Motherhood

I wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of Sassy crying.  I groggily get up to comfort her as I hear her start to throw up.  This was our new routine tonight but, thankfully, my little girl finally seemed to be feeling better.  I let her lay down with me and we both fall asleep, her in my arms.  Before my alarm clock goes off, my other daughter, Jasmine, is jumping up and down, rather painfully, on my arms and stomach.  "Mommy, get up!  I'm hungry!!"  Sassy, rejuvenated by the morning light, joins Jasmine and her other two sisters in a chorus of "Feed us, Feed us!"

I wake up my husband and we both drag ourselves into the kitchen, our little girls racing (and beating) us there.  Lily and Gaz are noisily throwing their toys around as I set out breakfast and dad gives them all something to drink.  Jasmine, always the last to the table, throws a fit because she doesn't want to be between Lily and Sassy and, Heaven Forbid!  Gaz is taking up too much room.   Jasmine then insists on having some of daddy's milk and, before we know it, the table has become a white lake.

Finally, everyone is fed and all of the messes are cleaned up.  I glance at the clock and realize I am almost running late.  I hastily grab my uniform and am on my way to work.  Throughout the day, I get a few text messages from my husband letting me know that, aside from quite a few small annoyances, everything is okay.

When I eventually make it home, our girls abandon their jungle gym and meet me at the door, Jasmine practically leaping into my arms.  I give them all a hug and a kiss and get settled in.  Sassy shows me a new trick she learned and my heart practically jumps from my chest as I pry the little copper penny from her tiny throat.  Lily gets a hold of some plastic and it's a repeat of the incident with Sassy.  Soon, the two are chasing each other around the house and I have to break them up before anyone is hurt.  I hear yelling in the other room and have to get on to Jasmine for kicking Gaz.  Everyone settles down for nap time and my husband and I finally have a moment together.  We watch some t.v. and then I get on the computer to write this blog.  When my little girls wake up, they fight to be in my lap, adding "sldakfj" and "oodaooo89" to this entry when they each get the chance. 

Sassy gets restless and decides she's going to win the attention battle once and for all.  She takes her little arms and begins swiping them across the living room table, leaving destruction in her wake.  Daddy yells at Sassy, who responds with a defiant look followed by more things crashing to the floor.  I jump up to intervene, "Sassy! Don't make me put you in time out!"  She returns my glare with a stubborn look of her own.  I begin counting.  "One..."  She continues her challenge.  "Two..."  She moves closer to a pile of magazines.  "Thr--" They have barely made it off the side of the table before Sassy is in my arms and on her way to time out.  She cries for the three minutes that she's separated from the rest of the family.

They interrupt everything from sleeping to intimacy, but our life would be so empty without the pitter patter of their little feet.  All of the trouble they cause is well worth the adorable things they do, the joy of watching them grow, and the adoration we all share for each other. 

I love my cats.

Jasmine

Lily

Sassy

Gaz