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When my Ty was born, Dave would actually try and compete with me on over who was the “most tired.” I would say, “I am sooooooooooooooooooooo tired!” and he would say, “Me, too.” And I would say, “But not as tired as I am.” And he would sorta squint and look at me and say, “I think I might be” and then I would say,”No, Dave. That is not possible. I am nourishing another human being from my (said in a whisper) breast every two hours.” I would say, “Dave, I am tired at my ROOT. I am tired at my CORE.”
In an effort to streamline things, we have now abbreviated the whole mess to I am “tired at my root-core.” And the phrase lives on. Oh, we can really throw down on this one. Dave has two jobs working with teenagers that require him to commute to two different cities and he usually works 2 weekends a month as well. Plus, when he walks through the door, he is expected to be daddy and uncle Dave and be smiling and happy and give me a foot rub. Me? Well, I am in charge of five kids ranging in age from 1-14. Enough said.
We’re tired.
Can I get a witness?
Most days I tackle our life with grace and aplomb. Not really. Most days I tackle our life with a gritty determination to do my best and not send anyone into therapy. To get all the hugs in. To make sure they are all fed. To listen to my gut. To pray. To breathe. To get a shower in, if not make-up on. To kiss my husband when he walks through the door. To call my mom. To parent with intention.
But April nearly killed me.
And it bled a bit over into May.
These last few weeks included a very sick one year old, three trips to the ER –two trips for head lacerations on two different kids and one of those trips was for me because I broke my toe. And if anyone thinks I am being a wimp about a broken toe, come on over and ram your toe into the mega vacuum cleaner we own. No? Okay, let me continue with my list. These last few weeks included sports for three of the kids — that’s Track, Soccer, and Martial Arts — a 1/2 dozen birthday parties to ATTEND and two to HOST, Dave starting a new job, and a huge project that I cannot even begin to tell you all about because it is just that top secret. I am also the room mom for preschool and for some reason I just signed a permission slip last night for Izzy to attend and help out at the school carnival. Whah? I know it is all just LIFE and I am not complaining. But last night I decided to up the ante on our “tired competition.” As I was coming home from a preschool board meeting after spending a total of four hours and 7 phone calls trying to restore our internet and a Costco run that had my broken toe throbbing, I looked over as Dave was pulling in the driveway from swim practice. I said to him. “Hey Dave, my root-core just BROKE!”
He stopped. Looked at me. “Well, okay… you win!”
A-ha!
I win!
I am the most tiredest of us all! I win!
I wonder what my prize is?
A while back I blogged on MeRa Koh’s site about handing my camera over to Ty and having him photograph his world. Well, during our recent Spring Break trip to Whidbey Island, I decided to try this again. I guess I just wasn’t in the space to get outside and shoot lots of pictures. But I didn’t want our wonderful vacation to go by undocumented (GASP!), either.
This time, I put some restrictions on their photos. I told them they could each take only ten pictures. I wanted to focus their eye — so instead of just random, scatter-shots, the kids would really think about what they wanted to document and preserve.
I think you will be pleased with the results. Here are some samples:
First up, Lily (10).
White Shell
"Destroyed" Crab in Pirate Fort (actually, its plastic)
Next is Izzy (12):
Shoes, Sand, and Seaweed
Self Portrait
Next up, Jade — our resident teenager (14):
Sunset over the Saratoga Passage
Sister at Sunset (sounds like a Magic Treehouse book!)
I’m actually really impressed with Jade’s photos. Due to a fluke, she ended up shooting her photos on “Aperture Priority.” Which means, the photographer sets the aperture or F-stop (or controls the BLUR in the background) and the camera will select the shutter speed. It’s not terribly advanced, but it is a step up from shooing on automatic. Here’s another one:
Garden Outside Bunkhouse (where the TV fell on her).
And last, Ty (4). Okay, so he was in a hurry that morning.
Jade's Leg and Back Patio Tile
What was the most fascinating for me was that each child took a completely unique set of pictures! So, I ended up with 40 pictures of our little vacation spot and I got to do THIS while they “Slaved Away”:
Picture by Grandma Bloo. Don’t you just LOVE my flirtatious pose?
