Sometimes

Sometimes you have one of those days where you're not quite sure you're going to make it until bedtime. I'm not really sure if it was the spilling of salt on my freshly mopped floors, the pee on the carpet, the whining, the endless questions at the exact wrong times, or the loss of electricity just before the eggs were fully cooked on my casserole, but after the clean-up of our "just eat the edges" dinner I knew I had to get in the car and strap everyone down so at least they couldn't touch each other or me for an hour. So, we did. It was pretty bad, but as I said, at least no one made a mess or hurt someone. And yes, we made it to bedtime. Which was 20 minutes early tonight.

Sometimes when I go in to check on the kids at night they might stir a little and seem to notice me. Jackson, my heaviest sleeper, will never open his eyes but might jabber something or turn over. Libby is usually peaceful, but will sometimes crack an eyelid. Cash is often found spread eagle, on tummy or back. But tonight my baby boy just turned over and looked at me with wide eyes as if he had been waiting for me to come. I scooped him up and rocked him for a while, and as he lay with his open hand on my belly his baby sister seemed to step up her movements just a little. After the night we had, I rocked there thinking of how many more crazy nights are to come. But rocking with your big baby and your tiny baby together, a once in a lifetime opportunity, makes it all worth it.

Sometimes Jimmy tells me "you need to blog about that". And it was none of what I just wrote, that was just therapeutic. What he thought I should record for posterity is the phone call I got today. Jimmy was out. (*Also for the record, he got a job and starts Tuesday.) We were about our normal post lunch pre nap chaos and the phone rang. I could hear that it was somewhere in the back of the house and heard Jackson say, "Mom! Phone!" so I ventured back to our bedroom, picked up the phone and said "hello?" To which I heard someone (who sounded a lot like me) say, "hello?" right back. I'm not sure what else was said, but there was another hello and some giggling and so I promptly hung up and walked out to the living room to confirm my suspicions that Jackson had used our cell phone and called me on it. He was cracking up and I was NOT amused, telling him he just spent ten cents to call me. Only later, when I relayed the story to Jimmy, did I see it as pretty funny. I also later thought to myself that if I ever wondered whether or not he could recall and use our phone number in an emergency (and I have wondered this) then I guess I know the answer. I think I'll use the cell phone to call him tomorrow. Hee hee. Two can play at this game, Jackson.

On the road again

Well, we thought our trip to New Jersey and back would be our last hurrah during Jimmy's "summer of George" but here we are, on the road again, to spend a few days with my sister in Indian Harbour Beach, FL and then a day and night with Jeremy and Darcy, and of course a stay with my parents on the way up and back from these places. This reminded me of our journeys this past May when my kids awoke at 6 a.m. this morning. Jackson received a good what I like to call "whisper scream" which basically means I lost my cool and totally yelled at him, only through clenched teeth and in a whisper volume. I said something like "DON'T COME IN HERE AGAIN!" and of course he did and woke up Libby. Whatever.

My brother in law Jim (the traveling preacher) has enjoyed our Wii, (pronounced "wee") which Jimmy bought last week. (I will not comment on how I had to wait until AFTER my birthday to get new shoes because tax free week started the next day, but he can, with little thought, purchase a new game system. Plus tax of course.) So anyway, Jim keeps making comments like "We like to wii in the den" and "We could wii for hours" and "wii-ing gives us pleasure" and "wii-ing makes me warm all over" but my NON preaching husband comes up with "I like to touch my wii while I look at the TV" and we all laugh until we have no strength left in our arms. No, wait, that's from bowling.

So I wanted to post our final "after" picture from our trip earlier this summer because Jimmy never did and I haven't forgotten about it. This will give you a good picture of how we all feel after being away from home for days. Only now I am in the final trimester of my pregnancy and find it nearly impossible to turn around backwards from the passenger seat to help little people. I do enjoy, though, chastising Jimmy for almost cursing under his breath at other drivers while listening to headphones. It's as if he thinks I can't hear him because he can't hear himself. Yes, this is how Jimmy copes with traveling with little people and a pregnant wife. He wears headphones while he drives. Most of the time me and Cash are the only ones not connected to some kind of electronic device.

Here's the picture. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to wii in the bathroom.