What a week!

What a way to end not only a long day, but a long week too! I take in childcare to help supplement income, since I really didn't want Hubby to work these last two semesters. It's all been quite casual since the middle of November, but this week was a glance back to what I did full time in my home from the middle of August until November, and outside of the home before I had the Boy three and a half years ago. All week I've had three full time children in my home (girls aged 5, almost 2, and almost 18 months) plus another almost three year old the last two mornings.

Since sleep is an evil word in this house, my own boys get up anywhere between five and six in the morning. Sleeping in is seven. It usually starts with Boy2 trundling wandering from one side of our bed to the other, waiting for one of us to reach out and bring him onto the bed (we have a step stool at the foot of the bed so he can do it himself, but do you think he'd use it at four in the morning?). Then, after being smacked and kicked for an hour or so, the Boy (who is by this point in the night sleeping on a little mat at the foot of the bed instead of his own perfectly fine bed) sits up and says " Mum! I need go pee! (or poop, depending on how urgently he wants to get up)". So the day starts. With the Boy sitting on the toilet (ususally doing nothing) he says that he slept "lots and lots" and was it time to get up now, and "I need Juice."

This week, the extra kids came at about twenty mintues to seven, and the chaos is immediate. The boys arehappy to see the girls, and vice versa. The honeymoon lasts two minutes (if I'm lucky) and the next hours are full of tears, screams, hitting, laughing, giggling, hugging, and "piggy rides" (this costitutes the 5 year old holding the arms of the younger ones over her shoulders and leading them around and around). The only time there is relative silence is when food is involved or it's nap time. Really, what else can you expect from four girls and two boys aged five and younger. By week's end everyone is more than ready to go home for a few days.

But today, between overtired and overstimulated children and an overtired and pregnant me, we were stretched. Did some crafts (thanks to the good friend who got the boys a subscription to Chirp), ate pancakes for luch (a HUGE hit), enforced nap/quiet time for everyone to recharge, and ending the day with painting (the paint with water books are FANTASTIC!) while good old Nat King Cole was playing (my way of dealing with stress). Plus, Hubby brought home supper for he and I. The Boy has been asking of macaroni and cheese all week. I think we went through nearly a whole case, just this week. Plus tonight he had three helpings. Hubby knew I was having A DAY, and brought home a couple of sourdough loaves and some dip. Tzatziki for him and asiago and artichoke for me (yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!).

It'll be bedtime shortly. It won't take long since neither one really slept as much as they should have. Then Hubby and I will have a bit of down time before bed. Tomorrow will be grocery shopping ( we really need more mac 'n cheese), reading, naps, maybe a walk, and plenty of relaxing. It's funny how the definintion of relaxing changes once you have kids.

Plus side on all of this: I've started feeling baby 3's movements more steadily this week ( I can't believe I'm 16 weeks already), I'm thinking pancakes and bacon for breafast in the morning, and my boys are actually wanting a bath tonight. Life is really good right now!