Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The days are long, but the years are short...


Well, we are back here again...where the I write about life in our little home...how it seems well orchestrated and pretty mellow. That is, until you walk through the front door. It is completely chaotic. All of the time. And competitive. And my goodness, is it loud. We are probably America's loudest family. Lately, Todd and I look at each other numerous times during the evening or weekend and either sigh or glare or ask each other what just happened. I suppose life with 3 youngins, all under the age of 5, all BOYS, all with in 2 1/2 years of each other, would warrant a little craziness...but having that third Harrell boy, it has pushed us from slightly crazy, to... "Holy S**t! Just give me 10 minutes alone. Can I please go potty alone???"

They never stop. Ever. Not even when they accidentally ram into a toy/wall/table/brother and fall over. They just get up and continue along on their rampage of crazy. They're like those self-propelled vacuum cleaners -- once they hit an obstacle, they just spin around and keep going.

And the talking. Oh, the talking. They demand all of my attention and require every ounce patience and understanding and mediation skills I have to offer. When I think I have nothing left to give, I dig into my reserves and pull out another smile.

Just an example, to show it never stops.

2am...on a Tuesday
I hear Jack on the monitor. I reach over, turn it to silent and roll back over. I can still see the glowing red light, showing me that he is still making noise and is not letting up. Todd is peacefully sleeping, or at least pretending to be. I roll back over and the light is no longer flickering, but blaring. I turn on the video and see him standing up in his crib and pointing. I crawl out of bed, find my way to his room and stand outside his door, to listen to what he is saying..."Momma. Daddy. BB. Wade. HHeeelllpppppppppppppppp." He repeats this over and over until I finally open the door, he stops crying immediately, points to the ground where he has apparently thrown his stock of noonies (paci's), looks at me dead pan in the eyes, "Momma. Help. My noonies." All while doing the whole sign language sign for help. Seriously??

And it is like they all get together when Todd and I are sleeping, and all plan to act crazy at the same time, for the same length of time, just to keep us on our toes. It is like they cannot say ANYTHING without whining. Everything is a fight– what I pick for them to wear, what’s for dinner or what the temperature happens to be. Everything. It’s exhausting! Brody has started rolling his eyes, Wade is always fending for his toy or life from said brothers and Jack cannot stand it if I am out of his eyesight. And do not even get me started on the whole sharing thing. Jack flat out doesn't believe in sharing , but rather hitting, until his older brothers just have to give him their toy.

It's kind of like these toddler rules that someone once shared with me. It was definitely written about JackJack...

TODDLER’S RULES

1- If I want it, it's mine
2- If it's in my hand, it's mine
3- If I can take it away from you, it's mine
4- If I had it a little while ago, it's mine
5- If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way
6- If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine
7- If it just looks like mine, it's mine
8- If I think it's mine, it's mine
9- If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine
10- Once it's mine it will never belong to anyone else, no matter what

On a positive note, I do look forward to seeing their brotherhood as time goes on. Holding each other up. Standing side by side in pictures at graduations and weddings. Handsome, strong, unique and glorious individuals that I am absolutely positive I will be proud of. I am happy that they will always have each other, and I hope that they form bonds so strong over the next 18 years that will last them forever, and get them through every good and bad moment that comes along in their lives. Get in trouble together. Figure it all out together. This I can see and I can smile at.

Through all of our struggles and timeouts, there is a home filled with love, where every single morning, yes, every single morning, all three boys climb up in our big bed, and for about 30 minutes, there is peace and tranquility. They really are sweet boys, just born with a lot of energy. We get 3 times the kisses each day, 3 times the “I love you"”, 3 times the bear hugs, 3 times as many cuddles. I know these days are numbered, where Todd and I are the center of their universe and it is going to become much more difficult as they turn into teenagers, but sometimes, venting makes it all better. And, if history repeats itself, once I blog about a problem, it generally resolves itself. And this time, I am praying it does!

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