Several years ago my oldest son, Jordan had orthodontist appointments at Mayo clinic and I would have to bring all of the kids with. With 4 little ones and one middle schooler it was a chore to find a parking space in the ramp, take the elevator to the subway, walk to the clinic, take an elevator, walk through more of the clinic, take another elevator, wait 10 minutes for his appointment to be over, and then repeat it all backwards. Many times I had a baby in a sling, toddler in the stroller, a preschooler hanging on to the stroller, and another one wandering along with us. By the time we got back to the van, 10 of my 5 children had a turn at pushing the elevator buttons, not always on their turn. Occasionally we would happen to ride with an elderly man or woman who would invariably ask the question, "Are these all yours?"
Our brief conversation would usually end with a bit of advice.
"Enjoy them while they are young."
Oh yeah, I was certainly enjoying the smooth clinic floors that allowed me to drag the child that wouldn't go where we needed to go.
"Don't blink or you may miss it."
Really? So if I just close my eyes will this all go away and I'll open them at naptime?
I'd always just smile and nod and make some half-hearted comment about what a blessing they were. All I really wanted in those moments was to get 5 kids to the van in one piece without absolute and total embarrassment.
Looking back at those days I wish I could do one thing differently, ok maybe more than one, but for starters:
That little old lady that had raised 8 kids and was not drooling all over herself? Well, I'd push the emergency stop button in the elevator and beg her for 5 minutes of REAL WISDOM! Not the cute lines that we've all heard before about not blinking. Give me some real meat to chew on. Give me something that will help me cut the naptime fight in half, or make it disappear. Give me something that will make my toddler WANT to use his legs for walking rather than polishing the clinic floor!
I didn't need to hear that kids don't come with instruction manuals, I needed the manual! So, the purpose of this blog is to not only share how I keep it all contained when life is overflowing, but to give you some bits of wisdom that will help you as well.
Do I have it all together? No! I can't tell you how to get your 3 1/2 year old to use the potty, and I just had to carry my 3 1/2 year old out of church this morning (no smooth floors). Some things we're still working on...
Our brief conversation would usually end with a bit of advice.
"Enjoy them while they are young."
Oh yeah, I was certainly enjoying the smooth clinic floors that allowed me to drag the child that wouldn't go where we needed to go.
"Don't blink or you may miss it."
Really? So if I just close my eyes will this all go away and I'll open them at naptime?
I'd always just smile and nod and make some half-hearted comment about what a blessing they were. All I really wanted in those moments was to get 5 kids to the van in one piece without absolute and total embarrassment.
Looking back at those days I wish I could do one thing differently, ok maybe more than one, but for starters:
That little old lady that had raised 8 kids and was not drooling all over herself? Well, I'd push the emergency stop button in the elevator and beg her for 5 minutes of REAL WISDOM! Not the cute lines that we've all heard before about not blinking. Give me some real meat to chew on. Give me something that will help me cut the naptime fight in half, or make it disappear. Give me something that will make my toddler WANT to use his legs for walking rather than polishing the clinic floor!
I didn't need to hear that kids don't come with instruction manuals, I needed the manual! So, the purpose of this blog is to not only share how I keep it all contained when life is overflowing, but to give you some bits of wisdom that will help you as well.
Do I have it all together? No! I can't tell you how to get your 3 1/2 year old to use the potty, and I just had to carry my 3 1/2 year old out of church this morning (no smooth floors). Some things we're still working on...