Managing the crazy
Church. Oh church. How do I come home fulfilled and rejuvenated as well as exhausted and depleted?? I love going to semi formal and organized events such as church. I actually get ready for the day and my kids get a chance to learn how to sit and be respectful... bahahaha! Okay, we are working on that second part. My kids are still very little, but we are trying to create good habits in these sort of environments. I'll be honest, it's far from easy and most Sundays I wonder why on earth we even try, but I know it's good for them. Good for us. Good for our family.
We usually don't get to church in time to sit in the actual pews and almost always end up in the very back of the overflow chairs, yet somehow Welles manages to almost make it up to the bishop by the end of the hour. There is a reason I never wear heels to church... I've become very good at the don't-draw-any-attention, church run and grab. It's amazing how fast that cute little turkey is now. Ames isn't far behind either. I'm sure we are a comical family to watch at such events. Scott running one direction after Ames, me running the other after Welles, and Scarlett sitting there rolling her eyes at the chaos. All the while wearing our Sunday best and looking frazzled as can be.
Though this last Sunday was pretty good. First time I have felt calm at a sit-down event in a while! Scott and I high-fived after church, feeling accomplished for avoiding a Welles escape or even a Welles attempt to outrun us. He did learn how to hit the handicap door openers but didn't manage an exit. I call that a win! And even with church falling right during Ames' nap time, he kept pretty quiet through the speakers and managed the first hour without melt-downs.
We had a good flow this week. We brought the right amount of snacks and toys. Scarlett didn't throw any fits about being hungry, neither of the boys darted far and actually played much of the time with the toys we brought. I believe we owe it to our "magic bag" that when packed correctly, is becoming our secret weapon.
I get a lot of questions on this bag. This beauty is from LilyJade and has been an awesome "junk carrier" ;) for us. I like that it has a dressy look to it but can also be dressed down. It's easy to keep clean and can even be worn like a backpack. My most favorite feature of this particular bag is that I can keep the insert filled with kid stuff, then when I want to use it on my kidless outings (far and few between!), I pull the insert out and throw mama's stuff in. Vavavoom, it's a good looking not-so-mom bag!
Toting our crew around is 100% exhausting . The boys are in a pretty busy phase and our girl requires a lot of time and attention. But I'm glad we do it. I'm glad we force ourselves out the door for adventures such as church (which is truly an adventure these days, just watch us from the pews ahead). I'm glad we get out on road trips and go out to resturaunts even when we know it may not be worth the battles. I love when we get outdoors and go on hikes that turn into pretty short "nature walks" with our babies. Flying on a trip with three littles always seems like a great idea and always results in some memorable trips after some of the looongest "short" flights. Sometimes we regret these outings about 15 minutes in, but then we have things to laugh about later, and we end up doing it all over again. It's a fun phase of life with all of my little monkeys and I know some day I will miss the chaos. So we'll keep embracing the craziness of our young family and try to do it all with great diaper bags and smiles!
