shave and a haircut

Well, Bennett hasn't had his first shave yet (although with how hairy this boy is, it may not be long) but he did get his first haircut this weekend.  I know.  He's only 12 weeks old.  But his hair really was getting kind of outta control.  He was born with a legit mullet and it's only grown longer since.

before

So we decided it was time.  I was sad, but didn't cry this time.  That's a first too.

after

after the bath

To be honest, I like it trimmed up.  He looks very handsome and he didn't really lose that baby look.  But let me just tell ya, it's not that easy cutting the hair of someone who can't even hold up their own head.  His hair line in the back isn't perfectly straight, but I'm just thankful I didn't cut off an ear!!

Both ends

We are now a family of five, two grown-ups and three children.  Three boys to be exact.  And I often hear the "Wow, three boys.  You must be busy" comment often.  And it's true.  We are busy.  But I don't think having three boys makes us busy.  I'm pretty sure just having three children makes you busy.

My day looks something like this...

7:00am - the big boys roll out of bed.  One of them is usually crying for any various number of reasons.  Chris takes them down stairs for breakfast and I roll over to either get a few more minutes of sleep (if I'm lucky) or nurse the baby (more likely)

7:30 - my feet hit the floor.  I leave the baby asleep in our bed and trudge downstairs to assess the day.

7:45am - Chris leaves for work.  One of the boys cries because he didn't get to say "good-bye" enough times or in the right way (we have routines, ya know)

8:00am - I make coffee.  Lots of coffee.  I find a mutually agreed upon and engaging activity for my boys to do (aka watch TV) while I take a shower.  I live for those 10 minutes of hot water.  It's better than coffee I think.  I find a clean pair of yoga pants to wear, dry my hair (again, if I'm lucky), and begin the "getting dressed" routine which involves telling Brooks 42 times to put on clothes and physically wrestling clothes onto the toddler.

And I wish I could break down the rest of my day, but it's all a blur from here on out.  Between now and 5:15pm I...

scarf down some breakfast, clean up dishes, sweep the floor (maybe), break up a fight, help Carter go potty, nurse the baby, change a diaper, figure out why Carter is screaming, play some cars, start a load of laundry, vacuum the floor, tell Brooks to stop taking Carter's toys, fix a snack, rock the baby to sleep, play a game, make lunch, eat lunch while nursing the baby, clean up lunch, wipe table, wash dishes, hide in bathroom to go "potty", change a diaper, rock baby to sleep, tell Carter to stop screaming, help Carter go potty, wipe Brooks' butt, read books, tuck Carter in for a nap, again, and again, and again, give up on Carter taking a nap, put on a movie for the kids, regain a bit of sanity by checking Facebook, check e-mails, build a tower, fold laundry, prepare a snack, clean up snack, nurse the baby, read more books, play with baby, figure out why Carter is screaming, put Brooks in time-out, console crying 4 year old in time-out, trip over toys, make plans to bring said toys to Goodwill, start cooking supper while wearing Bennett, take away toy the boys are fighting over .....

... and then the clouds part and angels sing.  Daddy's home!  Back-up has arrived.  He occupies the big ones while I finish cooking supper.  After we eat, he plays with the kids while I clear the table, do the dishes, sweep the floor, wipe down the table.  Sometimes I join them in playing, but usually I take this time to catch up on other house projects.  And then it's bedtime.  I love my children.  With all my heart.  But oh, how I love bedtime.  Daddy usually does the bedtime routine - brush teeth, go potty, put on jammies and I join them for prayers and hugs.  And finally, Brooks and Carter are asleep.  The day is done.

Except that it's not.  Bennett is still awake.  And will be for quite some time.  We've discovered that's he's quite the night owl.  And despite our best efforts to nurse, rock, shush, and console him, he will.not. go to bed before 10pm. (it used to be midnight, so I guess I shouldn't complain)  So what used to be our "alone time" without the kids before we went to bed, has turned into a threesome.  And when one of us finally gets Bennett to stay asleep, we collapse into bed around 11pm.

And because Bennett is only 2 months old, I'm up in the night nursing him.  Often.  And that's ok.  I really do enjoy nursing my babies.  But after going all day and up all night I feel like this mama is burning the candle at both ends.  There's rarely a moment when I'm without my children, day or night.  And I'm tired.  Happy, but tired.

I will say, however, that I'm SO thankful for Chris and how much he's stepped up with this baby.  He volunteers to rock him so I can have a break.  He'll take the big kids out so I can nap while Bennett naps.  He really is amazing and the only reason I'm still surviving parenthood.

So yes, we're busy.  And it's good.  We love our boys.  We love our life.  But I would by lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to when we can at least sleep through the night again.