How We Get By

I am rarely asked the question "how do you do it all?" This leads me to believe that most of you (clever, clever readers) have figured out that I'm not doing it all. My house and car could use a thorough cleaning, our laundry is piling up, the blog hasn't been touched in days, and the idea of juggling some other nine-to-five in tandem with this mothering thing gives me a bit of a stress headache. So, just what are we doing, and how are we getting by, you ask? This week, my camera reminded me of how, daily, we get by - toddler-style:

Sunday

Audrey's first day of Sunday School. She came into my room carrying an orange and red skirt and a purple fleece, her outfit of choice. It didn't look bad together. Had it not been in the high eighties, I would have told her to put it on and we'd be on our way. Afraid she'd pass out from heat exhaustion, I told her to go choose a dress from her closet. She reappeared in a pretty floral one with a lace edge. We zipped through the other stages of Audrey-out-the-door readiness and began heading out the door. "I have the skirt on under my dress," she said with a smile. Perfect. Now get in the car. On time arrival for her first day of Sunday School - what can I say, that Jesus can perform miracles. (On a side note, this picture better captures her "first day of school" better than any other I've taken.)

Monday (I think)

I would love to tell you I'm one of those together mothers who rises hours before her children, pounds out a workout, showers, and tosses in some laundry before the kids stir in their bedsheets. I would also love to tell you that on one of her many mulch-digging expeditions, Audrey unearthed a hidden fortune that she's designated as mine to pay for a housekeeper. Neither are true. I value my sleep, which leads me to sleep in until I hear the children begin stirring in their bedsheets, which leads to me find creative ways to shower later - like Audrey creating q-tip art on the bathroom tile while Nathan takes his nap (not on the bathroom tile). Note: these q-tips have since been deemed for "creative use" only.

Tuesday

Audrey getting by after her father handed her a very large, very green (very suspicious to a toddler, but reminiscent of The Very Hungary Caterpillar to her mother) caterpillar he found in the yard. How does one conquer that sort of atypical, you're-not-a-warm-and-fuzzy-woolly-worm fear? Easy. Stick the poor sod in some Tupperware and handle him with scrap paper (until Dad comes to his rescue and transports him to the garden where he will search to eat through "one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon," but come up short and settle for a few droopy basil leaves).

Wednesday

How do you keep your infant from crawling into the dishwasher and landing on the silverware you've asked your toddler to unload? Ask your toddler to hurry so you can close the door to keep her brother safe. She'll improvise and dump all the silverware into her Lego box. Effective. Unconventional, but effective.

Wednesday, still

How Audrey attempts to sneak out of the house with no pants. She pulls on two shirts, slipping the neckline of one around her waist. When called out on her trick, she puts her hands through the arm holes, "No Mom, they're pockets." The perfect accessory for a shirt skirt? Striped shoes. On the wrong feet.

You guessed it - Wednesday

How to rig a celebration, just because you want cake. Tell your dad it's your friend, Kitty's, birthday. Have him take you to the store for cupcakes (what mom envisioned would be a box mix). Tell him that what cats really like is German Chocolate Cake with a tub of chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup topping. Who knew? Crazy cats. Wake up the next day and tell everyone it's Turtle's birthday. Hmm...

I did not pick up my camera today to capture Audrey using her toys to pick up other toys, therefore turning cleaning up into some sort of game. What can I say, I just can't get around to everything. But we sure are getting by.