What's that smell?

I often wonder what possesses us to have more than one child, but then I remember the desire for one more kid to love, one little boy was my desire. I got him. =) And while I love my kids to the deepest depths of my heart, they might be (and mostly are) the cause of what I call Mental Case Mommy!

My kids are like 3 years and 5ish months apart in age. A pretty good spacing in my opinion. One out of diapers, one in; one able to talk back, one able to scream; one willing to help clean up, one willing to make the mess; one to eat all his or her food while the other throws the plate in disgust. I mean honestly, who wouldn't want to experience this. ;)

Most days in my house go like this:
Wake up at the butt crack of dawn to Kara in the bathroom and Mason screaming for food from his bed. And for the most part, I enjoy their independence and ability to let me know what they need and when they need it, but honestly, the last thing I want to wake up to is the screeching of "FOOODDDDIIIEEE!!!!" from down the hall! But let's say I don't get to him fast enough, maybe I need to use the bathroom before I leave the safe confines of my own bedroom. Before I know it, I have Kara in my room telling me Mason is awake (thanks for the obvious point out sweetheart). Yep, I am the lucky potty performer with a constant audience. =) Where was I, oh yeah .. Mason .. if I don't get to him quick enough, I will soon be listening to the banging on his door coupled with the yell of "FOOOODDDIIEEE!!!" that is slightly muffled because he found his pacifier in his bed before ditching the bed.

When I finally get to him and open his door I'm typically greeted with a foul smell. Please don't ask what it is .. use your imagination. All the way down the stairs Kara is telling me that she is going to cook breakfast this morning and that she would like hard-boiled eggs for breakfast and that Mason stinks. Then she proceeds to tell me about all the things on her mind. Having a conversation with my 5 y/o is like having a conversation with a box of talking crayons. Speaking of crayons .. they do change poop colors if consumed in large quantities.

Where was I, oh yea .. Kara's conversation abilities. Surprisingly she makes a lot of sense to me. I find the waking up to colorful conversations with her are intriguing and inspiring at the same time. You wouldn't believe how much you can learn from your children's nonsense conversation if you listen carefully. They will tell you all sorts of things about themselves.

Oh back to my day, so before I can even have my first cup of coffee I've been demanded to make breakfast. So I quickly set my kids up with a piece of fruit .. as Mason has been demanding a "nana nana nana" the whole way down the stairs. But before I can even do that, I have to change that source of stench that greeted me when I opened Mason's bedroom door.

Where was I going with this post, hmm .. I forget, but I suppose that is a significant source of my Mental Case Mommy syndrome. I am a definite struggling survivor with severe mommy brain. You know that thing that you lose when you have kids. I only have 2 kids I can only imagine how severe it gets with more subsequent children.

I had a point today with my blog, but I can't remember where I was going with this. Having my two kids has been a great experience with a ton (and I mean I lost count) of interesting experiences. And by interesting I mean .. those times when you think .. "I'm throwing the towel!"

Going from one child to two is extremely different. It was literally a slap in the face eye-opening experience. With one, everything is mostly simple. You get a schedule going pretty early in their life, you're only managing one child at the store, restaurant, church, etc. You only have to worry about the care for one child. Finding a babysitter is the easiest task, going on vacation is easy cause you only have to buy one row of seats on a plane (instead of 4 seats not together). Ya know .. you'd think that airlines would do an even amount of seats together instead of an odd number. I mean seriously .. how many people travel in multiples of 3? My guess is not very many.

Anyway, back to my point, whatever that was. Juggling the two of them has made me realize that a schedule isn't completely necessary, the house doesn't have to be spotless (for now), though I'm 100% opposed to being late for anything, I'm late for everything now. Pre-feeding kids is Okay to do before you go to a restaurant, carrying an arsenal of treats in the car is a MUST! Predicting the outcome of a situation becomes an art. Knowing where BOTH of your kids are at the same time is a magic trick. But the most interesting part of having two kids is finding that you can operate best under an extreme amount of pressure and come out shining like a diamond.

My husband is amazed that our house is not an exact replica of a dump site when he comes home from work. Our kids are active all day and keep me on my toes. I'm constantly picking up after them, all while trying to teach them how to pick up after themselves. He is also amazed that I get anything else done that doesn't directly involve my kids. When life was just about Kara, things were so much easier. My house was spotless (I'm a closet neat freak), the beds were always made, toys picked up, dishes put away, no funny scents hanging about unable to be narrowed down to a location, her toys were OCD organized, my laundry was done, there wasn't clutter on my kitchen counter or dining table. Awe .. the life with one child is so blissful, right?!?!

Add in number 2, and make him a boy! All of that goes OUT the winder.. Yes I just said winder cause that's what I typed. HAHAHA! Anyway, my focus is now on keeping BOTH safe, happy, and entertained. My house is still MOSTLY cleaned, though I'm preparing for the day when I'm able to keep it at my preferred standards again. My laundry isn't usually done all in one day, my counter and table are littered with crap, toys are not OCD organized, and sometimes (okay a lot of times) I simply cannot locate the source of a smell. HAHAH

In all, life with two is better than one. I wouldn't trade them for the world. But man I'd love a vacation!

Peace.