Not answering the phone these days...

Brian came home today and asked me, "Is it harder than what you thought?"

(Apparently seeing a harried woman amidst dirty pots and pans, a basket of unfolded laundry, toys strewn across the yard and children screaming in the background causes one to ask such things.)

"Ah, yes. YES!"

So, adoption. Adoption.

The 2 year olds in their traditional Ugandan clothes. A moment to CHERISH!!!

It's a great thing. I would do it again. Really. 

But right now...
it's H-A-R-D.

If I could sum it up in a sentence, it would read something like,

"I am ALL of your mother!!" (and that doesn't even read right!)

or

"Just because there are 5 of you does not mean there are 5 of me."

Or something.

The biggest trial right now is trying to adjust Darrah Kate to the idea of having a brother who is just 7 months older than she.

Now, she does ask for him the second she wakes up in the morning!

And these pictures are incredibly cute...but the other 95% of the time, these two are going round and round fighting over my lap, who I will carry, who gets the cracker first, etc.

So if you are waiting on an email from me, you wonder why I haven't called you back or you just simply wonder what I might be doing...

The answer is that 100% focus is now on my two 2 year olds. The only way I am able to post this is that Brian took the two screaming children to the hardware store with him. (Saint him, please!)

My life is quite a BIT different than I expected. So if you call me and I don't answer, you can just picture me sitting on the floor with two toddlers on my lap and try to keep them from poking each other's eyes out and singing together.

That's about all I'm getting done these days!

P.S. (for those who still think it's all sunshine and puppies):

A few tips to make the days go smoother...

Over at It's Almost Naptime! my fellow mom friend, Missy, has asked for us to share our tips on making life run a bit smoother. I loved reading other mom's tips (what a wealth of knowledge!!) and thought I might post a few that we have used. Nothing earth shattering, but after reading in our adoption training manual that children 4 and under assume that every family is like their family, I think we can all learn from what it's like in each other's houses. I love picking up tips from YOU! Here are a few things we do:

1) My older girls DAILY empty the dishwasher. Even on Sunday. One does the top and bottom rack, the other polishes all the silverware (ha! we all know "polish" is a bit of a stretch here...) and puts all the sippy cup plugs back into the lids. This saves me so much time and it's SO NICE to open an empty, clean dishwasher at the start of the day! (We run it every night while we sleep...look and see if yours has the "4 hour delay" option!)

2) When we homeschooled we had a special daily cleaning time I dubbed, "Home Blessing." We have a watered down version of that now that they attend public school (poor them, with homework, ya know?! wink wink!) I had little plastic nametag pockets that they wore around their necks that I would slide in the tasks for that 1/2 hour segment of the day. It was awesome! This is the ONLY way the 2 ferns on the porch survived the hot summers. (Thank you, Anneli!) Between the 3 of us (Oliver was too young then) we cleaned the entire house each week. Truly, our house was never as clean as when we homeschooled! Hmmmmm...

3) Earning computer time. My kids have to read 1 hour for every 15 minutes they play online. (Mom or Dad approved website, of course.) Books are where it's at and I'm trying to foster a love for reading. Did you know that just having books in your house (you don't even have to read them!) will increase your child's literacy rate? Imagine what would happen if they see Mom reading books at every chance she gets? (That's me...one in the car, one by my bed, one at the table for after dinner for all to listen to (usually a missionary biography) another on the island for when I'm having lunch! People are surprised that I am reading more than one book at a time...but that's why!!)

4) All laundry is taken immediately upon removal-from-body to the 3 baskets in our big closet. I quit having laundry baskets in each room b/c it was more work. One station for all of it. (I need a trick to get them to take it in there!!) My kids know how to sort: dark on the left, light on the right. (that rhyme is important!) I gather the basket that is the most full when I first get up in the morning and get it started as I'm filling up my water bottle for my morning workout.

5) Daily exercise. This is critical in my house, and not just because I'm a Beachbody coach. This is for my own sanity and for the purpose of modeling good habits for my children. I am CONVINCED that watching my mom jump rope for hours in our kitchen has carried over to my willingness to make this a daily part of my routine. (Thanks, Mom!) My tip is that as soon as I get out of bed, I put on my workout clothes. I don't have my quiet time with the Lord in my jammies, I've got a sports bra on and I'm ready to BRING IT! right at 6 am. If I work it right, I can get my workout(s) in and a shower before we have to load into the car by 7:30 am to go to the bus stop. (This doesn't always happen!)

My last tip is to go to bed on time, which I've not done b/c I'm writing this! I have a bed time too...and I try to keep it. It sure makes 5 am a lot easier to tolerate! Good night all!