Six of Spaids

Kids are in bed. Will is watching boxing in Spanish. I did “work stuff” (eye roll right there) for a few minutes on the computer. Now I’m blogging just to blog. Get the ball rolling after that last awful post.

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For me, there are three kinds. Of mom sleep, that is. (Some kind of comment here about grammar and sentence structure and you don’t really care, am.I.right?)

1. The Laying Back/Down on the Couch/Bed With My Eyes Closed – This is the type of sleep I do when kids are up, running around, playing quietly, watching tv, you name it. I’m getting some rest, but I’m fully alert. Someone starts crying? Up and at ‘em. Fight breaks out? Handled. Twenty-three minutes of brain-rotting entertainment is over? Let’s do this thing.

I hate this type of sleep and usually only resort to it in utter exhaustion. I also feel that it’s dangerous, I could actually fall real asleep and leave my children unattended. No bueno.

2. The Night Sleep – Self-explanatory as to when it happens. In bed, lights out, all that jazz. This, to me, is the true motherhood sleep. I’m asleep, getting my cycles whatever, but the “mom” part of my brain is still on. I immediately hear feet hit the floor in any room, crying or calling out wakes me up from the first peep. Occasionally one of my children will talk in their sleep, in just a normal talking voice. I hear it. I hear the dog rustling/settling/talking in his sleep. I bed share with Haddie (Fancy way of saying she sleeps with me, which all my babies have. If that’s not your thing, cool. This isn’t the time/place for debates.) and if she so much as sighs loudly, I am aware. This is approximately 95% of my sleep, and part of the reason why motherhood is so very tiring.

I also credit this type of sleep for my decreased brain function and my completely ridiculous dreams that I have all the time.

3. The Deep Sleep – This sleep is glorious and beautiful and extravagant. This is the sleep I get when Will gets up early, takes the baby and the other children as they wake up downstairs and lets me sleep in alone. This is also the sleep when Will takes the baby for me to have a nap. It’s like my brain knows that it can be off, Will is awake and able to handle whatever happens. I do not have to hear anyone talk, or cry, or breathe.

What? You don’t listen to your kids breathe? It’s not weird.

*This post is basically the opposite of science.

Your turn! Tell me about your sleep, mom or not.

XOXO

Honestly? Easter this year was probably one of the worst days in recent memory. Well, some of it. The kids all had poor attitudes and so much whining and fighting and our yard looks so disgusting in these pictures and in the back of my mind I’m screaming to myself, “BUT IT’S EASTER! JESUS IS ALIVE! THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT OF EVERYTHING! THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GREAT DAY AND FAMILY AND LOVE AND!!!” Real life, I don’t know. My expectations were too high? Who knows.

So, the kids got up. Will had worked all night, but he wanted to see the kids get their baskets. I “made” everyone pile onto the couch so we could read the Easter story one more time before baskets.

I tried to do a mix of practical: sunscreen! beach towels! pacifiers! and fun stuff they will actual use: bubbles! balls! kites! chalk! I only did one small candy for each and a package of peeps to share.

Charlotte has thanked me at least five times for getting her sunscreen. No joke.

Libby’s in a pull up and a backwards tank top. Not what I put her to bed in, but real life. That’s pretty much how she comes out every morning. Sometimes she puts on a skirt. And Ben’s wearing Christmas pajamas. :)

Will stopped on the way home from work and got us doughnuts.

Before church started I asked Charlotte to sit with the baby while I took Ben and Libby to the restroom. She took that as license to take a bunch of pictures with my camera. It was kind of funny, but from some of pictures I can tell she was pretty far away from Haddie. Not cool. Not that she was going to get abducted or something, and she was sound asleep – but still, I obviously don’t leave my baby unattended.

Another (better) caption for this photo. We went to the Good Friday service and at the end we all (kids included) walked by and saw Jesus in the tomb. When we went in the sanctuary Sunday morning, I was sitting down and getting our stuff around, and Ben walked right up to this. He turned around, and in a really loud, excited voice he said, “He’s not here, Mom!” and was smiling and clapping his hands. Even though he had heard the story several times and we really emphasized it this week, it was so real to him. I hope that imagery will stay with him forever.

After church we had an egg hunt, and they ran out by ages. Libs was the only one who was 1-2. It was so cute watching her run out by herself!

I love her expression here!

Um…you’re walking on one!

Probably my favorite picture of the day.

We left the eggs at the church (thank goodness!).

They got so much candy, I was so glad I didn’t really buy them any!

No printable/frameable/ amazing pictures of my four for Easter.

These were the best of many. Their outfits were coordinating!

After church we went home and experienced the worst of what I was talking about in that first paragraph up there. Which culminated in everyone being sent to their rooms and finally in nap time. Ben, Libby, Haddie and I all took really long, much-needed naps. Charlie played quietly in her room. Will literally had to wake all of us up for us to get ready for our evening plans. I guess the bad attitudes probably had something to do with exhaustion. Hm.

We went over to Will’s parents for the evening and I didn’t take any pictures except this one as we were getting ready to leave. I think it’s kind of funny that the dog is looking at the camera, too. The kids were all really well-behaved for this part of the day. Yay!

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To summarize:

1. Lower expectations = good idea

2. More sleep for everyone = better idea

3. None of it matters, because Jesus is alive. He is risen!

I just emptied off my camera card onto my computer (probably completely incorrect terminology) and I was so excited to see our Easter pictures.

Yeah. Didn’t really get many great ones. But I had fun looking through these!

Saturday morning we drove over to Fort Morgan to see some friends.

We got to dye eggs with them, it was the first time for all of them!

Then we had a picnic and went to the park.

From Fort Morgan we drove all the way to Fort Collins, to my parents’ house to dye more eggs! The kids didn’t mind a bit.

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My brother says my blog isn’t even a blog, it’s just a bunch of pictures.

To that I say: I know. And not even very good ones.

Goodnight, xoxo.

Tonight I wasn’t a good mom, on many different levels.

There was yelling, when really there shouldn’t have been.

There were tears all around and I so wanted everyone in bed so I could just be.

And eat. It’s awful.

I texted Will and he showed me grace, saying that it’s hard what I do. I don’t know. But it soothed my weary heart.

About forty or so minutes after they – the big three, Haddie sleeps with me – went to bed, Libby started calling out for me. She was just saying, “I need you to fix my covers! I need you to fix my covers!”. Not a big deal, but I could hear the stress in her voice. I rushed in there to arrange the blankets and was able to see her relieved smile and the sweet way she talks with her hands waving all around, her head shaking saying, “I don’t know. Them just keep being all around.” Ben lifted his head to groggily say, “Mom, you’re the best mom ever.” and Libby agrees, “You best mom.”

“You’re the best Ben ever, and you’re the best Libby ever,” I say, smiling with tears in my eyes. And we do another round of goodnights, I love yous, and see you tomorrows.

I guess I’m just so thankful that I’m able to be here, to be able to rush in and fix the covers. It would be wonderful if a bad evening could be put right again as easily as straightening the sheets and smoothing the comforter. Of course it can’t. I love them so much. I just hope that the magnitude of my love for them smoothes out some of the wrinkles.