which is all uphill.  I was impressed because most of the time I don't want to run up that hill!  And I thought that she did it in a pretty decent time of 8 minutes with her small little legs and she did take time to look at flowers and chase other things too.

Lucy running ahead of us on the way back

We had to run an errand during one of the days and I'm not even kidding that she was crazy dancing, legs flying in the air and then mid kick she zonked out.  It was like she had an off button and they pushed it.  It was pretty hilarious to watch.

Well, my plan for tiring them out worked like a dream.  They went to bed no fuss and I actually got a few hours of sleep that night!  Woot!  It's amazing how much better you feel when you get consecutive hours of sleep!  The kids slept in til about 8:15 the next morning and Dude woke up and just came downstairs quietly and read.  :)  It was a much better way to start the morning.  Now... Friday.

JVG