I admit it, I am homebody. I really do like to curl up with a good book or a reality TV show. When Dave and I do manage to actually go out, it is usually to a familiar haunt where the bartenders know our names.
But, I will say, that a good vacation is still something that I look forward to. Even though with a baby it still means diapers and sleep issues, I find that dealing with those things without “life” is a welcome change. This spring break we went to a place that caters to hermits and recluses like me. Whidbey Island and our new found vacation home is only about 90 minutes door-to-door from our home. The part of the island we visited was near Langley and it is a sleepy little village town. Here is city hall:
Langley City Hall
It makes me want to move there!
We found a grocery store that mostly sold milk in glass bottles… from a DAIRY! Luckily we were able to find some in plastic jugs, so we were good.
We always hit up the local bookstore. There is nothing quite like a small island bookstore:
Here is where Dave and I talked about major life decisions (notice beach in background):
And here is the pirate fort on the beach:
This is the kind of place where the kids walk outside and play for hours. This is the kind of place where you actually have to watch where you step because of how many shells are littered on the beach. We say gray whales, herons, and bald eagles. We cannot wait to go back!
…someone goes to the Emergency Room.
Oh yeah. If you have kids you all know that trips to the ER are a part of the deal. But when you have five kids, lets just say they are a regular part of my monthly planning. Pick up birthday gifts, buy milk, spend evening at hospital, wash the car…..
We’ve had trips for a broken leg, a major bump to the head, a lip laceration, a mysterious stomach illness, pneumonia, and much much more. Each comes with its own story. Here’s the most recent.
So, on our recent family trip, we decided to add HEAD LACERATION to the list.
The story is quite simple, actually. Jade and Lily were trying to close the sticky bottom drawer on the dresser in their room — upon which rested a large TV set. Said sticky drawer continued to stick. Jade and Lily, however, continued to force it, thus creating a rocking motion that sent the TV plummeting off the dresser. And, Jade (in true Jade -form) pushes her little sister out of the way and then catches the TV and thus prevents any deduction to our damage deposit. BUT, before she catches the TV it ricochets off her head. Yup, her HEAD.
So, Dave got to drive her along dark country roads in the middle of the night, following a map, to the local island hospital. They almost gave her stitches, but came away with her wound glued back together. Seen here after a day of healing:
Jade and her Head Lac
It looked worse the night before.
So, the day after her “ordeal,” Jade says to me, “Yeah, the doctor told me that I cannot shower or take a bath until the laceration heals.” And then she sorta slumps down and shakes her head back and forth.
Dave, however, sits straight up and says, “That is NOT what the doctor said.” He looks at me, shakes HIS head. Looks back at Jade and says, “The doctors said to be careful not to get the wound wet while bathing or showering.” Jade looks right back at him as if he is speaking Spanish or Farsi or Japanese. Shrugs. Then walks off. Dave looks at me and asks, “WHY DOES SHE SAY THINGS LIKE THAT?” I say, “8th grade girl.” I Shrug. And then walk off.
Over a week later and life has returned to normal. We are back into our life here in the burbs, I am buried under laundry, kids are going in different directions. One Tuesday night I head over to the junior high and pick Jade up from track practice. It was a cold, blustery day and Jade is shivering when she hops in the mini-van. I look at her and say, “OH, I am so glad that you are about to jump in the shower to warm up!”
Wait for it.
“Oh,” she replies, “I can’t shower.”
“Why,” I ask in complete innocence.
She then lifts her hair to reveal her head wound.
So she really did think Dave was speaking Spanish or Farsi or Japanese.
“Do you remember the conversation with Uncle Dave about this?”
Blank Look.
“Do you mean you have not showered since vacation?????!!!??!”
Blank Look.
“GET THEE TO A SHOWER!”
We arrive home and I say to Dave, ” Why does she do things like that?”
“8th grade girl,” he replies.
(I bet he had been carrying that one around just waiting to use it.)
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