Third Time's a Charm

Dear Kids,

I'm not going to lie, but I question my ability to parent 3 children on a daily basis. Somedays I just don't have the patience, time, or energy to do it how I would like to. On those days, the not so nice side of mommy comes out. When I just had Nathan, I read all the books, scoured all the internet forums on all the topics and I looking back to those days, I still made so many mistakes. With Hannah, I made a bit less, but with Hailey, I feel like I now have a chance to redeem myself and finally meet my standards of what it takes to be a good parent. 

Mind the fact that those standards have dropped quite a bit, so that may be a contributing factor. 

For example, I am not above encouraging my children to flash others while getting their picture taken.

 Hats inside the house are ok, especially when you are playing video games.

Licking your oatmeal bowl clean is also completely acceptable. That's one less step I have to take before it goes in the dishwasher.

I've also become more relaxed when it comes to food. Nathan didn't have his first lollipop until he was 3. Hailey had her first one just the other day because she did a great job waiting while Nathan was visiting with the doctor (more on that at the end). 

Cole slaw is an acceptable form of vegetables. (Hailey, you love coleslaw. One day we went through the drive through and I ordered a small coleslaw for you. You quickly screamed, "No, big one!"

We have picnics on the porch and I let you have chips. Nathan probably didn't get chips for lunch until he was 4 or 5! 

Letting you paint yourself or other things buys me some time in the morning to get stuff done. The sacrifice is small because washable paint is so easy to clean up. We have paint marks everywhere, but one day when ya'll move out of the house, I'll just powerwash everything real good and the paint will come right off...hopefully. 

 I used to spent time looking on Pinterest for cool crafts for you all to make. Now I just hand you the recycle bin and say, "Make something cool" and you all are ecstatic.

At 2.5 years old, Hailey, you want to try rollerskating...yeah, that lasted for a few seconds before you I made you quit because my back was getting sore from holding you up. The old me would've had to deal with a temper tantrum. 

 The new me comes up with a cool hack and temper tantrum averted!

I don't think I've ever voted in a primary election after having kids. Well, this time, we just did it and Hailey was the star of the show. You charmed every one of the senior volunteers at the voting poll. 

I used to give you all ownership of your toys and would let you guys decide what toys to donate/get rid of. I quickly learned that everything is "super special" to you so I came up with a different game plan, just get rid of stuff that's not put away. Well, that turned out crazy and too many emotions were involved. This time around, I just did it myself...when you all were at school. I got rid of 2 large trash bags worth of stuff and you all didn't even notice that stuff was missing.

 It may not sound like it, but I really am enjoying motherhood at this point. I'm loving this toddler stage more so than with the previous 2. Perhaps I was either pregnant or caring for a newborn when the first 2 were at this stage, but I love observing Hailey just explore, learn and wonder what we are going to do next. It's super fun and I love hanging out with you.

This past weekend we attended a neighbor's birthday party. They had a face painter and Hailey, you were determined to get a cat painted on your face. And you did a great job sitting still for the painter.

 Hannah, you got a unicorn, which is different from the usual rainbow butterfly that you request.

 And all three of you also got balloons which you all like to pretend sword fight with. It's been really neat to see how you older kids try to include Hailey in on your pretend play. Hannah is a bit more intentional about including Hailey so it's cool to see how Hailey looks up to Hannah. With that being said, when we are in the car and I have music playing, Hailey does not let Hannah sing. Nathan is allowed to sing, but Hannah is not...which I think is so hilarious  interesting.

Ama is in town for a couple of weeks. With the coronavirus stuff going around, we are going to stay put during spring break and maybe even brave a birthday party or two.

We went to the wildflower center this past weekend and took some pictures. These are a few of my favorites.

In 2 days, Nathan, you will be getellting surgery to take out your adenoids and tonsils. It all started with a dental check up, which lead to a referral to an orthodontist, which led to a referral to an ENT, which led to us scheduling your surgery right before spring break so you have the break to heal up. Apparently your adenoids are taking up too much space and you are not breathing well at night. I'm hoping this will help you sleep better and maybe help with your sometimes volatile temper tantrums.

Well, that's about it. I'm sure I'll do a post about it afterwards, along with our spring break adventures.
Until next time,
Love,
Mommy